The secret to weight loss is controlling blood sugar levels. Every second of the day your body strives for balance and if it can’t achieve it on a regular basis your health is in trouble. If blood sugar levels are not balanced you are more likely to store body fat, increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

When you eat carbohydrates, your body turns the carbohydrate into glucose or blood sugar which travels through the body to be used for energy. Blood sugar is our fuel and we need it to function as human beings. However the problems start when our blood sugar levels get too high.

When blood sugar levels are too high our pancreas releases a hormone called insulin which takes excess blood sugar and stores it, either in our muscles, liver or fat cells. Unfortunately for us our muscles and liver have a very limited storage capacity and our fat cells have an unlimited storage capacity.

The bad news gets worse. Too much insulin stops our body’s ability to breakdown stored fat and use it as energy. A double whammy. Not only will you store fat but you won’t be able to burn off fat either. And I haven’t even mentioned diabetes or heart disease.

Does this sound familiar? You’re running late so you pick up a quick muffin and coffee on the way to work. Around about 11am you’re feeling hungry so you have a coffee and maybe a biscuit or 2 at work. For lunch you have a sandwich with white bread, ham, cheese, salad and a Pepsi Max. Around about 3pm you’re feeling a little tired so you have a coffee maybe even a piece of fruit.

Your blood sugar levels have been out of balance all day. Your blood sugar has been rising too high then falling too low all day. The muffin in the morning, biscuits mid-morning and white bread at lunch all raise blood sugar levels. It’s not just the food consumed, the caffeine found in soft drink and coffee (remember decaffeinated coffee still contains stimulates other than caffeine) force the body to produce adrenalin which too raises the blood sugar levels.

So what should you eat? For a start, you are not going to go hungry. You are going to eat three meals and two snacks a day. Lean protein and healthy fats have very little effect on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates like vegetables, fruits and small portions of whole grains will also keep blood sugar levels steady.

Let’s look at a sample day: For breakfast you must have both carbohydrate and protein. You could have 1 cup of cooked porridge and a low carbohydrate protein shake. You could try Greek yogurt with half cup of blueberries or strawberries. Or you could have scrambled eggs with a piece of fruit or an omelette full of vegetables.

For lunch and dinner, imagine a medium sized plate. You’re going to fill one half of it with non-starchy vegetables such as spinach leaves, broccoli, celery, zucchini, cucumber, mushrooms, onions, peppers or tomatoes. One quarter of the plate will be filled with protein such as turkey, chicken, fish or kangaroo. The remaining quarter is starchy carbohydrate such as pumpkin, carrots, or sweet potato. You can occasionally choose brown rice, wholegrain pasta or wholegrain bread but be aware you won’t lose weight as quickly.

For snacks have fruit such as strawberries, apple, plums, cherries with nuts (healthy fat) or a protein shake. Or you could have hummus with vegetables such as celery or carrots. Plan your meals and snacks in advance and prepare them the night before so that you can make sure you are sticking to your new eating plan.

Keeping your blood sugar levels steady throughout the day is the key to long term weight loss success. The goal is to eat foods that you can stick to for the rest of your life. Your majority diet should be made up of eat lean protein, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats.