Ahh, the neglect! I have neglected this poor old blog as my life has become very full and busy. What's new? Well, I have this very summer become inspired to further enhance my nutrition by experimenting with eating more raw/ vegan, and especially local foods. This has been a fantastic experiement, and easy to do with the summer being so abundant with fruits and veggies. I've found that I have more energy, feel even better than before!
What has been modified, then? I don't cook. I have a few wonderful Raw transition books and have been experimenting with a dehydrator to make sprouted "bread" and "cookies". In fact, I have been sprouting quite a lot which is becoming my favorite way to eat legumes and grains. It's amazing! All the while I am still eating things that make me happy, such as ice cream, but I am using recipes from a book called Vice Creams, which are based on almond milks or coconut meat.
It hasn't been easy. It's never easy to change your mindset. The main reason I am doing this is to consume less packaging, waste less resources. Eating raw means less processing, which is better for your body and the environment- eating foods with intact enzymes means more is available nutritionally for your body. Less packaging means less petroleum used, and we all know that this idea can only be for the good of our planet (and our society!)
You have to be careful when eating this way to be balanced and to eat a well rounded diet, lots of sprouted beans and grains for complete proteins. Adult humans do not need nearly the protein we advocate for ourselves (via the beef council); in fact only 10% for a normal adult or MAYBE 20-30% for a body builder. The rest should be balanced... none of this crazy "carb fear" or any of that bunk. Keep the sugar out, eat your grains and veggies, fruits and legumes and relax! I look great and feel even better.
Showing posts with label sugar free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sugar free. Show all posts
8.09.2008
1.10.2007
Greater energy
One of the greatest benefits to being sugar free is all the energy I have now. It's true! When I truly think about all the things I can accomplish, with some good solid go-power, I'm amazed. Of course, I get tired and run down like anyone else might, but I have more stamina and my moods are more even (when you take being a veterinary student out of the equation, that is.)
It wasn't that way at first. When you first kick sugar, it takes your body a while to adjust. After all, your body has gotten used to cheap energy sources to get by. That makes everything run more sluggishly- including your metabolism (and in the biological, not just classical digesting food sense). Committing to being sugar free eventually allows your body to readjust and redefine how it utilizes energy sources. It's amazing how little it actually takes to run a body efficiently; we Americans certainly overdo it. Feeding your body whole foods and good high quality nutrients lets your body choose what to utilize and when.
Before I kicked sugar, breakfast was a tremendous issue. I could not last for very long after breakfast at all. No matter what I ate, I was crashing and burning by 10 or 11, totally spent and out of energy. "This can't be natural, can't be right!" It isn't. These days I can eat oatmeal and fruit and be just fine until late morning- when I might feel hungry, but still have my focus and ability to complete sentences and so forth. When necessary, I can even make it until lunch, without the crashing stupidity or hangriness setting in. It's devine, it truly is!
These days, having been sugar free once again for nearly a year now (after a year hiatus... live and learn), I am relieved to see just how much energy I do have. After all, I am in a program that takes a lot out of me. Lab sessions that run hours and have me on my feet on concrete; long days of lectures or studying; learning surgery- going 6 hours without anything at all (which to a sugar addict is a long time, being unable to 'graze'!) and coming out of it all tired but with my wits intact. It is only on rare occasions now that I find myself unable to function or create whole intelligible sentences; most of the time, I am just genuinely tired but coping. That, to me, is amazing! Just amazing!
I feel like an infomercial for some grand new pill, or like a snake oil pusher. All I am really saying is, trust your body- you don't need that crap, if you allow your taste buds to come back and align yourself to eating what you need, you'll be amazed. You won't need liposuction. You won't need that new pill that supposedly burns fat while you sleep (magically, it seems). All you need is to pay attention, stop buying that stuff, and treat your body right. That's it! Really!
I know it's hard. A lot of what I hear from people is that they just can't give up sugar, it's too hard, it's impossible, what will I eat? I can't imagine it... that sort of thing. What I am saying is that I was raised on that crap and I did it. You can only do a thing if you really want to, if you really believe in it, and yourself. No one can do it for you. No one can change you except you (a concept that was key to learn when picking boyfriends... no one can be 'helped', unless they help themselves!). I'm just saying, it's a process and it can be done. It can.
Just look at the benefits! I have lots more energy and focus. My stamina is great. I'm able to accomplish a lot more in a day than I used to- and this shows at the gym too. I ache less, I'm never ill (when all my classmates are dropping like flies with the latest flu!), I recover quickly from what does ail me, any emotional turbulence I do have doesn't last very long.
It gets easier to resist what other people offer you, after a while. I don't even miss the stuff now. Someone offering me a sweet doesn't have the pull it used to. That is the epiphany moment I was waiting for, months back. Oh, it's so hard at first! So damn hard! When you're not 100% committed, and then the offers start... oh sugar, sweet sugar... but when you cross over that hump, you make it here, and wow. It just gets better and better.
Off to bed now... for sweet dreams... to start the day anew, refreshed. Good luck in your journey. Feel free to write or comment if you need a boost along the way... it's not an easy road, and you aren't alone.
It wasn't that way at first. When you first kick sugar, it takes your body a while to adjust. After all, your body has gotten used to cheap energy sources to get by. That makes everything run more sluggishly- including your metabolism (and in the biological, not just classical digesting food sense). Committing to being sugar free eventually allows your body to readjust and redefine how it utilizes energy sources. It's amazing how little it actually takes to run a body efficiently; we Americans certainly overdo it. Feeding your body whole foods and good high quality nutrients lets your body choose what to utilize and when.
Before I kicked sugar, breakfast was a tremendous issue. I could not last for very long after breakfast at all. No matter what I ate, I was crashing and burning by 10 or 11, totally spent and out of energy. "This can't be natural, can't be right!" It isn't. These days I can eat oatmeal and fruit and be just fine until late morning- when I might feel hungry, but still have my focus and ability to complete sentences and so forth. When necessary, I can even make it until lunch, without the crashing stupidity or hangriness setting in. It's devine, it truly is!
These days, having been sugar free once again for nearly a year now (after a year hiatus... live and learn), I am relieved to see just how much energy I do have. After all, I am in a program that takes a lot out of me. Lab sessions that run hours and have me on my feet on concrete; long days of lectures or studying; learning surgery- going 6 hours without anything at all (which to a sugar addict is a long time, being unable to 'graze'!) and coming out of it all tired but with my wits intact. It is only on rare occasions now that I find myself unable to function or create whole intelligible sentences; most of the time, I am just genuinely tired but coping. That, to me, is amazing! Just amazing!
I feel like an infomercial for some grand new pill, or like a snake oil pusher. All I am really saying is, trust your body- you don't need that crap, if you allow your taste buds to come back and align yourself to eating what you need, you'll be amazed. You won't need liposuction. You won't need that new pill that supposedly burns fat while you sleep (magically, it seems). All you need is to pay attention, stop buying that stuff, and treat your body right. That's it! Really!
I know it's hard. A lot of what I hear from people is that they just can't give up sugar, it's too hard, it's impossible, what will I eat? I can't imagine it... that sort of thing. What I am saying is that I was raised on that crap and I did it. You can only do a thing if you really want to, if you really believe in it, and yourself. No one can do it for you. No one can change you except you (a concept that was key to learn when picking boyfriends... no one can be 'helped', unless they help themselves!). I'm just saying, it's a process and it can be done. It can.
Just look at the benefits! I have lots more energy and focus. My stamina is great. I'm able to accomplish a lot more in a day than I used to- and this shows at the gym too. I ache less, I'm never ill (when all my classmates are dropping like flies with the latest flu!), I recover quickly from what does ail me, any emotional turbulence I do have doesn't last very long.
It gets easier to resist what other people offer you, after a while. I don't even miss the stuff now. Someone offering me a sweet doesn't have the pull it used to. That is the epiphany moment I was waiting for, months back. Oh, it's so hard at first! So damn hard! When you're not 100% committed, and then the offers start... oh sugar, sweet sugar... but when you cross over that hump, you make it here, and wow. It just gets better and better.
Off to bed now... for sweet dreams... to start the day anew, refreshed. Good luck in your journey. Feel free to write or comment if you need a boost along the way... it's not an easy road, and you aren't alone.
1.08.2007
Don't hassle me, man!
It's funny how people react to things they don't understand. I mean, most of the time when someone hears that I am not eating sugar, they're just curious.
"Oh, yeah? Why's that? How do you do it, what do you eat? I couldn't do that."
That sort of thing. I take all that in stride, and gladly share my expriences. Especially if it helps, if it opens someone's eyes. And all the better if they are wanting the information, and willing to hear it and be open to it.
The people that are the toughest are the ones that feel personally challenged. As if my way of life is a personal affront, or a personal attack of some kind on their way of life. My own biological family reacts this way a lot to many things, such as vegetarianism or non smoking. (How dare people ask that their health be spared? How dare they make me smoke outside! they say.)
It seems sometimes that when certain people are confronted with a new reality, their fear response kicks in. Most of the time I see it for what it is; and I generally say, when explaining I don't eat sugar, that I don't care if anyone else does- it just doesn't work for me. Same for being vegetarian; it's my own choice, my own way of life. You can do whatever pleases you, whatever lets you sleep at night. These kinds of reactions, fear reactions from people who find their own reality being tested, are to be expected. You just have to be ready, and have your wits about you.
I don't have any specific examples for today; this is an issue that has cropped up in my mind from time to time. The best example I can give is when someone offers a sweet and they find it turned down. This is a rare thing! Who doesn't eat sweets? Sweets are love. Sweets are kindness, sharing, giving, caring... right? Who turns down love? You are turning down my gesture of friendship? Wow. Who are you, anyway?
Yeah.
Of course, every situation and every person differs, but it's all essentially the same; you are challenging someone's world view, or perhaps challenging them on some level, on some trait they consider weak in themselves. Not that you are offering a challenge; but by simply being who you are, you are challenging them to look at parts of themselves they are not comfortable with and that can be hard! Perhaps you are speaking with someone who always wanted to give up sugar themselves, but found it too difficult (and it is difficult! I won't lie!). Perhaps, then, this person has always felt guilty, or weak, or bad as a result. Then you walk in, successful in your quest... well, that is just downright insulting, isn't it!
All I can say is that I try to live my life by my own principles. I lead my life as an example- to myself. I am my own role model, my own leader. If other people are inspired, great! I am not out to make others feel bad about themselves. I am the first to admit, I have my faults and I slip from time to time... it is I, after all, who will buy Endangered Species chocolate a few times a year. Yes, it's sugar! I think that knowledge goes a long way for people. I'm not saying I'm perfect, not to anyone. That's the key. It's a day to day, week to week, month to month challenge, to live by one's own highest values and principles. It is something you work at, perfect, and practice. Every single day.
Tomorrow, I will not eat any sugar. I didn't eat any today (except fruit, let's be honest), nor did I the day before; and if I have my way, the days and years to follow will show the same tale.
"Oh, yeah? Why's that? How do you do it, what do you eat? I couldn't do that."
That sort of thing. I take all that in stride, and gladly share my expriences. Especially if it helps, if it opens someone's eyes. And all the better if they are wanting the information, and willing to hear it and be open to it.
The people that are the toughest are the ones that feel personally challenged. As if my way of life is a personal affront, or a personal attack of some kind on their way of life. My own biological family reacts this way a lot to many things, such as vegetarianism or non smoking. (How dare people ask that their health be spared? How dare they make me smoke outside! they say.)
It seems sometimes that when certain people are confronted with a new reality, their fear response kicks in. Most of the time I see it for what it is; and I generally say, when explaining I don't eat sugar, that I don't care if anyone else does- it just doesn't work for me. Same for being vegetarian; it's my own choice, my own way of life. You can do whatever pleases you, whatever lets you sleep at night. These kinds of reactions, fear reactions from people who find their own reality being tested, are to be expected. You just have to be ready, and have your wits about you.
I don't have any specific examples for today; this is an issue that has cropped up in my mind from time to time. The best example I can give is when someone offers a sweet and they find it turned down. This is a rare thing! Who doesn't eat sweets? Sweets are love. Sweets are kindness, sharing, giving, caring... right? Who turns down love? You are turning down my gesture of friendship? Wow. Who are you, anyway?
Yeah.
Of course, every situation and every person differs, but it's all essentially the same; you are challenging someone's world view, or perhaps challenging them on some level, on some trait they consider weak in themselves. Not that you are offering a challenge; but by simply being who you are, you are challenging them to look at parts of themselves they are not comfortable with and that can be hard! Perhaps you are speaking with someone who always wanted to give up sugar themselves, but found it too difficult (and it is difficult! I won't lie!). Perhaps, then, this person has always felt guilty, or weak, or bad as a result. Then you walk in, successful in your quest... well, that is just downright insulting, isn't it!
All I can say is that I try to live my life by my own principles. I lead my life as an example- to myself. I am my own role model, my own leader. If other people are inspired, great! I am not out to make others feel bad about themselves. I am the first to admit, I have my faults and I slip from time to time... it is I, after all, who will buy Endangered Species chocolate a few times a year. Yes, it's sugar! I think that knowledge goes a long way for people. I'm not saying I'm perfect, not to anyone. That's the key. It's a day to day, week to week, month to month challenge, to live by one's own highest values and principles. It is something you work at, perfect, and practice. Every single day.
Tomorrow, I will not eat any sugar. I didn't eat any today (except fruit, let's be honest), nor did I the day before; and if I have my way, the days and years to follow will show the same tale.
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