5 questions about sugar from my clients

1. Does exercise help you burn the sugars you eat? How?

The body of an average person likes to maintain about 1 teaspoon of sugar in the blood at any one time. If there is too much it is either withdrawn to the muscles that need it or turned to fat. Both of these processes use insulin to transport the sugar to the correct place. If you exercise more your muscles will withdraw sugar from the blood until it is almost depleted, then your body will start producing its own sugar to put back into the blood for your muscles to use by burning fat.

2. Can you speed up the rate at which your body burns off stored sugar by exercising more?

Absolutely. Sugar is stored as fat and once your muscles have depleted their energy sources they turn to fat stores as the next thing to burn. Studies have shown that kettlebell circuits and repeated bike sprints (short bursts of exercise followed by a short rest, like a spin class) burn more fat than any other exercises. But any exercise is better than doing nothing. So even if you do something sub-optimal for burning fat like Pilates but do it 4 times per week compared to doing a perfect workout once every two weeks Pilates wins every time.

3. Will eliminating sugar help with belly fat?

Yes! Eliminate sugar over a couple of weeks, especially if you have a vary high intake reduce it over time. If you personally put on weight easily on the stomach reducing calories from sugar helps massively. Some people lose weight faster from other areas than the stomach but don’t be discouraged!

4. How long does it take to see results from cutting sugar?

You will see results in mood, motivation and energy levels within a few days (the first few days you can become irritable). If you are in a calorie deficit and have no sugar or carbs in your diet you should start seeing results on the scales within  two weeks and visible results soon after.