Sugar….so addicting

Sugar….ugh….I’ve slowly but surely allowed it to enter my life (again) and I find myself soooo addicted.  Easter did a number on me, I thought just one chocolate egg or one more chocolate covered malt ball was really no big deal.  I was sooo wrong!!!  I’ve been eating some type of candy every day since then….as if it’s okay?  I actually find myself wondering what I’ll have “sweet” today.  I was out to lunch yesterday and I actually got  a regular Dr. Pepper & the sugar and caffeine kept me up 1/2 the night….  I feel like crap, my mood has been horrible and I feel depression rearing it’s ugly head.  Why are there so many temptations everywhere?

I know this is going to be painful the first few days, but I really need to detox from all the sugars….I must dig deep and remember how much energy I have when I’m not drowning myself in sugars…. wish me luck!

Here’s a great article if you find yourself dragging…

SHAKE OFF SUGAR AND FATIGUE

 MyHealingKitchen.com

Processed sugar poisons your system. Yes, you heard me right. Manufactured sweeteners of all kinds create a toxic response in the body. They cause your blood sugar to rapidly spike and crash, weaken your immune system, deplete your body of essential nutrients, increase oxidative stress and trigger chronic systemic inflammation throughout the body, a setup for inflammatory diseases and associated fatigue. Worse, dietary sugar plunders already depleted adrenal hormone reserves in those suffering from adrenal fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), allowing fatigue to burrow even deeper into your system. Get rid of sugar, and watch your natural energy return.

1. Sugar is addictive. The craving for sugar is an addiction, like any other. Temporarily abstaining from sugar makes the sugar cravings (withdrawal symptoms) disappear — often in as quickly as 72 hours. Stop eating all sugar, and allow your body to make the glucose it needs for steady energy from whole foods, and those feelings of deprivation will evaporate quickly.

2. Sugar spikes glucose levels. Sugar spikes force your pancreas to pump out too much insulin at once, something it was never designed to do. This leads to sudden and very high levels of circulating blood sugar in your bloodstream, which just as suddenly disappears, leaving you with unpleasant hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) symptoms — shaky, weak, tired and drowsy. To stop the unpleasantness, many of us reach for quick sugar all over again. And the cycle repeats.

3. Hands off the coffee cake. High blood sugar levels literally “burn” tissues and organs, crusting them with a layer of oxidized sugar in a process called “glycation.” That process releases reactive oxygen molecules that cause oxidation and reduces the presence of antioxidants such as glutathione. According to research, high levels of oxidative stress contribute to the symptoms of chronic fatigue.

4. Ditch the sodas. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a popular cheap substitute for cane sugar in sodas and processed foods, is much, much worse than regular sugar. A studypublished in the Journal of Clinical Investigation showed that HCFS harmed blood sugar metabolism in ways that glucose did not.  Another study found that fructose fails to turn off your appetite by triggering leptin and other essential hormones. So there is no feedback loop telling you to stop, and you keep chugging sodas and eating foods containing fructose, with predictably debilitating results.

5. Sugar substitutes are bad news. Sugar substitutes are far worse than table sugar.Studies show that diet sodas including aspartame (AminoSweet, NutraSweet, Equal and Sugar Twin) cause formaldehyde accumulation in the body. Other fake sweeteners like saccharin (Sweet’N Low) and sucralose (Splenda) have similar problems.

6. Refined carbs spike glucose like sugar. Refined carbs refer to the highly processed, denutrified white flours that are found in virtually all processed foods. They are as addictive as sugar, because they convert too rapidly to glucose once you eat them, according toresearch. Avoid them as well.

7. Sugar harms adrenal glands. Adrenal fatigue and exhaustion are epidemic in the West today. Our modern processed diet of over-sweetened convenience foods is a big reason why.

A study published in Endocrine Review shows that whenever blood sugar crashes, tired adrenals must pump out adrenaline, cortisol and other hormones to raise blood sugar to a level that keeps the brain alive and well (glucose is its main energy source). Another studypublished in Neuropsychobiology reports that under certain conditions, sugar actually shuts down adrenal function. This astonishing finding means that the glands primarily responsible for responding to stress cannot fulfill their life-saving function.

8. Choose healthy food instead. The Fatigue Healing Diet is loaded with foods that keep your energy levels stable and growing. Once you eliminate heavily sugared processed foods from your diet, your body loses the desire for them. And that helps set your adrenals on the road to recovery.

So pack snacks and your lunch to work every day. Enjoy nuts, cheese, hard-boiled eggs and fruit for snacks, and dine on abundant whole grains, beans, vegetables and lean meats.

Above all, be kind to yourself during this time. Withdrawal is hard work. Take time to prepare for it, ask for support, and love yourself deeply as you step out into the unknown. You are on your way to healing.

SMART intentions

“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”  Yogi Berra

I was reading Becky’s blog with a post from 6 months ago and realized that we pretty much all do the same thing.  We do great when we are following the program and then for some reason old habits sneak back in.  My realization today was that just like a business plan, a budget or anything else in life that you are working towards need specific guidelines and intentions.  My journey to wellness, in order to be part of my life needs to have a blueprint and even though I am beginning again with a more regimented schedule.  I know that when it becomes routine is when things start to slip.  So even if I put a time driven intention to a more regimented schedule, once that timeframe is up, the intention will need to be in place to “check-in” with myself in a different timeframe that is set forth, because waiting 6 months, or a year is just too long and by then, yes….we are back at square one.  Check-points must also be worked into my lifestyle.  Do you hear that Shawna?  A 12-week program is great, but then start over again with SMART intentions that are less regimented but still hold you accountable.  This is why setting specific intentions, measurable, achievable, realistic and time driven (SMART) intentions are essential for being successful.

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Achievable

R = Realistic

T = Time Driven

Specific

The more specific you can be the more it will help you focus on your effort and clearly define what you are going to do. Instead of setting a general goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to lose 2 lbs per week or take off 2 inches on your waistline or to walk 3 miles at a challenging pace.

Measurable 

If you can’t measure it, you won’t be able to manage it. Choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. Then pull out the scale, tape measure or smaller pair of pants and see how your goal measures up.

Achievable

If your goals are too far out of reach you probably won’t be able to make the commitment to accomplish them. Your goal should stretch you slightly but just enough to feel like you can accomplish it with a real commitment. Then when you do achieve that goal you will feel successful and feelings of success, not failure are what keep you motivated.

Realistic

Realistic does not mean “easy.” Realistic, in this case, means “do-able.” A goal of never again eating sweets, cakes, and chocolate may not be realistic if you really enjoy these foods. It may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit each day instead of one sweet item. You can then choose to work towards reducing the amount of sweets gradually and realistically.

Time Driven

Setting a timeline for reaching your goal (i.e. in a week or over 12 weeks) provides an end point and a clear target to work towards. Without a timeline, you’ll feel you can start at any time, and you’ll lose your sense of urgency. Telling others your timeline also helps keep you on purpose. Ask them to check in with you at certain dates to confirm you’re on track.

Homemade Bone Broth

It is spring and this time of year, always brings on the urge to do some spring cleaning. Clean the windows, clean out the closets and get rid of unworn clothes, clean up the landscaping and last but not least do a little cleansing for the body.  I’ve been reading the fabulous benefits of making homemade stock & the health benefits of preparing your own stock and how nourishing it is to your body.  I’d like to jump-start a healthier spring with a little internal cleansing.  I just found an incredible local meat market that raise their own cows that are grass-fed.  I purchased some grass-fed beef bones today and am going to make this fresh homemade bone broth tomorrow.

Here is a great link on a recipe and tips on how to prepare it and then keep it to add to other recipes.

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/making-fresh-bone-stock/

Here are some thoughts on a 3-day broth cleanse and as the article states, it is not encouraged to do cleanses on a long term basis.  I can feel my body is in need of a healthful cleanse after my “Eat” phase of my year of my own “eat-pray-love” excursion that has been full of many poor food choices over the past year.  It is time to jump-start a cleaner choice of foods for my body and give it a nice re-set.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  http://toscareno.blogspot.com/2011/06/broth-cleanse.html

See and feel yourself as beauty embodied

Spring always brings on the natural need to do some spring cleaning.  In the mind, with the body, in the house.  Here is a great article I just read:

Spring Beautiful: Inside and Out.

What stood out to me most was this: “For a beautiful heart, meditate on what beauty means to you. The teachings of Tantra say that if you want more goddess qualities (i.e., super powers like delight, financial abundance, sensuality, fierceness, intelligence, will power, and beauty), then become more like the Goddess herself. Sit down everyday and meditate on what you want to become as if it already were true. If you want to be more beautiful, see and feel yourself as beauty embodied.”

compassion inspiring quote

A compassionate attitude helps you communicate more easily with your fellow human beings. As a result, you make more genuine friends and the atmosphere around you is more positive, which gives you greater inner strength. This inner strength helps you spontaneously concern yourself with others, instead of thinking only about yourself. 
~~Dalai Lama~~

dusting off

time to dust off the excuses and bring motivation again….finally found my user name to get this blog going again……………….more to come

inspiring quotes by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou quotes:
‘I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.’

‘I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.’

‘I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.’

‘I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a life’

‘I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.’

‘I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back…’

‘I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision..’

‘I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one..’

‘I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back…’

‘I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn..’

‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’

 

transforming inspiring quote….

“the moment in between what you once were, and who you are now becoming, is where the dance of life really takes place.”
~ Barbara De

moving forward – inspiring quote

“Each day is a special gift from God, and while life may not always be fair, you must never allow the pains, hurdles, and handicaps of the moment to poison your attitude and plans for yourself and your future. You can never win when you wear the ugly cloak of self-pity, and the sour sound of whining will certainly frighten away any opportunity for success.”

my body speaks – my “aha” moment this week

My “aha” moment this week is that I can indeed trust my body and that I have been trusting my body at the core level.  It tells me and guides me with exactly what it needs.  I have been listening to my body.

The question at hand is do I trust what my mind tells me about my body?  This is when the negative self-talk enters or doubt or other things that the mind finds ‘wrong’.  Meditation is teaching me to train my mind & sooth those thoughts.  For the body will follow the mind and even though the body will fight from the core on what it knows that I need….it will ultimately manifest into what my mind thinks.

We had a nice discussion at the coffee shop after yoga on Saturday.  The two of us there were repeat students and talking about the challenge of not comparing our progress to the last time around.  Knowing that when we might have been at the point we are now, we had a whole other level of “energy” and excitement about how far we had come on the program and how much weight we may have lost.  We are at a different level now, a different path.  My outlook this week is to cultivate that same excitement for every little accomplishment that I make in line with the project.  That for the whole week, I find that feeling of what would it “feel” like to live lighter and live with how that feels….regardless of what the scale says.  My intention this week is to cultivate what it feels like to feel fabulous & start living it NOW.  What are we waiting for?  The scale to have a perfect number on it?