Sugar is not your friend part 2

cmriverside · February 2010

Sugar is not your friend.

Please everyone join us in battling this insidious enemy. We just tell our stories, everyone jump in if you have something that will help someone. (Or just lurk.)

It's the shortest month and only one holiday....okay, so it's Valentines Day. Tell your significant other you want jewlelry.

Not chocolate or flowers.
Last year I bought myself a "Chocolate Pearl" ring that I love (the pearl is iridescent brown.) I didn't gain weight and it didn't die. Win / win. It was last January that I began to banish sugar from my life. For me, the only thing that works is abstinance from all sugary snacks. I do have 1/4 cup Kashi Go Lean in the mornings - 4g cane juice. I eat whole fruits - no juices. And I don't go crazy reading bread labels, because pretty much all bread has some form of sugar, be it sugar, brown sugar, cane syrup or cane juice, fructose, or honey. I buy 100% whole wheat bread with the lowest sugar I can find. But I don't eat much bread. One or two slices daily.
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Here are the Simple Carbs to avoid if you are trying to read labels:

Simple Carbs:

White / brown sugar, honey, agave nectar, corn syrup, maple syrup, sorghum syrup, molasses.

Dried fruit, sweet / ripe fruit (bananas, pears, figs, dates, raisins, sweet melons...), licorice.

Fruit juices (apple juice), canned fruit (peaches, mixed fruit).

Manitol, sorbitol, xylitol, and other "...tol" variations, maltodextrin, stevia.

Sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, galactose, trehalose, and other "...ose" variations.

Candy, chocolate, pop, donuts, cakes, cookies, sweetened cereal & granola, jam, marmalade.

Alcohol

from: http://www.acu-cell.com/gi.html
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I have many articles I've found, I'll post bits and pieces of them here and there.
The best resources are YOU. The ones fighting the good fight day in and day out, learning and living while trying to balance family, job, lack of time, and abundance of sugar. EVERYWHERE. You can resist it.

Here are some of the high point from last month:

~ Moderation works for some people, and not for others
~ Planning ahead of time for a sweet item is good. You haven't "deprived" yourself entirely, but you don't plunge into a binge.
~ Somehow, Black Bean Brownies are tasty
~ The Meaning Of Life is not in the fridge (esp the whipped cream can)
~ Emotions will cause you to eat sugar. Why? Brain chemicals similar to the ones produced and released when one does drugs are the same brain chemicals released when eating sugar in quantity
~ We "punish" ourselves by secretly eating sugars and other unhealthy choices
~ From Lori "Day 1 of back on track. Detox big time. No groceries in the house. Had a protein shake. Went to the store. No kidding, I was shaking and feeling terrible from lack of food and lack of sugar, it's been so part of my life the past 2 weeks. Hubs walked into the commissary after his haircut with Taco Bell and I wanted to attack it. I didn't. I continued to chomp my gum like my life depended on it."

~Nail polish is sugar-free

Join us and share your journey. I learned last month that those late night binges on sweets can be caused because your body stops producing insulin between 10PM-ish and 3AM-ish. A teacher on this thread shared that with us, and she learned it from a diabetic student. You never know who you help by sharing a story.

Cheryl

old thread from last month:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/74303-sugar-is-not-your-friend-january-challenge
(and I can't change my signature.......I msged Mike about that)

cmriverside · February 2010

oops posted new thread ON new thread HA!!:laugh: uh edit.........................

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lotusfromthemud · February 2010

Nail polish is sugar free = :laugh:

As of this moment, I've been sugar free since Sunday, so I'm babysteppin'

My goals for the month are to only eat refined sugar one time, and to not bring any refined sugar into my house. The main demon I'm trying to slay here is the by-myself-sugar-binge. I use it as a drug, or I should say "used" it as a drug, because those days are behind me.

Sugar is not my valentine. It's been two days since I've last used.

kaytbognar · February 2010

I am --following-- you.

Great start to a great thread. The list of simple carbs is really helpful for a quick rule of thumb.

Sugar is not my friend. That refined crap, anyway, it's all --snooty-- and conceited and is one of those people who makes others feel yucky in order to feel good about themselves (hello, issues much? I said it last month, i'll say it again: I don't have time for sugar and it's emotional baggage it likes to store around my waistline!) I like to truck with that all-natural kind of hippie-ish fruit crew these days (gotta love those complex carbs, too, they take a while to get to know but once you do they are some of the best friends you can find!)

pettmybunny · February 2010

Thanks for starting the new thread Cheryl. I really appreciated the list of simple carbs to avoid. I'm going to cut and paste, and print it out for on my fridge. Last week at my nutrition class for Health Seekers, one of the other women came over and told me about oat milk. I asked her about sugars in it, and she said it didn't matter because they were all natural from the plant. UMMMMM NO, they aren't! I've found that many of the milk substitutes have very high sugar levels, and it's usually added sweetners. I've tried some of the unsweetened ones, and I'm not quite there yet, I still find them undrinkable. Maybe one of these days, lol.

cmriverside · February 2010

Dang, V - I wish I had thought of that!

"Sugar is not my Valentine" :laugh:

kaytbognar · February 2010

pettmybunny, it may be a little more labour intensive than opening a carton, but you can make your own milk substitues--nut milks, and presumably grain milks too. (a couple quick how-to's for almond milk: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Almond-Milk and here http://greenlitebites.com/2009/04/27/homemade-almond-milk-take-1/ and for oat/rice milk: http://perfectcupcakes.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-make-rice-milk-and-oat-milk.html) Hemp milk is really yummy as well (I'll try and find a recipe for you if you're intersted--I don't have the book with recipe in it with me, left it in Toronto. CURSES!)

I know you say you're still not "there yet" for the unsweetened stuff, but at least if you were making your own you could sweeten and flavour it to your taste, under your specifications--using stevia or adding other things like vanilla or cinnamon or whatever. It could also be OK to cook with if you're looking for milk-free substitutes.

HTH

chrissyh · February 2010

I will tell my husband that it's a new rule no candy just jewels....love the idea!

cmriverside · February 2010

I will tell my husband that it's a new rule no candy just jewels....love the idea!

My ring was only $60. I still wear it and I love it. The roses would have been dead and buried. And the candy.....well, you know.

72lori · February 2010

Tagging so I have somewhere to come and confess my sugar woes....

Actually, I'm working on a new and improved attitude toward all things in my life this month, so maybe I'll just be around telling you how awesome I have been when it comes to the sugar demon. :bigsmile:

Marla64 · February 2010

pettmybunny · February 2010

Thanks Katy for the websites. I looked at them. Might give making my own a whirl when I run low next time.

tamarads · February 2010

Fabulous Cheryl!! :bigsmile: Thanks for the list of simple carbs and the giggles, who knew about the Black Bean Brownies?? :laugh:

I guess I'm still concerned about eating fruits, any thoughts about that from anyone? I haven't had any, just the occasional apple slice as I cut them up for my kids. Should I be taking a supplement to replace those nutrients? Thank you for your thoughts!

Sugar is not my Valentine!!

Tammy

cmriverside · February 2010

According to mayoclinic.com, you need to eat fruits.
http://mayoclinic.com/health/portion-control/NU00267

The portion chart looks like this:

1200 Calories___________1400 Calories_________________1600 Calories

Vegetables
_____4 or more__________4 or more_____________________ 5 or more
Fruits
_____3 or more___________4 or more____________________ 5 or more
Carbohydrates
_____4__________________ 5 __________________________ 6
Protein/Dairy
_____3__________________4___________________________5
Fats
_____3__________________3___________________________3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The article has a great slide show that helps you "eye-ball" portion sizes. I know I get tired of weighing everything.

Other fruit servings

Fruit 1 serving size (60 calories)

Apple, sweetened 1/3 cup
Banana 1 small
Cherries 15 whole
Strawberries, whole 1 1/2 cups
100 percent fruit juice, unsweetened 1/2 cup

You may now understand why I love strawberries so much. One serving is also 100% of daily Vitamin C recommendations. A Cup And A Half! woo hoo.

And, sadly, here is how many almonds they think count stoward one serving of fat. grrrrrrrr.

Lastly, they have a picture of Sweets but I decided not to post it: here is the recommendation

Other sweet servings

Sweet 1 serving (75 calories)

Hard candy peppermints 4 pieces
Jelly beans, regular 8 pieces
Jelly beans, small 20 pieces
Maple syrup 1.5 tablespoons
Sweetened cola 6 ounces (1/2 can)
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:noway:

cmriverside · February 2010

Sugar is not your Valentine.

(edit)
======================

72lori · February 2010

And, sadly, here is how many almonds they think count stoward one serving of fat. grrrrrrrr.

Fine, so I eat several servings of fat when I eat my 28 natural almonds. Sue me. :ohwell: I almost never eat all my fats, so I don't stress over that one!

pettmybunny · February 2010

So, I just have to brag today (it doesn't get to happen for me often, lol)... I had 55 total grams sugar today. When I subtract the 26 grams that came from my fruits and veggies today, I stayed below the 40 grams!

Sugar is not my friend. Nor my valentine.

Sugar shun on!

lotusfromthemud · February 2010

Had a challenge today. I found myself starving and at Wal-Mart. Do you know how hard it is to find a suitable snackish item at Wal-Mart that's even semi-healthy? Wait, I'll answer that. . .darn near impossible. I ended up with a packet of mixed nuts. Every pack of trail mix or whatever had sugar in it, and most had more than one sugar (sugar and hfcs, etc.)

But, I made it. Still strong, and still sugar is not my valentine.

Marla64 · February 2010

Sugar is not my friend--

For this week, low sodium, vegetable juice is my friend.

My hubs read online about a treatment for psoriasis, from which I am currently suffering. (and am one of the lucky 10-15 percent of patients who develop rheumatoid like arthritis symptoms-- )

Seems patients who've done a week long vegetable juice fast had their psoriasis clear up-- hmmmmmmm-- worth a try. I'll try anything at this point.

Curiously enough, it curbs the hunger amazingly-- I'm through day two, and feel wonderful, and hunger free. Is it wishful thinking that my pain and swelling in my feet and toes is oddly better this day? I don't know-- we'll see. But, so far, so good.

Also worth noting is that, naturally, weight is dropping. Not a bad thing.

I'll keep you posted-- I plan on doing this through the weekend, and ending on Tuesday.

Arthritis-free fingers crossed for success--

Marla64 · February 2010

Had a challenge today. I found myself starving and at Wal-Mart. Do you know how hard it is to find a suitable snackish item at Wal-Mart that's even semi-healthy? Wait, I'll answer that. . .darn near impossible. I ended up with a packet of mixed nuts. Every pack of trail mix or whatever had sugar in it, and most had more than one sugar (sugar and hfcs, etc.)

But, I made it. Still strong, and still sugar is not my valentine.

Seriously-- I've wandered hungry through Wal-Mart before-- maddening to try and find something without the multiple sugars they throw in all the food these days. Nuts are always possible, but the calories are usually too high for what I want for a snack--

Bravo, Vivia, for staying away from the crap!!!

lotusfromthemud · February 2010

My hubs read online about a treatment for psoriasis, from which I am currently suffering. (and am one of the lucky 10-15 percent of patients who develop rheumatoid like arthritis symptoms-- )

Seems patients who've done a week long vegetable juice fast had their psoriasis clear up-- hmmmmmmm-- worth a try. I'll try anything at this point.

Arthritis-free fingers crossed for success--

Hey, Marla. . .sympathies. Me, too. I have psoriatic arthritis (I have no idea if that's the way to spell it.) And, you know what's pretty much cleared mine up? (and believe you me, I hate that this is true) Eliminating wheat from my diet. I still have a few skin irritated spots, but nowhere near the coverage and joint pain I used to have. It might be just that I have a wheat sensitivity, and not everyone does, but I've been really amazed at the difference.

It might be worth a try for you.

Sorry for your painful fingers. :flowerforyou:

tamarads · February 2010

Cheryl you are the best!! Thanks for the slideshow site and for the info!

Marla, I hope the vege juice works for you, I find it interesting that so many people can connect over simple things like sugar... maybe Viviakay's suggestion could help too!

Way to go Viviakay for standing strong... I went to Sam's Club the other day and the bakery just about did me in! :sad: But I stood strong!!

Tammy

Marla64 · February 2010

My hubs read online about a treatment for psoriasis, from which I am currently suffering. (and am one of the lucky 10-15 percent of patients who develop rheumatoid like arthritis symptoms-- )

Seems patients who've done a week long vegetable juice fast had their psoriasis clear up-- hmmmmmmm-- worth a try. I'll try anything at this point.

Arthritis-free fingers crossed for success--

Hey, Marla. . .sympathies. Me, too. I have psoriatic arthritis (I have no idea if that's the way to spell it.) And, you know what's pretty much cleared mine up? (and believe you me, I hate that this is true) Eliminating wheat from my diet. I still have a few skin irritated spots, but nowhere near the coverage and joint pain I used to have. It might be just that I have a wheat sensitivity, and not everyone does, but I've been really amazed at the difference.

It might be worth a try for you.

Sorry for your painful fingers. :flowerforyou:

Viv-- my psoriasis, interestingly enough, is only on my scalp, which I think is probably a blessing in disguise. It gives me the worst case of dandruff you've ever seen, believe me, but compared to what I've seen on others where it covers large parts of their body, I'll take it. I have one little lesion on my cheek that likes to bubble up sometimes, but still, not bad.

And the joint pain has been in my shoulders and hips, but bearable. The worst has been my fingers and toes. Did you get the "sausage digits?"

I'll have to look into the wheat stuff-- hmmmmmmm--

pettmybunny · February 2010

It may not just be wheat stuff, Marla. I think if you're sensitive to any food, it can cause issues like that too. Cutting out the eggs and dairy completely cleared up my face. I had "perioral dermatitis" (which I think stands for any rashy type thing around your mouth that the doctor doesn't know exactly what it is). The antibiotics would help, but they tore up my stomach, and I'd never finish a full round, therefore my face would never be "clear". Cutting out the foods I was sensitive to cleared that up, gave me much more energy (I used to sleep 14 to 15 hours a day and now only sleep the 7 or 8 at night), and took away my constant headaches.

If you have a food sensitivity, and you're eating it because you don't know, you're body kinda rebels.

lotusfromthemud · February 2010

My hubs read online about a treatment for psoriasis, from which I am currently suffering. (and am one of the lucky 10-15 percent of patients who develop rheumatoid like arthritis symptoms-- )

Seems patients who've done a week long vegetable juice fast had their psoriasis clear up-- hmmmmmmm-- worth a try. I'll try anything at this point.

Arthritis-free fingers crossed for success--

Hey, Marla. . .sympathies. Me, too. I have psoriatic arthritis (I have no idea if that's the way to spell it.) And, you know what's pretty much cleared mine up? (and believe you me, I hate that this is true) Eliminating wheat from my diet. I still have a few skin irritated spots, but nowhere near the coverage and joint pain I used to have. It might be just that I have a wheat sensitivity, and not everyone does, but I've been really amazed at the difference.

It might be worth a try for you.

Sorry for your painful fingers. :flowerforyou:

Viv-- my psoriasis, interestingly enough, is only on my scalp, which I think is probably a blessing in disguise. It gives me the worst case of dandruff you've ever seen, believe me, but compared to what I've seen on others where it covers large parts of their body, I'll take it. I have one little lesion on my cheek that likes to bubble up sometimes, but still, not bad.

And the joint pain has been in my shoulders and hips, but bearable. The worst has been my fingers and toes. Did you get the "sausage digits?"

I'll have to look into the wheat stuff-- hmmmmmmm--

If I'm having a flare-up, I can't get my rings on/off. They're not all the way sausage-y (google images is not my friend. . .although it's scary, it does point out to me that others have it worse.) My left foot is the worst/most aggravating pain wise, and I have scalp issues as well. I find that I can't use any shampoo/conditioners with fragrance in them, or it gets, well, grosser. I also get very stiff and sore in my rib cage and pelvis, so it's in weird places (my knees used to be horrible before I lost the weight, they're much better now.)
You might want to look into a food allergy elimination diet (like pettmy says, it might not be wheat. . .could be anything). You give up all the common allergens (my husband called it the "eating elimination diet", and unfortunately that wasn't far from the truth) and then add them in one at a time until one gives you trouble. Hey, it couldn't hurt, right?

pettmybunny · February 2010

If I'm having a flare-up, I can't get my rings on/off. They're not all the way sausage-y (google images is not my friend. . .although it's scary, it does point out to me that others have it worse.) My left foot is the worst/most aggravating pain wise, and I have scalp issues as well. I find that I can't use any shampoo/conditioners with fragrance in them, or it gets, well, grosser. I also get very stiff and sore in my rib cage and pelvis, so it's in weird places (my knees used to be horrible before I lost the weight, they're much better now.)
You might want to look into a food allergy elimination diet (like pettmy says, it might not be wheat. . .could be anything). You give up all the common allergens (my husband called it the "eating elimination diet", and unfortunately that wasn't far from the truth) and then add them in one at a time until one gives you trouble. Hey, it couldn't hurt, right?

Heck Marla, if you're doing the veg. broth fast thing, you've already eliminated everything from your diet! lol... I guess when you eat again, like Viv says, just add in one common allergen at a time.

Marla64 · February 2010

Viv-- I've been doing that-- one by one-- peanut butter, dairy-- not much has seemed to help-- or everything has helped-- still not sure. Duhhhh-- 'cause I am feeling somewhat better.

We'll see what happens-- so far, so good on the veggie juice-- heading out to run in a bit-- wahooooooooo--

July24Lioness · February 2010

Wow, I see a lot has changed in a years time.............

There was a debate last year on a forum that was created and I posted the "sugar is not your friend" and everyone jumped down my back and my throat............

Marla64 · February 2010

Wow, I see a lot has changed in a years time.............

There was a debate last year on a forum that was created and I posted the "sugar is not your friend" and everyone jumped down my back and my throat............

It's all in the delivery, I guess--

cmriverside · February 2010

I've been MIA (Marla, Welcome back, that would be "Missing in Action" to you:flowerforyou: ) because I've been sick this week.

Funny - Julie24 said people jumped down her back when she said "Sugar is not your friend" - I was waiting for the vegetable juice fast backlash

I have nothing to add today, just saying "Hi" and really not wanting to eat anything, more of a "Is is time to take any cold meds yet? I'm going to sleep if it's not." My heartrate monitor is my alarm clock/reminder for pills and potions. Zicam. Miracle product.

byeeeeee:sick:

Carry on, strong sistahs.

Marla64 · February 2010

Cheryl-- I know what MIA means-- meanie. :grumble: That's the one I do know. :happy:

And yes, I'm still waiting for the backlash, too-- however, I'm not advocating it as a weight loss tool. I'm desperate for relief for psoriasis-- and, so far, so good-- it's rather ooky. I had a good run today, pain in my foot was infinitely better.

Odd that I'm not hungry. The juice is so thick that it does keep the hunger at bay, and I drink it anytime I am hungry. I'm anxious to eat, believe me, but I'm tired of being in pain.

Sugar is not your friend part 2

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