How to Handle Fluctuating Energy (+ UCAN Giveaway)

Thanks to Generation UCAN for partnering with me on today’s post!

Hello friends!  It’s the time of year when we set some pretty amazing goals for ourselves.  We set our sights on new race distances, new PRs in time, new PRs in weightlifting and more.  We want to get faster and better in all ways.  Maybe you want to clean up your diet, lose a few pounds, improve a health condition, or just be able to keep up with the kids/grandkids better.  All great achievable goals if you focus on the right things to get you there.  One thing we all tend to overlook is the importance of a stable blood sugar level!

**PSST Giveaway at the bottom of this post & special deal for Sprouts shoppers! I also did a quick (16 minute) YouTube Video with all this information as well, so if you’d rather watch than read then scroll to the bottom for the summary!

To kind of, paint the right picture, I’m going to share with you an example I give to my students when we discuss blood sugar:  You get up in the morning and hit the Starbucks drive-through for a sugary coffee and pastry before class.  You get stuck in rush hour and eat while in the car.

 

What’s happening?  You’ve just overloaded your body with a ton of sugar and caffeine first thing in the morning.  The sugar floods into your bloodstream, signaling to your body you’ve taken in more energy than what can be used at that time in the form of sugar.  Your body wants to store what can’t be used immediately for times of famine.  Guess how it wants to save it???? You guessed it, AS FAT! On top of it, the traffic made you stressed, and your stress hormones are raging.  Cortisol, your natural flight or fight response further increases your blood sugar levels preparing you to flee or battle.  Except, there will be no fleeing or fighting because you are just sitting in the car honking and getting pissed. So then, that’s more sugar to store as fat.  EVEN WORSE Cortisol likes to direct fat storage right to the midsection!

Once your body is done tucking away all that sugar for storage, your blood sugar slightly dips.  But, because your blood sugar was SO much higher a few hours before, the slight dip feels terrible.  Your energy crashes, you feel super hungry, maybe even slightly shaky or you get a headache.  You likely crave sources of quick energy, AKA MORE SUGAR.  You grab a granola bar, donut, or whatever is in the nearest vending machine, and the mean cycle continues.

Fluctuating blood sugar levels rob you of your energy and therefore the rest of your goals.  They keep you on a weight gain roller coaster causing you to store excess sugar as fat and then crave more sugar.  Fluctuating blood sugar levels will keep you tied to needing food every two hours or feeling like poop.  I tell my students and Hungry Hobby RD clients, the number one thing you can do to lose weight, fight fatigue, and manage your health is to control your blood sugar levels.  In other words, get off the roller coaster and keep them steady!  PS did you notice that nowhere in the previous example did I mention the word Diabetes.  That’s right. I’m talking about healthy people in these instances.  Everyone should be paying attention to their blood sugar levels for optimum health, not just those that already have an issue with blood sugar regulation.

How to Get Off Of The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

• Start Your Day with Protein and Fat
• Always Pair Your Carbohydrates with a Protein or Healthy Fat
• Chose High-Quality Carbohydrates
• Utilize the Superstarch in Generation UCAN

What is Generation UCAN?

I’ve been recommending and using Generation UCAN for YEARS as a way to promote stable blood sugar for lasting energy.  I have clients use it all times of the day for all types of reasons.  This unique product was developed for children with a condition preventing them from metabolism glycogen, the storage form of sugar, normally.  See Jonah’s story below:

As an RD, understanding why this product was developed was a huge reason why I wholeheartedly decided to support it.  Unlike other products which are designed to give you more energy/sugar the more you take at once, the super-starch increases the time you have energy.  In other words, the more you take at once, the longer it lasts, not the more you get in one burst.  It supplies a small steady drip of glucose which keeps your blood sugar very stable.  This very stable blood sugar decreases the amount of fluctuating going on meaning more energy for longer.  What’s even better is because the blood sugar isn’t swinging, your body is better able to utilize fat as a fuel source.  We all want to burn more fat right?  Of course!  Keep in mind that fat is also a harder energy source to tap into, but one that supplies much more energy at once than sugar.  I’ve used Generation UCAN in all kinds of applications with clients including:

• 45 Minutes before any typical energy low of the day.
• Fuel for Endurance Athletes – the big benefit here is you don’t need to be slamming sugary Gus every 30 minutes to prevent a bonk.  I did this webinar discussing how to fuel with it here.
• Fuel for general workouts, including HIIT workouts.
• Stabilizing blood sugar levels at the beginning of the day for better weight control.
• I recommend it a ton too my clients who are teachers and nurses.  Since they are on their feet all day, it gives them the energy to get through the afternoon slump and fight off the cravings calling to them from the breakroom.
• Those trying to wean off of caffeine or cut down on sugar, for steady energy.
• Those who wish to follow a low carb diet.  Because this is a slow releasing carb, it’s a “safe carb” on a low carb diet.  I particularly recommend this to females who shouldn’t go too low in carbohydrates.
• Many other conditions.

I actually recommended it to a very close friend who was getting ready for her wedding this year.  We did some light carb cycling, more carbs on her work out days and used UCAN almost every day.  After a few days using UCAN she said and I quote “I should have listened to you way sooner about UCAN.  I can’t believe what a huge difference it’s made in my workout performance, energy, and body composition.  I should have listened to you years ago when you told me about it!” 

In case you are more a video person: here is a quick (16 minutes) YouTube Video I did explaining all this!

Sprouts shoppers you can try UCAN 25% off at any Sprouts location through 1/10/18 while the Vitamin Extravaganza is going on! I said the 12th in the video but it’s the 10th so get on it! Sprouts has orange or cocoa stocked, and they have individual packs so you can try it! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you again to Generation UCAN for sponsoring this post.  All opinions are mine and I’m proud to support products I freaking love!