(soon to be retired)
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Sugar Be-Gone!
Since I plan on starting something here, healthwise, I thought I'd better blog it. Just for the record, if you will.
I'm going to try to give up added sugar.
After reading an article online about a man in England who gave up added sugar and alcohol for 30 days, I was encouraged to try it. He lost 10 pounds (I think, or was it 20, I forget!), and although he says it was quite difficult for a period of time, he is glad he did it and feels much better for having done it.
Here is the article: Man Gives Up Added Sugar and Alcohol for One Month and Loses Weight.
Granted, he is a very young man of 22 (just a child compared to me!), and I realize that it's a lot easier to affect one's body habitus by eating differently when one is younger. At my age, things have taken root all over the body and don't want to change much. All the areas of consternation just want to be left alone, so it's an uphill battle even trying to change things.
But I'm not dead yet. I may be old, but where there's life and a small will, there's hope. My will is very weak, however, so it may or may not work.
That article above contained his food menu for a 7-day period, which I printed out. I am including it here for anyone who may want to copy it. It seems like a good combination of foods, one that I could see us sticking to.
As I'm typing this in, I don't exactly know what he means by "whitebait" -- maybe just a white fish? That's what I will assume. I need to get more fish into our diets anyway. Usually, Paul will catch some fish, like haddock or cod or flounder, in his traps and bring them home, filet them up and freeze them. We've almost always had a nice little supply of white fish in the freezer, but this year it's been different. He has hardly gotten any fish in his traps, for some reason, and he is hesitant to buy it at the market because he always thinks he'll be getting some for free. So this week I am putting white fish on the shopping list for when he does the food shopping. I hope Market Basket has some OK fish! Salmon is a favorite of mine anyway, so that will go on the list, as well.
I've ordered two bulk bags of unsalted cashews and walnuts so they will be arriving soon for the snack portion of the diet.
Now, the "no added sugar" thing is just that. Yes, there is sugar in fruit. I am not eliminating fruit just because it carries natural sugars. I think that is healthy sugar, and I think fruits are an important part of an overall diet. I cannot drink orange juice so I will probably substitute unsweetened grape juice for this.
I just started this yesterday, apart from the last two pieces of pizza that I had to get out of the fridge and ate for lunch! Otherwise, no added sugar all day yesterday, and so far today, which is only 11 hours old, I have not had any. My cuppa is sitting beside me, half-drunk, and it tastes just awful without my one spoonful of raw sugar that I normally add to it.
I am addicted to coffee, as well, which probably ought to be eliminated. But I only drink one cup of coffee a day, with a little milk and the 1 tsp of raw sugar, so I think I need that cup for my sanity. I'll leave off the sugar, though, and see if that helps. I would love to give up coffee, too... someday. The withdrawal headache that I always get in doing this is dreadful, so it'll be a while before this happens. Heck - coffee is on the menu above, so I'm keeping it for now.
I plan to eat only foods that are in their natural state. It's processed foods where all the hidden sugars lie; we all know this. But they are so easy to use. I have a sweet tooth, too. This is going to be hard.
About 6 or 8 months ago, I forget just when, my cousin Bobbie, who lives in Eugene, Oregon, told me she was changing her diet to exclude added sugars. She is a lot more knowledgeable about health issues than I am, and she has more willpower than I have. She said it was very hard but that it was worth it. I am going with that thought...
I told Paul that I'm doing all this in the hopes that it will cure me of all my ills!
I also started taking probiotics in pill form this week, and today is my 3rd day.
Click on image for web site about this.
So far I haven't had any of the side effects that were mentioned. They are supposed to be taken with the first meal of the day, and as it's 11 a.m. now, I am ready for my first meal... so off I go to rustle up something to eat. Not much in the house today as it's the end of the week, so I need to get a shopping list written up for Paul for tomorrow.
Speaking of Paul, he seems to have gotten out on the water to lobster today for the first time in over a week! Weather has been awful, very windy, with churning seas, etc... he's been stuck around here and it's time he got back to work!
Cheers,
Bex
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I'm going to try to give up added sugar.
After reading an article online about a man in England who gave up added sugar and alcohol for 30 days, I was encouraged to try it. He lost 10 pounds (I think, or was it 20, I forget!), and although he says it was quite difficult for a period of time, he is glad he did it and feels much better for having done it.
Here is the article: Man Gives Up Added Sugar and Alcohol for One Month and Loses Weight.
Granted, he is a very young man of 22 (just a child compared to me!), and I realize that it's a lot easier to affect one's body habitus by eating differently when one is younger. At my age, things have taken root all over the body and don't want to change much. All the areas of consternation just want to be left alone, so it's an uphill battle even trying to change things.
But I'm not dead yet. I may be old, but where there's life and a small will, there's hope. My will is very weak, however, so it may or may not work.
That article above contained his food menu for a 7-day period, which I printed out. I am including it here for anyone who may want to copy it. It seems like a good combination of foods, one that I could see us sticking to.
SEVEN-DAY FOOD PLAN (rotated throughout the month)
Day 1
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, coffee, orange juice
Lunch: Whole grain rice with chicken, vegetables and spices for taste
Dinner: Spinach with salmon, lemon juice and spices for taste
Snacks during the day: Unsalted cashews, walnuts, bananas, apples.
Day 2
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, coffee, orange juice
Lunch: Tuna salad
Dinner: Whole grain rice with tilapia filet, lemon juice and spices for taste
Snacks during the day: Unsalted cashews, walnuts, bananas, apples.
Day 3
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, coffee, orange juice
Lunch: Beef salad
Dinner: Rice pancake with beef, fresh vegetables, bean sprouts, avocado
Snacks during the day: Unsalted cashews, walnuts, bananas, apples.
Day 4
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, coffee, orange juice
Lunch: Salad with grilled vegetables and olive oil
Dinner: Spinach with salmon, lemon juice and spices for taste
Snacks during the day: Unsalted cashews, walnuts, bananas, apples.
Day 5
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, coffee, orange juice
Lunch: Whitebait with green beans
Dinner: Whole grain rice with tilapia filet, lemon juice and spices for taste
Snacks during the day: Unsalted cashews, walnuts, bananas, apples.
Day 6
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, coffee, orange juice
Lunch: Whitebait with green beans and salad
Dinner: Whole grain rice with chicken, vegetables and spices for taste
Snacks during the day: Unsalted cashews, walnuts, bananas, apples.
Day 7
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, coffee, orange juice
Lunch: Tuna salad
Dinner: Rice pancake with beef, fresh vegetables, bean sprouts, avocado
Snacks during the day: Unsalted cashews, walnuts, bananas, apples.
As I'm typing this in, I don't exactly know what he means by "whitebait" -- maybe just a white fish? That's what I will assume. I need to get more fish into our diets anyway. Usually, Paul will catch some fish, like haddock or cod or flounder, in his traps and bring them home, filet them up and freeze them. We've almost always had a nice little supply of white fish in the freezer, but this year it's been different. He has hardly gotten any fish in his traps, for some reason, and he is hesitant to buy it at the market because he always thinks he'll be getting some for free. So this week I am putting white fish on the shopping list for when he does the food shopping. I hope Market Basket has some OK fish! Salmon is a favorite of mine anyway, so that will go on the list, as well.
I've ordered two bulk bags of unsalted cashews and walnuts so they will be arriving soon for the snack portion of the diet.
Now, the "no added sugar" thing is just that. Yes, there is sugar in fruit. I am not eliminating fruit just because it carries natural sugars. I think that is healthy sugar, and I think fruits are an important part of an overall diet. I cannot drink orange juice so I will probably substitute unsweetened grape juice for this.
I just started this yesterday, apart from the last two pieces of pizza that I had to get out of the fridge and ate for lunch! Otherwise, no added sugar all day yesterday, and so far today, which is only 11 hours old, I have not had any. My cuppa is sitting beside me, half-drunk, and it tastes just awful without my one spoonful of raw sugar that I normally add to it.
I am addicted to coffee, as well, which probably ought to be eliminated. But I only drink one cup of coffee a day, with a little milk and the 1 tsp of raw sugar, so I think I need that cup for my sanity. I'll leave off the sugar, though, and see if that helps. I would love to give up coffee, too... someday. The withdrawal headache that I always get in doing this is dreadful, so it'll be a while before this happens. Heck - coffee is on the menu above, so I'm keeping it for now.
I plan to eat only foods that are in their natural state. It's processed foods where all the hidden sugars lie; we all know this. But they are so easy to use. I have a sweet tooth, too. This is going to be hard.
About 6 or 8 months ago, I forget just when, my cousin Bobbie, who lives in Eugene, Oregon, told me she was changing her diet to exclude added sugars. She is a lot more knowledgeable about health issues than I am, and she has more willpower than I have. She said it was very hard but that it was worth it. I am going with that thought...
I told Paul that I'm doing all this in the hopes that it will cure me of all my ills!
I also started taking probiotics in pill form this week, and today is my 3rd day.
Click on image for web site about this.
So far I haven't had any of the side effects that were mentioned. They are supposed to be taken with the first meal of the day, and as it's 11 a.m. now, I am ready for my first meal... so off I go to rustle up something to eat. Not much in the house today as it's the end of the week, so I need to get a shopping list written up for Paul for tomorrow.
Speaking of Paul, he seems to have gotten out on the water to lobster today for the first time in over a week! Weather has been awful, very windy, with churning seas, etc... he's been stuck around here and it's time he got back to work!
Cheers,
Bex
I think I could turn and live awhile with the animals...
They are so placid and self-contained,
I stand and look at them sometimes half the day long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied... not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth.
~ [Walt Whitman, from "Leaves of Grass, No. 32"] ~
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