Food Pairing Errors That Sabotage Weight Loss

According to the nutritionist, high-sugar fruits with a high-starch meal lead to a sharp glucose overshoot. Combining rapidly absorbed fructose and glucose from fruits with high-glycemic starches leads to additive postprandial glucose spikes. This increases insulin secretion, suppresses fat oxidation, and promotes fat storage.

High-fat and high-carb meals slow gastric emptying, causing higher insulin demand, claims Lovneet Batra. Fats plus refined carbs delay gastric emptying, prolong glucose absorption, and amplify insulin spikes. Mixed high-fat and high-carb meals drive postprandial hyperinsulinemia, a predictor of future weight gain.

The health expert also warns against combining sugar and caffeine, as it can cause elevated cortisol and a higher subsequent calorie intake. Co-ingestion of excessive sugar and caffeine significantly increases cortisol and reduces insulin sensitivity for several hours. High cortisol is followed by increased appetite, higher food reward-seeking and decreased fat oxidation.

Finally, the nutritionist cautions viewers against mixing liquid calories with mixed meals, as it may impair satiety signalling. Liquid sugars bypass normal chewing-related satiety pathways. When combined with solid meals, they cause higher total intake, poorer GLP-1 release, and delayed satiety.

So, before you make yourself a cup of sugary coffee in the morning, remember that the beverage might be the reason why you aren't making fat loss progress.