5 blood sugar facts that could help you lose weight

When you eat a meal that really bumps up your blood sugar, it affects your ability to burn fat and stay healthy. Here's five facts about blood sugar and body fat that could help you lose weight.

• People whose diets boost blood sugar the most tend to have more body fat.
• The fat tends to accumulate around the most dangerous place: the abdomen.
• Getting off the blood sugar rollercoaster can make losing that spare tire a lot easier.
• Studies show that a blood sugar–stabilizing diet leads to more body fat loss.
• A blood sugar–stabilizing diet can also lead to less body fat gain during pregnancy.

• In a cruel twist of fate, a diet that causes your blood sugar to spike and dive may slow your metabolism.
• Compared to a diet that keeps blood sugar levels stable, it reduces the rate at which you burn calories when you're sitting still.
• In a study of 39 overweight men and women, the difference worked out to about 80 extra calories burned each day.
• That's a half kilogram (one pound) lost about every six weeks, or more than 3.5 kilograms (eight pounds) a year.

• It's not just low blood sugar, but also rapidly falling blood sugar that triggers a powerful hunger signal.
• In 16 studies, 15 of them found that meals that raise blood sugar quickly resulted in feeling hungrier before the next meal.
• In a study of 65 women, those who ate blood sugar stabilizing meals reported feeling less intense hunger and less desire to eat, especially during the afternoon.

• Meals that stabilize blood sugar increase levels of leptin, a hormone that decreases hunger and boosts fat burning.
• These same meals also lower levels of ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger.
• Women who eat  blood sugar–boosting meals generally feel hungrier sooner.

• In many studies, people who ate blood sugar–boosting meals also ate more at the next meal.
• In one study, overweight teenage boys ate more calories within five hours of eating blood sugar–boosting breakfasts and lunches.
• Eating even 100 extra calories a day may mean the difference between losing weight and gaining it.

You can lose weight on any diet that cuts calories. But losing is only half the battle — and often, it's the easiest part. Sticking to a healthy eating plan that lets you keep the weight off is the hard part. Eating plenty of the right foods, including ones that help you feel full for longer, is key.