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Excess carbohydrates, or carbs as they are often called, are the biggest interfering factor in the majority of people’s diets when it comes to burning fat.  Although it might appear to be more logical to reduce the intake of fat when trying to lose fat, the hormonal effects of high carb intake will completely block the body’s ability to burn fat. This issue is often how lose weight programs fall short of producing good results - they simply don’t emphasize the importance of avoiding carbs.

Carbohydrate intake blocks the body’s ability to burn fat because it triggers the production of the hormone insulin.  Most people associate insulin with the disease diabetes and with blood sugar control, but it is also directly involved in the storage of fat in the body.  Insulin stimulates the tissues to convert excess blood sugar and store as fat, and at the same time will block the conversion of fat back to sugar so it cannot be burned for energy.

When you eat a lot of carbs, they are quickly digested and absorbed into the blood as blood sugar, also known as glucose.  A rise in blood glucose above what the body needs for its immediate energy needs triggers the release of insulin from the pancrease.  Insulin stimulates the muscles and liver to store the excess glucose as a compound called glycogen, which is a quick energy source.  The amount of storage space available for glycogen is pretty limited, and when that is filled up, the insulin stimulates the fat tissue to store the remaining excess glucose as fat.  This means the more carbs you eat, the more insulin you will produce, and the more fat your body will store. 

Some people think that they can overcome this problem by simply exercising more to make up for eating too many carbs, but this will not work.  Even though exercising more will burn additional calories, they won’t be fat calories!

Exercise does stimulate the body to first burn glycogen, and then turn to burning fat once the glycogen is used up - except when there is high insulin release.  In the presence of high insulin, once the glycogen is gone, the insulin blocks the burning of fat and so the body turns to burning the protein of your muscles to produce energy. 

Initially, people who are trying to lose weight and continue to eat a lot of carbs may have the illusion that they are burning fat, but in actuality, they are losing water weight and muscle mass.  The longer this continues, the harder it becomes to lose weight, because the reduction in muscle mass results in a slower metabolism. The end result is that the person who continues to eat a lot of carbs while trying to lose weight winds up weak and tired and with a higher percentage of body fat than before they began their weight loss program.   

Dr. George Best explains more about how various hormones effect weight loss in his free ebook, which can be obtained at his lose weight help website.

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