insulin sensitivity 2
DECEMBER 17, 2012 5:55 AM / LEAVE A COMMENT / EDIT

Keep in mind that the liver, and the muscles have a “storage limit” so to speak for CHO (carbohydrates). While you can alter this with glycogen supercompensation by carb cycling (translation for rookies:eating low/no carb, followed by a CHO refeed will cause the muscle to swell and absorb more carbs than normal… aka glycogen supercompensation)

There is an amount of carbs that will cause “spillover” into your fat cells. It is a fairly concrete number, and finding this number is the key to succesfull dieting. Generally the # of grams a person can tolerate without fat gain, will increase if the CHO ingested is low glycemic (on the GI scale), or if it is taken with an insulin sensitivity supplement such as :

alpha lipoic acid (my fav)
chromium
cinnamon
blueberries or blueberry extract
fenugreek extract.

There are also vitamins and minerals that affect insulin sensitivity in the long run, these include vitamin D, and magnesium.

Adding fiber or fat to a meal lowers the glycemic index, but it is done indirectly, by slowing digestion.

Studies have shown fiber to be most effective at this.

To conclude my second, disorganized article on insulin sensitivity, I would like to hammer home the point that managing your blood sugar is AT LEAST as important as managing your total caloric intake… These are critical elements to be understood if any fat is to be lost, while muscle is maintained.

Anyone can lose weight, but not everyone can lose pure fat. The key is managing blood sugar levels.

originally posted by author Brendan Evans at bevans100fitness.com