Secret Sugars - How to avoid a sweet overload

It is everywhere, there is no hiding from sugar. Sometimes you might not want to, and that is fine, but when you are trying to cut down on the sweet stuff it might be harder than you think.

I can tell you 41 different terms for sugar right now, and in fact, I will list them for you at the end of this blog.

When it comes to eating better we can all be sucked in by labeling. Low fat - often means loaded with sugar to replace the flavour lost, healthy - sometimes means it has a few healthy ingredients like oats/nuts/seeds, no added sugar - can mean that a sweetener is used instead.

My advice would always be to go for the foods which have natural alternatives such as honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar. While the chemically modified versions may be lower calorie, they are foreign to your body so it is less likely react to or process them normally. Also, as your brain doesn't recognise these new ingredients it is rare that they actually satisfy your sweet craving leaving you still wanting more.

Some names are more obvious that others, some sound healthy because they have other known foods in their name, for example, Fruit Juice Concentrate. Others you might not recognise as a sugar because they sound so strange eg, Maltodextrin or Turbinado.

While it is true, that some sugars aren't so bad, (I am an advocate of honey) if you are trying to cut down your sugar intake, finding ingredients such as this in certain foods won't help you if you are trying to manage the amount you consume. Because as always, it is about moderation.

The best advice I can give you is to always choose natural, unflavoured products eg, yoghurt or oats and add the honey or sweet option of choice yourself. That way you know how much you're consuming and you can manage it.

Another tip which is something I try to live by, check the ingredients list. If it has more than one line of ingredients it is probably not good for you. Use your common sense though here as this in rare occasions doesn't apply. For example in Nakd bars, they are made using natural goodness but have a few different ingredients.

Generally, if you don't recognise or can't even pronounce the ingredients, back away. There will be lots of secret sugars, preservatives and chemicals which your body does not want or need.

As promised here is my list of 41 sneaky sugars:
Agave Nectar, Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Black Strap Molasses, Brown Rice Syrup, Brown Sugar, Cane Sugar, Caramel, Carob Syrup, Coconut Palm Sugar, Corn Sweetener, Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup Solids, Crystalline Fructose, Date Sugar, Dehydrated Cane Juice, Dextrin, Dextrose, Dried Oat Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals, Evaporated Cane Juice, Fruit Juice Concentrate, Glucose, Golden Syrup, Gum Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Honey, Inverted Sugar, Malt Syrup, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Maple Syrup, Muscavado, Palm Sugar, Refiners Syrup, Simple Syrup, Sorghum Syrup, Sucanat, Sucrose, Treacle, Turbinado.

Sugar free my a**

I have just about had it with all these fad diets and trends.

Why is it so difficult to grasp the concept of eating well. We eat food that fuels our bodies and what nourishes our bodies, or so we should.

Now, I will be the first person to agree that sugar is the enemy. Refined sugar that is. If it has been processed it is no good for you! Your body cannot deal with it, you will not digest it the way you should, it is unnatural and therefore not designed for human consumption.

However, I do believe that a little bit of what you fancy will not kill you. If you want that donut, eat that donut. Just stop at one and ensure all your other meals and snacks are nutritious. I would be the first to eat the donut.

But to hear all these people now say that fruit should be cut out, FRUIT! Yes, fruit it full of sugar, but it is natural. I like to think of it in the same way as fat. There was a huge trend for a long time saying that fat is the

enemy. Again, unnatural processed fats are. But dairy, nuts, salmon, avocado, they are among the many foods which burn fat, and guess what, they are high in fat.

Did you know you need fat to burn fat? That may not make sense to a lot of people but the healthy fats like omega 3 and 6 feed the body and give it the ability to slowly release energy and burn the visceral fat.

So now to be told to cut out fruit has really wound me up. As someone with a sweet tooth, I need fruit to help me avoid eating biscuits every day. (And I would). Not only is it a better alternative but think about all the fibre and vitamins you would miss out on too. Vitamin C, potassium, calcium, the list goes on.

Also, the sugar in fruit helps fuel my runs, because you need carbs and sugar to give you the energy to run.

Why does it have to be a diet? Why does it have to be a lifestyle, fat free, sugar free, dairy free, wheat free. Unless you have an allergy or a personal reason for not eating a certain food group, then eat that food.

What a lot of people cannot grasp is that it is all about moderation and nutrition. You feed your body the kind of food that it needs, that helps it run at optimum performance then you can have that slice of cake, it is fine. The only thing I have heard of lately which I agree with is the 80/20 method.

Eat well 80% of the time then that left over 20% when you want to eat something naughty, don't feel guilty for it. Your body can handle it because it is happy.

Think of your diet as a healthy life style, a way of living and eating rather than a quick fix fad diet which will work for a week and then the weight and the lethargy will come flooding back.

Today's lesson: Eat that apple, then eat your steamed chicken and veg and then you know what... Eat that Rocky Road!

Food really is fuel

We have all heard it 100 times before, you need food to fuel your body.

And the food you eat depends on how you use your  body.

It goes without saying healthy eating is a must for all. Filling your body with vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals is the most important thing. But, we all have a treat now and again - you have to!

As someone who really loves cake, sugary cereals and ice cream (to name just a few vices), I have to work hard so I don't give in or I would eat it all day, every day.

But remembering that sugar is the enemy is difficult when that brownie is melting in your mouth.

Which is what happened to me over the weekend. Cooking lunches, dinners, breakfasts, even snacks are not difficult for me. I only cook healthy food with natural ingredients - wherever possible - it is just that cookie that is presented to me that ruins things. But as those kinds of sugary treats hadn't really been on my radar since coming back from holiday and I haven't struggled too much.

I enjoyed feeling energetic and fresh last week living on a hearty and healthy diet. I didn't even feel hungry!

But then I went home to Yorkshire - where the dreaded monster mum lives and it all went down hill.

She had baked brownies, chocolate cake and a strawberry tart. We also had a big family BBQ. I managed to reign it in with the BBQ, eating just a few nice pieces of meat and some salad with only one (homemade) breadcake.

And what a BBQ it was

But then came the strawberry tart with homemade ice cream. (I did ensure it was a small portion but when you're out drinking all night ((a friends wedding do)) the calories rack up no matter what.)

Then the next day I enjoyed two big sticky brownies. Yes I did turn down the chocolate cake but the amount of sugar consumed in everything else made up for it anyway.

Matt and I didn't eat very well that day, skipping meals and eating bread and oil when we finally wanted something to eat at 8pm!

I am ashamed.

But the main point of all of this is, the next day I really felt it. I was sluggish and lethargic - as was Matt and when it came to going to the gym neither of us had it in us to actually train hard. After 20 minutes of slowly trying to push ourselves we gave in.

We were close to burning out and it just isn't worth the exhaustion. So we went home to rest up and I am happy to say we both ate very well, as we will the rest of the week.

Grilled chicken, sweet potato and veg. Mmmm

So, hopefully with properly fueled bodies we can train hard again and get back into the fantastic shape we were a month ago!

Falling off the bandwagon..... again!

It was a spectacular fall.
Let me give you an example. Yesterday I had two slices of cake, didn't eat tea and went to bed scoffing lots of chocolate.
Woke up this morning, knowing I was going out for dinner and cocktails, had a healthy cereal and scoffed lots more chocolate.

Coming back to monster mums I discovered I still had a tin of Roses left from Christmas - sorry waistline!

 I weighed myself and I am three pounds heavier than I want to be.
To be honest, I just haven't been focusing on food lately. I guess it has been a nice break but it is my birthday next week and I want to look my best for a good night out.
I need to gather all my will power and have a strong week which I know I can if there is no temptation in my way... which I strongly believe there may be, in the form of cake! - Birthday cake!
MODERATION - that is key which needs ingraining in my mind!

What is cake without a brew - what is a brew without cake?

But seriously, if I wanted cake I had it, if I wanted to eat a pack of biscuits I did and so on and so forth. The problem is, I always want this stuff so, as one might imagine, I have been a little greedy porker recently!
On the plus side, I have also been nailing the gym and weights! Not so much cardio, I am working on that! So I truly believe that one of those pounds may be muscle. That's what I am going to continue to tell myself anyway.
I'm terrified I'm falling too far off the bandwagon though so I need to focus. 

Get my head in the game! Happy, healthy eating all!

Quitting sugar

So I really want to quit sugar completely.
I have come a long way since I started this blog a year ago. I have lost around a stone and I do not binge to the same extent. I can even just have one biscuit (occasionally) and not go back for more.
I have done a lot of research and a lot of reading. The one thing I have learnt is that sugar really is our enemy.
So I bought Sarah Wilson's book I Quit Sugar. It comes with an eight week program to help you quit. I cannot put it down, it is so helpful and full of great tips and recipes.
I'm no saint so I know it is going to take me a long time until I reach the point where I can detox for eight weeks. But I have had a reasonably good start. I thought I would go slow to begin with and cut down.
Now, surprisingly by thinking this way, last week I did not touch any sugary food except for an apple a day. My skin had been getting really bad lately which had been bringing me down but by Thursday I could see a slight difference.

What more motivation do you need?

I was recovering from a pretty bad cold so I did not have the energy to stick to my usual exercise routine - I did keep up with it just not as strenuously as normal.

By Friday I was beaming because I had done so well to resist temptation.
But one thing I have learnt about sugar, it is everywhere, which means if you're not prepared for just how many things it is in, life and sugar will get in your way.
So I visited my family in Yorkshire and once again monster mum got to me with her delicious baking.

I might have also ended up at a cake-away. But look at it, who could resist while you're still a sugar addict?!

So I failed the week. However, I did not want to punish myself too badly as I had said I could take it easy to start with so I think I did pretty well.... I just wish it hadn't been for the last three days.

Sugar rush

Here we are again, on a sugar high. 

The viscous circle has completed its loop for the thousandth time.

I really am on a mission to cut sugar from my life but my problem is, I just love food too much.

Being a big cook means I do not have to worry about unhealthy meals. 

Breakfast, lunch and dinner on the most part are home cooked foods. It is the stuff in between that get's me.

Unfortunately, the job I am in means I am rewarded by happy customers with treats.

The issue here is the people around me. I am in an office full of sugarholics, and while their intentions are good in that they like to share the food they buy, it does not help my mission.

I do not binge to the extent I used to which is a positive but I really have not restrained myself lately. If a cookie has been put in front of me, I have eaten it, if the bowl of cereal has winked at me, it  has not lasted very long. 

Now I feel my skin is awful. The sugar is punishing me.

I need help, what can I do? The world is surrounded by temptation. My will power is not quite developed enough.

Festival fitness

I am currently dealing with the after effects of Leeds Festival. 

Having a booze break 

While it was one of the best weekends of my life, I can really feel that my fitness level has deteriorated.
There is no possible way of eating well at festivals.
Four nights in a tent is one thing but the ground you cover walking and standing is another. While it is good for burning calories it is not so good for eating the right kind of calories.
Walking so much is already a strain on both your feet and your back so you do not want the added weight of carrying anything around, particularly food.

Feeling a bit worse for wear after day one

I started each morning with an apple and breakfast biscuits. Not the best start but certainly better then anything else on offer. 
The rest of the day was spent nibbling on random snacks just for an energy boost, whatever was on offer really, which was unfortunately a lot of crisps and chocolate/biscuits. You are moving around so much any energy boost is welcome. Then in the evening you need something sustainable so you go for whatever is on sale. There is a lot of choice and I had a burrito, noodles and a burger over three nights. The burger in particular was not worth it. 
Nevertheless it kept me going when I needed it. But on top of the bad food choices and random eating habits, I was drinking copious amounts of alcohol and having very little sleep.

Mid day music with larger to fuel us

 All worth it I must say - I attempted to eat as best I could when the option was available. We made a supermarket trip where I got a sandwhich for my tea one night and yoghurt and granola for a lunch another time plus watermelon and grapes throughout. But at the end of the day it does not compensate for everything else bad for my body that I consumed. 

It was all worth it 

Ever since I have been attempting to get my sleep pattern back to normal, my exercise routine back to normal and my eating much healthier. I have felt lethargic and constantly hungry since though, so it is proving a challenge at the moment.
I will get there, today was a pretty good day for the cause so it will not take long. But it is crazy how four days can mess up your system. 

We had a lot of late nights 

I can also see it in my skin and hair. Both look dull and my skin is quite bad at the moment. It is due to the amount of sugar I took on board. My next step is to try and cut out sugar completely - bar the odd block of dark chocolate. We have to have some luxuries. 

High fat low carb

In a previous post I mentioned metabolic testing. I went and had loads of tests done on me to measure my body fat percentage and to find out which fuel I burn the most - carbs, fat or protein.
When it comes to healthy eating I have always had a higher carb diet and a reasonably low fat diet. Most of the carbs came from fruit. I always knew that fruit had sugar in it but never considered that combining the amount of fruit I ate, especially high in the glycemic index such as bananas, pomegranate and grapes, with my nagging sweet tooth would be making much difference.
But, I had hit a plateau with my weight loss. I understand a lot of the pounds are now muscle rather than fat, and I am in no way over weight but I still wanted to lose a couple more pounds.
I also know that snacking like I do doesn't help but on the most part it has never been a problem when I wanted to drop those hefty extra pounds.
So learning that my body burnt next to no fat and way too much sugar it all became clear. I need to cut back on the sugar so my body will look to my fat stores for energy.
So this week I have written a diet plan. I am in day two and so far I have stuck to it really well but I have to admit I am struggling. Usually when I am peckish and eating well I reach for some fruit, while I am still eating fruit I have to cut back considerably. So this has been difficult. But I have succeeded.

Today's results

As you can see, I keep a food diary using the My Fitness Pal app, which I think is fantastic and would recommend. It calculates everything from the amount of sugars consumed through carbs and which fats you have consumed. (I am pleased to say the high fat count comes from virtually all healthy fats and saturated fat intake is still low as always.)

But to burn more fat I need to provide my body with fat. Anyone with the slightest interest in nutrition knows that you can't have both a high fat and high carb diet as sugar makes fat stick. And there is a lot of arguments out there over which is the best, I personally think it is individual. Hopefully after a few weeks of working really hard, eating loads of fat and protein, no unnatural sugars and limiting my carb intake I will be able to make my own mind up.

Coming from someone with a sweet tooth who eats a lot of fruit to combat it, I am finding it tough. High fat and protein means I am even more limited in satisfying my need for a sweet treat but hopefully cutting back on it will help. Luckily I love yoghurt and milk which have been saviors when I have just needed a sneaky swig of something extra. One thing is for certain I MISS CEREAL sooo much. The cheerios will just have to wait for a rainy day and if my body fat percentage lowers, hopefully it will motivate me to cut back on the naughty snacks for good.