Why?

Maybe it's just human nature to ask "why" when we've got a challenge to make it through.  Lately, I've been asking myself this question.  Answering the question is important if I want to continue the challenge.

Looking for information on sugar, I came across some websites that give some compelling, well documented arguments for natural sweeteners.  Here are a few:

Sugar:  The Bitter Truth

Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public [7/2009] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 16717]

10 Excellent Reasons You Should Avoid Sugar

Sugar Content of Popular Foods
How You Can Break Free of Sugar

There is a lot of information here and I need to review it regularly.  Hopefully it will help when I feel like giving in to my sweet tooth.

I Ate It When I Wasn't Looking!

I made it 4 days on the natural sweetener challenge before I realized that I had done it . . . I caved in.  I'm honestly not sure whether to count it or not.  I sure had a lot, though.  On Friday I spent a lovely day in the yard, trying to get things cleaned up after the winter.  I got hungry and came in to grab the first thing I saw--a box of cereal left on the counter from breakfast.  I had avoided the cereal successfully in the morning, but somehow the knowledge that it was full of sugar escaped me (it had no artificial colors said "healthy" somewhere on it, I'm sure).  I gulped down two-plus-bowls of the sweet, crunchy goodness.  Tummy full and happy again, I went back out to work in the sunshine.  An hour or so went by before I realized what I had done.  Ugh! 

I'm sure I could beat myself up, or spend an hour lecturing on the necessity of checking all food labels.  Truth is, I'm not that worried about it.  This is a long-term choice to avoid unnatural sweeteners and I cannot afford to waste time worrying about one mistake. 

Happily, I am doing better than expected over all.  We had friends over Saturday, and although I had ice cream and cookies to offer as planned, I managed to find some options I could be satisfied with, too.  A fruit salad and delicious raspberry sorbet rounded out my options.  Tonight when the kids made cake for our family goal-setting hour, I quickly grabbed Greek yogurt and fruit--something good enough to satisfy my craving for an indulgence. 

Tonight I avoided sweets at yet another get-together, with no problems or disappointment.  That made three successes in one weekend, and I am pleased with the progress my self-control has had.  Even so, tonight I am feeling hungry--but not deprived--and so, I think I will eat something!  (But not cereal.)

Smarter Exercise

After following the plan so well yesterday, including a good session of cardio last night, I expected to see a big drop on the scale this morning.  Sadly, that didn't happen.  Looking online for an explanation I found one plausible solution:

"[Weight gain after cardio sessions can be due to] muscle soreness (DOMS) , your body sends fluid to your muscles to protect and defend the area. A little bit of swelling that could be unnoticed. Happens even if you are not sore.  This causes people to become discouraged and quit their workout but dont!!! It is temporary."http://www.city-data.com/forum/exercise-fitness/616228-cardio-weight-gain.html

So the answer is to not get discouraged . . .

Also, I am using weights as an important part of my weight loss.  I found several sources that advise weight lifting should come before cardio, not after.  Interesting.  There is more than one reason for this.

Related to weight loss:

"So here’s how it plays out. Studies have shown that it can take as much as 29 minutes of cardio to burn your glycogen stores. So if you start your workout off with 30 minutes of cardio, not only did you burn fat for a whopping one minute, but you also depleted your body of the fuel it needs (glycogen) to do your resistance training. Now, in order to manufacture glucose (glycogen) during your weight training session, your body may actually break down muscle tissue to use certain amino acids as your fuel. You could end up losing muscle instead of gaining.
To make things simple, if you do your weight training first, you can use your glycogen stores as fuel. Then, when you move over to your cardio, you’re right where you want to be… with depleted glycogen stores, giving your body the opportunity to burn fat as a fuel source."http://www.shapeyou.com/old/weights_first.html

 

Related to diabetes:

"People with diabetes may have better blood sugar control during workouts if they lift weights before doing cardio exercise, according to a new study by Canadian researchers."  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46704108/ns/health-diabetes/#.T2H5rUrXzU0

Additionally, The doctor tells me I need to understand a rule of minimum exercise, as well.  Every day should include a minimum of 15 minutes of activity--walking, jogging, gardening, even heavy housework.  Three days per week should be a bigger session of weights and cardio.

What I've learned today will help me exercise smarter.  First, I will make sure to have 15 active minutes per day.  Second, when I go to the gym I will follow a new pattern of exercise:  a lap to warm up, a session of weights (about 30 minutes), a session of cardio (30-45 minutes), and then some stretching.  

P.S.  Maybe I shouldn't look at the scale so often. 

What does today look like?

Planning ahead is crucial to my success at this challenge.  Today, the morning and afternoon will be easy, and the evening will be crazy.  The hardest part about a light schedule is that snacking is too easy.  The difficult thing with a crazy schedule is that if I don't plan ahead, I will be at the mercy of whatever food is handy when I'm hungry.  Throw in the challenge of feeding a hungry husband and picky kids, and finding the balance will be complicated.  To avoid these pitfalls, I've got to plan.

My resting calorie use is 1650 per day, so while I am dieting my doctor suggests I stick to a 1300 calorie level each day.  The general number of servings for this level is:

3 carbs (1 ounce or 1/2 cup--15 g each)
3 concentrated protein (1 ounce meat or substitute--7 g protein each)
1 nuts (1/2 ounce or 1 Tbsp nut butter)
1 legume (1/4 c cooked dry beans)
2 milk (1 oz. lean cheese or 1 cup milk per serving)
2 fruit (1/2 cup each)
3+veggies (1/2 cup each)
light on the oil
plus about 170 calories of discretionary intake

I'll post more details on this later.

Here's the plan to meet this goal:

Breakfast:
one strawberry crepe (1 carb, 2 protein, 1/2 fruit)
Everyone loves these, so adjusting for myself is easy--plan on two for each child, one for me.  Throw in flavored yogurt for them.

Snack:
half apple with 1 Tbsp. peanut butter (1/2 fruit, 1 nut)

Lunch:
veggie soup, 1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 ounce cheese (2 veggie, 1 carb, 1 milk)

Snack:
veggie sticks, with hummus (1 veggie, 1 legume)

Dinner:
cup of chili, a little light sour cream and sprinkle of cheese, 1 slice whole wheat bread, 1/2 orange (1 protein, plus discretionary intake since I want a cup--not an ounce!, 1 milk, 1 carb 1 fruit)
The kids asked for hot dogs. . . I can't fit that in for myself, but if I turn it in to chili dogs, I can use my favorite lean chili as a garnish for them and a main course for me.

The result should be right on target.  Now, I need to get up and DO!  Cleaning up the kitchen and making sure ingredients are ready for tonight should only take a few minutes before I dive in to other work.  I'll be heading off to the gym with my hubby tonight between the kid's activities, too.  It's nice to have an A+ day! 

Ricotta Cheesecake With Lemon Drizzle and Pine Nuts

Thanks for the idea, Mike! This is a South Beach Diet Recipe.  View the link for the original recipe, but just in case it gets taken down, I copied the full thing here for easy reference. http://www.southbeachdiet.com/sbd/publicsite/recipes/ricotta-cheesecake-recipe.aspx When I try this, I will be substituting agave, honey or stevia for the sweetener.  I'll let you know how it goes! 3 tablespoons pine nuts 6 large eggs, separated 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon granular sugar substitute 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 (32-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Position rack in middle of oven and heat oven to 275°F. Lightly coat a 9" springform pan with cooking spray. Spread nuts on a baking sheet and toast until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Cool. Increase oven to 325°F. In a large metal bowl, with an electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until frothy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes more. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks, 1/3 cup of the sugar substitute, and vanilla for 1 minute. Add ricotta and zest, and beat on high until smooth. Gently fold one-third of the white into the yolk mixture, then add the rest of the whites and gently fold until well combined. Pour batter into pan, place pan on a baking sheet, and bake until cake is golden and mostly set, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove cake from oven and cool on a rack for 20 minutes. Combine lemon juice and remaining 1 teaspoon sugar substitute in a gently brush the surface of the cooled cake with two-thirds of the warm lemon mixture; drizzle the remaining mixture into the cracks. Sprinkle the top with pine nuts. Cool cake completely, then run a knife around the edge before releasing from pan. Chill, loosely covered, for 4 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.  If this is 12 servings, the nutrition info looks like this:  140 calories, 9 from fat; 5 g carb; 0 g dietery fiber; 11 g protein; 140 mg sodium.  You can get a full analysis of any recipe online.  I use http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

Pineapple Coconut Smoothie

Thanks Aunt Delia! 

 Look for L&A Pineapple Coconut juice at the grocery store.  It is a great base for when I want a dessert type smoothie. I use a couple cups of this juice, a couple of cups of frozen pineapple, add a frozen banana or strawberry, add a little stevia for extra sweetness and you've got a great family treat! 
(Other brands of pineapple coconut juice, that I have tried, are not as good.)

If this is 4 servings, the nutrition info looks like this:  135 calories, 15 from fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 30 g carb; 2.4 g dietery fiber; 1 g protein.  You can get a full analysis of any recipe online.  I use http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

Ready, Set, Go!

I've got a challenge from the doc:  No refined sweeteners.  The new sweetener list is short:  Stevia, Honey, Agave.  End of story.

This is a terrible thing to tell me!  I eat sweets all the time!  I use candy bars as one of my many incentives for my kids!  Our family has a weekly goal-setting day, and an indulgent dessert is a big draw to get them to the table!  And, besides, I am hosting a dessert night with friends on Saturday--what do you say to that?

The doc looks right at me, and smiles encouragingly:  This will be a good thing!

Ugh.  I know she's right.  I am pre-diabetic and over weight.  I have worked hard since October to lose the 40 pounds I gained when I grieved for the loss of my brother.  I'm halfway and at a standstill.  It is time to focus on a new challenge.

I'll start by making sure I have a plan in place each morning, and a recipe handy for unexpected cravings.  I can't commit to forever--as much as I want to.  I can commit to 25 days . . . maybe a few months even.  I'll do my best to follow the doctor's challenge for at least that long before I re-evaluate.

I can hear the words I used to encourage my teenage daughter through a difficult moment last autumn echoing in my ear:  This is a great opportunity!  Enjoy the journey!  Relax and find a way to enjoy what you are learning!

Here we go.

How can 25 days make a difference?

Every now and then, a challenge presents itself that is so complicated it feels overwhelming.  Where to start?  How to conquer?  How long will it take?  Is it even possible?  All these concerns seem to gang up on us and cause such anxiety that we decide not to even begin. 

In the world of health, I have found consistency to be a major factor in the success or failure of any decision.  I can set lofty goals, and make great plans, but often I fail once or twice and scrap the whole thing.  25 days is a simple commitment to follow through for a little longer . . . to stick to the task long enough to see what the effect will be.