Toxic Sugar and other things

Watched this great report on ABC's Catalyst program called "Toxic Sugar" which was shown on TV a while ago. I already knew most of the things they talked about but it was great to see it all summarised and put together so well, so that other people who are new to the idea of this can really get it. Thank God these ideas are finally gaining credence and hopefully more and more people will begin to realise that it's not FAT we have to worry about, it's sugar. I loved that they drew attention to the Heart Foundation (who are so completely misguided) and to things like low fat yoghurts and cereals which are so high in sugar.

Anyway, watching that ties in nicely with what I've been thinking about the past couple of days, i.e. trying to reduce my sugar intake. Look, I'm already pretty great with this compared to most people. I don't eat any grains, starches (except for pumpkin now and then) or refined sugars. BUT I still make paleo-fied baked treats, eat chocolate daily, have fruit juice now and again, and have honey and dried fruit in addition to normal amounts of whole fruit. Okay, so that still doesn't sound that bad! Hmmm, what I'm trying to say is that consumption of those amounts of sugars here and there adds up and I think for me insulin resistance is still a problem because I still have visceral fat, despite losing 15kg. I know scales can lie (or rather, be misleading) sometimes, but I don't think waist measurements do. Also, neither does the fact that lately I feel like I'm addicted to the sweet fix. I don't like the idea of being addicted to anything.

So, after this Sunday (because that's the day of my birthday tea party and I definitely can't avoid consumption of sugar on that day!) I am going to try to really cut down my sugar intake. I want to be sensible about this and I love cooking so my strategy will be to focus on cooking new dishes for lunch and dinner, exploring with salads (I've gotten bored of them lately) and meat  and vegetables. There are so many amazing savoury dishes in Against All Grain that I'm yet to try because I was focusing more on the grain-free breads and cakes. That's not to say that I'm not going to bake anymore, I'm just going to have a break for a little while and then just do it as more of a treat now and then.

New breakfast ideas will be an area to tackle too because I'm getting a bit sick of bacon and eggs. I'm going to move up to 85% dark chocolate too, because I've been stuck on 70% for a while. Finally, I will still eat fruit, but will try to have lower-GI ones like berries and stone fruits, which, with summer around the corner are luckily going to be in season! (Hmmm, what about a baked crumble using peaches and berries and cinnamon for the base and coconut and crushed nuts for the topping?)

So, just doing those things - focusing on a different area of cooking and eating darker chocolate and lower-GI fruits - is all I need to do. Sounds easy enough!

I think everyone likes the idea of turning over a new leaf - that's the whole appeal of a "New Year's Resolution" after all - the chance to make a change for the better. Well, I think that next month will be my turning over a new leaf month. Firstly with the reduction of sugar intake, and secondly with focusing on yoga. Hopefully my two yoga books arrive soon! Can't wait!

Almost a year since I read "If not dieting, then what?"...

I thought it would be very appropriate and relevant for me right now to look at the changes I've made in the past year since I first read this book.



The reason it's relevant is because, well a year is a nice round amount of time, and also I haven't been very honest with myself lately and it's time to get back on track. I'll start with the good things. I'm a lot more aware of eating behaviours and the real reasons behind why people overeat, which has sifted away a lot of the guilt I felt at being lazy, or having no "willpower". It's made me realise the futility of all the magazines and people and tv programs out there telling you that it's as simple as doing this exercise, and eating these foods. It showed me that non-hungry eating is a huge factor in why people overeat, especially for me. So, I made all those realisations, which made me more motivated to be active in any way I could or enjoyed, and to allow myself to eat what I felt like. As a result, I've kept off about 3kg (just to cite a tangible change). I guess to most people that wouldn't seem like much but to me that's more than I've ever been able to lose in my whole life, and if I hadn't read Dr Rick's book I'm sure I would have put ON 3kg or more and right now be a lot more unhappy.

But, I've noticed that over the past few months I've let old "dieting" thoughts and habits creep back slowly. Chiefly these would be the "all or nothing" attitude and a lot of mindless, guilty eating. Yes, feeling guilty after eating! I felt so guilty and yuck after consuming a LOT of sugar yesterday and so at the end of the day I decided that today I would only eat natural forms of sugar e.g. fruit. But you know what I just realised? That's a dieting mentality! What if I had felt like some chocolate?  - Which I did feel like, and then I ended up going to get some, and afterwards getting the feeling "Oh I've messed it up now, today is ruined." I can't believe I got back to those old feelings.

The good thing is that I realised what was going on in my head and I've stopped that in its tracks. Now I am reminding myself that you should allow yourself to eat what you feel like, so that you don't end up overeating it out of guilt. So, I'm going to start keeping an eating awareness diary again.

A good point from the book is that it is futile to persist with strategies that don't work. Well, conversely, I think you should stick with things that have worked for you in the past. For me, that has been keeping an eating awareness diary, and recording what activity I did that day even if its as simple as housework or walking to the shops.

So, all in all over the past year I have made some great changes for life. The important thing is to not let old habits creep back in - reread favourite excerpts of "if not dieting, then what?" or even just the introduction - and keep reminding yourself of your positive behavioural changes.

P.S. I should add that I have gone through some significant personal changes and events lately - travelling, relationship, and job related. I think it's important to acknowledge that sometimes obstacles can cause you to get sidetracked but what matters is getting back on your feet and trying again afterwards.
P.P.S. Something I have found relating to exercise: you should never force yourself to do anything. That just makes it all the more unappealing and causes you to avoid it as much as possible. When I say to myself "I'll just go for an easy walk" or "I'll just do 2 rounds of this circuit today" I'm so much more likely to do it, and sometimes I'll end up going for longer in the end. I can honestly tell you that the amount of times I have said to myself "Okay! Tomorrow you are getting up at 6am and going for a 40 min jog/walk! No excuses!" and then followed through on it...is a big fat zero! :D

A Goal

I think if you choose the right one, goals can be great - encouraging, motivating, and when you finally achieve them you feel really good about yourself. In the past I've often had several goals at once which resulted in me achieving none of them! So I have decided to choose one which I've wanted to do for years.

I want to be able to do the splits!


Okay, let me explain myself. I did dancing for 11 years, including jazz, funk and hip hop. I seriously loved it but that whole time, I was always one of the least flexible in the class. I wasn't dancing at an elite level or anything, just part of a local dance school that had (super fun) concerts at the end of every year. So it wasn't too vital but it was just always something I wanted to do. I haven't taken consistent dance classes for a few years, just random ones here and there, and I really miss it. I'd like to try it again next year and hopefully before then be able to do the splits. Although I don't want to set too stringent a time line so that's fine if I can't do it by then.

I've looked up stretches you can do every day to help you be more flexible. Wish me luck and I shall keep you posted on the progress.

Does anyone have a goal they are working towards? Or a goal they had in the past which they achieved - if so how did it feel?

Incentive - the scary, the immediately gratuitous, and the fun kinds.

Here is a small post about incentive to live by your healthy values (note to self: do a post at some point about what mine are).
For me I find there are 3 kinds:
I'll start with the scary kind. Well, I realised the other day that I'm pretty much a lifestyle disease or type 2 diabetes waiting to happen. Both my BMI and waist measurements are above the safe threshold, I have a family history of premature heart disease - my grandpa died of a heart attack in his 40s - and I have a genetic tendency to carry my weight around my stomach. Plus I eat a lot of sugar (in foods). So that kind of freaks me out, and I'm not getting any younger so those things need to be important to me - that is, my wanting to lose weight isn't just about looks or how I feel it's also about health; serious health issues.

Now onto the immediately gratuitous. By this I mean the changes you notice straight away from being active and listening to your body. For me, these are that I don't feel bloated, I feel lighter and more energetic, and I don't get the sluggish feeling after eating certain foods such as biscuits. It's pretty much an immediate feeling in my stomach and just inside me that things are more calm and relaxed, more lightweight. That's a very nice feeling. This weekend I've pretty much been eating out a lot and went to a dinner party last night, basically not eating with awareness. It is really amazing the difference I can feel inside from doing that (not a good difference).

I'll end with the nicest type of incentive - the fun stuff! This is the kind of stuff I fantasise about, like being able to wear all my old favourite dresses again, actually enjoying going shopping and being able to be more creative with what I wear, wearing a bikini, feeling more confident... And also with increased fitness I hope that I won't get puffed out or sweaty as easily from everyday things like walking from the station to the office, cleaning my room or getting ready to go out in summer. That just really annoys me and brings me down. It's just embarrassing when I get to the office in the morning and I'm all sweaty and red, and everyone else is perfectly fine. Especially when people comment on it! ><