Hi friends...
I so love all who are coming on board to work towards a healthier way to live!
You do know we only have one body is this lifetime and if you destroy it where are you going to live?
For most of my life I have watched what I eat. Coming from an eating disorder background and considering myself recovered I know a great deal about how one feels when you eat a ton of sugar and when you live without sugar.
I am sure not a pro on the topic and can only speak on my experience!
Sugar free living does not mean 10 diet cokes a day, 10 sugar free cookies or anything that sells itself as "sugar free". Most sugar free products are loaded with some kind of products that are as bad as sugar is for you.
Look at diet soda and look at the sodium and the junk in the drinks! People who want to loose weight who drink a great deal of diet soda usually end of gaining weight due to the bloating and the sodium.
When all the sugar free products came out on the market so many were stuffing them down but still gaining weight? Can anyone tell me why?
I personally have not really done any races for the past year. I felt that I need a break and that Running Hope Through America would take all I have in me to get off the ground but also physically, mentally and spiritually.
My ego is NOT attached to RHTA, my heart is and so it is the gift that God has given to me..some say it is a calling, I say that it is what I have been training my entire life for!
I told myself that for 1 year I would allow myself to eat anything I wanted to..I had watched the food I put into my mouth for so many years..I kind of felt deserving!
Cake, cookies, ice cream..you name it I went for it!!
The year passed in Oct. and then did Nov., Dec....and as Christmas arrived last year I really have to tell you I was sick and I mean sick of even thinking that a handful of cookies might sound like a fun snack!!
I had a roll on my stomach that had never been there and as much as people say it is part of age that roll had to go!
7 weeks ago I went cold turkey and gave up the sugar and the roll is GONE...yes it is all gone and I have my six pack stomach back. All my clothes fit again.
I AM NOT ON A DIET, THIS IS NOT A DIET...this is a way of life!!!
The word diet is s sabotaging and when someone goes on a diet they feel such a loss when they have to miss the cake or cookies.
Once you wrap your mind around a way of life it becomes a way of life just like brushing your teeth!!!
If you don't brush your teeth your teeth feel awful, when you load your body with sugar and junk your body feels like junk!
Living a sugar free life is not easy but it is so possible!!! You have to shop and read the labels on the things you buy in the store!
An article I read in Men's Journal a while back by Steve Nash: said that an average American eats about 92 grams of sugar a day, when the human body needs only eight grams for energy, an amount that can come from from natural sugars, fresh fruits, vegetables and grains.Refined sugars impair your immune system. Nash says: One teaspoon of refined sugar suppresses our white blood cells for up to six hours, making it a lot easier to get sick.
I personally was already off sugar when I read the article but was so happy to read what Steve Nash had to say...
This means...no cake, cookies, M&Ms, no juice from concentrate!!!! Read the labels...there are soooooo many choices for you.
I gave up gels while training for now and eat fresh fruit...After 10 days I had no craving for sugar at all, it was gone. An apple, handful of grapes never tasted better!
Making my own juice and smoothies is something we do in our home many days a week now.
Training for 2,500 miles in 62 days takes being the best I can be. Running 2,500 miles in 62 days is going to require me to be better than my best.
Living a sugar free life is helping my training, recovery, sleeping like a baby and I am not worn out!!!
So...how many of you are on board to give it a try?
Share your food for thought!
Running on real food
Lisa
www.runhope.com
14 comments:
I am glad to hear your viewpoint. So many in the endurance community think that sugar (and starches which turn into sugar) are required for fuel, when in fact, most of the work is done using fat burning! Most of the coaches I follow advise like you do- to focus on real food and enhancing fat burning. Thanks for the discussion.
I did it once and I will try again (though I gave up meat 2 months ago and I can't cut out one more thing!). I was amazed at how many foods have hidden sugar - like whole wheat bread and non-sweet salad dressing that contained HFCS. Ew. I lasted 30 days. I'm pretty addicted to greek yogurt with honey right now though. :)
Annemarie
eat real foods. if it comes in a box or a bag or your grandma wouldn't know what it is - don't eat it.
i frequently challenge my clients to eat only foods with one ingredient for a day, a week, etc.
but for most starting with sugar is a huge step. bravo lisa.
Cereal comes in a box... does that count? :(
"Our physical nature is such that we need foods that are whole, not refined and denatured, to grow, prosper and reproduce."
Sorry Art:"whole grains that have been processed by high heat and pressure to produce puffed wheat, oats and rice are actually quite toxic and have caused rapid death in test animals. Breakfast cereals that have been slurried and extruded at high temperatures and pressures to make little flakes and shapes should also be avoided. Most if not all nutrients are destroyed during processing and and they are very difficult to digest."
Nourishing Traditions-Sally Fallon
I eat a ton of oatmeal with raw peanut butter.
I love sweet potatoes baked in the oven mixed with oatmeal...these are my cookies now:)
avacadoes, tomatoes and blue chips:)
Tons of spinach with eggs and cheese...
My kids love all of this!
I have found running these days that real food such as above works so well for me.
I love nuun and Hammer Nutrition products..right now I am sticking to my plan because I am feeling better than ever.
Coach Matt Hart lived with us for some time and he showed me some great ways to cook!!!
Food can be so much fun!
Blessings
Lisa
www.runhope.com
Hmm, I guess Cheerios and things of the like are out. I'll have to read that book... Gonna have to pick up some Nuun this Saturday too!
This morning I had:
spinach with eggs and cheese
frsh blueberries!
I gave up meat at one time and found I needed it in small portions. We are all so different.
Try Organic Blue Agave which is front a plant if you need sugar.
I also use flax wraps from Damascus Bakeries in place of bread!
Happy day
Lisa
Just wondering what your take is on natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup? I have honey on my oatmeal in the morning along with some dried fruit (apricots or raisons) and a splash of cream. Cutting out sugar for me is about making a better choice when it comes to what is fueling by body.
This was really so inspiring, and then I realized that this morning I had a cupcake for breakfast.
Oh, but man-- I swear that was the best damn cupcake I've had in years.
Okay, maybe I should do better. Maybe a good way for me to do it is to give it up for Lent!
EJ: honey is a good source of sugar..Agave is better since it is from a plant.
Now M Bunnys cupcake for her meal is blah:)
Lent is a good idea...Jay gave up sugar for Lent as well!
I can tell you...spinach never tasted better:)
Happy Friday
Lisa
You gorged yourself for a year plus and now you are starving yourself. Is this the happy medium? Everything you do is extreme and this seems no different.
Thank you Chris for you thoughts.
I don;t think I said I gorged myself anywhere in my post. What I said was I ate anything I wanted and for most of my life I never ate cookies, cake, ice cream.
Yes...I am an extreme athlete who enjoys doing extreme things and glad for it.
Hope you have a great weekend
Congrats on your sugar-free life! I'm also glad to hear that you don't choose those so-called sugar-free additives that are as bad for the body as sugar.
I've been sugar-free for about 3 weeks now and I feel good. My biggest challenge is avoiding hidden sugars when we eat out. It's in dressings and breads and sauces...! It's everywhere! Avoiding sugar forces me to eat very simply and that's been helpful to sort of reset and re-train my tastebuds so I recognize the natural sweetness in veggies and fruits.
Best of luck on your RHTA!
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