Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Sugar Sugar

Did you know that about 25% of the calories that you burn come from sugar? As a fuel, sugar is very efficient. It is quickly absorbed by the body and quickly converted into energy. The feeling of a sugar rush is common in North America; almost everything that you eat has extra sugar added. At the end of the 19th century, the average American consumed about five pounds of sugar per year. Now we consume about two or three pounds of sugar PER WEEK!

Sugar has no nutrition. Once the fuel is burned there is no supplementary advantage that remains. We often ingest more fuel than we require, particularly when overeating is combined with a sedentary lifestyle. This excess fuel is stored as fat.

The processed food industry has us addicted to sugar. Check the labels on manufactured foods and do the math. A can of cola contains about ten teaspoons of sugar. Can you imagine drinking a coffee with ten spoons of sugar? Everything from bread to peanut butter is loaded with sugar and we are used to a daily rush.

Awareness is the first step of change. Become aware of the sugar that is in your food. Become aware of how your body reacts to sugar; choose to eliminate sugar from your diet for short periods of time and notice the difference. You are in control if you choose to be.

Randi’s column appears weekly at ilove2cooknaked.com

Monday, April 20, 2009

You are what you eat

A friend of mine is overweight and blames his condition on genetics. Then he tells me that his definition of heavenly food is 'breaded chicken wings with cheese and gravy'. Sooner or later people will realize that what they eat has a direct effect on weight and health. You really are what you eat.

We form associations with 'comfort foods' that make us feel better when we are emotionally challenged; these foods awaken past memories with positive emotions. Though comfort foods are different for each person, invariably the foods we use to comfort ourselves are fattening.

It is possible to change your associations and realize better rewards from healthy food. Instead of addressing emotions with foods that make you feel good briefly and then feel bad after, you can learn how to feel good about eating something that is good for you.

Randi's column appears weekly at ilove2cooknaked.com

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A new way to learn about healthy eating...

If you keep feeding bread to a duck it will eat until it is full and then die of malnutrition. The same thing happens with most North Americans… we eat whatever we desire until we are full and our bodies reveal the results. Most North Americans are overweight; a LOT of North Americans are fat. Kids begin getting fat at a young age and stay that way for the rest of their lives. They grow up and teach their eating habits to their children and the cycle continues.

It is easy to change your eating habits. It is easy to become healthier simply by adding new healthy food to your daily diet. The best way to lose weight is to choose new foods to eat. Begin to appreciate the wonderful delicious flavours and textures of the new foods you are discovering. Feed yourself, feed your senses, feed your mind with thoughts of healthy food!

Randi’s column appears weekly at ilove2cooknaked.com