Foodie Friday - The sugar free diet

Our love of sugar comes naturally to us, from our first taste before we know what sugar is. Sugar has been harvested and enjoyed since the 1600s but didn't become affordable for the masses until the 1850s. For many poor people sugar made dry bread palatable and tea taste nicer. It was used to preserve fruit and to create amazing deserts and cakes. If you ate sugar before 1950 you knew that you had eaten sugar.

But things have changed and now when we eat sugar we are often unaware because it isn't that obvious. Sugar in its many various forms is added to all sorts of foods that we normally don't associate with sugar. For example many prepared meals have added sugar but would you add sugar to a savour meal if you cooked it at home?

There is much debate about the addictiveness of sugar with some experts likening it to nicotine and cocaine. People who give up sugar for what ever reason usually find that they experience signs and symptoms of discomfort and cravings not dissimilar to an addict going through withdrawal symptom's. These signs and symptoms can last for up to four weeks and return if the person eats sugar again and then gives up again.

Some dietitians suggest that there is no need to give up sugar and that we shouldn't because our bodies need it. Whilst it is true that our bodies require sugar we are able to make it for our cells using fats both consumed and stored in a process called glycosis. When we go on a weight loss diet our lack of sugar consumption means that we have to use up our fat stores instead which is one of the ways we can choose to loose weight.

What can we expect to eat on a sugar free diet? Lots of proteins, dairy products without added sugar and low carbohydrate vegetables such as green leafy varieties, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms and cucumber. If having a more starchy vegetable stick to carrots and sweet potatoes. Peas and parsnips have lots of sugar in them. It is your choice to have fruit or to leave it out. If you choose to have fruit then choose those with a lower sugar content. How do you know? If it tastes really sweet then it is really sweet.

There seems to be much discussion about how much natural sugar we should consume with views between almost no natural sugars to a limited amount each day in the form of fruit and vegetables.

If choosing to loose weight using this diet then one thing is very clear. You can consume no product with any added sugar or any artificial added sugar for a whole host of scientific reasons including how our bodies deal with artificial sugar and how tasting it maintains our need for sugar rather than wean us off it.

Those who have followed this diet successfully claim that within days they were sleeping better, had more energy and started to loose weight. For some their love of food containing sugar lead to them reintroduce sugar once they had reached their goal weight. For others who were concerned about the possible health issues related to sugar consumption they have remained sugar free and claim that they remain healthy and at their target weight.

Some people choose to become more aware of their sugar consumption and reduce it by changing one or two aspects of their diet. The only issue with this is that the sugar consumption tends to creep back up over time unless you are very vigilant and determined to maintain it at a set level.

For me personally if I was going to try this diet it would be AFTER the festive season so that I can enjoy my chocolates, mince pies, Christmas pudding and glass of bourbon.

Always consult your health practitioner before undertaking any diet.

warmest wishes
Sarah

Wellness Wednesday - meeting our need for connection and love

All mammals need love and connection. Babies who are totally deprived of love and connection can die as their bodies start to shut down through the total lack of touch, care and empathy. In the absence of love we will settle for connection.

There are many ways that we can meet our need for connection because this need is not just met through other people but through caring and supporting other people, causes, animals and nature. We can meet our need for connection through nature itself which is why it can feel so good to get outside and enjoy being amongst the trees and grass. Standing barefoot on the ground, especially on grass, can help us to reconnect.

Many people connect through a shared passion. Passions vary widely from long-running television shows, to comic heroes, arts and crafts, sports, cooking and many more including all things IT. The Internet offers an almost infinite number of people to connect with over your passion, hobby or just to chat. For far flung friends and family it offers ways to stay in touch that wouldn't look out of place in a 1950's science fiction movie.

There are unresourceful ways to meet our need for connection and love. You may know someone who is needy and may even threaten to self-harm if their requests for connection and love are not met. While they are trying to meet their needs in this unresourceful fashion they will develop unhealthy relationships that can lead to more pain and another unresourceful way to meet our need for connection which is to take drugs or to get drunk on a regular basis. They sometimes become promiscuous because they want the connection and love from someone but don't know how to develop a healthy relationship. They may also connect to other people through their problems and create drama triangles.

If you know someone who is struggling to develop resourceful ways to meet their need for connection and love then encouraging them to support and care for other people can help them to learn how to develop healthy relationships and resourceful ways to meet this need.

Sometimes we make unexpected and fleeting connections. Today I had to get to a meeting and took the train into the city. When I went from the train station to the tram stop there was an unexpected delay due to an earlier accident further down the tram track. After a few minutes I decided that I would go and find a bus or a taxi. As I did a woman came towards me and asked me if I knew where the taxi rank was located and I told her that I was considering getting a taxi. Her face lit up and having found out that we were going in the same direction she suggested that we share the ride. We found the taxi rank but due to the delays we had to wait a while for a taxi during which time we shared a few details about ourselves. We connected for that short period of time. We may connect for the few minutes that we pay for something at the checkout or with the waitress at the cafe.

We also have deep connections with some family members and special friends. These bonds can last a life time and support and sustain us through the ups and downs of life.

Enjoy your time with those you love.

warmest wishes
Sarah

Foodie Friday - the low GI diet

The GI diet was originally designed for people with diabetes because 'GI' stands for 'Glycaemic index' which means it measures how much sugar will end up in your blood after eating a particular food. People with diabetes need to eat foods that don't put lots of sugar into the blood because they don't have the required amount of insulin to allow that sugar to enter their cells, so it stays in the blood and causes all sorts of medical issues.

When people without diabetes eat a food with sugar in it the body releases a hormone called insulin that allows the sugar to enter the cells to be used as energy. Any excess sugar is then converted into fat to be used in times of famine.

The low GI diet helped people with diabetes type II to loose weight in addition to causing more stable blood sugars. The weight loss is quite slow and steady as this diet helps the person to loose fat, which is usually lost at about 1 - 2 kgs a week.

In the days before sugar cane was grown and used to create pure sugar we got our sugar from natural foods. Carbohydrates contain sugar and some contain a lot more than others. The only food not to contain sugar in any form is protein, except for dairy because milk contains lactose, a form of sugar.

Natural cereals contain complex carbohydrates which means that they contain less sugar and take longer for the body to utilise. They also have fibre because it hasn't been removed in the manufacturing process. Oats are one of the best cereals for breakfast because it is a low GI food, has fibre and is good for lowering cholesterol. However once cereals go through the manufacturing process they are often refined and have both sugar and salt added because many people prefer their food this way. There are low GI cereals which are usually high fibre without added salt and sugar.

Some vegetables and fruit have quite a low GI such as tomatoes and most green vegetables however there are a few that have a really high sugar content such as white potatoes, pumpkin and parsnips which have the highest of all the vegetables.

It is quite easy to obtain a list of low GI foods and here is a link to just one of them:
http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/

This diet offers a wide range of foods so it is easy to have a varied and healthy diet however some foods can be quite difficult to assess their GI so if choosing this diet the person needs to have a list handy until they learn the most common foods, which are usually the ones they eat every day. Favourites like white rice can be swapped for low GI rice. Eating fast food is usually not advised because there is no way to really know the GI in any one item and a lot of fast food has added sugar. Even sushi has a high GI because of the sticky rice used. Eating out in restaurants can also be a little difficult until the GI of several foods is remembered but restaurants are usually very good about letting the person know what is in the dish and will have the chef cook things without the sauce.

Check with your health practitioner before undertaking any diet.

warmest wishes
Sarah

Wellness Wednesday - meeting our need for significance

Many people are under the assumption that our need for significance is met through show. Having expensive goods that show the world that we have money, are important or that we have lots of friends who think that we are important. I used to think this as well, until I learnt about our human 6 Core Needs.

As with the other needs, our need for significance will be met in some form and this could be resourcefully or unresourcefully. Because of our need for significance it means that we will fill in the gaps where we haven't met it resourcefully.

We all want to be loved, to be needed and to be appreciated. We all want a 'significant other' in our lives. Sometimes you see couples struggling to decide where to spend Christmas because both sets of parents need them to be at their place on Christmas day to demonstrate that they are significant to the couple. They feel upset if the couple go to the other set of parents and not them. They measure their child's love for them by where the couple spend Christmas day. Some couples, and later families, spend Christmas day driving from one set to the other to see both Christmas day. This demonstrates the fear of not being enough and of not being loved, which is the opposite to feeling significant.

You probably know someone personally who likes to put others down and maybe gossip about them as well. Or perhaps you know someone who tells sad stories about themselves where they are the martyr or victim. Some people are promiscuous and there are those that lie in a way that they will get found out as a way of being significant. They may be rebellious to get attention. As you have probably guessed, these are all ways to meet the need for significance unresourcefully. They are obtainable but not sustainable and they can never lead to real happiness.

It may surprise you to know that the man in the photo, the dalai lama is one of the best examples of meeting our need for significance resourcefully. If you thought that you had to have money, luxury goods or the life of the party this man can show us how to be really resourceful when we meet our need for significance.

Being a leader of other, of self, speaking up, achieving a goal, volunteer work and making other feel significant is how we can meet our need for significance resourcefully.

We can all be unresourceful at times, fall in a puddle on the floor or throw a tantrum when things don't go our way but when we strive to be resourceful, to be a giver of significance, to be a leader that others can respect and follow and when we work hard to achieve our goals, then we can be happy.

The face that you see in the mirror every day is significant and has amazing capabilities and strengths to share with their family and friends and the world at large.

How do you give significance to others?
What is your next goal that you are working towards achieving?

It is said that when you take care of the dreams of others, they take care of yours.

warmest wishes
Sarah

Foodie Friday - High Protein Diets

Dr Atkins first recommended a high protein - low carbohydrate diet in 1972 in his first book. He used this diet to assist his heart patients to loose weight and reduce their risk of heart disease. He experienced many successful cases with this diet and published his book. This book has been revised many times but the diet plan remains the same. The diet plan is in four phases with the final phase being the maintenance phase. On the Dr Atkins diet the participant can eat as much fat with their protein as they please but vegetables are very limited and fruit is off limits for the first two phases.

Dr Dukan also has a diet that recommends high protein and low carbohydrate. This diet also has four phases and includes more vegetables than the Atkins diet and includes daily oat bran for all four phases. In addition to high protein and low carbohydrate it also recommends low fat. The exclusion of fat and inclusion of more vegetables plus the oat bran are the two main differences between the two diets.

These two diets reduce carbohydrates because of the way that the body metabolises it. When we eat a carbohydrate our body produces insulin to metabolise the sugar and allow it into our blood cells so that we can use it for energy. You may have noticed that when we are tired we crave sugar and this is because our brains are telling us that it needs more energy. All sugar that isn't used at the time is then stored as fat for the next famine. However if you live in a country that doesn't experience famine the fat is likely to remain unused unless you make a conscious effort to use it.

The high protein diets have the participant eat almost no carbohydrate for the first phase and very little for the second phase so that they body has no sugar to be stored as fat, which means that the body has to start to use it's fat stores.

There have been both fans and critics of both diets with many blogs from those that have used the diet and articles from the medical profession expressing some concerns. One of the bigger concerns from the medical professional was about the amount of saturated fat permitted on the Atkins diet and how that could potentially affect heart health. Another concern has been that the high amount of protein could cause kidney damage. There appear to be as many articles for as there are against the high protein diet.

People who have tried the diet mostly write about the weight that they lost but many also write about the constipation, bad breath and lack of food choices in the first two phases. Some people have found the diets so successful that they have stayed on the maintenance phase for years. As with all weight loss plans there are many aspects to consider and personal preferences. Would you prefer a diet that allowed you to eat limitless amounts of cheese, cream and other fats in addition to protein or would you prefer a diet that prevented you from eating fats and had you eat more vegetables and oat bran? Neither permit sugar during the first two phases.

 Because both diets have been around for a while there is a lot of personal experiences and stories about both which you may find helpful if considering either.

Consult your health practitioner before commencing any diet.

warmest wishes
Sarah

If you have been on one of these diets we would love to hear your story. Was it successful?

Wellness Wednesday - meeting our need for adventure

What is your idea of adventure? For some it is undertaking extreme sports and for others it could be travelling to another country. Do you prefer a ride in the park or a ride up a mountain? Would you rather row down your local river or row down the Amazon river? How many times have you done something for fun that was also a little (or very) scary?

Richard Branson was once asked about how he felt about the risks that he has taken over the years. He replied that he hadn't taken any. He had made calculated decisions in which he worked out if he could handle the worse possible outcome from undertaking a particular challenge.

We all have a need for some adventure in our lives to meet our Core Need for uncertainty. Too much certainty imprisons us in a very small comfort zone. Too much uncertainty can cause chaos. So how do we decide what is what is too little, what is too much and what is enough? And how do we meet this need resourcefully; obtainable and sustainably?

The amount of variety and adventure that we have in our lives partly depends on which Core Need is the more important to us out of these two. If your top Core Need is certainty then you will need less adrenaline pumping adventure, and if your top Core Need is variety then you may need a little more. However even if your top Core Need is uncertainty, this can be more about your need for variety than adventure, and for other people it is more about adventure than variety.

 When we are feeling overwhelmed this can be because we are meeting our need for uncertainty and this is one of the unresourceful ways to meet it. There will always be times in our lives when events are overwhelming but when we can't decide if we should tackle task 1 or task 2 first so we become overwhelmed and tackle neither, this is meeting our need or uncertainty. Other unresourceful ways to meet it include getting drunk, taking illegal drugs, changing TV channels, self-sabotage and creating drama in our lives.
Resourceful ways to meet our need for variety and adventure include being playful and having fun, embracing adventure, having different hobbies, being creative and taking on new challenges that help us grow as a person.

We don't have to snowboard, bungee jump or para glide to meet our need for uncertainty. Taking up a new hobby or reviving an old hobby can meet our need for variety and travelling to a new town or wilderness can meet our need for adventure.

 A weekend away in a little town that you have never visited before or a holiday to a destination that you have read about and always wanted to visit can be a wonderful way to meet our need for variety and adventure.

have fun
Sarah

Foodie Friday - Mediterranean diet

Imagine a plate full of beautiful tomatoes drizzled in olive oil with fresh basil leaves, accompanied by some home-made bread and a glass of red wine. This could be part of your menu if you follow the Mediterranean diet.

This diet is based on research that looked at the reasons that people in the Mediterranean region lived longer healthier lives than many of their European neighbours.

The research found that the Mediterranean diet contains lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, lean meat, wholegrain cereals and only small quantities of dairy and salt. The foods are flavoured with herbs instead of salt which is good for preventing high blood pressure.

Further research has been undertaken and there are lists of recommended food and food which should be eaten less frequently. From these lists there is a pyramid of food so that you can see at a glance how frequently each food group should be consumed.

 

This diet is about having a mix of healthy foods every day over the long-term and it also recommends physical exercise for all the health benefits it offers. The vegetables can be eaten cooked or raw so long as they don't have salt added or additional fats like butter and cream.  

• Maximise your intake of vegetables, peas and beans (legumes), fruits and wholegrain cereals. Potato intake should be reduced because they contain a high level of starch.
• Limit your red meat intake - fish and poultry are healthy substitutes.
• Where possible, use  olive oil or rapeseed oil in place of  fats such as butter or lard.
• Limit your intake of highly processed 'fast foods' and 'ready meals', because these often contain salt, saturated fat and sugar.
• Eat only moderate amounts of dairy products, which can be low fat for increased weight loss and maintenance.
• Do not add salt to your food at the table - there is already plenty there.
• Snack on fruit, dried fruit and unsalted nuts rather than cakes, crisps and biscuits.
• Drink (red) wine during meals, but no more than three small glasses per day if you are a man and no more than two small glasses per day if you are a woman.
• Drink lots of water, which is recommended for general health 

Consult your health practitioner before commencing any diet.

warmest wishes
Sarah

Wellness Wednesday - Change a habit. Change your life.

Why would you want to change a habit? You might want to change a habit that is preventing you from reaching your goals. We all have lots of habits some of which support and serve us and others that hold us back.

We brush our teeth every morning and evening without giving it much thought because it is a habit that has served us for years. It wasn't always the case and dental hygiene didn't become the 'norm' until the beginning of World War II when the American army found itself paying for thousands of dollars worth of dental care for enlisting soldiers.

Because our habits are mostly unconscious we often don't think about them and this means that we don't consider changing them.

Years ago when I was a lot younger than I am now and living at home with my parents and siblings my mum would do the ironing every week. This was not her favourite chore as she much preferred being out in her garden. So to help her through this weekly chore she would do the ironing with a packet of biscuits by her side, to help get her through the mound of clothes and bedding that five people can generate in a week. At the end of each session she would look surprised and asked who had eaten some of biscuits. The only answer could be that she had eaten the entire packet as none of us children liked these particular biscuits and my father would be at work. Despite knowing this she continued this habit for years.
Then one day, out of the blue, she suddenly decided that this habit did not serve her anymore. And she stopped. No more biscuits when ironing. And to this day she still does the ironing biscuit free. It takes insight and determination to recognise and change a habit successfully and in that moment my mother showed us that we can change a habit if it no longer serves us.
The summer that I turned 16 my family went on a three week camping holiday around Europe. Those of you who know me well will understand that camping was not and will never be my choice of accommodation. However the trip was wonderful. Because we were taking most of our provisions with us my mother decided that she and I would give up sugar in coffee. We would do it for lent, and we would do it together. We would also continue to drink the same amount of coffee. For the first few weeks it was vile, like drinking bitter poison. It was only because we did it together that I kept going.

After three weeks we tried it with sugar to test how we were going. It was now revolting with and without sugar. We kept going and Easter our coffee tasted good again and revolting with sugar. We had manged to give up sugar in coffee.

It can be challenging to change a habit by yourself and to work through it. A habit has three parts; a cue, a task and reward. To change a habit the reward is changed first and then the other parts are changed. It can be done the other way by changing the cue first however for most of that this would mean changing substantial parts of our lives. In changing the reward it can be easier to change the other two parts.
An example would be eating a packet of biscuits when ironing. For me the reward when ironing is the nicely folded pile of laundry at the end and an empty ironing basket. I happen to find ironing quite relaxing. For my mother the pile of folded laundry and empty basket wasn't enough of a reward. She doesn't find ironing relaxing. She chose a packet of biscuits as her reward. When she chose to stop eating a packet of biscuits each time she was changing her reward. Now her reward to two-fold. She was rewarded by her willpower not to eat the biscuits which made her feel good about herself and she was rewarded by maintaining her weight. These two rewards were bigger than the biscuit reward. 

When she and I gave up sugar in our coffee our reward was being proud of ourselves for giving it up and changing our taste buds to want less sugar. We also enjoyed doing it together and the sharing of the experience was also part of the reward.

To assist you to change a habit that is preventing you from reaching a goal, or a habit that is not supporting and serving you, I have created a workbook that takes you through each stage of the habit week by week so that you can slowly and comfortably create a new habit that does support and serve you. The workbook offers you the opportunity to work on three habits or you can continue to work on the one habit that requires some time to change. With easy to follow explanations and examples you can use this workbook to achieve a goal that you have previously struggled to attain. For just $10 (plus P&P) you can start to work towards changing that habit that has been holding you back from reaching your goal.

When you change just one habit your unconscious brain believes and knows that it can change as many habits as it chooses to create the changes that you want to make to reach all your goals. This is why changing just one habit can change your life.

warmest wishes
Sarah