sugar

Will an Oreo cookie will make you feel better?

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Ever wonder why you’ve stopped losing weight or maybe you’re doing everything ‘right’
but the fat is still hanging on??
Take a close look at your daily stress and learn how to jump start your body for success.


WHEN CORTISOL LEVELS RISE,
INSULIN LEVELS RISE TOO AND INSULIN IS A FAT STORING HORMONE.
(Did you just have a light bulb moment?)

 

Let me explain more >>>

The hormone “Cortisol” is linked with emotions and the body releases Cortisol in times of stress & emotional situations.
** Humans are naturally wired for emotional pleasure & drive. The part of our brain that relates to this is the Amygdala which is our “sensor’ for emotions.  This blog gets better, I promise.  Stress & emotions cause us to take actions that are not healthy for us… such as: eat the wrong foods at the wrong time and make big purchases. Do you eat or shop when stressed? Not only are we making impulse unhealthy decisions for our bodies and bank accounts, but cortisol is being released in the body.
Cortisol = inflammation.
When cortisol elevates, so does insulin, and the body starts to store fat.
Inflammation and fat storage…. sounds like a disaster, right? It is!!!

Do you want inflammation in your brain and body for long periods of time? I don’t!
amygdala

** STRESS IS A KEY FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADDICTION.
Another thing to think about….. Serotonin is a chemical created by the human body and is manufactured in the brain and the intestines. Too much or too little of this chemical can cause many symptoms. The majority of the body’s serotonin, between 80-90%, can be found in the gastrointestinal tract. It is commonly regarded as a chemical that is responsible for maintaining mood balance.
Having obscene amounts of sugar and carbohydrate over long periods of time can max out our serotonin machinery, leaving us unhappy, carb-craving, and depressed. What happens when you are unhappy, carb-craving, and depressed??
You reach for more junk food and sugar.
See the cycle??
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How do we solve this?
Telling someone to “decrease your stress” is irritating. If it were that easy, we would!!!!
There is no ‘perfect’ answer for each human body. But, we must FOCUS and be MINDFUL. Those 2 words go together so well!! When you find yourself reaching for the Red Velvet Oreos or ready to buy that new TV, stop ‘justifying’ it and realize that your human brain is wired for that action when it’s stressed…but you can change that!

red oreos Here are techniques to try. 
Find 1-3 that work for you and practice them often.

  • Breathe deeply and FOCUS on the breath.
    Be MINDFUL and honest with yourself about what is going on in your life that could be causing stress, irritation, annoyance, and the feeling of being overwhelmed.
  • Consider starting a food journal and not only document when you are eating, but HOW YOU FEEL during that part of the day. Example: 3:00pm – 3 Oreo Red Velvet cookies (just left a business meeting and feeling overwhelmed)
  • Sunlight.  Get more sunlight during the winter months when it’s very easy for depression to set in. Serotonin is our mood balance chemical. Light therapy and serotonin-increasing medications are both effective treatments for depression that occurs with low levels of sunlight. Light exposure increases serotonin in humans, and serotonin levels are lowest in midwinter, and higher on bright days no matter what time of year.  You can purchase light therapy products at many stores.  10,000 lux light therapy decreases suicidal ideation in some folks. (www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201105/sunlight-sugar-and-serotonin)
  • Eat more foods in their natural state and avoid the over processed foods that contain hidden sugar and sodium. As I taught you…. sugar can max out our seratonin making us MORE sad and depressed.
  • Exercise. Get the mood boosting chemical endorphin release from a natural high. Exercise is natural brain power producer to fight against depression and mood….which also will help you fight the food addictions.
  • Stop all the distractions. Multi-tasking is ruining us. Our brains are not focusing on one task, leaving room for mistakes. Society is telling us to do more, more, more……accomplish more in the same 24 hours. Once again creating stress. Do one thing at a time and do it well. That will encourage a greater sense of pride and accomplishment while keeping the stress low. FOCUS. Don’t fall victim to people telling you to ‘do more!’  Learn to say “No” and stay focused.
  • Meditate. This doesn’t mean you have to sit in a dark room and hum. Meditate in the shower! You have 5-10 minutes to focus on the warm water running over your body, the clean invigorating smell of shampoo and soap, the calm steam in the air, the sounds of water, and the feeling of washing stress and anxiety down the drain. (Don’t you feel more relaxed just visualizing the scene I put into your brain?) The problem is….we allow our brains to think about dinner, the project that is due, the car that needs fixed, and the fight with our Mom the day before…….that we don’t allow the brain to clear. Be MINDFUL of what’s happening around you and pay attention to your senses. The sense of smell and hearing are powerful. Just think how much money the candle and music companies make from those 2 senses!!!
  • Laugh. Did you know that when we laugh, we are able to tolerate more pain? It’s true! Laughter releases endorphins which also raise our ability to ignore pain. Think about how we treat children when we know they are going to get an injection, our instinct is to make them smile or laugh before and after. You were PROGRAMMED to naturally want to make others laugh at times of discomfort.
  • Massage: I learned in college the power of human ‘touch’ and all that it can do for us mentally, emotionally, and physically. It’s safe to say we all crave human touch….. when we are sad, a hug feels good. Simply holding someone’s hand can bring calmness and inner peace. You’ve heard of ‘angry sex’ after an argument or intimacy when feeling vulnerable.  It’s another example of an endorphin release! Endorphin release is usually caused by physical activity, like exercise, or touch, like massage.

Develop the part of your brain that controls emotions and pleasure. Retrain your brain for success!!!! Continuing to allow yourself to seek comfort in food is in no way, shape, or form healthy and we all know it. And, I’ve just educated you on why it’s unhealthy (creates disease) and how you can fight against it with many options. It’s going to happen….. I will grab a handful of Peanut Butter M&M’s at some point in the future when stressed……… but the point is to recognize what is happening to your body and retrain it to find that ‘feel good chemical release’ from another source than processed foods. Telling yourself you’ll just munch on carrots vs. a donut won’t do the trick. Your brain is needing the sugar and fat from the donut, and honestly, a carrot isn’t going to fulfill your brain. Recognize this and be ready with more options to quiet the brain.

187743878185781056_3kP4SblL_b** Recap: reaching for a sleeve of Red Velvet Oreos during the afternoon work session may seem to be a ‘craving’…..but really it’s your brain trying to seek pleasure because it doesn’t know how to handle the stress and chemical release. Not only is it trying to seek pleasure, but it’s also releasing Cortisol (creating inflammation in the body) and Insulin (fat storage) and over a long period of time, constant cortisol released will cause weight gain, disease, and unhappiness.  Instead… close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Take a walk around the office.  Listen to music.  Sit next to the window and get some sun on your face.  Make your co-worker tell you a funny joke. (Tip:  Not all co-workers are funny, so seek out the ones that honestly make you smile.)

With practice and mindfulness…. you’ll break those food addictions soon because you’ll be breaking what is CAUSING them.  The brain!!!

happy life close upIf you would like more information or to ‘pick my brain’ on this topic or others, please contact me at Bashford.Lisa@yahoo.com.
I would love to set up a time to meet with you, your company, your sports team, or any group of people to teach them more about a healthy lifestyle, food addictions, food for sports performance, and changing the body’s shape in a healthy manner.
Visit my website to see what’s on sale this month regarding home workouts & to learn more about me! (Lisa Bashford)
www.YourFitness-411.com

You can bet your sweet…

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Craving something sweet?  You are not alone.  Did you know that the average American eats 100 pounds of sugar in a year? 
I consider myself a fairly healthy eater & I try to help my kids to make wise choices also.  However, I still love to bake (I ‘healthy up’ most recipes the best that I can), sometimes sweeten my coffee & oatmeal with the sweet stuff, and love cookies.  Even though I kicked the soda habit a couple years ago and try to STRONGLY advise my clients against diet soda (it’s worse than the regular)…. I still find myself wondering if I’m still addicted to it.  I question,  “Is it hurting my progress?”  If I’m eating too much of the sweet stuff, then others are drowning themselves in it!! 
Sugar is mainly fructose and glucose and when we eat if, the pancrease releases insulin, which helps our bodies use it as fuel and creates a drop in blood sugar.  However, if we eat more sugar than our bodies can process, the insulin tells our body to store the excess as fat and we gain weight.  Also, the insulin drops blood sugar and soon we feel fatigued, tired, and craving more sugar!  The more weight you carry on your body, the higher your risk for Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease. 
There are many professional opinions about sugar… but the main problem is that many people are eating WAY TOO MUCH OF IT and they don’t even know it.  Sugar is not the problem, it’s how much we eat that is the problem. 
So, back to my question – Did you know that the average American eats 100 pounds of sugar in a year?  Do you know if you are eating that much?  Most of the sugar we eat is not table sugar from coffee and oatmeal, but from packaged foods.  Even ones we ‘think’ are healthy such as peanut butter, wheat bread, pasta sauce, salad dressings, orange juice, crackers, yogurt, etc.  Maunufactures had sugar simply because it tastes better.  If your child would only eat spaghetti with one kind of sauce, then you would purchase that kind, correct?  They have favorites and usually it’s because it’s sweeter than other brands.  The sweeter the food gets, the less nutritious it is.  I always tell people to stop eating processed foods…..they are full of sweetners and do not have many vitamins/minerals to satisfy hunger.  Think about it…. Many people think a ‘heathy’ diet should have yogurt, wheat bread, those 100-calorie snack packs, juice, fruit, and much more.  Well, fruit packs it’s own sugar called fructose….and you don’t need a lot more than that!!  Check out your yogurt labels and you will see 15+ grams of sugar on most of them. 
You can bet your sweet backside that the sweet stuff only creates MORE cravings for sweet stuff.  It’s a cycle that you can’t escape unless you make changes. 

 “Lisa, how much sugar should we be eating?” Doctors recommend about 140-180calories of your daily intake can be sugar related.  One gram of sugar contains 3.87 calories.  I typically tell people….. 30-50 grams, but try to stay around 40 if possible, because it’s difficult!!  The less processed foods you eat, the less sugar you will consume.  Read that again!!!  The less processed foods you eat, the less sugar you will consume…. Helping to break the cycle and lose weight.  YOU tell your body what to eat…… YOU rid it of addictions.  It cannot rid itself. 
Train your tongue to eat less sugar by mixing half your regular yogurt with half of the plain kind for a couple weeks.  Eat regulary to avoid low blood sugar and the cravings for sweets.  Dessert should consist of fruit (which is naturally sweet….hello pineapple!) and less of the manufactured treats.  

Read your labels. 
Did you know that whatever is listed as the FIRST ingredient, means that product has the MOST of that ingredient.  For instance, if the first ingredient is ‘high fructose corn syrup’ put it down and walk away!  Sugar shows up on labels as high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, honey, molasses, maple syrup, evaporated can juice, fruit juice concentrate, and agave nectar.  Often times…..all that sugar added up is more than any other ingredient.  YIKES!!  Choose items that say “no added sugar” and be aware of those that say “Lightly sweetened’ or ‘low sugar’.  WHY?  Because the FDA does not regulate those phrases.  Going all artificial  isn’t good either.  A study in the journal Appetite found that using artificial sweeteners could also result in weight gain.  Hello Diet Soda!!  Experts believe they leave you hungry because they have the sweetness without the calories, leaving you unsatisfied.  Which is another reason I tell clients that if you MUST drink a soda every so often, drink the real stuff and get it out of your system vs. wasting time on the ‘diet’ sodas which leave you craving more and causing weight gain.  Sodas, sweetened tea, and fancy coffee drinks are full of sugary ingredients.  Be aware!! 

By making smart swaps, training your tongue, and being aware of hidden traps in food choices, you are creating a healthier life for you and your family.  Don’t allow your children to get addicted to sugar, by limiting processed foods.  I’m not saying “Never eat a cookie” – I’m just saying there’s no need for them to eat chips, candy, soda, and crackers on a daily basis.  Those are ‘treats’ not daily staples.  That goes for YOU too!  Treat your body well.  Now you are educated and have more of an understanding on sugar and what it creates in the body.  I hope the next time you reach for a diet soda, crackers, or spaghetti sauce, you read the labels or think, “hmmm…this isn’t going to do anything for me except make me want more” and realize that it’s not worth it. 

Check your yogurt….. you will be amazed. 
I can hear parents already, “But at least my kid is eating yogurt!” Yep, you are correct and mine kiddos eat it too.  But, are you allowing them to eat chips, candy, crackers, & fruit juices daily too?  If so, then you need to rethink your actions.  You are doing them NO favors.
Most kids will be drawn to a big plate of colorful fruit/veggies more than cracker and chips anyways.  Allow them to make choices…… just give them better choices. 

Remember, sugar itself isn’t ‘bad’…. It’s how much of it we eat that is the problem!  
To cont. to learn more about better nutrition/healthy recipes for you & your family, follow me on Facebook at YourFitness-411. 
You can also subscribe to me on twitter at Coach Bashford & Instagram as YourFitnessInfo.
Stay Sweet!