Mom22:
I have found during the few months that I have been on maintenance that as I said earlier, I have had a few times where I went nuts on certain things and some of them tasted really good and some so..so. It does become a habit to pay attention to what and how you eat and there are times when you just go for it and do not seem to care but I find the next day I do the "no carb" thing as guilt and fear come into play in my mind!! Worked too hard to let things slip too far!!
I have decided that I will NEVER EVER let myself get more than 4 pounds over my goal weight (4 pounds as we all know that some pounds can be water weight, need for a bathroom run etc) If I do it will be right back onto my version of Phase I to get the pounds off.
This week I am going back to an alternative Phase 1 (egg beaters for breakfast, cucumbers and celery for mid morning snack, protein shake and salad for lunch and fish/lean protein and veggies for dinner and every second day a sugar free/fat free jello pudding for dessert and some days I will have 1/2 a low carb protein bar in the afternoon and the other half at night) just to get things back into a routine as Olympic parties etc have played havoc on my routine for the last few weeks!!!
Have to say it 'YEAH CANADIAN HOCKEY TEAMS, THEY ROCK!!!!
The following article is long but makes some sense to me, it is from one of my coaches and makes the "eat protein first" idea make some sense to me.
How can we make bad food better? What does that mean? Making bad food better is about understanding the chemistry involved in fat gain and making better choices in regards to which foods are consumed if you are caught outside your kitchen. (always try to eat healthy before heading out or pack a healthy meal before you leave the house)
The basic chemistry of bad food, disease and weight gain goes something like this. Just make sure not to apply these tricks more than once per week as unhealthy foods pack a big negative punch. These rules just minimize that punch slightly.
High glycemic sugars are very bad when too many of them get into the blood stream at one time. The body uses sugar (glucose) to power many functions but too much sugar is something that the body hates. The body requires a very regulated supply of blood sugar, more like an I.V drip type scenario at a hospital. A slow and steady drip of sugar is what the body loves.
It should be remembered, from previous e-mails, that the word "sugar" and "carb" mean the exact same thing. Pepsi is a sugar, as is fruit juice. Bread is a sugar, as is a cracker.
Any fruit, grain, vegetable and anything made from these products are sugars or carbs. (all the same thing) Alcohol is also one of the most dangerous sugars. (yes....red wine as well - see how advertising can make bad products appear as healthy products) How many people buy into the false advertising that unhealthy products, they enjoy, are really healthy for them? Due to this false advertising red wine alcoholism is sweaping our fine nation.
The body becomes very agitated if sugar enters the system too quickly to cause what we will now call "a sugar snow storm". The problem with sugar is that it is very acidic to the body. When sugar touches the sides of arteries and other tissues, the acidic sugar burns a hole right through and initiates what is known as the "defensive inflammation process".
Large holes in the arteries and tissues require cholesterol to fix them and that cholesterol builds up, catches other debris and can cause blockages all around your blood stream.
In conclusion sugar is acidic and as a general rule, acidic material is the genesis for disease, pain and dysfunction. The inflammation process is the genesis for the majority of modern weight gain. Click here to see just how many diseases sugar can cause.
Most diseases from depression to high cholesterol have their foundations based on excess high glycemic sugar consumption. Sugar has been proven to grow cancer cells very rapidly. Sugar drains the body of life. Excess blood sugar is a huge problem.
If someone is in a situation where they have to eat a high glycemic carb (a carb that enters the blood stream too quickly) that carb can actually be slowed down in such a way that it becomes a little more safe to consume. (more like an I.V. drip and less like a "sugar snow storm")
Picture the small intestine being more like a fine strainer. The small intestine (and even stomach) have some very small holes throughout it and that is where sugar enters the blood stream. The holes in the small intestine ( the "strainer") are small but the sugar molecules are 1000 times smaller.
If there is nothing else caught up in he strainer, "blocking the holes", the sugar just zips right through causing the undesirable "sugar snow storm"! The secret to making sure the sugar does not zip through is to have an adequate supply of fat, protein and fiber to clog up the holes in the strainer. That slows down the sugar's entry into the bloodstream.
Sugar on its' own (alcohol, bread etc) will always cause a much larger disease and weight gaining affect on the body compared to the same sugar being mixed with some fat, protein or fiber. (ex. alcohol or bread consumed with salmon, butter or olive oil)
With some fat, protein and fiber in the stomach, (preferably consumed prior to the sugar/carb) the sugar has no choice but to lean up against the fat, protein or fiber and wait its' turn to enter the bloodstream.
The sugar will eventually get through the holes in the small intestine but it will be over a longer period of time. Slow sugar entry is much safer compared to the undesirable "sugar snowstorm". You want small amounts of sugar making it through every minute.....not a huge blast of sugar all at once.
Here are some examples of how to initiate this "slowing down process". If you are eating bread prior to a meal, dip it in some cold pressed extra virgin organic olive oil or real organic raw butter. The olive oil will clog up some of the small intestine's entry ports.
Have some butter with your potato, have some almond butter with your Ezekiel bread and have some almonds before you have a banana or other fruit. Have salmon or raw organic cheese before you consume alcohol. (we really do not endorse alcohol, as it is one of the most devastating items out there) These all serve to slow the entry of sugar into the blood stream.
Taming sugar and controlling the speed at which sugars (carbs) enter the blood stream is a good strategy for keeping the weight off for a lifetime and staying healthy. Avoiding high glycemic carbs and processed foods altogether is always the best bet for life long health but there should always be a full understanding of how carbs cause the majority of modern disease and dysfunction.
Torchlaker: looking forward to the bathing suit in the snow picture!!!
Good luck everyone this week, got to run, super busy!!!
Last edited by ottawa; 03-01-2010 at 07:53 AM.
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THE PLANETS ARE ALIGNING....
