Tag Archives: Time To Give Up Sugar

Time To Give Up Sugar? Mentor Me Off Sugar Days 24, 25 and 26

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get off sugar, no sugar diet, should i give up sugar, is sugar bad for you, the white stuff, is sugar evil,The last weekend of my no sugar diet is coming up. At midnight on Sunday I will be at the end of a 28 day Mentor Me Off Sugar Programme ran by the excellent Laura Thomas of Happy Sugar Habits. I never thought I would get this far and I flirted with the idea of quitting after my mother got very ill. But here I am; almost at the end.

The main thing I can say it that it has been educational. I knew I was having too much sugar but I did not think it was easily avoidable. But it can be. I am sleeping much deeper and better now. The weight just dropped off and my energy is higher, more constant.

Laura has told me off for not eating enough vegetables so last night I had homemade fish and chips with peas and roasted carrots. The day before we had peppers stuffed with tuna and mozzarella. Yesterday at Sainsbury’s I bought mushrooms, cucumber, iceberg lettuce, parsnips, carrots. I also got tomatoes, avocado and olives. Pretty healthy and we already had some peppers in the fridge.

I have also been having a lot of hummus and wholemeal pitta bread. As well as generous helpings of good, wholemeal bread and lurpack butter. Sometimes simple is best.

I love food and trying new things so to be honest the food part of the diet has been much easier than I imagined, the drinks, however, were hard as I thought. The temperature has gone over 30c this summer and the urge for a cold, fizzy drink was hard to resist. But I did, and I am very proud. Finding out that homemade Gin & Tonic had no sugar was a high point. Endless cups of herbal tea and water really were not.

Before I started this programme one of my biggest fears was getting diabetes, to my shame not just because of the health problems, but also because I would not be able to eat and drink what I wanted. This programme has changed my life and stopped future health problems. My no sugar diet may stop this Sunday, but my low sugar life will just be beginning.

 

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

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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 18 & 19

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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? Mentor Me Off Sugar Day 8 & 9

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get off sugar, no sugar diet, should i give up sugar, is sugar bad for you, the white stuff, is sugar evil,Yesterday was my birthday and before I agreed to do this programme I promised that my birthday would be a day off. Otherwise I was not sure I could agree. While I did ‘break’ the diet to a degree something else happened: healthy sugar habits.

In my phone call to Laura, my mentor me off sugar mentor, she looked over the questionnaire that all people who do the programme fill in. The questionnaire is lots of food questions so Laura can access weaknesses and what your eating habits are. We both realise I am not an emotional eater but that I tend to use drinks with sugar and caffeine in to boost my energy and get me through the day. I asked her about alcohol as, although I do not drink a lot in my personal life, my work life requires me to review alcohol and go to parties were cocktails flow freely. Laura says the programme is not overtly strict and alcohol is allowed, the sugar is generally burnt off, but to be careful with the affect of alcohol on blood sugar levels. Rose and sweet cocktails are out: dry white wine and red wine are in.

So back to my birthday: small gift cake (yes, really! What has happened to me? I could have had any cake and choose one about the size of my fist and give most of it to my other half), only white booze which is not sweet and two cups of tea. While this is diverting from the programme I am proud of myself. My birthday is usually a decadent blow out.

Birthday aside, now the real work begins. Week two and three are far stricter: no fruit except avocado, tomatoes, lime and lemon, no dark chocolate, no white bread, pasta or couscous. No fruit drinks either. Yikes.

It is scary but I have already decided to take this seriously. I am already slimmer and Laura says I am doing well. I feel like I have been through the worst of the detox and there is new opportunity to open up my culinary horizon. I saw a cake on my friends Facebook page and felt I was missing out, and then I just think about my health. I feel I have been abusing my body with large quantities of caffeine and sugar.

Last week I did better than I thought I would and this week I am determined to do even better. I will be posting some recipes and facts about sugar. I already feel better about my health and the future in general. It sounds like a strange thing to say but we live in a very convenient society. To flex your willpower and say no, even to things you really want, makes you feel powerful. You even think about the next obstacle to climb, the next thing to conquer. This is hard, but that makes it more worthwhile.

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

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get off sugar, no sugar diet, should i give up sugar, is sugar bad for you, the white stuff, is sugar evil,Day two and I am okayish. I have taken it better than I thought I would. Yesterday, apart from a cup of tea in the morning, I had no added sugar. However, I still seemed to eat a lot of sugar. It is in everything so when I say I am on a no sugar diet I just mean no added sugar. Sugar is in everything and almost impossible to avoid.

Yesterday I actually managed okay. I had a coronation chicken salad from Waitrose for lunch, a banana ( which turned out to be a mistake at 19g of sugar!) and for dinner I had a mishmash of stuff in the fridge; prawn cocktail, salmon, salad and half an egg sandwich. I have just moved into a flat and out of laziness my fiancé and I just ate what was in the fridge. We haven’t even learned how to turn the oven on yet.

So no biscuits, chocolate, fizzy drinks or sweets on day one. So far so good, although on week one you are allowed fruit and dark chocolate. I even have some green tea with mint and actually enjoy it. Around lunchtime I was craving tea and the Jaffa cakes in the fridge but I refrained.

Today is another matter. It is not that I miss added sugar but I decided to try without the tea, even though I have loads of work to do and I worry about caffeine withdrawal, a headache is not something I need when I am this busy, but in the end I start feeling nausea and faint. I have a cup of tea and feel better.

So far I feel proud of myself. I looked at a bottle of Coca Cola with my name on it in WH Smith but I didn’t buy it even though I have been looking for one for ages. Still no biscuits, sweets or chocolate. No dessert last night either. I might last the distance yet.

Time To Give Up Sugar? Catherine Balavage Tries To Get Off The White Stuff

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get off sugar, no sugar diet, should i give up sugar, is sugar bad for you, the white stuff, is sugar evil, It is not like I have a problem. I just like it. A lot, in fact so much I could never give it up, which is precisely why I am doing so. For an entire month. Well, nearly. My birthday is the 12th of August and I have allowed that as a cheat day, because, it’s my birthday and I only get one every year.

To be honest, I am being a bit unfair on myself. I am not addicted to sugar, and certainly not as much as other people seem to think. Nothing bores me more than people making a fuss that I take two sugar in my tea. It won’t kill me, really. I also occasionally drink coca cola, but, again, not as much as people think. I do like occasional sweet food and chocolate can be a serious weakness but I am more savoury than sweet.

But this is going to be hard. A month without sugary tea and coca cola and chocolate? Hellish. What will I drink? What will I eat? Exactly how grumpy am I going to be? A lot probably.

When I was growing up we were not allowed fizzy drinks, or McDonalds. My parents were strict and made sure we ate well. Something I am thankful for, However, I rebelled as I got older. I never went into a fast food restaurant until I was 14 and had a Burger King. McDonalds was something I thought was exotic. Unfortunately I have not kept up my parents good work. I struggle to get through the day without a cup of tea, in fact, I find it hard to start the tea off without tea and it tastes awful without sugar.

Thankfully I have Laura Thomas, founder of happysugarhabits.com, helping me on her Mentor Me Off Sugar programme; A 4-week course that helps people get rid of sugar cravings and rewire their eating habits. Today is day one and I will update daily. Laura has sent me a text to take it easy as it is day one and just avoid any nasty obvious sugary stuff. So I decide to have one cup of tea to start off the journey in a gentle way. I have just moved and I have a lot to do. I will need lots of energy and the sad thing is that I know the easiest and quickest way to do that is usually with sugar. This month will be very educational.  I am excited.

 

 

Mounting Evidence Against ‘Sneaky Sugar’ : 
The Negative Effect on Our Heart and Liver 

 

That sneaky, sweet substance in many people’s favourite treats can be downright dirty when it comes to playing with the heart and liver. Unfortunately, Britons love the stuff and consume, on average, 238 teaspoons of the substance each week, more than three times the average from 50 years ago. Now that’s a lot of sugar.

 

Broken down, table sugar is essentially composed of molecules of fructose and glucose. When too much fructose finds its way into the human body, it doesn’t break down and metabolise like other carbohydrates. Robert Lustig, professor of pediatric endocrinology at University of California, explained that what the body does instead is “turn excess fructose into liver fat. That starts a cascade of insulin resistance (insulin promotes sugar uptake from blood) which leads to chronic metabolic disease, including diabetes and heart disease.”

 

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) recently published a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association which showed a correlation between eating too much sugar and heart failure. The reason for this is a small molecule called glucose 6-phosphate (G6P). When too much of this sugar molecule accumulates, it causes changes to muscle proteins and also induces poor pump function, which can ultimately lead to heart failure.

 

Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition illustrated that fructose can rapidly cause liver damage even if no weight is gained. During the study, researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center tested animals who were fed a diet high in fructose to measure biomarkers of liver damage. The control group was fed a diet of complex carbohydrates and soy protein.

 

“What surprised us the most was how quickly the liver was affected and how extensive the damage was, especially without weight gain as a factor,” said Kylie Kavanagh, D.V.M., assistant professor of pathology-comparative medicine at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author of the study. “Six weeks in monkeys is roughly equivalent to three months in humans.”

 

Results indicated that, in the high-fructose group, intestinal bacteria was migrating to the liver more rapidly than the control group and causing damage. This was apparently due to the fact that fructose was causing the intestines to be less protective than normal and allowing bacteria to leak out a fairly high rate.

 

Laura Thomas, founder of happysugarhabits.com, commented, “Changing one’s sugar habits is truly about making a conscious choice to be healthier and live longer, and it seems like science is continually proving that point as it delves further into the chemistry and effects of sugar.”