
7 min read
Weight Management Part 2: Understanding Why Most Diets Fail
Are you of fuller body but wish you were leaner? Try as you might are you constantly tempted by foods that you know aren't helping you?
Do you feel as if you‘re fighting a losing battle? If you answered yes to those questions - relax - you‘re perfectly normal.
It‘s a natural part of our evolutionary hard wiring to want to feast on today‘s high calorie foods.
Foods made from grains, bread, pasta, chips, pizzas and sugary confectionery can seem tantalisingly seductive.
In hunter-gatherer days we didn't come across sweet foods very often, so when we did, we needed to gorge ourselves and store the excess calories to get us through leaner times.
Most of us still have those same urges today. It‘s one of the reasons why we crave sugary, starchy and fatty foods and why it can be so hard to stop eating once we start.
Unfortunately, these days we rarely face times of famine and the majority of us are nowhere near as active as our hunter-gatherer predecessors.
The effects of which are mirrored in our bulging waistlines and spiraling rates of chronic disease.
This genetic evolutionary survival mechanism is one of the reasons why sugar is like a drug to us and becomes so addictive.
If you've ever gone told turkey and stopped eating sugar for any length of time you‘ll know how your palate changes and your body finally stops being tempted by it.
But like an alcoholic that takes a drink after a period of abstinence, give in to sugar again and it‘s doesn't take long before the regular need for it overwhelms your will power once more.
Being genetically coded to survive times of famine rather than feast, it‘s hard for many of us to maintain a lean physique when we‘re faced with overstocked kitchens and high calorie foods tempting us on every street corner.
Diets today are often full of refined carbohydrates that force the body into an over-production of insulin, also known as our 'fat storage hormone‘.
Insulin's responsible for maintaining a balanced blood sugar level, which in turn maintains our energy levels and acts as one of our main metabolic hormones.
When insulin is imbalanced, the result can have negative consequences for our health, and our waistline.
One of the main ones being that it switches the body over to burning sugar predominantly for energy instead of fat. More on this in the next two articles.
Read Weight Management Part 3: How to Burn Fat More Efficiently...
Read Weight Management Part 4: 10 steps to getting and staying lean...
For now, let‘s stay with insulin for a bit longer.
Insulin allows blood sugar to enter the cells to supply the body with energy, but continually choosing foods - and drinks - high in sugar, combined with being overweight, has a strong effect on the delicate balance between blood sugar and insulin levels.
This is why insulin balance is at the root of so many common illnesses and disorders. Given that our bodies are built to deal with sugary foods as a rarity rather than the norm, a condition called insulin resistance develops when we consistently eat foods high in glucose.
Under such circumstances, the pancreas is forced to pump out more and more insulin to try and regulate the excess sugar (glucose). Unfortunately, the body can only sustain a limited number of insulin receptors on each cell.
Consequently, insulin receptors are continually activated and over worked and can‘t successfully bind to the overwhelming amount of insulin.
Working under such pressure insulin receptors, over time, lose their sensitivity and become ‘resistant‘ to insulin, creating a danger zone when blood glucose is starts to rage out of control.
The knock on effect is that the body is literally unable to extract the glucose from the blood to power the muscles and they become starved of energy.
Despite the excess of glucose in the blood - with more being consumed daily - the brain kills the desire to be active because the muscles have no energy.
High glucose in the body is also toxic. If it rises too high, the liver is the only organ in the body that can get rid of it because the liver doesn't require insulin to process glucose. But this comes at a high price in terms of weight management.
The liver converts excess glucose to triglycerides (fatty acids) and packages them up in fat cells for safe storage in adipose tissue (a community of fat cells, more commonly experienced as a bulging waistline or extra unwanted pounds in hard to shift places).
Here the fat cells are rendered harmless to the body and left in storage until they may be needed as a future fuel source - not an easy source to access if you continue to flood the body with sugary or fatty refined carb foods on a daily basis.
The higher the glucose levels, the more fat cells we need to create, generating a vicious, perpetual cycle.
The good news is that the cycle can be broken. Shifting your fuel sources and re-establishing some evolutionary norms allows the body to return to balance once more.
One of the first steps being to start burning fat instead of sugar for energy, which in turn allows the desire to be active to flourish once more.
And there‘s a clue for article number 2 in this series...!
Related news
min read
How To Get Rid Of Stress With Nutrition
Good Green Vitality conatins vitamins, minerals, and vital nutrients to further support your body's ability to manage stress, and increase your energy levels throughout the day.
min read
The Best Protein Bliss Ball Recipes
The most delicious protein bliss balls. Made with Nuzest.
min read
How to Kick Start Your Energy
Top tips on how to fight fatigue and get your energy back on track.
min read
The Best Protein Pancake Recipes
The best protein pancakes ever! Made with Nuzest Clean Lean Protein and Kids Good Stuff.
min read
Top 10 Best Protein Porridge Recipes
A list of our favourite porridge recipes of all time, using Nuzest products.
min read
All You Need To Know About Pea Protein & Pea Protein Benefits
Everything you need to know about Pea Protein Powder and it's benefits.
min read
International Women's Day - Tips for Womens Health
Top tips for supporting your health as a women.
min read
How to cope in times of sickness
There is so much information about preventing yourself from getting sick, but what about when we do get sick? It is bound to happen at some point, so it's good to also prepare yourself for times of sickness.
min read
Veganuary - Tips for adding more plant-based foods to your diet.
Benefits of adding more plant-based foods to your diet.
min read
An Interview With Claudia Kelly
We sat down with Claudia Kelly to chat about her life as a New Zealand athlete.
min read
Top Tips For Mindful Eating Over The Holidays - Less Stressed, More Blessed"
6 tips for a happier and healthier holiday.
min read
Kids Good Stuff for Brain Health
Key nutrients in Kids Good Stuff to support brain health in kids.
min read
How Can Something So Small, Be So Nutritious?
Why I’m loving the new Good Green Vitality bars – a personal review by Michelle Yandle
min read
End the food fight - How to work with picky eaters
Would you describe your child as a fussy eater? Are mealtimes stressful? Do you worry that your child isn’t getting enough nutritionally? Let's end the food fight!
min read
The Importance Of Protein For Hair, Skin & Nails
There is often an emphasis placed on taking care of your hair, skin and nails from the outside, but what about nourishing from within?
min read
The Link Between Gut Health & Skin
Did you know that the health of your gut can affect the health of your skin? The word 'microbiota' refers to the group of beneficial, and pathogenic micro-organisms found in a fixed environment, like the gut. In this blog, we explore the link between gut health and skin health
min read
Kids Good Stuff for Skin Health
How can you ensure your kids have healthy skin? A part from the obvious, what nutrients can we provide our kids to ensure their skin stays in tip top shape?
min read
Why Is Protein So Important As We Age?
Humans are living longer and longer. How excellent is that? However, if we are not taking care of our bodies the best we can, our bodies may struggle to perform their best as body composition begins to change as we grow older.
min read
The Brain Boosting Benefits of Panax Ginseng
Ginseng, an herbal medicine in widespread use globally, is one ingredient in Good Green Vitality chosen for its brain-boosting potential.
min read
How To Optimise Brain Heath & Function
To optimise brain function we must consider the health of our second brain – the gut! But how do we make sure we are feeding our gut the right nutrients it needs?
min read
Moving Beyond Diets, An Interview With Michelle Yandle
We sat down with Michelle Yandle, HPN Certified Nutrition Coach and got a little insight into who she is, what she does and why she is so passionate about it!
min read
Nutrients for immune health that aren't vitamin C
While vitamin C can certainly help, there are heaps of other foods that contain powerful properties to keep our immune system healthy, some of which may be surprising.
min read
Protein For Kids 101
Why is protein so important for growing kids? How much protein does a child need? What are the best sources of protein? How can I increase protein in my child’s diet? We get up close and personal with protein and why it is so important for our little ones.
min read
How to keep your gut happy
A happy healthy gut needs a few things to continue to function optimally - a healthy balance of bacteria, a strong immune system and naturally, an intact lining. So how do we make sure we have all these things? Michelle Yandle explains.
min read
Is Protein Only Good For Sports Recovery?
You may have heard a myth that you need to consume protein immediately after a workout to maximise muscle growth. Is this the same with preventing recovery? Are the gym goers and fitness fanatics who chug shakes immediately after a workout doing so for muscle repair as well? Well we have the answers.
min read
Pea Protein Vs Whey Protein? Why we use European Peas in our Clean Lean Protein
Protein powder supplements aid the supply of amino acids to the body and can support individuals to reach their health goals. They are a nutrient dense and convenient way to support your daily protein intake. Clean Lean Protein is made from the highest quality European Golden Peas and provides the building blocks for vitality, repair, recovery and muscle growth.
min read
Creative Ways To Upcycle Your Nuzest Tubs
Nuzest tubs use #2 HDPE plastic and are 100% recyclable when the labels are removed, and the powder is cleaned out. Recycling is great, but how about upcycling? There are some awesome ways you could upcycle your Nuzest containers, which can be super fun, stylish and save you money.
min read
Dancing her way to the top - Interview with Christa Albert
We sat down with Nuzest Ambassador and Professional Dancer, Christa Albert, to chat about her dancing career, goals and how she maintains her performance.
min read
Good Green Vitality For Energy
So, what is it that makes Good Green Vitality and Kids Good Stuff such a powerful energy booster? Besides the obvious benefits of having all your daily requirements for vitamins and minerals there is a secret sauce to the ingredients in both Good Green Vitality and Kids Good Stuff that gives an extra kick.
min read
Getting Started With A Gentle Approach To Nutrition
Here are some simple steps to getting started with taking care of your body in a way that feels through gentle nutrition.
min read
Nutrition & Lifestyle for Ultimate Health & Wellbeing
Good health is the foundation for our mental and physical performance. It also allows us to be in a good position to deal with health conditions and the many other things that life throws our way. Despite many of us being confused about the best way to shape our nutrition and lifestyle behaviours for optimal health, there are many simple changes that can be made to enhance our overall wellbeing.
min read
What Makes Clean Lean Protein so unique?
All around the world, the shelves are flooded with protein powders – whey, soy, pea, insect, you name it, it's available. So, what makes our Clean Lean Protein so unique in a sea of worthy competitors?
min read
Maximising Mood In Your Kids
Almost 1 in 7 children and adults aged 4-17 had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Amy Butler discusses good nutrition and lifestyle modifications, that can help to reduce the risk.
min read
Long-Lasting Energy For Kids
Children and adolescents are going through massive periods of growth and development. To keep up with the demands of school, extracurricular activities, sports and friendships, kids often need a bit of an energy boost. In our latest blog we break down some specific nutrients for energy, to help support growing kids, and the best places to source them from.
min read
Setting Health Goals & Staying Motivated in 2021
Goal setting is easy, yet it can become overwhelming when trying to achieve and plan for too many goals at once. This year try setting Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound (SMART) goals so you can stay on track and feel motivated (beyond February) to achieve them.
Use this tried and tested goal strategy to set smaller, specific goals to avoid the overwhelm of unrealistic and vague health objectives.