Soapbox Time!!!!

I have a LONG career in food. When my children were small, I subjected them to my "whole foods" regime. We ate vegetables, meat, whole wheat bread, sunflower seeds, yogurt and, horror of horrors, brewer's yeast-infiltrated banana smoothies. If you've ever TASTED brewer's yeast you will understand the trusting nature of my offspring. They ate it because I did, even asking for more! Go figure. It is NASTY stuff.

And because weight has been an issue for me since the tender age of 5, I've run through all the popular fixes for weight loss too. I've been through a popular support group with the initials WW, worked a program in Overeaters' Anonymous, done juice fasting, vegetarian diets, high protein diets, diets high in complex carbs and of course, the "What the Hell" diet. That just consisted of eating whatever I wanted. And it was no better (or worse!) than any of the others.

Now, I will allow that my current conviction may go the way of all the other attempts. I like to think that being a little older and a little more in touch with my diminishing physical prowness will keep me motivated and convinced past the honeymoon stage. I had a little bit of a scare with some blood chemistry that lit a fire under my butt (thank you Ericka!) and I found that I just didn't FEEL as good as I used to.

Enter "Not Your Average Boot Camp" six weeks' challenge!

I had signed up for it in February then promptly found every reason not to follow through. I took an impromtu trip to Utah to see my brother and to do a little skiing ( I do love to ski!). I came home and got a nasty cold and then spent a week with my "new mama daughter". When the next round of the Challenge came up, my trainer called and "invited" me back. I didn't dare say no!

I'm doing interval training 3 times a week and usually play tennis or ride my bike on days that I don't go to the gym. The physical part of it has never been that hard for me though I'm noticing a vast improvement in my balance and strength. The hard part is staying down to 1300 calories a day. To say I'm a food addict would not be overstating things. But something is different this time.....part of the challenge is to stay away from processed sugar. For me that means no cookies, cakes, candy bars, ice cream and, well, you get the picture. (There IS a cheat meal every week where ANYTHING goes. I REALLY look forward to that cheat meal!)

The remarkable thing is that not eating sugar has reduced my cravings by 90%! My energy level has stabilized and my blood pressure has even gone down by a full 20 points on both systolic and dyastolic numbers! Best of all, that blood chem issue is no longer a problem!

CAUTION: ENTERING SOAPBOX TERRITORY!!!!

This little book and a couple others like it has some scary stuff in it. We've all read how type II diabetes is epidemic right now. Our children's lifespan expectation, for the first time in modern history, is actually shorter than our own! I won't pretend I can trace every reason...that's not my place anyway. What I will do is encourage people to read about the impact on refined sugar on our health and the health of our children.

I've always tended to carry extra weight in my belly, the worst possible place healthwise. I have at least a few risk factors for metabolic syndrome also known as insulin resistance. Now I know why. When a person's body is insulin resistant, it takes MORE insulin in the bloodstream to effectively utilize sugar. The more ingested sugar, the more insulin needed to balance it out. The higher the concentrations of dietary refined sugar, the faster blood sugar spikes, the more insulin necessary for our body to use all that fuel.

I've always known that sugar spikes are followed by sugar depression (I'd call them hangovers!). Of course, I would eat more sugar to get that energy back! What I didn't know is that insulin also promotes FAT DEPOSITION! What available sugar that the cells can't use are deposited as fat. The greater the quantity of insulin in our blood, the more fat is deposited! It's a vicious cycle. And one that can be broken by a focusing on whole foods with minimal refinement.

I'm not going to be obsessive. Popsicle makes a great no sugar added fudgesicle and there are chocolate roasted almond that are to die for. I use powdered stevia to sweeten my smoothies. Still, after only 2 weeks, I can't argue with the results.My thinking is clearer ....not as foggy, if that makes any sense. I don't feel as moody either. I can actually FEEL hungry and not panic. Heartburn is gone and enthusiasm for my life is UP!