Welcome to week four! For many of you, it’s your second week of life completely devoid of sugar…how are you feeling? Noticing any changes in your body? Moods?
But first, some housekeeping:
- if you’re enjoying the detox process and want to take it further…Nutritionist Michele Chevalley Hedge is running a four-day Cleanse & Nourish Retreat in Byron late April. Find the details here. I’ll be dropping in for sure!
- A gentle reminder to get on board with me for FebFast. Join my team or donate here. I VERY much endorse quitting booze if you’re quitting sugar…it will make the process easier. And while you’re on a righteous roll…!
- I’m giving away 60 packs of sugar free The Muesli (worth $20)..it involves a quick questionnaire…details here…the offer ends THIS Wednesday COB.
- And, yes, finally, we’re going to do a webinar next Monday January 30 at 6:30pm.
You’ll need to join via my I Quit Sugar facebook page here
But back to cravings and crankiness…I found some info this week that backs up my approach (and which I really implore everyone to observe):
Don’t push it. We’re experimenting, people. Everything’s cool.
Some of you are feeling guilty about giving in and lapsing. Like I’ve said before, not a problem. Sit. Observe what the cake or the chocolate or whatever did to your mood, your mouth, your vibe. And move on.
Some of you are also getting a bit fretty about whether you’re doing things “right”…all I can say is, Yep, you are (if you’re conscious of your habits now). And keep asking questions. The comments forum is proving a festy petri dish of tips and advice. Wade in!
Just quickly, I cam across this factoid during the week, which I find interesting:
An estimated 70 per cent of Americans do not consume sufficient nutrients – due to the amount of refined and processed foods eaten. Can you believe it??? Modern malnutrition, hey. Esteemed wellness guru Dr. Joel Fuhrman says malnutrition is what causes us to crave certain food. He says to stop the “addictive drives and perverted cravings” we suffer from, it is essential to restore nutritional excellence.
Ergo, he says, eat nutrient-dense foods: Green veggies, non-starchy veggies, beans, raw nuts and seeds, and it helps the cravings.
Try this for a sweet hit
Macadamia oil...I use this Brookfarm one…it’s local to Byron Bay (in fact Macadamias are native to the area). It’s a mono-unsaturated fat and is full of great nutrients…and it tastes seriously sweet! Don’t cook with the stuff – pour it on salads. I love it on steamed zucchini. I also pour it on some yoghurt with a sprinkle of celtic sea salt for an afternoon snack.
your questions answered
This week I have nutritionist Lola Berry and author of Sweet Poison David Gillespi answering a few of your questions. As well as my good self.
Jess Jantzen asks: So I buy smoked salmon 100g net – 5 slices in it. On the back it tells me: Serving Size 50g. So 50g divided by 4 = 12.5. So 12.5 teaspoons of sugar in this pack?
Sarah: Ahhh, I might have confused you. Go to the amount of sugar listed under the serving size column (as opposed to the 100g column). I imagine it would be very little. You then divide the sugar figure by 4.
Calculating sugar content is a little hit and miss, because some foods contain “sugar” but it’s actually only lactose (ergo, no fructose); some contain “sugar” but this figure is sucrose (1/2 fructose, 1/2 glucose) PLUS extra straight fructose (eg: fruit). Just do you best…
Brittany says: Just wanted to know what brand of coconut oil your using Sarah.
Sarah: I really like the Niugini Organic brand because it comes in a mason preserving jar (worth a good $8; I use afterwards for making sauerkraut etc). It’s also travelled the least to come here (from PNG)…so less carbon miles.
Amyer asks: Probiotics…I looked up Yakult and found that it has 11.4g of sugar, most of which is sucrose (and a small bit of glucose and lactose)…?
David: I’d avoid probiotics unless your doctor is telling you to have them (because say you’ve just taken a heavy course of anti-biotics) – many of them contain serious amounts of sugar (Yakult contains 2.5 teaspoons of sugar in a single 65ml serve) to make them palatable. If you can find one without sugar and you really need to take one – then go for it.
Ellen asks: I am still nursing my son, so I am afraid that I will not be able to get what I need to maintain milk supply and stay safe [if I quit sugar]
Lola: This is a great question, as you are eating for two your food intake and requirements will be much higher. The best advice I can give you is to listen to your body. If you feel like something sweet one of my favorites is a bowl of blueberries mixed with cinnamon and coconut oil. The blueberries give you that sweetness, the cinnamon balances blood sugar levels and the coconut oil will give you sustained release energy. Plus, as you’re still nursing you’ll need lots more energy, so coconut oil is something I would increase in the diet, it’s a healthy fat the body loves!
Erin asks: Tinned tomatoes in cooking ok?
Sarah: Yep. They’re less than 1g/100g and you really only eat about 150g in a meal.
Marnie asks: I’m curious about butter. Stupid question, perhaps – what category of the above fats does butter fall into?
Sarah: Not a stupid question. It’s a saturated fat, which we’ve been told is bad. But isn’t. Check out this post on saturated fat to read more. Butter is REALLY good (as long as you’re not casein sensitive). It’s one of the best fats to help with the absorption of vitamins in veggies, calcium uptake, immune function, and cell membrane structure. But always buy organic, NEVER the hydrogenated (spreadable) ones and never low fat.
Stacey asks: I am a vegetarian and I know that eating “meaty” meals were a big part your (Sarah’s) diet…what to do?
Sarah: Can I suggest you check out Maria’s 21-day vegan sugar-free challenge over at scandifoodie?
extra reading
Just two apps this week that you might like:
The Eatery gets others to rate how healthy you’re eating…they have a specific philosophy behind this approach. You can watch the video here.
And this one…FoodSwitch…which allows you to scan the barcode on a grocery item and it tells you the healthiest option in the category. I’ve only just downloaded it and am still playing with it…it seems to be missing a lot of the foods in my pantry. Tell me if you’ve had better luck.
That’s all for now folks. Give me feedback on what else you’d like answered. And don’t forget to join in the webinar next Monday at 6.30pm…
