Sweet Cravings.. beat them :)

Sinful Sugar - a socially acceptable drug with deadly consequences :(

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Sugar works the addiction and reward pathway in the brain, the same way like many illegal drugs. And, like other drugs, it can destroy your health and lead to all sorts of ailments including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight gain, and premature aging.

So to get rid of the sugar cravings, like with any drug addiction, you have to have a flexible but structured plan to beat it.

Adequate Sleep
When we are tired we often use sugar for energy to counteract the exhaustion

Check on your Emotions
Be open to explore the emotional issues around your sugar addiction. Many times our craving for sugar is more for an emotional need that isn't being met.
Follow a Detox diet
My experience has been that when people do a detox, not only does it reset their appetites but it often decreases their sugar cravings. After the initial sugar cravings, which can be overwhelming, our bodies adjust and we won't even want the sugar anymore and the desire will disappear.

Eat every 3 -4 hourly to prevent roaring hunger pangs and headaches.
Eat three meals and two snacks or five small meals a day. For many people, if they don't eat regularly, their blood sugar levels drop, they feel hungry and are more likely to crave sweet sugary snacks. When extremely hungry, the brain calls in for sugar laiden items like cakes, pastries, chocolates, colas, drinks. So plan your next meal in advance, to prevent unnecessary give - ins.

Drink water frequently

Choose whole foods
Prefer whole grains, fruits, vegetables, pulses, legumes, beans as they are rich in fibre.

Consume proteins in each of the 3 major meal

Add Spice
Use cardamom, cinnamon, mint leaves, pandan leaves, will naturally sweeten your food

Enrich your diet with essential nutrients
Nutrient deficiencies can make cravings worse and the fewer nutrient deficiencies, the fewer cravings. Certain nutrients seem to improve blood sugar control including chromium, vitamin B3 and magnesium. Add flaxseeds, chia seeds for omega 3 fatty acids in the diet and fibre.

Perform enjoyable physical activity
Exercise, dance or do some yoga. Whatever movement you enjoy will help reduce tension, boost your energy and decrease your need for a sugar lift.

Keep them out of your reach
Place sugary stuff away and out of your sight when trying to curb the sugary stuff. The more you see them, the more the cravings

Say no to Artificial Sweetners

Learn to read Labels
Educate yourself and know what you are putting in your body

Know other Sugar terminologies
Recognize that all of these are sweeteners: corn syrup, corn sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, honey, molasses, turbinado sugar and brown sugar

Look for sugar in disguise
Remember that most of the "complex" carbohydrates we consume like bread, bagels and pasta aren't really complex at all. They are usually highly refined and act just like sugars in the body and are to be avoided

Use fruits as desserts

Low calorie, highly Nutritious, Summer Treats :)

Its hot outside, and all you want to do is lick some cooling ice-cream or simply gulp down a can of cola or sprite. Sounds so refreshing!.. isn't it? Now imagine, doing this each time you feel hot and thirsty. Problem arises when these once in a while treats become a habit and gradually form a part of our lifestyle.

To alert you, a regular scoop of Icecream (72 gms - 1/2 cup) contains 145 calories out of which 71 calories come from  nearly 8 gms fat. Gosh!!.. That is half the amount of total fat intake one should consume in the whole day.
Let us look at a can of Coke - 330 ml contains 142 calories coming purely from approx 33 gms of refined sugar. And that is not all to it,the phosphoric acid in it interferes with the body's ability to use calcium, leading to soft bones and teeth.

Looking at such health hazards, I do not think one would like to knowingly cause harm to themself. 

So, what are the healthier options? Well, we all know them, it is just that we have forgotten them or are just lazy to make these quick treats :)

• Stock the refrigerator with these refreshing and healthful drinks. Buttermilk, Fresh Lime Juice (Nimboo Pani), coconut Water, Fruit Smoothies, Milkshakes, Cold Masala Milk, Iced Green Tea, Fresh Veg Juice, Fruit juice (not more than a small cup per day) and Soyamilk.
• If not in a mood, you can bite into refreshing fruits like melons, citrus fruits, refrigerated mangoes, custard apples, kiwi or any other refreshing fruit.

• Drink plenty of water and prevent dehydration. Sometimes simply thirst signals from the body are mistaken for hunger and we tend to overeat.
• Always carry a bottle of water and a citrus fruit like orange when travelling. 

Researches have proven that higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a greater magnitude of weight gain and an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes in women, possibly by providing excessive calories and large amounts of rapidly absorbable sugars.

A 22-year study of 80,000 women found that those who consumed a can a day of sugary drink had a 75% higher risk of gout than women who rarely had such drinks. (25) Researchers found a similarly-elevated risk in men. 

To be COOL, please do not FOOL your body :)

Variety helps lose weight!

Sometimes I am amazed, when clients come to me for their first consultation and state that they have been only living on 2 bread slices, a glass of milk and lots of soups and salads for months; or some weird, very low calorie, montonous diets like that!

The only question I ask them is, if they were eating the right stuff (as they thought) then, what led them to come to me? Well, one can easily guess the answers : (

If you want to lose weight or just eat healthy to live better, you need to take care of your senses. They are the first organs to explore the food you are going to introduce in your body. To please them is like opening the gates of good health for long. 

Have you ever thought, why are we so excited to eat out? Before our order is served, we are all for the dish and cannot wait any longer! We smell the pleasing aroma and our mouth starts watering already, isn't it? 

Next, as soon as the dish is laid in front of us, merely the sight of it makes us eager to taste it and we get switched over to 'Can't wait any longer' mode. What makes us so impatient?

 Well, the trick lies in 'Presentation'. The interesting way in which the food is  presented to us. Imagine a pasta with white dressing and no vegetables. How sad it would look :( . Now imagine, a white dressing pasta with yellow, red bell peppers, brocolli and some basil leaves. Sounds interesting!

While preparing food at home, we should make sure that we add colour, texture, variety in our daily menus. And if the food is cooked well, it will automatically smell good. By doing so, we are making the food appealing to the eyes. The first of the sensory organs. Just a glance at the food you are going to consume; and the brain has already decided whether or not to consume it.

One can add colour and texture to their dishes by incoporating a lot of vegetables, fruits, nuts, oilseeds etc. 

For instance, instead of eating plain wheat flakes in milk everyday for breakfast, one can add some banana slices, berries, nuts in the same cereal bowl and make it more interesting. Doing so, the eyes, the tongue are satisfied due to different mouth feel and one is able to reduce the cereal intake and thereby cut down on carbohydrates. Instead you are adding fibre, various vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, proteins all incorporated into one bowl. Try it! It is fulfilling to eat something like that and start your day!

Next, the king of senses when it comes to food is, 'Thy Tongue'. I constantly drill this in to my client's heads, make healthy food that tastes good. How much ever the food may look appealing to the eyes, if it does not suit your tastebuds, the next bite will not enter your mouth. And if you are thinking that healthy food can never taste good, and shall always taste bland and sad, then I will like to ask you to ponder on it once more.

HEALTHY FOOD CAN TASTE AWESOME !  And I strongly believe this.

There are tons of recipes on the web. If you are not confident about them. Ask me. I shall help you. I shall help formulate a recipe for you with your choice of ingredients. If that helps you to believe it.

My only concern is, don't give up on the idea of healthy eating just because you are too bored of eating the same items.

Give it a break. Cook something new Today !

Cheers :)

Please feel free to write your comments. Your interaction will just help me to write better.

Also, feel free to ask anything about health you wanted to know, that shall give me an idea for my following blogs.

U gotto enjoy this path to HEALTH :)

Now that you are determined  to walk the path towards health, and discover a newer you!, let me tell you one thing which shall be with you for life. And this has come to me with my own personal experience and while working on various clients.

                           BE REALISTIC AND MOTIVATED THROUGH YOUR JOURNEY !

You cannot think of eating healthy and completely avoid the social events and various occasions. It will be like living on an isolated island drinking coconut water and eating fruits all throughout the day! Doesn't it sound easier to follow a healthier regime then? But imagine how boring and montonous life would be in such a situation?

As human beings, we gottto Enjoy life! However, in doing so, we have to remember to strike a balance between Pleasure and Health. Pleasure can easily drift us away from our Goal. The trick lies in being aware of it and preventing ourselves from falling into the viscious cycle of ill health.


GET SET GO...  WITH THAT MINDSET !

Get rid of the Diet Phobia!

You want to lose weight but scared whether you will be able to do it? However, with great courage you surf the net and pick up the most stringest diet, with very less calories... Calories for you to just survive.
There is no room for food for the brain and energy to carry out physical activity!

And then next, when you succeed in starving yourself and lose some pounds, some thoughts hover around your mind.
 "What will happen if I eat a little more while dieting? ", "Will I be able to maintain that lost weight?"

I will avoid the upcoming social gatherings, as I will not be able to say no to the host and might have to indulge under social pressure : (

Diets need not be scary. One can eat well and still lose weight. How can we forget that Food is one our basic needs. Losing weight is a mind game. One has to learn the art of weight loss and maintenance.

Do not wait for all the occassions like family weddings, birthday parties or any events like that in your life to over. Start up today. Events will come and go and you have all the right to celebrate them. Learn to celebrate life and lose weight happily and not in a depressed state of mind, waiting for it to get over!

Keep reading the linking posts to this blog to learn the art and put into practice.



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