Back to that sugar thang

So I recently watched this documentary that everyone should watch. It's called Hungry for Change, and it's on Netflix so there's no excuse not to watch it.

Basically it explains, in detail, the effects that sugar has on your body. It also goes into other negative things for your body (smoking, etc.) which are interesting. But I really want you to pay attention to the overall message of the documentary. ANYone can come back from ANYthing--so don't think it's too late. Just make the change. 

One criticism I have is the expectation to eat the way they explain it at the end. If you have a busy lifestyle and limited income, it is nearly impossible to eat the way they suggest. There comes a point when you HAVE to just consume pre-packaged foods or something manufactured so that you can get something in your stomach.

My challenge for myself (and for you) is to go to the point that is comfortable for your lifestyle: eat fresh/non-packaged foods as often as you can and within your financial limits. If you do that, then you are doing yourself a favor.

That's all for this week. I'm not gonna make you waste your time reading my opinions anymore when the documentary explains it perfectly.

HUNGRY FOR CHANGE...go go go go go.

Here's the website. enjoy!

Thoughts through tragedy

For my readers who don't know me on a personal level, I live in the Boston area--several miles from the Monday attack. If you don't live in Boston or have never lived in Boston, you don't know how big of a deal Marathon Monday is. It is a huge day for the Boston community and has been for years. I haven't had the privilege of being able to watch it live yet. Here's why:

1. My first Marathon Monday was shortly after I had moved to the area. I had no clue what a big deal it was (learned quickly thereafter from several Bostonians).
2. On my second Marathon Monday, I had to work and fight the absurd traffic. That taught me to take the day off to avoid traffic and to go watch it live.
3. This was my third Marathon Monday. My plan was to go watch it in the city with the manfriend, but he ended up having to go to work. So I decided it was better for me to watch it from home rather than to brave the city alone. My gut led me in the right direction :(

No word can truly describe the range of emotions around what happened on Monday. Now, there will forever be a before and after for Boston--before April 15th and after April 15th...The people who were there experienced unnecessary physical AND emotional damage from which they will never be able to fully recover. To those who lost someone dear to you, my heart goes out to you. To those whose life is intact, but body is not, I cannot imagine what you are going through. Some of my fellow dancers can attest to this sentiment: losing a leg is one of the worst things that can happen. Yes there are worse things, but when you are a dancer...I mean a dancer down to your soul...you come alive when you dance. For that to be taken away is unimaginable.

The important thing, folks, is that we all have to mourn. Mourn for those who have lost their lives. Mourn for those who have lost limbs. Mourn for ourselves. Mourn for our city. Mourn for a nation. Mourn for those who have lost faith in humanity. Let's drown the evil with the good.

I feel so much sorrow for all those affected: Those of us who are part of the city. Those of us who were at work. Those of us who were at home. Those of us who were there and witnessed the chaos and sadness. The hero inside all of us comes out the most during tragedy. There were heroes in the crowd that day. Normal people who ran toward the blast rather than away from it. I sure hope I would be one of those heroes: someone whose instinct is to help rather than to run away. Think if we could channel the courage and strength we feel during an event like this and use it on a daily basis to better this world. Think of the differences that would be made! We'll no longer be waiting on the world to change...we would be changing it!

This is the first attack since the tragic event that changed our modern history--9/11. Our lives changed that day. We witnessed the loss of thousands of innocent lives. We witnessed hatred develop. We witnessed tragedy. But New York is a strong city. We came together as a nation, forgot about politics, and rallied our efforts to bring that strong city back to its feet. Boston will do the same.

On April 14, 2014, I plan to run that marathon. Why? 

Because some people will never get the chance to walk or run or dance again. I'm running it for them. I'm running it for those whose lives were cut short. I'm running it for Boston.

I'm going to leave you with something I posted on my Facebook the other day. Stay strong Boston--for you, for our city, and for those who lost so much on that day.

"It's really hard to function normally knowing that so many people were brutally harmed for no reason. Less than 24 hours ago so many people thought they would get to watch an inspirational event and then wake up to go to work the next day...just like us. That didn't happen. Someone decided they had the right to change that path for other people. Some people will never live their lives the same way... due to the horrendous injuries they endured. The reality and severity of the situation is so sad and so disheartening. Times like this should remind us just how lucky we are to have 1 MORE DAY, just how lucky we are to be HEALTHY, Just how lucky we are to be able to WALK, and just how lucky we are to be able to GO TO WORK. For some people, that was all taken away from them in a matter of seconds. And the same thing could happen to any of us at any moment. So take this time to mourn for those who lost so much, to provide aid to those who need it, and to cherish the time we have with those we love. I love you, friends...from the bottom of my heart and cherish each of you dearly."

Sugar is the Devil: Week 1

Day 1: mayyyyyyyyyyybe successful
So my calculations put me right at 30g for the day. The hardest part was the coffee-to-tea switch. I can drink green tea without Splenda, but I can't drink coffee without Splenda. What I didn't realize is how much I depend on coffee mentally. It has been a part of my daily routine for years. At least I can get my caffeine with green tea and I do like the taste...but it's not coffee. Freakin mental addiction. My first big battle will be transferring the positive associations my brain makes with coffee to green tea (and to not get tired for no reason by noon, which totally happened today). As far as other drinks go, I don't really drink juices and I really only drink diet soda with Jack Daniels, which is not common at all either.
Total grams of added sugar: 30

Day 2: praying to the gods of will power
SOMEONE BROUGHT CUPCAKES FROM EASTER TO WORK AND LEFT THEM IN THE KITCHEN FOR ANYONE TO EAT!!! ohhhhhhhhhh emmmmmmmmmmmm geeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I hate this person. They look absolutely delicious, and I see them every time I go into the kitchen to heat my tea up again! If I can overcome this, I can overcome anything. Put an angry hulk in front of me and I can overcome him. Today was quite intresting actually. I got home from work and ate 2 string cheese and a slice of 7-grain bread with a bit of apple butter on it (delicioussssssss). Then I ran, cleaned, and watched tv. I didn't list a play-by-play of my evening to be like one of those people who doesn't understand that the purpose of facebook is not to put your daily agenda online for all of your "friends" to see. I listed that because the funny part is...I didn't get hungry or WANT to eat until 9pm. That is SOOO not like me. Seriously--it was like I was a different homo sapien.
Total grams of added sugar: 15

Day 3: tough early, easy late
My tea this morning was delicious...so delicious, I wish I had a bigger cup so I had a second cup of it. (yes, I know that wasn't a real sentence.) The cupcakes are still in the kitchen but they don't look as delicious now. That could be because I don't want them anymore, or it could be that they aren't as fresh anymore considering they were made at least 4 days ago. I had cottage cheese and grapes for breakfast and then some almonds. Totally got hungry by 10am...fail. I wonder if this is my body starting to realize I'm changing things or if it is because I only ate 15g of sugar yesterday? Either way, I'm gonna push through the hunger until lunch time. After work, I just didn't get very hungry. It was very weird. I wasn't hungry and I wasn't craving anything. For dinner I had sushi wrapped in cucumber instead of rice (say what?!) I didn't know that was possible...until tonight. I'm not gonna lie, it's not AS good as normal sushi, but it gets you your sushi fix without the added sugar--worth a shot.
Total grams of added sugar: 14

Day 4: monster in my belly
I woke up this morning to a monster in my belly. A loud, obnoxious, insatiable monster. But I told it to shut up and started my day with some awesome green tea, a banana, and 2 hard-boiled eggs. It did a pretty good job--must be all that protein! Today was the first day I got really hungry after work. Here's the funny thing: every other day prior, my lunch consisted of 4 grams of sugar or less. BUT today, my lunch had 7 grams of sugar in it! I'm thinking that might have something to do with the hunger I felt after work--maybe hunger and sugar are directly proportional? The more sugar at lunch, the more hungry after work? Also, the manfriend made an amazing impromptu dinner. He called it Healthy Fried Rice. A recipe will be coming soon for sure because it has ZERO SUGAR!!! Downside: this was the first evening I had a huge craving for something sweet. But I resisted...win.
Total grams of added sugar: 14

Day5-- Free Lunch Friday temptation
First, I have one thing to discuss. Last night, I had a crazy dream about sweets. I completely failed on this de-sugaring journey in my dream. Basically, I ate like 5 chocolate chip cookies...okay, "ate" is an understatement--I demolished them. Thank goodness it was a dream. I have NOT failed! Today is Free Lunch Friday at work so there is still time to fail. Get this people, I resisted pizza. PIZZA. I said no to pizza at Free Lunch Friday. One of my proudest moments in life. no joke. And I finished my day with the lowest sugar count to date: 
Total grams of added sugar: 8

So there is a glimpse into my first 5 days of "Sugar is the Devil". Stay tuned for more updates...

Sugar is the devil

So over these last 2 weeks, I've become convinced that sugar is my mortal enemy. I've always known it has an addictive nature, but I never wanted to believe it because I love it so much (doesn't sound like an addiction at all...riiiiight). Here's what I've realized: My body and mind are completely addicted to sugar and sugar alternatives via processed foods like most other Americans. Overall--I am composed of sugar and fake sugar. (That's why I'm so sweet, eh? Don't know why I went Canadian on ya.)

I've battled with healthy weight maintenance, cravings, will power, and a bottomless-pit stomach all my life and have always wondered why. So consider this a little experiment to see if a lifelong consumption of products including added sugar can lead to the above problems. How am I going to do this? By cutting down my sugar intake tremendously. Come along for the ride...

Just a little fact before we get started: I don't add real sugar to anything. nada. zip. When I add sugar, it's Splenda. But let's not lie...sugar alternatives are not the best idea either. There are a lot of opinions and studies out there disagreeing on whether or not sugar alternatives are bad for you. When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight or trying to lose weight, the problem with sugar alternatives is that they are sweeter than regular sugar. Your body ends up craving sweets more often. Yes they don't have any calories, but they aren't natural so your body considers them toxins and has to just get rid of them. Like I said, a lot of controversy out there on this topic, so go search for yourself. When it comes to sugar alternatives, I've found the best reports on Stevia and mixed, but mostly positive, reports on Splenda. My experiment is an attempt to lower my sugar intake and diminish my cravings so I'm cutting out fake sugar as much as possible.

Here's a rule of thumb for limits of added sugar (not including fresh fruits and vegetables) based on a report using American Heart Association data:

men should consume less than 36g of added sugar per day

women should consume less than 20g of added sugar per day

children should consume less than 12g of added sugar per day

This is much harder than you think if you eat a lot of packaged foods. Some things have upwards of 40g of sugar in one serving!! It's nuts.

So I've decided to start by not consuming more than 30g per day because my busy schedule encourages me to eat a lot of packaged foods. Once I've realized I can do that comfortably, I'll cut it down by 5 or 10g.

My experiment started with a trip to the grocery store (ruh-roh!) It's amazing what you notice when you look at the ingredients and grams of sugar for every packaged food you touch. I'm not kidding when I say low-fat, low-sugar, or other "healthy" products are devils in disguise. Here's the real problem--they (this infamous "they" of which no one ever knows exactly who "they" are) puts sugar in EVERYTHING. Then you look at the ingredients and see all kinds of names you can't pronounce, it's most likely the devil in disguise. Here is a good list of names of sugars listed on the Ingredients part of the nutrition label of packaged foods from Dietriffic. If you are interested in eating less sugar alternatives also, be sure to look for other words too including, but not limited to, aspartame, splenda, saccharin, and neotame.

Next week, my post will be a diary tracking my first week of "sugar is the devil". Here is a preview of how day 1 went...

"Day 1--mayyyyyyyyyyybe successful.

So my calculations put me right at 30g for the day. The hardest part was the coffee-to-tea switch. I can drink green tea without Splenda, but I can't drink coffee without Splenda. What I didn't realize is how much I depend on coffee mentally. It has been a part of my daily routine for years. At least I can get my caffeine with green tea so that I don't turn into a de-caffeinated monster. I like the tast, but it's not my coffee. Freakin mental addiction. My first big battle will be transferring the positive associations my brain makes with coffee to green tea (and to not get tired for no reason by noon, which totally happened today). As far as other drinks go, I don't really drink juices and I really only drink diet soda with Jack Daniels, which is not common at all either."