The standard American diet seems pretty innocuous at first glance. I mean, who has a problem with eating a certain amount of protein and a certain amount of carbohydrates in the form of fruits and vegetables and grains and small amount of fat, if at all?
It's probably been drilled into your head for over several years that this is the healthy way to go. Nobody can really blame you for thinking otherwise. But what if I told you that the standard American diet, with its heavy focus on protein and carbohydrates, is actually making you sick and making you fat?
Carbohydrates and the problem with insulin
Whenever you have more than 12 to 20 grams of carbohydrates in your diet, insulin is going to be an issue. Normally, insulin is a good thing. Insulin, after all, is the hormone that unlocks your body's cells so it lets in the sugar in your bloodstream. Once your cells absorbs the sugar, it then converts it into energy.
Well here's the problem with insulin. It has a dark side. When insulin is in your system, your body uses blood sugar for fuel. This means it's not burning fat. In fact, insulin has the effect of locking your fat cells so none of that energy gets out.
Your body is blocked from using fat as energy. That spare tire you're walking around with will remain with you until and unless you deal with insulin. Reduce insulin and your body starts burning fat for fuel. It's that simple.
The problem is the standard American diet has so much carbohydrates that people starts suffering from the excesses of insulin. Not only do they have spikes in insulin levels which leads to them feeling hungry throughout the day, a high-carb diet also inflames your system.
The truth about fat loss
If you want to burn belly fat or you just want to lose a lot of weight, you have to focus on controlling your insulin levels. It doesn't get any simpler than that. When insulin is in the picture, it's going to block off your fat cells and your body is not going to burn fat for energy. There's no chance of it doing that.