This month, a lot of people are going to gain weight. The problem is so widespread that, especially in people who are working to lose, I make it a point to applaud their efforts even if they simply maintain their weights. That’s because December is probably the single time of year in which people are most likely to eat large amounts of sugar, white flour, and corn starch/syrup.
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Some folks don’t want to know what they weigh, so we make an agreement. If I do check the number, I don’t tell them what it is. I remind them that I don’t really care about the number itself; I’m just looking for changes, whether up or down, from the last visit. I really care a lot more about how their pants fit. Are they looser, tighter, or the same? To me, that’s much more important.
Why is December such a problem? It has to do mainly with amounts, especially of desserts. What happens when you eat a lot of sugar or starch? You use a lot more insulin. What happens when you use a lot more insulin? You store fat more efficiently, and you lose the ability to tell when you are full. Then you increase your food intake accordingly.
In my experience, when a person first begins to eat in a way that decreases the demand for insulin, their appetite takes about three days to modulate. When you eat a diet that requires a lot of insulin, those high insulin levels coat the satiety centers in your brain and make it very hard to tell that you are full. When you eat more intact carbohydrates, more nutritious fats, and fewer stripped carbs, you use less insulin. So by the third day, your body finally realizes that it doesn’t need as much insulin as it did before, and your pancreas “downregulates” insulin production. In my experience, that’s how long it takes your body to begin to adjust to the eating patterns, and to the fact that you don’t need as much insulin as you did before.
Less insulin translates into less hunger. Three days after you start eating an “insulin-conserving” diet, you wake up noticeably less hungry than you used to be.
I tell patients not to worry, that the number will take care of itself as they get back on track making smart choices. And it does. So it’s okay to celebrate the holidays. It’s also okay to have a piece of wedding cake. Or birthday cake. It’s probably okay to have one slice of pie every weekend. Just don’t do it every day. Our insulin levels seem to manage fine if they spike only once in a while. The problem comes when we eat foods that make them spike every day. Because when your insulin levels are rising every day, it’s no longer a spike. It’s just the way they are –high.
That’s why I say that what happens in December stays in December. It’s not what we do once in a while that gets us into trouble. It’s what we do all the time. You can’t live in December and expect to remain healthy. But you can visit it from time to time. Happy holidays from YHIOYP!
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