Category: Food

Sugar Substitutes to Curve Your Cravings

Do you ever have those days where you have crazy sugar cravings? It seems like you have it under control, but the next thing you know, you could really go for that Twix bar or a taste of that soda? That was me a few days ago. I have done a pretty good job of kicking my cravings for sweets, however, it sometimes comes back to bit me. Sugar is not necessarily bad for you, it is the extremely processed sugars and high fructose corn syrup that are put in drinks and candies. Here are a few ways to curve you sweet tooth cravings with natural alternatives.

1. Raw Honey

This is honey from flowers that still contains healthful vitamins A, C, D, E and K, various B vitamins, calcium, potassium, magnesium and live enzymes that are removed when honey is heated, filtered and processed.

2. Maple Syrup

Maple syrup contains antioxidants, vitamins and phytonutrients not found in refined sugar.

3. Dark Chocolate

The percentages you see on a chocolate bar wrapper are indicative of how much cacao is in each bar out of 100% by weight. So, if you read 45% on the bar, it means the bar is 55% milk and sugar and only 45% cacao. But a 75% bar contains only 25% milk and sugar, making it a lower-sugar choice. A bar that reads 100% would be made entirely of cacao nibs and cacao butter without added refined sugar or milk solids.

4. Coconut Palm Sugar

Coconut palm sugar is lower on the glycemic index than both honey and maple syrup and is a great substitute for granulated sugar in baking recipes.

5. Dried Fruit

Dried fruits are made by evaporating the juices out of fresh fruit, leaving concentrated flavors and natural, unprocessed fruit sugars behind. However, with the natural sugars and burst of flavor, dried fruit is high in calories. A little goes a long way!

6. Fresh Fruit

Fresh fruit has the added bonus of a higher water content so it’ll fill you up faster and the natural fiber will keep you full for longer than dried fruit. Eating ripe, fresh fruit is a wonderful, healthful way to sate your sugar cravings

For more information visit: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/6-sugar-alternatives-satisfy-sweet-tooth/

Eat Healthy, Feel Better

Hey everyone!

It has been a while since I last posted! I hope you have all been working hard and enjoying your workouts. I know I have. Since I last wrote, I completed the Indoor Ironman at school, which was hard because I got sick the last week of the challenge. I was going to give up, but I had come too far to not finish the last 30 miles biking and 10 running. I had three days to finish before I left for spring break. I made myself suck it up and do it. I am glad I did it!

Anyway…. Today I want to write a post about eating healthy. We hear it all the time, “you are what you eat” blah blah blah. Well, yeah, it’s true and a total cliche. However, it still holds true, I have found that my body is very sensitive to what I put in it, and when I eat healthy, boy does it make a difference for me.

I have more energy, I am more focused and aware. It is an astonishing difference. I use MyFitnessPal to keep me on track with healthy eating. I mentioned before that I had a bad liver because of my eating habits and weight gain. By logging my meals to the best of my ability in MyFitnessPal, I am able to keep track of what I am putting in my body.

Image result for myfitnesspal

I try my best to stick to a low carbohydrate diet because of my liver and eating good fats, and full fat foods because of the low cholesterol.  So I replace pasta,with zucchini noodles and spaghetti squash. I make sure I eat a lot of protein and keep protein shakes on hand if I need them. Eating healthy has made a world of a difference for me, although it has been difficult in college with my lack of time to prepare a good meal. But I keep at it and you should too! I promise it is worth it. You are worth the investment!

Why You Should Look Twice at that Label!

I am going to put this out there right away. It is a challenge to eat healthy. It takes determination and a lot of self-control. While eating healthy there seems to be so many things to remember. How much sugar can I have in a day? What kinds of fats are the good fats?  How much sodium should I be consuming? All of those questions are indeed good things to know, but there is on aspect of our food that we seem to overlook. Carbohydrates.

Because of medical reasons, I have had to go on an extremely low carb diet. I am not even close to being a medical professional, but I was inspired to write about my findings because of how my life has changed. For years I have been trying to be conscious of the way I ate and what kinds of foods I put into my body. Recently, I have become more aware about the effects Carbohydrates have on the body and why consuming a large amount of processed and refined carbs are bad.

(Note: not ALL carbohydrates are bad!!!)

Processed Carbs

Let’s start with the worst kind, refined and processed carbs. Processed carbohydrates strip away beneficial fibers and nutrients that keep us full longer; such as white bread and white rice. A lot of the food we consume today has turned into something completely unnatural with a lot of added ingredients. Some of those ingredients include: High refined sugars, sodium, sometimes high saturated fat, and cholesterol. A lot of what we eat in the United States is processed carbs. Why? Because it is less time consuming, cost efficient, and convenient and they taste amazing. We are a fast moving culture and it is so easy to make pastas, order a pizza, or even a sub sandwich. Those kind of carbs will sneak up on you when it is least expected. Numerous studies show that refined carbohydrate consumption can lead to health problems like type two diabetes and obesity. The “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010” suggests that adults, both male and female, get 45 to 65 percent of their calories from carbohydrates. However, this can vary depending on individual’s age, weight, health status, and amount of physical activity. It is recommended that you follow the guidelines that work best with your unique body. All this bad carb talk seems a little depressing with the “what you can’t/ shouldn’t eat” thing. There is good news though! There is such thing as good carbohydrates!

Natural Carbs

Not all carbs are bad carbs. In fact, we need carbohydrates to live. The best place to get those good nutrients is from natural sources. So what is a real carb or good carb? A good carb, is fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains (such as oats), nuts, and meats. The way I think about it is “did my ancestors eat this/ would my ancestor eat this”. I very simple guideline I use in determining if something might be high in the bad kind of carbohydrates. Low- carb lifestyles (the word diet may sound negative) might work very well for some people. This way of eating restricts the refined carbohydrate intake, while boosting protein and fat intake. While a low-carb lifestyle may be the answer for some people with certain metabolic problems and weight loss goals, it might not be the best fit for someone else’s lifestyle. Looking twice at food labels will help control your carbohydrate intake and in turn, make your body feel better by getting the good carbs it craves. I know it has made a difference for me.

So why does this pertain to you and your health? Believe it or not, this all connects to the liver. Liver is responsible for many different functions, one of which is breaking down carbs and processing nutrients. Our liver also deals with breaking down alcohol, something Wisconsinites love. Not everyone in Wisconsin is a heavy drinker, but it is good to be aware of what we are putting into our body that our liver has to deal with. My problem, at 20 years old, was my mass consumption of carbohydrates that forced my liver to work overtime and in turn, is at risk of being damaged. If someone else is having the same problem or not watching the carbs they consume, and add alcohol on top of that, it could make for an unhappy liver. I will leave you with this, check your labels, and be aware of what you are drinking. You may feel fine on the outside, but your body is working over-time to keep you healthy and happy. Do the same for your body by watching what you put into it!

Goal Setting

Fitness is all about goal setting. Set a number of miles you want to run in a workout, the amount of weight you want to lift in a set, or setting a calorie goal for yourself. If you take on too much at one time, you will most likely not follow through on it. Personally, I have tried running before in the past and pushed myself too hard. To the point where I would stop and get discouraged and stop all together. Taking small steps has been a huge help in my fitness and clean eating journey.

First, I started with trying to eat better. I did the 24-day challenge from AdvoCare. It jump started my clean eating. I also had to change my eating habits because I was having liver problems due to my diet. I had to cut carbs almost completely out of my diet. So I stopped drinking soda, cut out a lot of sugar, pasta, tacos (sad, I know) and started exercising more.

Here are some small changes you can make to help you with your diet/exercise regime:

  • Go to the gym two to three times per week, or do whatever you are comfortable with
  • Go for a walk form 30 minutes two to three times per week.
  • Instead of going out to eat, find recipes that you enjoy and cook at home.
  • Drink coffee with less cream or substitue sugar for stevia.
  • Drinking more water and less soda! I cannot stress how important this is!
  • Cut your carbs in half. This is tough to do because you don’t realize how many carbs you actually do eat in a day. And they are in everything.

If you are just starting to make small changes, you will see big results! Do not get discouraged. Any change you make for yourself is a good change.  This is something I need to continue to tell myself. Results take time, but feeling good because of the good nutrients you put in your body happens almost instantly. So I challenge you to make at least one or two changes to benefit your health and the results will come!

 

-Brenna 🙂