Hey there!

I’ve been doing a mixture of the KIMKINS thing & the ADKINS thing since June 9th, 2007… which basically means nothing but meat, some cheese, a little cream, and green leafy veggies.  No sugar.  No white flour.  Very little pre-packaged or processed foods (aka - luncheon meat).

My boyfriend and future hubby, Jerry, noticed the results I was getting and joined the program.  Personally, I think it was because he wanted me to cook for him too ;o)

Anyway, here we are in September - three months sans sugar.  I have gone off of my diet only twice - and both planned on events.  Well, once was because the waiter put sauce on my meat and I had consumed half of it before I had realized it… sugar = I’m out of ketosis.  But I had a planned cheat later that day since I was out of ketosis. 

Yes, food tasted the same.  Yes, it didn’t change… and it was more than likely going to be there when I got off of the diet (lol - of COURSE it will be!!!)

My second planned outing, and being off of the low-carb experience was the week of the Labor Day holiday.  I literally took an entire week off of the strict watching of what I ate.  Didn’t go crazy on foods, just had regular meals.

Here’s what I have discovered so far about sugar addition - this is a personal thing, of course:

1) Sugar addiction is REAL.  Much like coffee, it takes several days to a week to come off of it.  This includes, in my opinion, white flour and all junk/processed foods. 

2) Much of what you think is hunger is probably thirst.  And no, diet soda isn’t going to cut it.  You want water.  Yes, it has a taste that’s hard to get used to, but trust me, you want water.  I had to get a BRITA pitcher for work, the fridge at home, and my room.  I had to get a few fancy glasses that made drinking it fun.  Straws.  Ice.  The occasional lemon wedge floating in my water glass. 

When I drink water:  I lose weight, I sleep better, my skin glows, I feel better, my body functions (read:bathroom) are easy & more frequent… thus I lose weight! 

When I don’t drink water:  I’m literally clogged up.  I can’t sleep.  I feel bad.  My breath smells.  I am thirsty, and no matter what I drink, I’m still thirsty (duh - not thirsty for coffee or diet pepsi!  LOL )

3) Sunday, 9/9/07, was a Wedding show.  Lots of samples.  Seriously, I barely had any of the sample cakes, but yes… I had a few here and there.  More sugar than I had consumed in months, to be sure.  Within 30 minutes of leaving the conference center, I got sick.  Headache, tummyache, and the blahs like I wanted to fall into a coma and sleep it away.  Jerry got me some cold water from the 7-11, and some advil.  Within an hour, I was feeling much better… but I’m convinced it was sugar related.

(con’t in next post...)

I guess to sum up, I’m convinced that sugar is a tasty substance… but an addictive substance.  I know that I’m not going to live on a meat-only diet for the rest of my life, but I am going to keep it low-carb and low-GI index.  Staying away from the sugar seems to work best for me.  When I go back to fruits, staying light on the starchy/sugary ones (like bananas and grapes) and heavier on the fiber fillers with the sweet tastes that satisfy.

In addition, I’m weening myself off of SPLENDA.  I had been hitting the STARBUCKS in the mornings (trying to stay awake for these 10 - 12 hour days), and didn’t always have my STEVIA with me.  SPLENDA is super-sweet, so it takes time to change your tastebuds back to normal.  Diet/low-fat peddlers replace the flavor of fat with sugar substitutes.  That’s why CRYSTAL LIGHT, SF JELLO, etc, are soooooo sweet.

I may even switch to the FIT FOR LIFE approach to dieting at some point, as that also worked well for me.  But guess what?  Little to no sugar involved in that diet.  It’s pretty much fruit, fruit, more fruit, lots of water, lots of veggies (70% of all regular meals are veggie/salad - non starchy ones), and 30% of either a starch or a protein per every regular meal.  And that also follows the 8-hour rule.  Eating regular meals for only an 8-hour period (aka - lunch and dinner), not eating before bed, and basically giving your body as much rest and recovery time as possible.

Both the KIMKINS/ATKINS diet and the FIT FOR LIFE diet are very labor intensive.  They require you to go shopping, prep and cook food, and basically bring it with you everywhere you go.  There’s not a lot of stopping at the local fast food joint - there’s little they can serve you there that you can eat.

Not only are they labor intensive, they can be costly.  Fresh veggies and meat cost money.  Ramen noodles, canned veggies, the DOLLAR MENU, these are all inexpensive things that you can’t take advantage of on these diets.

HOWEVER - my palate, my stomach size (how much I need to feel satisfied), and the appeal of naughty foods for me has completely changed. 

ONE MORE QUICK NOTE - When I consume diet soda, or SPLENDA, I have noticed something odd… and have read in other places that this is not an uncommon reaction.  I consume the product, and within 30 to 60 minutes, I crave some sort of food.  This used to be a craving to hit the snack machine. 

What I have been reading lately is that your brain/body doesn’t know the difference between SPLENDA, let’s say, and real sugar.  You consume the sugar-type product, and your brain tells your body to be ready for it.  So the body prepares… and poof - no sugar.

So your body consumes what it can, and says “HEY BRAIN, WHERE’S THE SUGAR?” Your brain then tells you to eat something via craving.  It literally makes you crave simple, easy to break down foods (that turn directly into sugar, if it’s not a sugar-based thing you’re eating anyway).  Things like junk food, bread, etc… you get the picture.

Oh well… there’s more, but I’m clogging up the entry, so I’ll leave it there.  More exciting news based on a book that I’m reading (not yet released - Oct release I think) titled GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES.  Good stuff.

Cheers,
~ Josette ~

Okay two days with no sugar at all.

Woo!

Be careful, organic food isn’t necessarily healthy food.  I’ve seen organic drinks that are loaded with sugar.  Labeling a food organic, doesn’t mean much nutritionally so make sure you check the contents - calories , sugars, carbs, and fats - before you decide if it is good for you.

Indeed, labeling it organic on the wrapper is one thing, but the facts behind the product are what show you what you’re actually getting(although depending upon where you live, a lot of ingredients don’t have to be listed due to governmetn lobbying). I go to the healthfood store and see all sorts of unhealthy stuff. But at first you think, “HEALTHfood store”, so one might walk in non-assuming. One time a while back I bought these sugar coated peanuts. I mistakenly assumed that it was made with unrefined/truly organic ingredients. I took it home and figured it out, it had all the usual junk, and at a premium price! So I talked to them about it and they basically said “oh yeah some of the stuff in here isn’t healthy so you have to check labels.”

If I get organic sugar, it has to have the nutrients intact, it has to be truly organic. Actually I was having a discussion with my brother in law from England recently and he was mentioning how a lot of companies will label their products “Organics”, or “made with organic ingredients”, and it’s definitely something we have to be vigilant about because they can fool you with the labels. Sadly it’s the new bandwagon for marketers.

And of course the nutritional content label is one thing, and it may have a certain amount of fats and sugars and carbs, but if the ingredients that make that up are crap, then it’s not so healthy. Though I make a point of checking both, I’m more concerned with what the ingredients list is. If they are using refined sugar, and lacing the product with chemicals.

ya ever feel like you’re talking to yourself on these boards....?  :::giggle:::  maybe it’s just me

Yeah I think making a public declaration of stopping the sugar is kinda scary. Like the last two days I didn’t really make it. But I was really good today and I plan to keep things strict in the days ahead.

I feel better without it so why regularly put something into my body that makes me feel not good?

Deb - 21 August 2007 04:27 PM

It’s Celestial Seasonings; and it’s Cinnamon Apple Spice, I got the word order mixed up! But it’s pretty good.

mmmm i LOVE celestial seasonings.  I’m a bit of a herbal tea-a-holic I have a cupboard dedicated to tea, haha.

My husband bought me a sample pack, and the cinnamon apple spice was my favorite, but I liked most of the flavors that were in there.

Celestial Seasonings has, perhaps, my favourite chai ever: Original India Spice.  Also, they’ve got an herbal blend called Bengal Spice, which tastes just like chai but is caffine-free.  How awesome is that?

I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Cinnamon Apple Spice.

Cheers,
Julie

I use the Celestial Seasoning Chai Tea and its so awesome with warm soy milk, and/or skim milk.  Love all those Zero’s! Now I cant wait to find the Cinnamon Apple Spice tea, I bet its yummy! 

Deb I love this tread, very interesting helpful reading.