Stop Craving Sugar

Date: 1/11/2012

Workout: 6am Kickboxing Cardio/Strength Combo at Fitness One. This workout focused more on strength and working our muscles than kickboxing. Kevin (I thought his name was Patrick like I stated in my previous post but it turns out that was incorrect) set up 4 sets of equipment in rows that we used. The first row were the TRX bands, then kettle bells, then a bar with weight on it depending on your strength, and lastly this weird looking thing that I have never seen before (it was a hollow tube basically that you could grip and there were different sizes to use based on your strength). We did 3 sets using the different types of equipment and were with each piece of equipment doing the specific exercise for 2 minutes.  In-between sets, we did ab workouts on the floor or were at the punching bags. Once again, great workout!!

Food:

Breakfast: Bfast Burrito (2 Egg Whites scrambled mixed in with 2 Tbsp Salsa and 1/3c. Weight Watchers  Mexican shredded cheese on a multigrain tortilla): 272 Calories, 26g Carbs, 19g Protein, 6g Fiber, 9g Fat, 785mg sodium (yikes! not good!), 4g sugar

Morning Snack: Kashi TLC Bar and Clementine: 155 Calories, 33g Carbs, 6g Protein, 5g Fiber, 2g fat, 66mg Sodium, 15g Sugar

Lunch: Flat Out Bread Pizza-Flat out Bread covered with 1/2c. tomato basil sauce (I don’t have the name of the brand that I bought but it was an organic kind at Wal-Mart with the best nutrition info)  topped with 1/4c. Kraft reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese, chopped green peppers, and onions: 269 Calories, 41g Carbs, 22g Protein, 13g Fiber, 6.5g Fat, 13g Sugar, 986mg Sodium

Afternoon Snack: 2 Tbsp. Skippy’s All Natural Peanut Butter and celery sticks: 200 Calories, 8g Carbs, 8g Protein, 3g Fiber, 16g fat, 201mg Sodium, 4g Sugar

Dinner: Tilapia and Moo Shu Vegetable left overs: 271 Calories, 14g Carbs, 31g Protein, 4g Fiber, 12g Fat, 403mg Sodium, 0g Sugar

Total Nutrition Intake:

1,167 Calories

122 Carbs (yes!! Finally down a little more!)

86g Protein

31g Fiber

46g fat

2,441mg Sodium L

36g Sugar

I was talking to a few girls at work the other day and telling them how impressed I am with some of the people at Fitness One. Many the people that work out there are older than me (a couple around my age but still older). I’m impressed with them because the more I think about it; the more I begin to realize that life is only going to get harder for me as I get older. You begin to get in more serious relationships, start families and have children, become more dedicated to your career, etc. Yet, there are people who have these types of commitments and more who still make it to the gym at 6am. Obviously these people don’t just exist at my gym-they’re everywhere. And they might go in the evenings or whenever works but the point is that they still make time to go. For me, I don’t really have any big excuse not to get to the gym every day and eat right. It might still be challenging and I do have a busy life but when I see dedicated people show up consistently who have just as (if not more) hectic lives than me, it gives me motivation in itself.  We all have our own goals and when you’re able to surround yourself with people who have the same mentality, you’re able to push each other which is a source of awesome motivation.  

Stop Craving Sugar

I found and article in Women’s Health about Sugar. I have summarized it below.

Americans are buzzed with sugar addiction. Nearly a quarter of our daily caloric intake (325 on average) comes from sweets like baked goods, dessert, soda, and fruit juices. Sweets are bad news because they typically deliver a load of calories with little to no nutrition and the number on the scale goes up. A study found that from 1970 to 2000, daily caloric intake among women ages 20 to 39 jumped from 1,652 to 2,028 and particularly the sugar shot up. Sugar is a huge part of what’s making us fat because high-fructose corn syrup was invented in 1967. High-fructose corn syrup is cheaper to manufacture than cane-derived sugar and achieves the same degree of sweetness. So it has been added to cereals, granola bars, yogurt, and so much more.

Without knowing it, you may have a diet loaded with sugar from stealth resources. And why do you keep going back for more? Because you have a habit.

Eating too much sugar can stoke your appetite rather than satisfy it and it can become addictive. With a little determination, you can train yourself to stop craving sugar.

In a 2005 study, a group of researchers found that eating sugar triggers the release of opioids, neurotransmitters that activate the brain’s pleasure receptors. Addictive drugs, including morphine, target the same receptors.

 By eating a lot of sugar, you also force your pancreas to work overtime. Eventually, your body may become less sensitive to sugar and, essentially, build up a resistance to it. Just as frequent drinkers need to knock back more beer in order to feel their effects, you can begin to need more sugar to feel satisfied.

Fructose, that natural sugar found in fruit and certain vegetables, doesn’t make you immediately feel as if you need another sugar hit again, mainly because of the fiber and other nutrients in those foods that slow down the digestive process.

High-Fructose corn syrup isn’t the only problem sugar. Increasingly higher amounts of all sugars have found their way into our diets. For example, reaching for a diet soda may be almost as bad for you because of the artificial sweeteners that they contain. A study found that rats ate more after consuming an artificially sweetened drink than they did after sipping sugar water. Another study showed that people who drank a can of diet soda per day had a 37 percent greater incidence of obesity. The artificial sweeteners can also tease your stomach because it anticipate the arrival of calories so when it doesn’t get it, it looks elsewhere. Lastly, because artificial sweeteners are usually sweeter than sugar, stirring a teaspoon into something may mean when you do use real sugar, it doesn’t taste sweet enough so you add more.  

The only way to curb a sugar habit is to cut back. It may be hard but your body will eventually crave less sugar. There are many names for sweeteners and sugars so it is important to educate yourself on that and read labels if you are trying to cut back. You should probably try and have around 30 grams of sugar a day (for a middle aged female).

Make sure to eat breakfast. Many sugar addicts skip breakfast and get a big hit of it at 10am. When you eat breakfast, you prevent the drop in blood sugar that makes you crave sugar later. Satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit. These have natural sugars in them which are much better for you. When you simply must have a cupcake or candy bad, stick to 100 to 150 calorie portions. If you drink a soda or another drink high in sugar every day, try having one every other day, then once a week, then not at all.