My Fat Burning formula

Carbs are our body's number-one preferred energy source and is the first port of call when you're in need of energy. Carbs are also responsible for our insulin and blood sugar levels, so balancing this is crucial. We can all hold a certain about of carbs in our body, like a carb tank which is spread throughout. However, once we've filled that tank, it begins to overflow and stores in our body as fat – so you can see why we need to balance it, especially to be able to get a decent weight-loss result.

When we digest carbs, our body's response is to release insulin to balance your blood sugar levels. When you eat an apple or lollies (natural and sh*t sugar), they act the same in our body, even though the apple has more fibre which slows down the sugar spike. When we consume these sugars, insulin is released from the pancreas into our bloodstream. This can become a little tricky as our body can't burn fat while insulin is running through our bloodstream and won't create a fat-burning zone within our system.

Carbs also promote the storage of fat as they put everything on hold while your blood sugar levels return to equilibrium. You're also far more likely to get hungry again very quickly as our blood sugar levels drop so our brain gets the signal to eat again. So, if we were to eat carbs again when that hunger strikes, there will be a never-ending spike of insulin in the blood so you'll never be able to get rid of fat stores and will never reach fat-burning mode.

This is our second source of energy. With fat, we have an unlimited supply within our bodies. If we keep adding it to our stores, we will keep building on it, unlike the carbs tank. Our fat levels will continue to get higher and higher if we don't learn how to manage our eating to support that. We can only tap into using this energy when we have low amounts of carbs in our tank. What happens is our body says 'okay, I've got a low amount of carbs in my tank so I'm going to take the fat and bring it over to use that for my energy'. Fat is a very efficient source of energy, it's just about being able to tap into it correctly.

Another few great things, is fat doesn't spike our insulin like carbs do. So, we're not going to get that blood sugar spike and no insulin in our blood, so it manages our energy levels longer and slower rather than this constant up and down that carbs do. Another thing is it keeps us feeling fuller for longer. Carbs are very quickly absorbed into the body and provide immediately energy levels however these don't last and disappear quickly. Fat takes longer to burn in our body so leaves us feeling fuller and more satisfied for longer, which is exactly what we want.

Fat is also responsible for absorbing micronutrients which are your vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. If we don't have certain amounts of fat, our fat-soluble vitamins which are A, D, E and K won't absorb into our bodies. These vitamins are responsible for things like healthy hair, skin, nails, eyes, so if we don't have enough fat, we're not going to be absorbing those key nutrients. Those days of fat phobia and 'fat is the enemy' are gone (thank god!). Taking away fat and replacing it with sugar (carbs) is what I think is responsible for a load of health conditions the world over.

This includes a range of protein from both animal and plant sources. Protein is a great macronutrient for a range of reasons:

- It's really hard for the body to break down, so is great for weight loss. Similar to fat, but even more so. The longer our bodies take to break things down, the longer you'll be feeling full and satisfied which is why a lot of those weight-loss diets are high in protein.

- It also doesn't store as fat like carbs. So, if we were to eat a lot of protein, our body takes it, breaks it down into amino acids and uses what it needs and where. This helps to repair things like tissue and muscle and with the rest that's not needed, we excrete via urine.

As with any macronutrient or food group, everything in moderation. There are some issues I delve into deeper in program that can arise as a result of having too much protein, but as a general overview of macronutrients, these are the basics.

Let's talk about the C word – calories.
We don't focus on calories in Thermofit. In fact, I don't recommend people focus on calories at all. Calories is the total amount of energy in our food. When counting caloric numbers, there is no numeric breakdown of what that whole number consists of (fats, carbs protein). So, we could be completely neglecting one or more of those areas and overeating in others which isn't good for health or sustainability.

Calories are based on a number – kilojoules. Each gram of carbs holds 4 calories, each gram of fat is 9, and each gram of protein is 4. So that would suggest that if someone was eating a high-fat diet, they could think this isn't healthy for them and the calorie amount is too high, but as I've mentioned throughout this blog, we need fat for a range of different reason and it's more so about carbs, which are seemingly lower in calories but your body's response is vastly different.

My favourite analogy when teaching this is my car analogy. May sound a little strange, but imagine your body is a car (any model of your liking). In your body you have two fuel tanks 1 petrol (carbs) and 2 LPG (fat tank). When filling up at the petrol station, if you put too much petrol in, it will overflow into that LPG fat tank, but in this case, that fat tank can keep getting bigger and expanding which means your car will be heavier, slower and harder to run. The only way we can get into using our LPG, which is what we want as it's a cleaner, more efficient source of energy, is if we keep that petrol tank at the right level, so we can go into the LPG and tap into those fat stores, helping your car to run smoother, better, lighter and more focused, creating all-round less stress on the engine.

Each car does have their own unique tank capacity, so what one car needs isn't always what the other will. But in my programs and from my experience working with people and in this industry, I've devised a way to generally balance these macros which works for most people to achieve best results. 50% coming from healthy fats, 20% coming from carbs and 30% coming from protein.

So there is a basic rundown of what you'll find in the Thermofit program. I go much deeper into these learnings in my programs which once involved, you'll have 12-month access to so you can keep learning and take your time to digest it (pun not intended). You'll also have access to the 4 group start dates throughout the year, so you can go at your own pace.

Any more questions? Reach out! I'm contactable via email or social media and always happy to offer further info and support.