Sugar Rush

Lately, I've been feeling ill in the evenings. We have also been busy trying to get our house packed and ready to go for this weekend. So what do I do? Grab a Monster or a soda of some kind or another...preferably with caffeine. I thought the ill feeling was the caffeine, but after having the same exact feeling after having a root beer (caffeine free, see?) I began to think that I wasn't reacting to the caffeine but the sugar! So like any other person who has WAY more to do than humanly possible in the time allotted (read article here) I ran around the house collecting samples and reading labels of things that I (or my children) have consumed in the last week. Talk about an eye opener!!! This is only a partial list. 

The standard teaspoon of sugar is "a mere 15 calories" say the commercials. And they are right, one teaspoon (level) of sugar is equal to 15 calories, but how many times do you consume only a tsp of sugar? I put FOUR in one (large) mug of coffee alone! One teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4 grams so each cup of coffee I drink has 16g of sugar in it, but wait, there's more! I also add a serving (or two...) of flavored creamer with a price tag of 7g of sugar. So for each cuppa joe that I consume, I will have eaten the equivalent of almost 6 sugar cubes! PER CUP!!!

Here's my list (in no particular order):

Raw Honey (1 tbsp) 16g of sugar (but at least its all natural...)

SlimFast Optima, Creamy Milk Chocolate (11 oz can), 18g sugar

ChexMix Bar "Turtle" (1.2 oz bar), 11g sugar, including High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Monster Green (16 oz can= 2 servings...yeah, right!), 27g/servings for a total of 54g sugar per can

A&W Root Beer (12 oz can), 45g sugar, HFCS is the SECOND INGREDIENT!!!

Mountain Dew, Live Wire (12 oz can), 46g sugar, HFCS is the SECOND INGREDIENT!!!

Costco Gourmet Chocolate Covered Raisins (20 pieces), 23g sugar incl. corn syrup

Multigrain Cheerios (1 cup), 6g sugar

Walmart Brand Traditional Jar Spaghetti Sauce (1/2 cup ), 12g sugar incl. corn syrup

100% Juice Box, Apple (6.75 oz box), 23g sugar

KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce (2 tbsp), 12g sugar, incl HFCS

Heinz Ketchup (1 tbsp), 4g sugar, incl HFCS

Jif Creamy Peanut Butter (2 tbsp), 3g sugar

Kirkland Fruit Snacks (.9 oz pack), 13g sugar, corn syrup and sugar are the number 2 and 3 ingredients, respectively.

Let's be clear here. Every time I drink a soda, I'm eating the equivalent of ELEVEN AND A HALF SUGAR CUBES!!! Yummy!!! And that's just in the drink. Also note that I didn't include things that don't include "sugar" but that your body treats like sugar like chips and starches.

Gee, I wonder if the ill feeling was my body trying to tell me to break up with sugar???

Evening Snacking?

I was on SparkPeople tonight and one of the message boards asked what you do about night-time snacking. Here is my answer:

I have two different strategies. The first is to plan ahead; if I have done this successfully, I will grab one of those (ridiculously expensive but very convenient) 100 calorie packs of my favorite junk food. I eat them very slowly, savoring each flavor in my mouth and I always eat at the table. Drinking a full glass of water before I do that is even better. The other snack I have are the 100 calorie popcorn bags. I always seem to crave junk food at night (which is when I did all my binge eating...kids are in bed and I don't have to share or explain myself) so eating a banana or something so "healthy" doesn't always work. Even still, often times, I don't plan well enough and am left with no free calories for snacking.

In THAT case, I drink a large glass of cold water, brush my teeth (try varying your toothpaste flavors...even including the "sweet" kids versions) and go to bed! I plan to eat my snack in the morning, after breakfast. Most of the time, I have already planned on a sweet breakfast (lots of fruit and yogurt for breakfast) and I forget about the extra snack. This works well during the day too. Just promise yourself to wait an extra hour before snacking, drink a large glass of water and distract yourself with a hobby or some entertainment. Don't make a point of remembering to snack, but allow it if you remember. I always like to keep controlled quantities of snacks, so I don't have to do any thinking.

Being hungry for a short period of time isn't the worst thing in the world- I know I am going to eat the next day, so when I am feeling REALLY low, I begin to pray for the people who are hungry and DON'T KNOW if they will eat in the morning. That usually puts my cravings into perspective.

So, I am using options two and three right now, going to bed hungry praising the Lord that I don't have to hear my kids crying because they are hungry and I have no food, thankful that I can wake up (God-willing) and eat more food to nourish and sustain my body.

What do you do?

High Fructose Corn Syrup

The first time I saw this, I nearly choked!



Now, there are plenty of spoof movies out there, but first, I wanted to call your attention to the "Corn Refiner's Association" at the bottom of the screen. Anyone find it ironic that now that HFCS is getting bad press, it suddenly has a marketing campaign? AWFUL!!! So, I only watched a few spoofs, but I like this one:



But for more information, check out this guy (I know...that first picture doesn't look good, but it is really a guy talking and showing pictures):



AMAZING!!!

That's gotta help!

I had a tooth removed today.

The process was less unpleasant than I expected and though I was completely against the gauze being in my mouth, the actual procedure was okay. Now, however, not so much. It's not the pain though, because I have very little of that. There is swelling (and oozing...gross!) but that is just plain uncomfortable. What is really difficult right now is EATING. 

Of course that's a dieter's dream!!! I anticipate sticking to a relatively liquid diet for the next few days and have purchased a few cans of SlimFast to help get nutrients. Otherwise it's going to be soups, yogurt and crackers. I am actually looking forward to this. I made some good chicken broth the other day and it's sitting in my fridge just waiting to be used. I will add some chicken and veggies to it and call it lunch (probably dinner too)!!!

I am really interested in my thought process right now. A week ago, I was stubbornly refusing any and all "diet" food because I didn't believe in the low-fat diet craze. Well, I still don't feel like eating "franken-food" is healthy for long-term eating...I don't plan on eating it long-term! My goal right now is to find ways to cut out the junk from some of my regular meals. I am contemplating BocaBurgers as an easy to prepare lunch for myself and am intrigued with their Chik'n Patties, though they are actually more calories than the burgers. These are things that I would NOT be purchasing before, but now, I find myself willing to try them. The other thing I am considering (and searching out recipes for) is a grilled vegetable spaghetti sauce. I have heard good things about this type of recipe and think I'm almost ready to try it! Pair that with a large salad and a small serving of pasta and I've converted a "not-so-good" meal into a keeper!

The bottom line is that I can feel the change- I want to change right now. Still having to figure out what to do with working out, but just changing my food habits is a good start.

Weight's been jumping around on me; yesterday I was up to 211 and today I'm down to 209. I like weighing in daily, but I guess I don't take it too seriously. It's the feeling that counts...its just the numbers that can be measured.