Two months ago I got sick, and as a result, my eating habits changed. I won’t go into details, but my already paired back diet got paired back more to the point I was eating just meat and veg.
I was watching my carbohydrate intake. Almost all refined and processed sugar was reduced except my morning sugars in my two cups of coffee. It’s a weak excuse those two sugars, but I can’t give up my coffee with its two sugars. It’s liquid gold. It’s love in a cup. It’s routine, and I can’t go without it.
Anyway, last week was a tricky week, and I ate more sugar and drank more processed food and drink than I had in a year to compensate how I felt. I slipped back into my emotional eating and drinking faster than the devil going down to Georgia.
As a result, come Thursday I was suffering night sweats by Friday I was angry, but I didn’t know why; by Saturday morning I was apologizing to my husband for something I couldn’t explain. I felt pent up, on edge and very, very snappy.
Do you think it could be all the sugar messing with me I asked him? I don’t know he replied. Have you eaten much he said questioning me?
Well yes in comparison to the previous weeks I said- Minties, jelly beans and fantails from work. Pre mixed Vodka drinks of an afternoon, baked biscuits from a family friend, packets of chips, and lots of rice. The sugar numbers add up quickly I said turning away surprising myself on my new found knowledge.
We aren’t ‘diet’ people we have always eaten in moderation, and processed food is not a big part of our lifestyle, but this was a wake-up call because I was wondering how others fair especially my children.
I don’t need to go into how bad too much sugar can be, its everywhere on the news. It rots our teeth, plays havoc with our hormones {me as a case in point and men, it reduces testosterone and increase estrogen not great for fertility} and can confuse our immune system causing inflammation in our cells.
Yet sugar both good and bad is almost impossible to eliminate from your diet because it’s in everything and I don’t believe in taking out everything. Vegetables, for example, have a portion of carbohydrates that convert to sugar and so you have sugar without actually having sugar. Do you go without vegetables? – no, I don’t think so.
So what if we considered reducing our glycemic load as an opposed to cutting out all sugar? Wouldn’t that be easier? Regardless of three ways, I have found to reduce your sugar intake so you not such a hot mess of a parent.
- Read the labels on food packaging. It might drag out the already laborious job of shopping but pretty soon you will know whats in what. Avoiding sugar completely is not necessary, but try to avoid larger amounts of added sugars. If sugar content per 100g is more than 15g, check that sugar (or alternative names for added sugar) is not listed high on the ingredient list. Alternate names for sugar is Dextrose, fructose, glucose, golden syrup, honey, maple syrup, sucrose, malt, maltose, lactose, brown sugar, caster sugar, maple syrup, raw sugar, sucrose.
- Swap out sugar for alternatives such as honey, agave, maple syrup, or barley malt; all are great white sugar substitutes. I started with using honey and agave syrup is my fav- goes nicely in Margarites 😉
- Reducing foods with known sugars. It’s no-brainer soft drinks, lollies, chocolates, sweets and processed foods. If you don’t know- learn, you are accountable for your own health playing ignorant is no longer an option. Did you know Macdonalds Frozen Coke has 16 teaspoons of sugar in it? 16!!
Now it has been a couple of days since my revelation, and my renewed accountability and I feel good. My head feels good my body feels good.
So I urge any pent up and ratty parent to try at least reducing their “glycemic load” to become a better version of themselves.
Please seek advice fromhealthcareh care professional before taking any advice from someone who clearly is not a medical professional but a red hot mess of a parent.
xx Deb
