Break Sugar and Food Addiction in 48 Hours

We are on Week 2 of The Daniel Plan. This week Dr. Mark Hyman talks about food as medicine and says that we can change the way we think about food in 48 hours. 48 hours? That's doable! I can do 48 hours of eating clean. No sugar, no processed foods, just whole plant-based foods. I've done it before and I am sure I can do it again. If you think about it, it makes sense, if you go without eating sugar or junk food for 48 hours, you have technically broken the addiction. All we have to do is string enough 48 hour breaks together and we will be on our way to living addiction free!

I love in The Daniel Plan on page 36 where it states, "Every bite you take is a powerful opportunity to create healing or infirmity" and on page 37, "Take the junk out and let the abundance in." That's what I want to do! I want to create healing within my body and I want abundant health and energy so that I can live the life God intends for me to live.

We also learned about the fitness connection this week. Pastor Warren and his team of experts state on page 42, "Moving your body even just a little bit on a regular basis impacts not only your physical health, but also your intellectual, emotional, social, financial, and spiritual health." That's what I'm talking about! Every aspect of our life is affected by moving our body "consistently." I'm on a two-week workout streak. I decided last week to start looking at working out as a "job" that I love to do with the pay being energy. It's already paying off in additional energy. Every hour I workout seems to add an hour back, so it's never an hour wasted. I usually read a book on my Kindle and listen to music on Pandora while I'm on the treadmill, elliptical and stationary bike, so it feels like I'm getting twice as much done. I ALWAYS feel better after I workout. It makes me wonder why consistent exercise has ever been an issue. I think it's just the effort it takes to get to the gym, but if it's my "job" I'm not going to miss it. I'm going in to "work" Monday-Friday. I get weekends off to go hiking or whatever other exercise sounds like fun, but during the week, I'm sticking to my work routine. So far, it's working like a charm. I have committed to working out at least 30 minutes, but more often than not it's an hour, sometimes longer if I go for a swim. Getting paid to get fit, I could get used to a job like this!

Kathy


Here is a video of Dr. Mark Hyman talking about how food can be the strongest addiction or the most powerful cure of what ails us. I am looking forward to breaking my sugar addiction by giving my body the right food information and updating my biological software!

The Daniel Plan and My New Job

Julie, a group of ladies, and I started studying the Daniel Plan yesterday. We are meeting up every Tuesday for the next six weeks to discuss what we learn as we read the book, watch the video, and doing the study guide exercises. This week was the intro. We were asked to rate how we feel we are doing on a scale of 1-5 in the areas of Faith, Food, Fitness, Focus, and Friends. In all areas except Food, I feel that I am improving which is a 3 on the scale, but Food varies day-to-day and overall it's a 2 (Some Good Days). I am looking forward to the next six weeks so my numbers go from the low end of the scale to the high end. I want to rate a 5 across the board!

In the introduction Pastor Rick Warren says "For change to happen in any area of your life - whether you want it to be financial, vocational, educational, mental, relational - it actually works best to begin with the physical. You commit your body to God and all other things follow." I believe that's true because when we don't feel healthy, all we care about and focus on is wanting to feel better, all the other things become a lower priority.

In an effort to make my physical health a priority, I decided to look at exercise the same as I would a job. I would normally go to a job Monday - Friday first thing in the morning. I may not want to get up and go to work every day, but it's something I have to do to survive. How often do you miss going to work? Not often, because you want the pay. The pay for consistent exercise is abundant ENERGY. It will improve my health in ways that extend beyond money and in fact will save me money and most likely make me money in the long run because it will enable me to have the health and energy I need to pursue my dreams, help others, be active with my family, and travel the world. Those are the kinds of rewards I want from a job. How about you?

Look for a TGIF post coming soon!

Kathy

CHEAT DAY

I think the word “cheat” causes trouble as we transition to a healthier lifestyle. “Cheating” with food often leads to a vicious cycle of giving in to cravings, feelings of guilt, shame, and disgust, then being restrictive with food - which is the revolving door of eating disorders. I did the “cheat diet” most of my life and it accomplished nothing but grief. I have learned that thinking of eating as cheating is self-defeating! We're human, we are going to stumble and fall when it comes to eating clean, especially after years of eating the Standard American Diet that is processed and full of addictive chemicals. In order to get out of the revolving door of binge eating and bulimia, my mindset had to shift from the negative connotation of “cheating” to the positive one of “choice”.

Choice makes me feel in control of the food instead of the food controlling me. After a half-century of fighting the battle of the bulge, I am now fully aware of the consequences of my food choices that include quality of life as I approach my “golden years.” I don't beat myself up about what I eat anymore because I don't want to get back in the revolving door. I make an enlightened choice and move forward with love and compassion.

Here are a few things I have learned from the experts that help me make healthy choices:

PLAN & PREPARE. I plan and prepare as many meals as I can for the coming week. I usually cook a crock pot full of beans and veggie soup then put it into single serving containers. I cut up veggies and put them in zip lock bags so I can grab them on the go. I freeze peeled bananas to use for “ice cream.” and smoothies. Planning and preparation helps me stay on my clean eating plan and keeps me out of the fast food drive thru. If I leave it to chance, the temptation to eat junk food becomes too great, especially if it is around or if I go too long between meals, which leads to the next tip...

EAT SMALL MEALS MORE OFTEN. Dr. Dan Benardot, a nutrition consultant to Olympic athletes and author of “Advanced Sports Nutrition,” recommends eating smaller meals more often. He says we should eat half of our food at meal time then eat the other half a few hours later to maintain energy balance. Even an apple or handful of almonds between meals is enough to help me control junk food cravings.

DISTRACT & DELAY. When stress is high or if I am tired is when cravings hit full force. The distract and delay technique has worked for me many times. The idea is to distract yourself with something besides food, like deep breathing, going for a walk, or chatting with a friend. If the distraction doesn't work, then delay by drinking a big glass of water, eating fruit or veggies, and then telling yourself if you still want the junk food in 45 minutes, then go for it. Cravings usually only last a few minutes.

CRAVINGS vs HUNGER. Learning to determine if I am truly hungry and or if I am having a craving is helping me too. Dr. Roger Gould, author of “Shrink Yourself,” says an easy way to tell the difference between true cravings and hunger is if anything, like carrots or cauliflower, will do - it's hunger. If you want something specific like pizza or french fries, that's a craving. Dr. Douglas Graham, author of “The 80/10/10 Diet” says if you are craving salt, your body needs more leafy green vegetables and if you are craving sweets, your body needs the nutrients of fruit.

I have learned the hard way to be gentle with myself as I journey towards a healthier life. I hope you treat yourself with loving kindness too. Faith, love, compassion, dedication, patience, and persistence will take us to where we want to go!

Kathy

Do You Eat In Your Car?

I was talking with my battle buddy the other day and she brought something to my attention that I have not realized before. She asked me how I did with my eating plan for the day. I told her I ate two cookies from Subway along with two Veggie Flatizzas. I had been running around most of the day, skipped breakfast, and was starving by mid-afternoon. She said that at other times when she has asked me about eating and I had gotten off plan, it was a similar pattern and I was in my car! She then asked me to drill down as to why I wanted the cookies. My first thought was that I was craving sugar which makes sense - my blood sugar would have been low because of skipping breakfast and lunch. But, when I talked through it with her, I saw some deep rooted issues around food and wanting comfort when I'm in my car. That awareness will help me in the future. I think most of us who have struggled with obesity for many years have deeper rooted issues with food and once we become aware of those issues, we can take the steps we need to face the fears and move past it.

Eating in our car is a common practice these days. We're all time-starved, running around trying to get everything on our to-do list done. I will be going to Indy to a small business conference today, so I know I will be eating in my car at some point along today. However, with my new awareness, I will make sure that I prepare by bringing some fruit so my blood sugar doesn't drop and create those intense cravings that combined with the deeper seated issues makes temptation to binge on junk food overwhelming.

Do you eat in your car? Is that when you are most likely to get off track with your clean eating plan? Do you carry healthy food with you if you know you're going to be away from home for long periods of time? Do you know why you eat what you eat? What purpose does it serve? Is it for nourishment or comfort?

Food for thought.

Kathy