Dieticians/nutritionists out there? Help! Calories, diet and metabolism remain

1. 89

   DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

   Dieticians/nutritionists out there?  Help! Calories, diet and metabolism remain a mystery of sorts.
   
   Although I know very well the "formula" for effective and safe weight loss, and realize that eating junk food, especially in large amounts is not the thing to do, I am stumped by one particular thing that no one has been able to adequately explain. 
   E.g., WHY does it matter WHEN you eat the "too much junk?"  Suppose, for an extreme example, you eat 8 donuts in a week.  How can it possibly matter whether you pig out and eat them all at one sitting, or one a day for 8 days?    That is still 8 donuts- worth of too many empty calories in the timeframe, so why is an all-at-once pig-out any worse?

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2. 75

   BlissfulWriterposted 11 years ago

   With the understanding that donuts are bad in general, eight donuts in one sitting is much worst than eight donuts throughout the week.  This is because in one sitting, it would raise your blood glucose (sugar) level extremely high and dangerous levels.   Spreading the bad carbs (which donuts are) over a long time span would still raise your blood sugar after eating it, but the level will not be so high that your body cannot manage it (assuming that you are not insulin resistant or have metabolic syndrome).
   
   The reason why donuts spike (raises) your blood sugar is because it is refined carbohydrate.  All carbohydrate raises blood sugar.  High-glycemic carbs (such as refined carbohydrates such as donuts) raise it even more. 
   
   A rise in blood sugar causes the body to pump out insulin in an attempt to shuttle the glucose into the cells for energy.  If one is insulin resistant, or eat a high glycemic meal (like 8 donuts), the insulin is not able to move the sugar into the cells fast enough.   The glucose remains in the blood stream and spread to all parts of the body.   High glucose levels is damaging to all organs of the body.  Furthermore, the body then converts these extra sugar in the bloodstream into fat.
   
   If you constantly eat like 8 donuts, the body will become "insulin resistant" which is a characteristic of "metabolic syndrome".  This eventually leads to diabetes and is one of the causes of the obesity epidemic.   Diabetes, by definition is "high blood sugar".  Glucose is just another name for sugar.

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3. 89

   DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

   Thank you very much, BlissfulWriter, for your very comprehensive explanation.  I hold the donuts for a one-or-two at a time and infrequent treat, as they should be, but still, those particular why's and wherefore's had always puzzled me.  I've long preached against pigging out on empty calories, but no one had ever given an answer other than, "I don't know--it just does matter how much at once."
   I appreciate your time in spelling out the detailed reasons. Now I can help the next person who asks a similar question.

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4. 80

   jandeeposted 11 years ago

   Ha,ha!  I suppose it's like drinking Four bottles  of red wine in one evening instead of two/Three  glasses every other night
   ,jandee

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5. 38

   ChristinSposted 11 years ago

   Eight donuts worth of calories all at once would likely cause your blood sugar to immediately spike out of control for starters.  Secondly it would be a massive influx of fat and cholesterol all at once that your body could not process as efficiently.  The liver and other organs process the "junk" you put in your body and filter it out etc as best they can.  If you dump everything on them at once they can't keep up and it causes failure of health.  Finally 8 donuts at one sitting would probably put you at or over your calorie needs for the day - so anything else you ate would be stored as fat unless you were very very active or exercising like a fiend. 
   
   You may drink a dozen bottles of red wine over the course of a year - good for your heart - try to do that in one night and you'd be dead the body couldn't process it fast enough.

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