I’ve been looking into not eating sugar. Or at least less of it. I know I’m an addict.
Plus I’ve been reading a lot into the science behind weight gain–it’s showing more and more that the “DIET AND EXERCISE” mantra we’ve been hearing over and over for our entire lives is really not accurate. It’s more carbs and sugar that make your body gain weight.
More later from the experts and researchers–back to me now.
I read this awesome list of ideas on how to cut out sugar in your life–I’m not ready to go cold turkey and give it up completely, even for a week or a month. But I do think I can not eat sugar every other day. Because then I can tell myself, “Well, I can eat that(Oreo, Snickers, cookie, homemade chocolate lollipop) tomorrow.”
So today, I have been doing really well at not eating any sweets. We’ll see how it goes the day after tomorrow…
The book Good Calories, Bad Calories was reviewed in our latest Samaritan Ministries newsletter. I haven’t had a chance to read the whole book, but the research is solid. That along with Nourishing Traditions and a slew of other information has convinced me we need to make some serious changes in our diet.
**Note**The above Good Calories, Bad Calories link has great and thorough information on the book, but I do not in any way agree with the blog author’s philosophy on God.
And while I’m disclaiming, I completely disagree with the book author’s philosophy on capital ‘E’ Evolution **
We generally eat healthfully and homemade and homegrown, but there is a lot of room for improvement. I’ll keep you posted on our journey. I’d love to hear your stories too.
Andrea suggested I cut out refined sugar long ago when I was having some health issues. I fall off the wagon over and over with it, but when I DO stick to it it's amazing how much better I feel. There really is a difference! Way more energy, much less crabbiness.
I'm interested to see if you'll notice a difference quickly too. Be sure to keep us updated!
I think that a truly "everything in moderation" and homegrown diet is the most essential to overall health and maintaining healthy weight.
I try to think of the way the pioneers ate…and the way God intended for us to eat…home made breads, meats, grains, fruits and vegetables. Then, when those are the staples, having a dessert, even EVERY night shouldn't be a big deal, since there is relatively little sugar elsewhere in that above diet!
The problems arise (IMO) when we eat so much that has sugar in it without our knowledge..we aren't even aware! However, I wouldn't want to have a diet that is sugar free…I sort of have this whole thing where I believe God actually wants us to enjoy the lives and blessings of food He has given us, yet temper it with the idea that our bodies are to be temples!
So, eating home-made bread, with raw honey as the sweetener, having all cookies/cakes as home made, avoiding HFCS, and really eating healthy fats and good grains and carbs is a healthy balance. Our bodies have been trained to store these processed sugars and simple carbs as fats, because we are starving it for real healthy fat and protein with low fat, low carb and sugar free (ICK, fake sweeteners are the worst for the body) diet products, and then work out like crazy to burn it off, which makes us then store any calories and sugar as fat to protect itself..what a cycle!
You are right that there is always room for improvement! It's always good to cut back on sugar, but I would say that's mostly the sugars in processed foods that really need to limited in home made desserts and stuff…if we don't eat pre-packaged cookies, meals and drinks and foods, it's actually pretty easy to consume a much healthier amount of sugar.
So, that's my take..definitely a more traditional diet tends to make me feel better and my weight stays much better…although I can eat more and stay that way!
Keep up the good work!
I think the every-other-day plan is a good one. I know that quite often I can talk myself out of something "bad" (like, say, a slice of chocolate cake), by reminding myself, "It's not that I can't ever have this again…I am just choosing to not have it now."