P90X: "'Your Liver and Your Weight - Pt 2" Day 13 of 90

Quick update on the shoulder ‘pop’ I heard last night.  It is sore, not painful.  It only hurts with a very specific motion.  I won’t need that motion for a few days, and it is really a strain only when extending my left arm over my head and pulling back in.  I have the BenGay on it again this morning and somebody is going to have clear sinuses going up to Boston.  It won’t discourage me.  I’ll work around this until it feels strong again.  I will keep those following this blog up to date.

So…back to the liver.  We covered artificial sweeteners…one of my pet peeve issues.

What else is a toxin that will inhibit your liver’s functioning?  Alcohol.  Everyone knows that alcohol is processed in the liver.  So when you drink, you occupy your liver with something other than fat burning.  A well known side effect of alcohol is that it breaks down your will power and throws your insulin production off.  Many sweet alcohol drinks cause the same autonomic insulin response as artificial sweeteners.  I know when I drink, I end up snacking on something sweet…maybe several things…after drinking booze and before bed.  Then, you’re sleeping.  No activity.  Your liver is burning off the alcohol and the sweets are going straight to whatever your problem areas are.  As your liver works extra hard on the non-food, the real food stuff takes a back seat.  What’s more important?...getting the chemicals out of your body or taking care of your energy use/storage issues?  Alcohol is poison.  Your body makes that a priority.

What else is bad for the liver?  Processed sugars.  Sugar in any form will kick off the insulin response and your liver will attempt to use the sugar for whatever the body needs at the time.  The insulin gets to work breaking down the sugar for cell absorption.  If you are an inactive person, guess where it goes?  Yes, stored for future use.  That’s no problem.  Our bodies not only have plenty of places for storage but we actually can manufacture little cell globules and store that energy in there.  The miracle of the physical machine is that it actually can balance those little globules all over your body so you don’t notice them too much.  A little in front, a little in the arms and thighs, and a little behind…until the behind ‘ain’t so little no more.’  Those globules are called fat…but you knew that.

Not all sugar is made alike.  Some sugars are in foods that are more fibrous.  Complex carbohydrates that take a while to break down.  It is harder for that breakdown to occur and it requires time.  Your insulin has to work for longer periods until it converts those carbs to energy.  If you are not that active, that is not too bad with these types of sugars.  The longer breakdown cycle can begin to somewhat match your activity cycle and less sugar will be stored as you go about your day. 

Other sugars have been manufactured by man or are processed (refined) in such a way as to make them very easily digested in the body.  Mankind has actually done the job of insulin before the sugar gets into your body.  The problem with these sugars is that they convert to energy so fast that your body can’t use the fuel right away.  Your body immediately goes into storage mode for the excess.  Pump up those little globules of fat again.

A dangerous side effect is that processed sugars, like High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFC) for example, require very little insulin for absorption into the cells.  Your body doesn’t know that though.  It produces the same amount of insulin initially, but you only use a little of it.  So you have all this insulin in your body and nothing for it to do.  Why don’t you send it some sugar?  No sense wasting it.  That’s the message your body gets in the form of cravings.  So you eat MORE sweet things.  That kicks the insulin cycle once more and you start all over.  It will take a while for the cycle to naturally fizzle out.  Ever wonder why “you can’t eat just one?”  This is one of the big reasons why.

So, you ask, why not just deny your body the sugar and let the insulin just wander around aimlessly in your body until it depletes itself?  That happens.  The problem is that the physical machine is always seeking balance..and the eating style I have outlined (while it sounds like most of us) is anything but balanced.  So to achieve balance, our bodies stop producing so much insulin.  You are always crying wolf with all that alcohol, HFC, processed sugar and artificial sweeteners…you don’t need the insulin.  So your body eventually stops producing it.  Then when you really need it, it’s not there.  That has a special name.  It’s called insulin resistance and is the first stage of Type II diabetes.  Congratulations, you have just caused a condition that usually is the result of some kind of physical defect in the body.

So...with all this going on, well, your liver is pretty damn busy.  Energy distribution is last on the list.  You’re not really active anyway so there is truly no need for the energy.  Let’s just bury that for future use.  Guess where you are burying it?

One more thing.  All that liver use for things other than what it was designed for can actually damage it.  You aren’t Superman/Supergirl you know.  Fatty liver, cirrhosis of the liver…all conditions you could avoid if you understood the fuel you are feeding into the human machine.

How do you stop messing up this process in your body?  Avoid refined sugars especially HFC.  Avoid alcohol.  Moderation is key.  Avoid toxic things in your food as well as outright toxic food (artificial sweeteners) and eat more complex carbohydrates so you use the energy and store less of it as fat.  Oh yeah, exercise.  If you are using the fuel the put into your body, you won’t have any left to store.  USE THE FUEL!

Love your liver.  It will pay dividends for you.

Tonight…Kempo X.  Should be okay with the twingy shoulder.  It’s just a little pain, not injury.  Later!

[later that night]

Kempo X felt good.  Shoulder is still tender.  A few moves were a little jarring...the left jab was tough.  I know exactly what moves will be challenging to the shoulder now.  I am going to talk to the Chiropractor just to get a little advice on what I may have messed up.  The good news...my chiro is also doing P90X.  So he knows exactly what the exercises are.  That aspect of the program is really a neat coincidence...I have a chiropractor working with me!  Other than that, two weeks down and when I looked in the mirror this AM...I really am starting to look different.  Can't wait to see in four weeks!