sugar is NOT my friend

So a while back I blogged to you about my NO SUGAR CHALLENGE (I feel the need to add a little gravitas to the title) and I managed to keep that up for months and this weekend I fell off the wagon. Hard. The absolute crap it has made me feel like has inspired me to write a little bit about why sugar is so bad and why I should start the NO SUGAR CHALLENGE MONTH again from tomorrow (last time it started as a month and then just carried on; I like this method as indefinitely just seems too much but at the end of a month your eating habits have just changed - it's all psychological). First things first - I forgive myself for munching those sugary treats this weekend; I am considering it a break from sanity and healthy eating!

The thing that I was most asked about, when I mentioned the NO SUGAR CHALLENGE in the blog discussion wall coffee shop thingy, was how do I avoid sugar. Most people, if not all, considered it completely impossible - so let me briefly explain how I avoid sugar.
1) I eat fresh fruit and veg (a bit of a cliche these days) wherever possible
2) I exchange sugary items with no-sugar alternatives (beware of "low fat" anything - usually they're loaded with sugar); my example of this is switching my soya milk for light soya milk, which has no sugar
3) When I have items of processed food, such as cereal, I eat completely sugar free such as rice puffs by rude foods instead of rice krispies.
4) Snacks, which I have between every meal, are usually cashew nuts (just a few) or some fruit (apple, banana, a smoothie - fruit sugars are essential!)
- and a new rule I have added after this weekend -
5) avoid bakeries at all costs

Motivation for why it's a good idea to cut out processed sugars can be found in all the reasons why sugar is bad for you...

1) Sugar is calories - fat in the human body is laid down from sugar intake, and not from fat intake.
2) Sugar in any quantity alters your blood sugar levels and causes your glands to work overtime to balance this out; sugar highs inevitably lead to sugar lows; these lows make you feel hungry when you're not and, in the case of me this weekend, cause you to visibly shake!
3) Sugar is addictive; once I've munched a little bit I have to have more. I don't know any other food that has that effect on me.
4) There are a wide variety of sweeteners in foods these days, none of which am I using as alternatives to sugar - sweeteners such as Aspertame (originally labelled as a poison until someone noticed how sweet it tasted) are hideously bad for you! (online search it).
5) The human body's urge for sugar comes from the necessity for Vitamin C; fruits have known this for a long time which is why they have lovely natural sugars to attract us to eating them. Our sweet tooth is really a craving for vitamins!
6) I have already gone without sugar for a few months and felt amazing. My energy levels were balanced and my diet was healthier. My body became leaner and my sometimes tetchy stomach was much happier.

I think those are pretty good reasons to try the NO SUGAR CHALLENGE for a month. Roll on tomorrow, I know I can do this again! :)

SUGAR - HUH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

Hello :) I have been thinking about how my diet has changed in the past few months and how cutting out sugar (or attempting to) has changed my body and energy, as well as appetite. I've discovered over the past few weeks sugar is added to EVERYTHING. It's even hidden in the places you least expect it, like bread. The thing about sugar is it compels you to eat more - fruit sugars do this to ensure the fruits are repeatedly eaten and the seed is distributed, and likewise, we are programmed to take on sugar (our brains will starve every other vital organ for the last shreds of sugar if you're starving). I would never begrudge my body something healthy and that it needs, so I obviously haven't cut out fruit with its yummy natural sugars - just the processed stuff. To be honest, processed anything is bad news, so I avoid that too. I've decided I am going to make a short video about my diet (as in eating habits, not starvation!) to inspire you :).
You're probably wondering what the photos with this blog have to do with diet - absolutely nothing! These are just 2 photos from our trip to the zoo last weekend :) I am really rather proud of the tiger face one I took...



hehe - his ears are funny.

Just to show how my diet and exercise over the past year has changed me, here's 2 photos from my holidays - the left is 2009 and the right, 2010...

Eddie Izzard gets me through

So here's a photo of my amazing sister (left) and me wearing the EDS shirt after the Hull 10k (I managed to borrow a USB cable from one of the 2nd year boys. A mega day I won't forget in a hurry.
Frankie Boyle just said something funny on Mock The Week: "Do you mind if I leave early? I have to pick up the kids...before their parents arrive". Haha - classic. I have been craving comedy this week, watching Eddie Izzard DVDs to amuse me on an evening.
It's been a funny start to the week (and not ha-ha funny, apart from where I injected it with comedy) with crappy lessons and the inevitable dread of the sheer volume of work we have to complete within a week and a half, it's been a bit of a downer. I can't really even look forward to going back to Bristol yet because I have a mega long drive ahead of me. It won't be until I am driving past Cheltenham that I will start to get excited.
Even worse, our Project Manager (aged 18) was dumped by his girlfriend and has been mentally elsewhere for ages now, deciding getting hammered before working together was a good idea (annoying). He keeps saying he wanted kids with her and marriage more than anything and I said "you're only 18!" and he was resolute so I said "it's a lesson in life then - be more independent, you're not going to be with someone from day 1 to the end of your life" - so Jammy slated me for being negative. I didn't think that was negative, my mum taught me that (admittedly it sounded a little bleak to me too at first); with a little thought, I think it is a massively important piece of advice. You should be independent - doesn't mean you can't love the people with you when they are and appreciate every minute, it just means when they're gone you're not left completely lost. Maybe I go too far the other way, and am fiercely independent (the poor bf) but I think if you invest 100% in someone you can still be independent and realistic. I don't think that these are mutually exclusive.
Anyway, Day 28 of the No Sugar Challenge (2 days left) - I still can't decide if I am going to gorge on maltesers or just keep going and see how long I can go.
Day 18 of the countdown (can't really enjoy this now we have so much work)

I made a promise today, my friend Sammy is applying to do the law conversion in Bristol and I said I'd move in with her if she's accepted. Fingers crossed I actually earn enough...

scouseland

Sorry it has been a few days since I wrote a blog, I've not had a great deal to write about. Today I just wanted to tell you about the past few days and update you on my sugar challenge.
I am in the north for 5 weeks for a college block my work send me on so it's pretty dull here (unless you want to know what it's like living with teenage boys - trust me on this, you don't) but when I see my scousefriend Chris this weekend I'll hopefully have much more exciting adventures to tell you about. We might be going to The Krazyhouse this weekend for a Beach themed party (why didn't I pack my bikini when going up north in May? Clearly it would be needed...) and maybe the aquarium during the day since I have the car with me too :o)
On the 28th April I started a No Sugar Challenge (inspired by Zuzana on bodyrock.tv) and now I am on Day 15 of 30 and I feel fine. To be honest, I think if I get to 30 days, I am going to try to keep going and see how long I can last. I am really quite surprised by my own willpower, I would've thought it would be much harder.
Oooh! I just saw the new Gorillaz song and the video has Bruce Willis in: is it just me or does he not just get more attractive as he gets older? I am looking forward to Die Hard 5 :o)

Sugar & Time

Evening everyone :o) I hope you've all got mega bank holiday weekend plans - I know I have! So I've a few things to tell you about today and a little favour at the end too, but I'll leave that until the end.

The No Sugar Challenge - I am at the end of Day 3 of my 30 day no sugar challenge and to be honest, it's not too difficult just yet. My friend told me the first week will be the worst because of the withdrawl but I haven't had anything like that - although I never had sugar every day before this so perhaps the worst is still to come.

As you can see from the photo I took in the ladies toilets today, I have dyed my hair - which I have since dyed again because it was too unnatural looking. Now it's a very dark brown with red shine. Lucky for me, I only ever dye my hair with semi-permanent (no peroxide - much kinder on your hair!) so it will fade over the next month into a more natural colour then back to my natural brown :o) Isn't it annoying how your fringe always goes the darkest?

A guy at work today (I say guy, he's 18 so it's more accurate to call him a boy) confessed he doesn't eat breakfast or lunch because it's 'easier to count his abs that way' - I was horrified. I emailed him with tonnes of information about how his body will be suffering, eating his muscle and liver first, dehydrating, putting stress on his kidneys, finally eating fat stores and going into starvation mode (slowing metabolism and binge eating - which he already does, eating 2 12 inch pizzas last week on lunch) and he replied "but I still have my muscle! haaa" - there is no hope for the youth of today. at all.

Hopefully, if I'm not too exhausted tomorrow from emotions and excitement I will be able to write a short blog about my day (first day at Badminton Horse Trials for me! Dressage tomorrow!) but until then, I've a little 30 second favour to ask you...
My sister has EDS and when one of the two specialists for this rare condition retires this September they are going to close that department at the hospital she is treated at, meaning she'll be 400 miles from the nearest help. If you've a spare 30 seconds, could you sign the online petition to stop this closure? Remember to click the link they email you to verify your signature. It'd genuinely mean the absolute world to me if you could do it for my sister and everyone else who is treated by Prof. Bird. The link is:
http://www.hypermobility.org/capetition.php

...and keep an eye on my blog, because I am signing up for the Hull 10k in May to raise money for the EDS charity - my sponsorship forms are in the post so I'll be driving everyone I know mad hunting for sponsorship (not you guys though!)

Until tomorrow! x

The Circle of Maltesers

I confessed a lunchtime misdemeanour to my boyfriend today; I had a huge bag of maltesers after suffering a sugar-crash at work. He said "you eat lots of sugar and then complain about feeling fat" and it got me thinking. I actually complained about feeling/looking fat the day previous and the "sod it I'm screwed anyway what's the point perhaps there's happiness/solice in the maltesers" feeling that let me eat a huge bag without feeling like I was letting myself down. Now I have the post-malteser guilt that motivates me to do a hard workout and then the bitterness of doing a poor effort because I was sugar-crashing from the maltesers earlier that day. The workout I did today is in the video attached: 11 exercises, 50 reps of each (or 25 on each side). It was absolutely killer and I desperately want to beat my time the next time I try this one. A lot of my workouts come from Zuzana and Freddy at bodyrock.tv - they're the best!

So in conclusion: I have decided to take on the 30 day NO SUGAR challenge. I am not going to lie to you, my blogs from tomorrow onwards might be on the scarier side of grumpy.

Ellie x