have only 30 minutes for lunch, you relax and
enjoy your meal. The digestive and hormonal
response to lunch is similar to that of
breakfast—a modest, gradual rise in blood
sugar, modest insulin response, and a gradual
decline in blood sugar over the next few
hours. Glucagon continues to allow you to tap
into your glycogen and fat stores to keep you
on an even keel.
As your afternoon progresses, things start
to get crazy at work, and it suddenly looks
like this is going to be a long day.
By 5 p.m., your blood sugar has dipped a
little too low, which signals cortisol to use
glucagon to release some stored energy,
keeping blood sugar and energy levels pretty
constant. Because you can use dietary fats
(and body fat) as primary fuel and your
insulin levels aren’t elevated, you are able to
access your fat stores to keep your energy up.
You finally arrive home at 6:30. You’re