Tag Archives: Sugar

Diet Diary

Day 91: Glycemic Bla Bla…the story unfolds…

June 2, 2010 – 12:38 PM
Sugar closeup
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The plot thickens (just from yesterday!).

So I woke up this morning determined to come to terms with this whole glycemic indexing thing. I mean, it can’t be THAT complicated can it? Actually, yes. It can. And it is. I am determined to find a way to duplicate this theory into a simple to understand process! To start off with, there are several components to this equation. First, not only do you have to consider the glycemic index (GI) (remember the espresso?) but you also have to take into account the “glycemic load” (GL). So, just to recap – the glycemic index of a food is just a number that tells you how it will affect your blood sugar – big number, big spike, low number, low rise. Bigger is not better here.

Glycemic load is another number (like glycemic index) but this number measures how much of the sugar accounted for in the GI is in an average serving of that particular food. The example I read used watermelon to illustrate this point. Watermelon has a GI of 76 (quite high) that made me think “YIKES!!” but the sugar that causes the high GI number is very diluted in the watermelon – it has a very low glycemic load (like, 4) so you can eat quite a lot of watermelon without having the effect of the blood sugar spike you might anticipate with the high GI.

Also, the GI & GL of one food can be offset by the GI & GL of other foods you’re eating at the same time. And I thought counting calories was tricky!! Overall, I ended up realizing that the food I’m eating for my body type is right in line with all this GI/GL stuff. I’m really glad that at least now I know what these terms mean, but I’m even more grateful that I don’t have to spend my day (and my sanity) trying to keep track of what GI level this is in comparison with the GL level of that relative to the portion size and whether or not the moon is in Virgo. I have enough to keep track of. Where are my car keys?

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Diet Diary

Day 80: Food: Quantitiy vs. Quality

May 12, 2010 – 12:45 PM

I have always believed that in order to lose weight, I HAD to eat less…SOOOO NOT TRUE.

After being on my body type diet, I feel like I am eating more, not less. I decided to tweak my food journal to include the serving sizes instead of just the calories (this isn’t a part of the program, but something I did because I noticed that writing down stuff really makes a huge difference!). Results: Amazing!

On one hand, I look like I am a cow (great – now instead of feeling like I do nothing but dispense milk to my constantly thirsty daughter, I also eat like one). Yesterday, for example, I only ate about 1500 calories – but I ate 8 cups of salad, a crystal light shake (try it: mix ice cubes with some strawberries and crystal light and a dollop of milk to make it a tiny bit creamy), 2 chicken breasts, one apple, a cup of spinach, 8 celery stalks (dipped in salsa) and an entire artichoke, plus 3 cups of sugar free hot chocolate! THAT IS A LOT OF FOOD for one person to eat! The best part is that I could have eaten a lot more if I was hungry because for the Adrenal Body Type, there are over 30 unlimited foods.

So the verdict is: when it comes to quantity vs. quality (for food) – I am definitely into quantity!

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Real Life Diary Recipes

Day 79: Favorite Quick Bread Recipe

May 11, 2010 – 10:26 AM

Here’s my favorite baking recipe!…with some healthy modifications :)

Monica’s “Whatever you have In the House” Semi-Healthy Quick Bread

-4 eggs (substitute 4 egg whites & beat them separately before adding to the rest of the wet ingredients)

-16 Oz. Fruit or Vegetable puree (use a can of Pumpkin for Pumpkin bread, or 4 mashed bananas for outstanding banana bread – or whatever you want…see below for more suggestions)

1 ½ C. Vegetable Oil (use Canola)

2 C. Sugar (use Splenda in the bag – it works perfect and cuts your calories down by a landslide!)

2 t. Baking Soda

2t. Baking Powder

1 t. Salt

3 C. Flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and mix the eggs, puree, oil and sugar well.   Next, add the rest of the ingredients and mix each in well.   If you want an impressive dessert like muffin (or make it in a bunt tin with glaze) – then add chocolate or butterscotch chips.  Of course, this is NOT healthy…but will make this recipe unbelievably YUMMY!!!!  Here’s the exact measurements:

1 ½ C. Chocolate Chips (if you are making Pumpkin bread) OR 1 ½ C. Butterscotch Chips (for Banana Bread…I have used chocolate with Banana before and butterscotch is 100% better)

I have also served these muffins at events as a dessert because they are fast, easy, not messy, and delicious.  Frosting muffins with a cream cheese frosting offers a nice combo as well.  They present as an impressive dessert because it is surprising to bite into and see it is not just yellow or chocolate cake.  Plus an added bonus is that no one would guess that the “secret ingredient” was actually Butterscotch chips!!  These melt into the mixture and add more moisture – wowing your taste buds with flavor!  Even people who claimed to “hate butterscotch chips”, loved these treats!

Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes and lower this to 375 if you are making traditional bread loaves.

Now…here’s the best part about this recipe:

You can literally use just about any fruit or vegetable you want – and it still comes out wonderful!  I have used canned pumpkin, blended apricots and pineapple with bits of dried cranberries, shredded zucchini and raisins, shredded carrots and dates, peaches and raspberries, poppy seed paste, almonds and coconut milk pureed, and more!… I use a food processor for ingredients like apples or carrots and really knock them down so they are like chunky applesauce – or carrot puree), and then I add some extra cut up apples or shredded carrots. Etc. to give it a little more texture.  Nuts go excellent with this as well!

From what I can figure, estimate about 100 calories for one large muffin (without frosting of course!).  Enjoy :)

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Diet Diary Recipes

Baking Day

May 10, 2010 – 7:46 PM

I love to cook, bake and try my hand at creating delicious foods via “healthier” – recipe alterations. My success rate is about 8 out of 10…at least for cooking; but when it comes to baking, that is an entirely different story.

When I think of baking, I can almost taste the yummy smell of rising bread dough, chocolate chip cookies or my favorite, Rum Bunt cake with Bavarian glaze…this is a real diet doozy! Just one peek in the oven sends a shiver to your senses! Delish!

But as far as baking something on the healthier side (granted, the very word “baking” is usually something to avoid completely – for those trying to strictly follow a healthy diet)…nonetheless, one of my favorite baking recipes that I have altered successfully, is a quick bread recipe that can be modified to compliment virtually ANY flavor (zucchini, pumpkin, banana, coconut/pineapple, carrot, – you get the idea!). Today I made carrot-pineapple-apricot bread with cranberries and it turned out amazing!

With baking, as opposed to cooking, it is much harder to tweak ingredients because it’s the unhealthy stuff that accounts for the core ingredients (carbs, fat, sugar). There are a few nice things about quick breads though – and reasons why I haven’t scratched them off my list completely: 1) they’re fast (good to make with your kids), 2) they’re flexible (you can use ingredients you have left over, etc.), and 3) they make great muffins (so you have your portions pre-set). I recommend using the mini-muffin tins because they still give you that great muffin top – but in a two-bite serving size. I make a batch, keep a few at home, and throw the rest in a basket for the neighbors or the office J (it is a nice way for the kids to experience making something for others – and a great way to keep any extra helping temptations away from me!) – Tomorrow I’ll write the recipe…too late and going to get some sleep

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Diet Diary

Day 69: Kale versus Cheesecake?

April 28, 2010 – 12:10 PM

My husband is the type of person who NEVER gains weight, never has to work out (and his muscle tone looks like he lifts weights for an hour each day).  He is also the type who effortlessly takes just one  of the most exquisite chocolates ever concocted from a box of 24 and then leaves the rest in plain sight AND reach to just sit, untouched for six months or more (which probably helps explain his nonexistent weight problems).  Me on the other hand, I get a box of chocolates and I want to first, find out which flavor each is, and then, if I’m really strict with myself, they’ll last until the end of the week (at best)!

I had already moved every tasty treat to our basement deep freeze…far from sight and difficult to get to for those “I want something sweet, and I want it NOW” moments.  And that, coupled with the fact that I have done all of the grocery shopping myself to ensure that only healthy foods are accessible, has proven to be one of the smartest decisions I’ve made… until this morning when I asked my husband to do the grocery shopping. I sent him with a list and a stern plea not to deviate from it…as a result, there is a huge cheesecake in the fridge, a giant bag of Doritos in the pantry, and sitting on the counter are two Dunkin Donuts (chocolate crème filled)…all of which my husband “kindly” bought “for us” (probably the only time when an act of kindness could be so cruel :) .  It has been like a bad remake of Hansel and Gretel!  I have eaten 4 cups of Kale in a shake mixed with some blueberries and bananas and drank 6 cups of sugar free hot chocolate.  Only 6 hours to go. Just for the record … the cheesecake, chips and donuts were NOT on the list.

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Diet Diary

Day 58: Great Food That Cuts Cravings

March 29, 2010 – 4:42 PM

Great find on a surprising treat that really does cut the cravings for sweets.  A friend of mine told me about this and I had to try it for myself…it really does work!

Take a green apple (Granny Smith), and cut it into little wedges.  Put them in a small Ziploc bag and sprinkle in about a teaspoon of cinnamon (no sugar).  Voila`!  Amazingly, the apple tastes like it has cinnamon and sugar – like a pie almost, only without the sugar, fat & guilt.  It curbs your cravings when you’re feeling the need for something sweet.  Try some lemon juice on the apple too as another trick.  The lemon will also keep your apples from going brown!

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Diet Diary

Day 41: My jeans almost fit!

February 10, 2010 – 4:22 PM

Wow!  What a difference!  I increased my dose of Liquiboost to 4 pills at night, instead of 3 and I feel amazing.  I am eating low carb vegetables with low sugar content.  I am eating NO Dairy (something I just found out could also be hindering my success) and I am making sure I get a walk in as well as a short work out…every day starting now!  I have about ten days left till my trip and can’t wait!

…I tried on some old jeans that didn’t fit three days ago and I actually zipped them up!  In fact, I was tempted to wear them all day, just as a reminder of my success…if only I could have moved with them on!

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Diet Diary

Day 32: Atkin Diet

February 1, 2010 – 5:40 PM

Okay, I  have NOT effectively engaged “real” fat burning (ouch – that hurts just to write it).  In fact, the foods I am eating…wow – I forgot some of the most basic diet laws!  A calorie is NOT just a calorie when it comes to getting rid of fat (i.e., cellulite, mush, etc.).  Forget my stew recipe altogether – those vegetables are full of carbs and sugars and as for my previous idea on butternut squash (the most heavenly of all diet food) – I was wrong! (at least for people who are really trying to burn fat, not just get healthy).

Here’s the scoop (I am going to attach an article that sums it up here too) – basically in order to really get your body into ketosis (a fancy word for “fat burning”), you have to trigger hormones.  This, from what I know, does not happen in “just two weeks” and I am on a deadline here!  So…an alternative… ”trick” the hormones until they get balanced on their own.  In other words,  get your body burning fat by giving it no other choice.  Now if I eat carbs or sugar, this will get burned BEFORE fat for energy….soooo no carbs.  No sugars.  (Basically the Atkins diet)  – We’re talking less than 20 grams of carbs of a day (this quickly works out to zero if you figure that even veges have some carb values). And this doesn’t mean you can eat endless amounts of protein though either …I’m posting the diet here.

Starting tomorrow!  About three weeks to go, and counting.

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Diet Diary

Day 29: Feel Awsome

January 30, 2010 – 5:21 PM

Today I took the first real nap in what feels like five years.

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Diet Diary

Day 28: Diet Battle

January 29, 2010 – 5:18 PM

I feel like a hormonal teenager…only not with any of that youthful energy.

-Realized something I already know (again):  nothing feels more soothing than some high-fat or high-sugar comfort food.  Today however, I did NOT give in!  I feel like I have been fighting a few battles lately and today I considered that this stupid “diet battle” (for lack of a better title) is probably the only one that strictly speaking; only involves me…there’s no other way around it!  I took an hour walk WITH the kids and it was great :)

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