Nutrition Fitness Life

Blogging has been worth it because of you.  Seriously. As cliché as it may sound, I sincerely appreciate all of you who have stopped by to read, visit, or comment.  You have made my blogging experience all the more fulfilling.

When I began Nutrition Fitness Life, little did I know that it would take me from blogging about a wide range of health topics to more of a focus on nutrition, specifically sugar addiction. Blogging has taught me more about myself and has been the means to create health goals and the motivation to achieve them. Reading up on health topics, keeping up with posting, navigating through the blogosphere, and understanding the technical side of owning a blog has been a unique and exciting adventure!

And now you may have an idea of where this is leading…

All these wonderful things considered, I feel my blog has run its course. (That was difficult to type!) I’ve been feeling this way for the past couple of weeks now and have given serious thought to my next step.  I think it’s time for me to hang up my blogging hat. I’ve got some exciting activities on the horizon (2 operas and a concert of Italian arias!!!) that will keep me busy on a daily basis, and I feel I wouldn’t be able to devote quality time to blogging. Or if I did, something else would be sacrificed like regular workouts and all that, and I’ve come too far to give up on the healthy habits I’ve worked hard to establish!

I’ve come to know many of you amazing, wonderful folks, and I hate to just disappear and never talk with you again.  Hopefully I’ll stop by your sites for a visit now and then. I’d miss you too much otherwise.  And who knows?  Maybe I’ll pick up this blog again, or maybe I’ll start a new one down the road.  Anything’s possible, right?

In the meantime, you can be sure I still will be committed to eating well, getting in shape, and living life to the fullest… just like the tag line says.

Make everyday count!

Blessings!

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…Now off with you! … Before I get all choked up or something!

And the winner, according to Mr. Online Random Number Generator (Yes, it’s a “he”) is…

Dah da da daaahhh…

The one and only MizFit!

Congratulations!  I know you will put this card to good use.  So please to enjoy! 

Thank you to everyone who entered! I wish I had cards for all of you - seriously!  But please keep on with your fitness goals, and if I should ever come across 4 more of these gift cards in the near future, I’ll come looking for ya.  Deal? 

Photo credit: Crystl

A representative for the Fit & Fresh company sent me a LivPURE filtered water bottle a couple days ago to review. Their LivPURE bottle is a reusable container with an integrated filter which is designed to filter 75 gallons of water and make the water cleaner and better tasting compared to water from the tap.

We, as a population, use too many plastic water bottles, don’t we?  And many of which end up in landfills. This bottle makes a good substitute for buying water bottles and may save you money in the long run. I like the idea of drinking from a vessel that is not only reusable but will filter out some of the less desirable substances, as well save me money!

What does it filter? The company states that the LivPURE water bottle “reduces chlorine by more than 50%,” therefore improving the taste of regular tap water. The filter also ”inhibits the growth of common bacteria.” The water bottle has been tested and certified by the Water Quality Association.

The soft, plastic LivPURE bottle holds 20 oz of liquid, has a built-in drinking spout, and features an ergonomic hour-glass shape, making it easy to hold. The company recommends changing the filter every 2-3 months. At the time of this posting, the water bottle costs $9.99, and the filters cost $7.95 for two.

Buying bottled water can be expensive, use too many resources, and add to pollution. Three rather undesirable effects I must say.  So, if you only buy bottled water because you don’t want to drink from the tap, you may want to give this water bottle, or a similar product, thoughtful consideration.

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… All this talk of water has made me thirsty! OK, time to pour myself a tall one (that would be water).

Funny how things suddenly become clear to you, as though a fog has lifted.

I’ve been in a fog of sorts for quite some time, a sugar fog.  Only recently has this dense, gray world begun to disappear.

I’ve finally come to a place where I feel confident I can stand up to and prevail against the Sugar Monster.  I honestly didn’t think it possible, but now I feel like sugar is finally losing its hold on me.  And I’m grateful, relieved… and humbled.

Where I Was

This is a 180-degree turn from the moody, desperate, foggy, sugar saturated person I once was… and have been for, years! Scary that it took me this long to figure out the connection, but better late than never, right?

And once I DID put 2 and 2 together, I wasn’t ready to try to battle the Sugar Monster for probably yet another year.  Too fearful - fearful that I would fail. I had to get to a point where I wanted to put health as my focus and wanted it badly enough.

I also needed more stability in my life before I could work on stabilizing my diet.  For the past 10 years my work environment was continually mounting stress on my body.  I worked long hours, crazy shifts, and often experienced a lot of adrenaline-producing events while on the job.  Those crazy shifts - working nights then switching to days and back again - were what got to me.

I’ve learned that my body doesn’t like change.  Unfortunate maybe, but it’s the truth. My body likes to be on a schedule, and if that schedule changes, it affects me as a person.  Throwing off my circadian rhythm by working various hours of the day and night, getting little sleep, and eating poorly was like adding fuel to the Sugar Monster.

Sugar was my go-to substance to keep me going when my head was screaming to lie down. It was my comforter when I felt stressed and rundown.  The more processed junk I ate the more I wanted, and the cycle continued until I felt stuck in it.  I then began to crave sugar ALL the time!

Where I Was Heading

Well, obviously things have changed for the better - oh, not that my previous job was horrible or anything!  It just wasn’t ideal for my body.  Now I work more “normal” hours.  I get weekends and holidays off.  I get a lunch break for the first time!  This job is not at all stressful.  My body is on a schedule.  I exercise regularly, and I’ve cleaned up my diet considerably (and having a blog actually does help in meeting those nutrition and fitness goals)!

After mulling around the idea after starting this blog last fall, I decided in Feb that I was ready to face the Sugar Monster and defeat it once and for all. I was at last making a commitment to changing my focus on improving my health.  I was tired of… well, being tired!  I didn’t enjoy living in the sugar fog.  I was fed up with being preoccupied with sweets all day long!  I was disgusted with eating junk when I really didn’t even enjoy the taste.  Hey, if I’m ever going to eat dessert, it had better be darn high quality!  Yes, I’ll be high maintenance when it comes to desserts thank you very much!

I was also scared of the toll sugar might be taking on my health. I wanted to get healthy, in body and mind!  It was time, and I was finally ready. Thus began the deliberate and slow battle between me and the Sugar Monster, and this time I had a plan and was committed to winning.

Where I Am Now

That brings us to the present and back to what I wrote at the beginning of this post. Now by virtue of my being very sensitive to sugar, I’ll always need to pay attention to what I feed my body, how it feels, and what it needs.  But it’s absolutely worth the extra effort. And working on improving and maintaining health is supposed to be a lifelong journey, is it not?

Life sure is a lot more beautiful and interesting outside of the fog.

I’ve got in my hot little hand a  24-Hour Fitness gift card to give away, and it would allow free access to participating gyms.  Not too shabby, I must say!

To be more specific, the free gym access comes in the form of one $99 gift card that gives you 90 days of fitness at participating 24-Hour Fitness centers. The gift card can also be applied toward pro shop purchases, gym membership, and personal training sessions.

24-Hour Fitness is promoting their “12 Million Lives” campaign to inspire individual towards improving their overall fitness and well-being, and I like that the focus is not simply on weight loss. You can read personal improvement stories as they relate to life, recovery, athletic endeavors, and social aspects on their website.

If you’d like a chance at winning this 90-day fitness card, let me know in the comments section by midnight, August 7 in order to be entered into a random drawing. But first check to make sure you have a 24-Hour Fitness in your area! I was excited when Cranky Fitness held a drawing for this gift card, and I wanted to win it! I didn’t win the card, but actually that was a good thing.  As it turned out, I learned that there is no 24-Hour Fitness in my town!  Ah, maybe one day. 

The steps I summarize here are discussed in more detail in Potatoes, Not Prozac.  If you feel you have a strong attachment to sugar that is keeping you from living freely and healthy, you may want to give this book a read.

Click on the following links if you wish to read about steps 1-3: Breakfast, Journaling, and Regular meals with protein.

The third step in breaking a sugar addiction as outlined in Potatoes, Not Prozac, is often said to be the most challenging.  Eating meals at regular intervals with protein isn’t usually a standard practice by those in the cluthes of sugar.  Instead, sugar addicts tend to graze on sweets throughout the day and lack sufficient protein in their diets. Changing this habit can lead to a vast improvement in physical and mental wellbeing.  Many times the allure of sugar begins to decline, and this gives renewed hope that recovery can and will happen.

The rest of the steps encourage further healing while decreasing the desire to eat sugar.

Step 4  - Vitamins and a Potato

Step 4 involves taking vitamins, specifically:

• Vitamin C - to aide in detoxification, the production of serotonin, and healing from adrenal fatigue
• Vitamin B complex - again to support the production of serotonin and in the metabolism of carbohydrates into fuel
• Zinc - helps further healing and supports proper insulin function

Step 4 also recommends eating a small amount of a complex carbohydrate right before bed to encourage the brain to produce sufficient serotonin to help you feel more calm, competent, and able to say “no” to sugar. Part of a potato with the skin on is the suggested carbohydrate.  (And, now we know why the book is called Potatoes, Not Prozac!) The author, Dr. Kathleen DesMaisions, states:

Think of the potato as “medicine”-sort of an antidepressant in a brown package (p. 143).

Step 5 - Changing White Foods to Brown Foods

In this step, you make a point to change the processed carbohydrates (white) that you eat to complex carbs (brown).  Complex carbohydrates ‘burn’ slower and thus prevents a sudden blood sugar elevation and subsequent crash. The shift to complex carbs were already set in to motion with Step 1 and even Step 3, and Step 5 reinforces this.

Examples of complex carbohydrates (browns) include:

• 100% whole wheat
• Oats
• Millet
• Barley
• Quinoa
• Spelt
• Brown rice
• Potatoes with the skin left on
• Vegetables
• Beans
• Other whole grains

Simple Carbohydrates (white foods) include things like:

• White bread
• White rice
• White flour
• White flour tortillas
• Most prepacked desserts and snacks

Also, dried fruit can be a trigger for some sensitive individuals due to the concentrated fruit sugars and is therefore limited or avoided.  Using a food journal can help determine what foods work for you and which ones trigger those unpleasant, moody sugar feelings and even sugar binges.

Step 6 - Limiting or Eliminating Sugars

This step is a personal decision. Some individuals will significantly reduce the amount of sugar in their overall diet and feel comfortable with that.  Many others go on to remove all sugar from their diets.  Having mastered each of the previous steps will ensure a smooth and successful Step 6. The book details the process of completely detoxing from all sugars and what may be expected.  It involves learning where sugars lurk in foods, having a plan in place for the day you say goodbye to all sugars, and what to expect afterwards.

A very large part of Step 6 consists of planning, waiting, reflecting, and then taking action steps in a thoughtful way. This is huge for addicts… There is a huge payoff if you choose to eliminate most sugars from your diet. You will feel better than you ever have (pp. 177, 183).

Step 7 - Coming Alive

This is the recovery period after beating the Sugar Monster.  It offers calmness and stability.  It is “radiance,” as referred to by Dr. DesMaisons. It offers the opportunity to learn new skills to deal with life events without sugar, which can sometimes be challenging. It is a lifelong process to learn and enjoy. Dr. DesMaison sums up Step 7 excellently:

“Progress not perfection” is a core Twelve-Step slogan and one that is particularly useful for doing food recovery. You cannot ever have a perfect journey with food. Life is too complex and textured for perfection. The real perfection you will attain is the joy and confidence you will feel about mastering your “crazy” body chemistry. When I talk about radiance, I am talking about a way of being in the world that reflects your core self… What seemed like a story about food is really a story about possibility (pp. 219, 220).

It’s about learning what works for your body, reclaiming your life, and living it to the fullest.

Funny how powerful changing one word can impact your mindset.

For example, when it comes to eating healthy and/or foregoing the junk, instead of saying, “I have to avoid junk food and eat more veggies,” replace that “have” with a “get,” and the sentence has an entirely new meaning and mindset.

Or maybe you view exercise as your “have to.” That has a negative ring to it, doesn’t it?  And that may eventually sap your motivation over time.  Another way to approach this is to think, “I GET to exercise,” and soon those workouts will be viewed as a more pleasant experience - at least that’s the goal here!

There’s a positive side to most everything, and sometimes it takes bringing out that inner Pollyanna to see it, or at least inviting her to visit every once in a while.

Let’s take my crazy sugar cravings as an example.  I had to take a good look at myself (which can be difficult), figure out what was going on, how to take better care of myself, make changes, and put forth effort to tame my sweet tooth and stop the cycle of binging on sugar.  In fact, I will always have to be mindful of what I eat/how I feel and not overdo it in the dessert department in order to keep those horrible sugar cravings/binges from returning.  Instead of thinking, “I have to stop eating all this sugar. I’m going to go out of my mind,” I can think of the positive side and replace that “have” with “get.” Now…

• I get to embark on a new adventure
• I get to do something healthy for myself
• I get to think clearer, have more energy, and maintain stability in my moods
• I get to try new recipes for “cleaner” foods
• I get to become friends with protein
• I get to learn more about myself and how to better care for my body
• I get to save my teeth for goodness sake!

I would do well to apply this mindset more often in other areas of my life.  I’m not a natural at it.  Yet, I am fascinated at how replacing those “have to’s” with “get to’s” brightens up an otherwise tough or dull situation - all because of one little word.

I’m a singer.

I think I can safely say that because I love to sing, I get asked to sing, and I even get paid to sing.

Now, as to whether or not I am an outstanding singer is a matter of opinion. I believe I have ways to go before (or if) that can happen!

One aspect of the singing biz that thrills as well as terrifies me are auditions. I dread them like I’d dread going to the dentist for a root canal. Yet, if I want to get roles, I have to audition.

I absolutely could not pass up a recent opportunity to audition for an opera company. I was required to sing two arias, both in different languages. I had to prepare my resume and meet with the company director, administrator, and choir master.

To calm my nerves I had written out a list of positive affirmations and read them everyday a week prior to the audition.

I wrote out one-liners like:

You love to sing
You are confident
You are calm
You are an excellent singer
You will sing with power and beauty
You will have fun
You are God’s child; you have nothing to fear!

After a while, these affirmations slowly sink into the subconscious, and like a self-fulling prophecy, you start to believe them, start to live them. They really did help to keep the paralyzing jitters at bay!

Now, why would I bring this up besides it being a bit of juicy news? I think this exercise can apply to any aspect of our lives that we feel is a significant challenge, yet definitely worth the effort. Things like, preparing for a marathon or just getting in better shape. Maybe even conquering a sugar addiction.

There’s probably a dream/goal that all of us have that looks a bit daunting, so why not give the positive affirmations exercise a try? It sure isn’t going to hurt, right? Write a list of positive statements that motivate you and help you feel confident. I wrote mine on note cards and kept them with the arias I was practicing. I read them at work, I read them before practicing, I read them before my audition. I made sure I didn’t spill them all over the floor where prying eyes could read them (oh, how embarrassing!) and thus cancel out all the good they’ve done me!

Now it takes more than just positive affirmations to achieve a goal (I did practice my songs… over and over and over), but they CAN help boost confidence and dispel jitters.

So, I survived the audition, and I even left feeling pretty good about it.  The next challenge is for me to put it out of my mind and try to wait patiently for the outcome!

I’m visiting at Crabby’s house today, and I brought freshly cooked stuffed bell peppers too! You can check out the recipe on my guest post.

Then I’m flying off to see my sister perform in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat this weekend!  Woo-hoo! 

(I do have the song going through my head… “Go, go, go Joseph, you know what they say…”)

Much of what I write about here on Nutrition Fitness Life deals with changing my focus from simply looking thin to improving my overall health. Part of this goal includes the desire to conquer my sugar addiction and clean up my diet.

To help me squash my insatiable sweet tooth, I’ve been following the guidelines set forth in the book, Potatoes, Not Prozac. I’m currently eating meals at regular intervals, with protein.  I’m also working on including more veggies and whole grains.  And I’ve slowly, but significantly cut back on the amount of sugar I’ve been consuming.  In essence, I’m putting more emphasis on eating whole foods.

So now the real question?  Has all this been worth the time, effort, and even money?  Have I been able to tame the beast that is my sweet tooth?

Absolutely, and

Slowly.

I’m not 100% off sugar, and, at this point, I don’t know if I ever will be.  However!  I feel leaps and bounds better than I had been before beginning my quest to overcome the Sugar Monster (Cookie Monster’s very evil twin???)

It has been worth it simply because, regardless of my sugar cravings, I’m now actually feeding my body nutritious foods. In the past, my diet consisted primarily of carbs, lots and lots of carbs, and many were processed and refined, with all the nutrients and fiber sucked out of them. It wasn’t uncommon for me to eat scoops of fat free ice cream or a huge bowl of Honeycomb cereal for lunch! Vegetables received attention on occasion, but protein was almost unheard of in my diet!

I wasn’t underfed; I was undernourished, and I believe this contributed to my intense, almost manic, sugar cravings.  I can imagine the cells of my body screaming, “Hey, we’re dying here! Give us something to work with!”

I’ve since taken a more open minded view of protein and got to know and make friends with it.  Now you’ll find me scouring the produce section for new vegetables to try or learning where the local farmer’s markets are. Chicken, fish, cheese, and eggs are regulars at lunchtime. I enjoy cooking healthier meals and experimenting with different herbs and spices.  I’ve always enjoyed baking, but now I’ve noticed a burgeoning passion for cooking with healthier, fresher ingredients.  That excites me!

Calm. That’s the word that is most prominent in my mind when I compare to how I am now to who I was in the past. The intense sugar highs and crashes, shakiness, and desperation have been weakening in the past few months, and I feel like I truly can conquer my sweet tooth.

Yes, it was, and is, definitely worth the effort. I can’t say it has been easy all the time or even fun, but the more I make my diet changes a habit, the easier (and more enjoyable) it gets. And my sugar saga isn’t over yet.  I’m curious to see how my sugar cravings pan out in the months to come.  I’m hoping they will grow dimmer and dimmer.

Photo credits: fdecomite, Idcross