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30 Days to healthy living: Day 22

Blogging is not for the faint of heart. Or the undisciplined. So many things get in the way. Same with taking charge of your health, right? There are so many other demands on us that we push the things we don’t consider to be overly important to the side and let the busy seep in or even wash over us. So it stands to ask: how important are these things really? Are you committed? If not, why are you bothering to try? Maybe we need to Marie Kondo our to-do lists….

Well, good news is that I think blogging IS important and I like to disseminate what I learn about healthy living so YOU are in luck! I may be slow to post but I’m not going anywhere 😁

So let’s talk SUGAR! Where do we leave off? I think I said sugar is bad, we should avoid it but it’s in everything. Did you do your homework? What surprised you? Did you know sugar is in mayonnaise? Worcestershire sauce? Tomato soup? And every other thing? Did you find anything that didn’t have sugar in it? Reading labels is the only way you will find out. Even items that say they are sugar free or have no added sugar may, in fact, contain sugar. Which leads me to this: do you know what I mean when I say “sugar?”

I had to do a little review myself so don’t feel bad if you’re not sure what’s good and what’s not. I’m going to give a brief lesson.

Sugar=FRUCTOSE.

Your body needs GLUCOSE to function. Most of us equate glucose with sugar but we were deceived. Sugar contains fructose. That sparkly white stuff on your table? 50% fructose. High fructose corn syrup? 50% fructose. So technically it’s not metabolized differently than table sugar but neither is good for you. Agave is healthy, right? Nope. Agave is 90% fructose! Honey? Fructose. Maple syrup? Delicious. But fructose. Corn syrup? Fructose.

Fructose is super sweet and super cheap. Your body doesn’t register it when you consume it so you are still hungry after you eat or drink it. It’s metabolized incompletely by your liver which in turn stores it as terrible byproducts and causes fatty liver. It also creates the bad type of cholesterol that clogs your arteries (it looks like cheesecake in your artery. I saw it firsthand during my surgical rotation in nursing school 🤢) . It is the perfect thing to put in your food products if you are a manufacturer because it makes people eat MORE! I’m not a conspiracy theorist but this is the science. This is researched. Fructose is killing us.

Now, I am not a complete kill joy. Your liver can handle tiny amounts of this stuff on occasion (say once a month) but not on a daily basis. Watch THIS video for all the details. Dr Richard Lustig is much more interesting to listen to than if I were to try explaining the metabolism of fructose vs glucose vs ethanol. Seriously,  Dr Lustig does a great job at making it interesting! Pinkie swear!

So what about fruit? Fruit is good. How? Fruit is a whole food and it contains fiber which mitigates the effect of fructose and also slows its absorption. It has fructose but it contains fructose the way God intended for us to be able to eat it. Fruit makes an excellent dessert.

Ok, back to what your body needs which is glucose. This is what fuels your muscle and brain. Glucose = dextrose. So if a food contains dextrose, its ok as far as the sugar issue is concerned. Ironically, thus far, the only food I’ve been able to find that contains dextrose and not sugar is salami. Ugh. Don’t get me wrong, I love salami, but its not health food. I do, however, have some in my fridge now… 😉

Keep checking your labels. Consider how many foods you eat everyday that contains some form of added sugar. What can you live without? What can you find a substitute for? Although Eve Schaub* was able to go for a whole year without sugar*, I am aiming for a lifetime of avoidance. Not zero but very little. to be honest, I think chocolate is going to be the hardest to find a substitute for. Lily’s stevia sweetened chocolate looks like a viable contender although it contains stevia and erythritol. I will keep my eyes peeled for evidence that we shouldn’t consume these either. Lily’s chocolate chips have been adorning my paleo waffles. No syrup needed!

As you shop, let me know what you find. I am starting a list of good for you and good tasting foods that are truly free of added sugars. Help me create the list!!

Next up? Ways to measure fitness and how to set goals.

Until then, here’s to your health!

Liz

 

*links with an asterix are affiliate links. these are no cost to you but if you make a purchase I may make a few cents. I only link to things that I use myself or books I have read and love. Always check the library for books first or buy the used version if available to save $$!

links without an asterix are non-affiliate links. They do not cost you anything either.

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30 Days to healthy living: Day 8

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink.
Today’s topic is hydration and I will keep it short and sweet!
Do you drink plain water? From the tap? Or bottled? Or flavored?
The typical recommendation is 64 oz of water per day, more if you are exercising heavily. Plain old tap water for most people is the healthiest and cheapest option. Bottled water is no better than tap water and is not regulated. Don’t waste your money. Get a reusable water bottle to carry away from home if you will be out all day. I use one that is 32 oz so I only need to refill it once to get my daily amount of water.
If you don’t like the taste of plain water because you are used to soda or sweetened drinks you will have to train your taste buds. You can use lemon or flavor drops and slowly decrease the amount you use every day or every week until you adjust to plain water to get your hydration the cheapest way possible. Being that it is cyber Monday, I bet you can get a great deal on a fancy insulated water bottle if you like. It will still be cheaper than buying bottled water and better for the environment too.
Do other drinks count? Good question and the answer is maybe. If you are in weight loss mode I suggest that you get 64oz per day of plain water IN ADDITION TO anything else you might drink like coffee or tea. Sparkling unsweetened water counts toward your 64 oz. You need the extra fluids to flush everything out. Once you are on maintenance you can probably count any liquids toward your total for the day but if you workout you will need to get more than that. On days that I exercise I drink at least 96oz.
Most of us walk around dehydrated and this can cause us to feel tired or even hungry. The next time you get that afternoon slump, trying drinking a glass of water. Trying to lose weight? Drink a full glass before each meal and then sip water throughout.
Since we are fasting all night and not drinking anything, I also highly recommend drinking a full glass of water when you wake up and one glass before bed. This is especially important if you take medication. Always drink a full glass of water with medications unless specifically instructed not to (I don’t know of any off the top of my head though).
One thing to note: there are some medical conditions which require fluid restriction. If you have been told by your medical provider to limit your fluid intake, it is with good reason. Follow their directions!! Not following an ordered fluid restriction can have significant consequences including death!
So barring a medical order not to, drink 64 oz of water per day or more. Plain water is best. Sparkling water is ok too. Add a little flavor if you need to but try to wean yourself off of flavor eventually and just drink it plain.
That’s it for today. See? Short and sweet. Stay hydrated and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Cheers!
Liz
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30 days to healthy living: Day 2

So how did you do with Day ? Were you surprised by some of your numbers? :O Did you come up with some goals? A hint with goals is to break them up into short term (1-12 months) and long term (2 years).  Then break down the big goals into baby steps.  Also look at your list and realist them in priority order. Start with what is most important to you or you are more likely to fizzle out.
Ok, so today I want to talk about FOOD. I mean, doesn’t our whole life kind of revolve around it? And isn’t a big part of our health problems and weight issues? It seems like we have gotten this eating thing all wrong and it is so darn hard to get it right. Something is good for you one week and causes cancer the next Uuuugh!!! So where to start???
Here’s my plan/suggestion:
For the next month try a modified elimination diet to get your eating habits under control and if you suspect you have a food intolerance this is a great way to test it. This is what I did when I first suspected I had celiac disease. Thankfully I figured out within a week that I had an issue with gluten. But I recently did a 30 day run of this and got back on track with my eating and weight. I lost 9 pounds and am now within 3 pounds of the weight I’d like to hit and then maintain. It may not sound like a lot to someone who wants/needs to lose 100 pounds but my back and hips feel every extra pound of weight I put on. On that note, every pound of extra weight you carry is equivalent to and extra FOUR pounds of weight pressing on your hips and knees. People who carry around extra weight are more likely to develop osteoarthritis and need joint replacement surgery and ironically they often have to lose weight before the surgeon will do it because the replacements won’t hold if you weigh too much! So best do it now and avoid wearing out your joints!!
I digress…
So this plan is a combination of different but similar things you may have seen or heard about or even tried but this is not something you are going to fo forever and it won’t work for everyone. We will talk about modifying it or going a slower gentler route tomorrow as well as some other ideas for adjusting your eating but some basic principles will be consistent throughout. But if you are like me, you need to just put up a giant stop sign to force you to get away from the junk and eat food that will fuel my body. confession: I was drinking about 2 glasses of wine per day and eating candy on a daily basis. I would often go all day without eating and then eat without ceasing in the evening (and MORE than make up for not eating all day! I was HANGRY!!). Because I am a celiac I have gotten away from eating any kind of bread because gluten free bread? Not so great. I ate my fair share of loaded nachos and pizza though. And the thing is, if I went from eating loaded corn chip nachos to a healthy alternative I might think that the healthier version wasn’t as satisfying and not try it again. BUT if I haven’t eaten any nachos in a month and then because my eating is under control and my taste buds have adjusted, those healthy nachos taste great and now, because I don’t feel ill after eating them, I crave those instead of the old version. I promise-hold fast and your taste buds will adjust! Pinkie swear.
Here’s the basic plan:
“Yes” foods (forever)
All vegetables (except potatoes and corn)
Leafy greens (Romaine-when there isn’t ANOTHER recall on it. Spinach. Arugula. Dandelion greens. Chard, etc.)
Green apples
Berries
Lean protein-salmon, sardines, boneless/skinless chicken breast, pork tenderloin, lamb, rabbit, goat, freshwater fish, shrimp, clams, oysters, grass fed beef, etc. ALL prepared broiled, baked, poached, grillled but not fried!
Brown rice
Quinoa (if you like it. I find it annoying because it gets all over my kitchen every.single.time. )
Riced cauliflower
Squash
Nuts
Beans (legumes) especially lentils, black eyed peas and chick peas.
Edamame (soybeans)
Tofu
Sweet potatoes
Beets
Healthy fats: nut oils, olive oil, avocado, grapeseed, high oleic sunflower oil and coconut oil.
Water, water water-64oz per day minimum
Green tea
Black coffee
Herbal tea
Almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, rice milk
Nonfat Greek yogurt
Kimchee
Sparkling or mineral water (Wegmans has great flavored sparking waters that are calorie and sweetener free)
Limes and lemons
Eggs
TEMPORARY No’s:
alcohol, especially beer (yes, I did it, you can too!!)
Dairy milk, creamer, half and half
Wheat/barley/rye (if you are testing a sensitivity or want to try a low gluten diet)
Fruit other than mentioned above
Peanuts/peanut butter
Juice
Things you should avoid FOREVER:
Artificial sweeteners except Stevia, monkfruit or erythritol
Soda
Processed foods such as TV dinners, boxed cereals
MSG
Sugar (the white kind)
Basically any food that comes in a box or a bag is a food “product” and not actually food and highly unlikely to be healthy for you.
I’ll give some rationale along the way but that’s the basic list. If you have a question about any of them, please let me know!
Tip:
My very superty-dooper strong suggestion is to giveaway or throw away all the junk in your house. Out of sight, out of the way of your mouth. You might think about it so I can’t say out of mind but if it isn’t there to easily grab in a moment of weakness, you can’t eat it! This works really well for me.
So this is basically your shopping list but before you go shopping there is something else important to do-plan what you are going to eat and when. Tomorrow we will talk about how to go about eating this stuff and when to eat it as well as modifications as I mentioned above.
In th meantime work on the tip and start purging your pantry of junk. Get it out of the way so you can make a clean start!
PS: I am here as your coach. I am not acting as your medical provider. I cannot give you medical advice. What I am suggesting is what has worked for me and is largely based on programs I have used than I know get good results. I also check for evidence based dietary recommendations and read actual medical research studies on diet. Before you change your diet or start to exercise, discuss it with your medical provider. If you are on medications changes in your diet can affect how your medication works. Weight loss can affect birth control methods. Leafy greens can interfere with “blood thinners.” Your provider is also a good person to help you set goals. Don’t put your health in jeopardy trying to get healthy (ironic I know)  talk to your medical provider first!!
Here’s to our health!
Liz