Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Am I strict with my diet? - Part 2

I know my Part 1 was so long and had a bunch of info already, I'm sure you're thinking "there's more!!??" YES. There's always more. We're changing a lifestyle of bad eating habits here. As I go on with my daily day-to-day life, I realize more of how I'm eating and want to keep sharing.

SUGAR.

Sugar is so hard to avoid. There's a difference though - refined sugar and natural sugar. Either way, we need to be aware of how sugar effects our body. And we need to learn how to work with sugar.

Here's what I do. Again, I'm no expert. I've been trying to perfect the sugar balance for 4 years. ONLY after changing all my other eating habits have I been able to really keep it under control. After my second child was born, I was told by my doctor that I was Hypoglycemic. This means that my sugar levels are too low. Which is ironic because I was eating a lot of refined sugar foods. What happens to me with the Hypoglycemia is that my body releases insulin too fast. The results are that if I haven't eaten I feel very faint, nauseous, sluggish, confused, and disoriented. Then once I eat, especially if the food has a high glycemic index, I often have a crash and could literally fall sleep right wherever I am. While pregnant, I would have those glucose tests done and everything was normal, until my last pregnancy... my first round of glucose testing was high! I had to go back and do the 3-hour test... then everything was normal. I later found out that the hormones during pregnancy can raise blood dugar levels. Interesting....

Anyway, my way of handling this without medications and frequent doctor visits is to keep refined sugars to a minimum and to eat sugary foods (apples, bananas, pasta, bread etc) with protien (eggs, chicken, tofu, veggie substitue, peanut butter, etc).

There's a good amount of information on the net about sugar, how our body reacts to it and how to balance it. This is such a really key part to taking care of ourselves, getting healthy and losing weight. Ever notice how most diabetics stuggle with weight? Sugar plays a big role in our weight, and that's just on the outside... imagine what's going on inside.

A must read article HERE.
And check out the cool breakfast eating plans at the very bottom of THIS page.
There are 5 total.

Stay tuned... I'm sure there will be more :o)

4 comments:

Esther Crawford said...

I struggle with my sugar intake as well. It's probably my biggest food vice & has been so hard to break.

Val said...

Hi!! I loved your blog over there.

Thanks for visiting :o)

robison52 said...

I'm currently reading the excellent book by Julian Michaels ("The Biggest Loser" strength coach), called "Master your Metabolism," which is her first diet book, that focuses on hormones and metabolism.

I tend to lean towards Dr Dean Ornish diet of veggies and fruit, but not a diehard and will eat lean meats on a Saturday when my wife and I eat at restaurants...my cheat day!

Val said...

How's the book? Are you liking it and finding it helpful?

I love this quote:

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. - Michael Pollan

Now I can admit I don't know who Micheal Pollan is, but he was a smart carrot when he said this.

Oh... looks like he i an author of 'eating right' books as well!
http://www.michaelpollan.com/