Time To Give Up Sugar? Mentor Me Off Sugar Days 22 & 23

get off sugar, no sugar diet, should i give up sugar, is sugar bad for you, the white stuff, is sugar evil,So I am on the last week and I am also allowed fruit and dark chocolate now. This past three weeks I have noticed differences to my health and I am now aware at just how much sugar I was putting into my body. Answer: lots. Food companies seem to put sugar in everything. I even got sent water which had 12g of sugar added. Yes, a bottle of water that was 14% sugar. What is that about?

Bananas are 50% sugar, Sauces are full of sugar and so is white bread and pasta. In fact our recommended daily allowance of 50g of sugar a day (for a woman, here is the NHS guidelines on sugar, which should never account for more than 10% of your calorie intake) can be wiped out by eating two things. This is ridiculous, no wonder so many people have diabetes.

The past two days I have had my main meal in restaurants. I have listened to what Laura recommended when eating out. I had chicken on Monday with sauteed potatoes and insalata tricolore to start. On Tuesday I have crab cakes and then a burger. I don’t have any coke even though I want to. I have cocktails as I have to review them (I know, hard life) but I try ones with no obvious sugar, or added sugar.

I haven’t been having tea with sugar bit did yesterday as I had such a bad headache it was debilitating. Going forward, I am going to try and not take any sugar in my tea but this will be a hard and gradual thing. I also hate it when people have a go at me when I take sugar in my tea. The funny thing is that it is tied up in my identity. One friend calls me the only actress in London who takes sugar in their tea. I have always seen this as a huge compliment. Especially against body and health fascists. The truth is I drink a lot of tea, and the sugar adds up. So even getting down to one sugar would be an achievement.

The main thing I have noticed about the programme, other than the weight loss, is that I no longer have those blood sugar crashes. I didn’t think sugar or caffeine affected me, but, actually, it does. I am sleeping better and have a much steadier energy than the highs and lows of before.

One of the great snacks I have been having is egg in a cup. Try it as it tastes amazing and is very healthy.

I am feeling happy and positive. I never thought I would get this far or do this well. I haven’t been perfect but I have done my best and reaped the benefits.

What do you think? Will you cut out sugar?

 

Time To Give Up Sugar? Mentor Me Off Sugar Day 20 & 21

So this diet has broadened my horizons. Sure I might be a bit sick of bread and gasping for tea with sugar and a lemonade in the sun but I am looking at the positives.

I am eating a lot of eggs and even made my first omelette. My fiancée used the yolks for something else so it was an egg-white omelette. It was okay for a first attempt and tasted much better than it looked.

Another great meal was prawns, tomato, peas and mushrooms in a homemade garlic sauce. I may be eating great food but finding stuff to drink is harder. I have been drinking a lot more alcohol than I usually do because I find the constant herbal tea and water boring. It is just a drink every other day but I doubt it is good for me, as I usually hardly ever drink.

I am still slimmer even though I am hungry all the time and eating more. I am sleeping better, the headaches are less and I have more energy. The detox has been hard but worth it.

Going forward I will not be giving up sugar completely, but I will be eating less and looking at labels. This diet will have long term benefits for my health and it was definitely worth doing.

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Time To Give Up Sugar? Mentor Me Off Sugar Day 18 & 19

get off sugar, no sugar diet, should i give up sugar, is sugar bad for you, the white stuff, is sugar evil,This programme is hard, but with all hard things, the pay off is always worth it. I can now taste the sweetness in things I would never have before. I am slimmer, going from an 8-10 to an 8. And that is without any exercise as I haven’t had any time to do so. I have also been eating more than before, just healthier stuff with no sugar.

What I do find hard is snacking. I am so busy and I feel unable to just grab something. I know this is actually not true and Laura has given me some great suggestions, but the inability to just grab a biscuit or some fruit is very annoying. The no sugar programme is time consuming but when it comes to your health all the time you put in will pay off later. We abuse our bodies too much and take them for granted. We only have one and when it goes, you die. Puts it into perspective, doesn’t it?

I miss drinking tea all day and I see stuff all the time I want to eat but the benefits keep me going. I am glad I embarked on this programme.

Laura send me some great articles that I want to share with you.

Sugar is causing major health problems in today’s society, The sooner we take responsibility for our own health the better for us and the country as a whole. If we all eat healthily it would ease the strain on the NHS.

I know when I am finding the diet restrictive I am just not using my imagination. I have 9 more days to go and I decide to become more imaginative. I have been eating a lot of wholemeal bread, cheese, meat and vegetables. I have also been drinking a lot of herbal tea and water. The herbal tea is more enjoyable than it was but it still does not compare to normal tea. Sometimes I think that healthy things taste horrible and unhealthy things taste great, but I know it is not true. I love kale chips and have also been eating a lot of parsnips and carrots. I even spent four hours baking a pie and have not had any white pasta.

I have not weighed myself as I am always heavier than I look- friends are surprised when I tell them how much I weigh, I flatter myself by pretending it must be muscle which weighs four times more than fat- but my measurements are lower. All-in all: I am happy.

Happy Sugar Habits.

 

Time To Give Up Sugar? Day 15, 16 & 17.

get off sugar, no sugar diet, should i give up sugar, is sugar bad for you, the white stuff, is sugar evil,This programme has been an eye-opener. I knew there was a lot of sugar in food, but looking at food labels is incredibly depressing. I even got sent some water for possible review and it had 12.5g of sugar added. Half your daily allowance! Why anyone would take something as healthy as water and add sugar is beyond me.

On Day 15 Laura sends me Meal Inspiration via email:

 

Meal Inspiration 

 

Breakfast | Half a tub of cottage cheese on rye bread with half an avocado & some cherry tomatoes (a nice non-egg, non nut option!)

 

Lunch |  Try a large tuna salad and add half a can of chickpeas, some feta cheese, roast sweet potato and a sprinkling of seeds to bulk it up. The more ingredients, the more tasty!

 

Snack | Chicken shavings (from the deli) and a slice of tomato on an oatcake

 

Dinner | Palma Ham covered chicken with shaved parmesan tucked inside, with some mashed squash and broccoli.

What I have mostly learned from this diet is that it is possible to eat, and eat well, without having any sugar whatsoever. You can still enjoy your food and have good meals and drinks. I will put some recipes together for you.

I have more energy now and I feel better about my health. No crashing sugar highs and lows. I can’t say it is not hard, it is. I still want tea, and chocolate. All those things that I am not allowed. I am over two weeks into the diet and still feeling positive. The acid reflux I used to have is gone.

I made a pie yesterday. It took about four hours but was very healthy with steak and a lot of vegetables. I have been eating well and the food I have been eating is delicious. I am feeling positive for the rest of the programme, and next week will also be allowed fruit and dark chocolate. Can’t wait.

Happy Sugar Habits

 

 

Time To Give Up Sugar? Mentor Me Off Sugar Day 13 & 14

To be honest I found this week harder than last. I already knew I would as for this week and next I am not allowed sugar, including all fruit except for, avocado, tomato, lemon and lime, no white pasta or bread and no couscous. I am finding it very restrictive but the worst thing is that I am only drinking herbal tea and water. Boring and I have never particularly liked herbal tea.

But the real reason I have found this week hard is because a close member of my family has gotten seriously ill. There were a few times when I just didn’t know what the point was. But enough negativity. This programme has been very good for me and I am happy I have done it. I have another two weeks to go and I really miss certain foods but I a thinner and healthier. I have also found out just how much sugar is in things and how bad it is for you. Before I was just living in denial.

I recently moved into a flat and have lots of unpacking to do. In the middle of boxes I have yearned for some tea and biscuits. I know I can eat great food which does not have a lot of sugar but I find snacking hard. Especially as I can’t even eat fruit.

Then something amazing happened. I use an app called Fitness Pal, it adds up the calories of your food and also breaks them down into sugar, protein, etc. My sugar intake before the programme was always in the red. Sometimes by 100g! I haven’t used it since week one of the diet when I was still allowed fruit. I used it and not only was I in the green but the most sugar I have had is 15g. Pretty impressive. I also noticed that a homemade Gin & Tonic has no sugar! That made me happy as everything I was drinking was boring. I needed substance.

I still want a lemonade but today in the supermarket I looked at all of the food labels and I was just shocked at how much sugar they put in everything. Even white bread and fruit juice have a lot of sugar. I also get some different herbal tea to shake things up a bit.

We have a picnic in the park and I only drink water and eat well. I end up cancelling it out by not being able to say no to a chocolate eclair but, somehow, I still feel proud. I wish I had more willpower at that moment but I am still proud of myself. This programme is life changing, I am looking into the sugar content of everything I eat and making healthy decisions, chocolate eclair excluded.

A new week of the programme is about to start and I am optimistic. The ginger tea I got tastes good enough and I will be experimenting with vegetables. Onwards and upwards.

Http://happysugarhabits

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Time To Give Up Sugar? Mentor Me Off Sugar Day 12

get off sugar, no sugar diet, should i give up sugar, is sugar bad for you, the white stuff, is sugar evil,I have been doing well this week. But today I am really missing all of the things I am not allowed to have. I have had a hectic and hard week and not being able to indulge just hasn’t been fun. I am half way through the programme and it is fair to say that I am flagging. I also still have headaches and the sunny weather outside makes me want a lemonade. I went to an event last night but had no cocktails, just white wine.

I am holding on to the reasons I agreed to do the programme in the first place to get me through. Sugar is getting a lot more bad press. I want to be healthier and I have already lost weight. Laura’s daily text messages get me through and so are her emails full of tips and inspiration. The weekend is here and I don’t want to break. I am going to have no sugar, no fruit and no white bread or pasta. It won’t be easy but I will manage.

I have been eating a lot of chicken and bread. There is a lot of great food out there and we end up eating the same things. I hope to try something new this weekend. Let’s see what I can rustle up.

Could you give up sugar?

Http://www.happysugarhabits.com

Get Fit On The Move With James Haskell’s Fitness Advice

Want to get fit but can’t find the time? Here are some tips from James Haskell. James is the health and fitness ambassador for The Healthcounter.

 

Planes, trains and automobiles Exercises to do on the move, don’t let that long haul journey effect your health

 

Lululemon_Yellow_YogaThe obvious one is walking the cabin. If it’s a Jumbo or a large plane you can create a circuit by walking down one aisle and back-up the next. However you might not be too popular with the Air Hostesses if they are working the aisles with the drinks trolley or they are in the galley, when you do your circuit end turns!

Another must-do exercise is stretching, when you get the chance. You can also do some simple exercises to switch muscles on. Like standing, feet slightly apart, one leg to the front the other behind and imagine that you are trying to push the earth apart. Hold this for 20 seconds and then rest for 20 seconds.

You should feel all the muscles in your leg work. You can repeat this with your feet a shoulder width a part. Find a wall or divide in the cabin – put your hands on it and try to either push-in the wall, keeping straight arms, or trying to split the wall down the middle of your hands. Hold all of these for 20 seconds and repeat 4 times

 

Spare 5 minutes? Exercise you can do in your garden, on the beach etc. Simples exercises that will work the all muscles as well as target areas

 

“I would say you should do a 5 minute tabata, which is a form of high intensity interval training. It is a method that is much more beneficial within this specific time frame than regular, moderate intensity training, such as jogging, biking, skipping, and so forth and in my view much more fun!”

 

One suggested circuit which is guaranteed to get your heart rate-up and sweating.

 

10 x standard press-ups

No rest

 

10 burpee jumps – start standing up – feet slightly apart. Then drop down to a crouching position on the floor, with your knees, which should be up to the chest, with your hands either side of the knees, palms to the floor. Then jump out into a press-up position. Then jump back into a crouching position and then jump back up into the air landing back into the standing position. Then repeat

No rest

 

10 Spiderman’s – Position yourself on the ground in a push-up position with hands a shoulder width apart and feet together, resting on your toes. Keeping one’s spine straight. Then using your abdominals, move your leg forward, bring your left leg to your left hand and then back to the neutral position. Repeating for the right leg.

No rest

 

10 sit-ups – Unlike the “Crunch”, which is predominantly a shoulder movement as the lower back should be kept on the ground. The sit-up you lift-up your whole torso off the ground moving through the vertical sit-up position and then back down again.

No rest

 

10 each leg lunge change-up to the other leg

No rest

 

Sprinting on the spot for 10 seconds

 

Repeat as many circuits as you can within the scheduled 5 minutes.

 

James’s top 10 lifestyle changes to get you on the path to fitness

 

1.            Diet is everything. In any successful programme diet will always comprise 70% and exercise 30%. Most people think it’s the reverse. There is a great truth in the saying “You can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet!”

2.            Make small changes and stick to them. Don’t try everything or indeed to do everything in one go. Sadly you will never stick to it.

3.            Have breakfast every day – protein based ideally. Eggs are great

4.            Eat a massive variety of vegetables, put a lot colours into your food. Don’t worry too much about fruit. Vegetables are more important and remember with vegetables you can eat as much as you want

5.            Avoid processed food and ready meals

6.            Try and exercise for at least 10 minutes a day, every day. Get your heart rate-up. Walk the dog; go running, do some body weight work just do something!

7.            Always seek advice and guidance before you start. So may diets and exercise plans fail because people get disillusioned. That’s because they were doing it all wrong to start with and sadly they were never going to achieve what they wanted.

8.            Create a plan. As Scott Alexander says “if you walk into a gym without a game plan then walk straight back out again. Get one sorted and then re-enter the gym with purpose, knowledge and vision. Execute the plan with precision.” So start properly and stick with it for a minimum of 4 weeks. You have got to give anything you do reasonable time to work. Everyone has an opinion, try it and if you don’t get results after giving it a reasonable shot then change. Don’t change every 5 minutes and don’t give up after the first week or two

9.            Preparation is the key. Double-up food when making dinner and put in the fridge for the next day. Hydration is also key, Avoid fizzy drinks, especially the diet ones as they are more often or not worst for you to drink because of the hidden sugar levels.

10.          Keep a record of your results and achievements through pictures and measurement’s. Avoid worrying about the scales.

James Haskell is the health and fitness ambassador for The Healthcounter, to see James’s blog topics visit www.thehealthcounter.com

 

Time To Give Up Sugar? Mentor Me Off Sugar Days 10 & 11

Still going! Which is quite surprising to me. Yesterday went well. I have been trying to get my taste buds to like tea without sugar. I’m not there yet but Laura is confident that one day I will be.

It hasn’t been completely no fun. I had a roast chicken for dinner and I still had champagne left over from my birthday which I drank in the evening. I still had some grapes left over and I had a few because I have an ability to throw out food. I know it breaks the diet for week two but it was three grapes. Well, that is what I am telling myself anyway.

Although I find the diet hard I am also quite enjoying it. I like to push myself and do hard things. My energy has returned, in fact, I seem to have more than ever. The headaches come and go but with less intensity.

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I have been eating a lot of vegetables which makes me feel healthier and I am sure there is an improvement in my skin and hair. The truth is; in the past years I have read a lot of books and articles about the dangers of sugar. But sugar tastes nice and is addictive and I never thought I would have the strength to get off it. I am shocked at how well I have been doing during the diet. I miss sugar, to be perfectly honest I might love sugar, but when something is bad for you, you need to find the strength to cut back. I am not saying I will never eat sugar again- that would actually be impossible- but I will always be vigilant and watch my sugar intake, even after this diet has finished.

There is great food out there that is actually good for you as the two pictures show. Vegetables do taste nice and can be cooked a variety of ways. Cheese and bread are great. Although I am getting sick of the latter.

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Sugar gets a lot of bad press. Yesterday’s Daily Mail had this blaring headline:

Is sugar an invisible killer? Even ‘safe’ levels of the sweet stuff could lead to an early death, scientists warn

Scary stuff indeed but read this article from NHS Direct before completely freaking out.

Another point to make is that we are in an obesity epidemic and the reason so many people are overweight is because of sugar. A calorie is not a calorie, sugar tends to covert quickly to fat and spikes your insulin levels. No wonder over three million people in the UK now have diabetes. Sugar has also recently been linked to a higher dementia risk.

Our diets are killing us and if we exercised the power of ‘no’ we would be living longer, healthier lives. I am going to be researching sugar and bringing you my findings along with recipes and my progress. Please add your own comments and any recipes below.

I have managed to do well until day 11 but I am not perfect. After a piece of devastating family news yesterday I had a cup of tea, two sugar. That along with the grapes means I could definitely be doing better, something I promise to do for the rest of the week. Wish me luck!