Get a Body and a Life to Love
When you read those two words, what comes to mind? For me, it’s pots full of colorful flowers, walks on the beach, swims in the ocean, fresh produce grown locally, and time spent with friends outside for drinks and food. Why? Because the glass is refillable!
Summer seems designed to de-stress us and boost our mood. (And if you get your bare arms and legs out in the sun for 20 minutes, you are banking some vital vitamin D)
Every five minutes, four women in America die of heart disease, according to the NIH. That adds up to 500,000 women each year.
If that fact surprised you, here are some others that may shock you:
My client choked out these words, tears streaming down her face. It had been over 30 years and she had never been able to forget the shock of the experience. This was the afternoon in her freshman year that the formerly polite exchange student from Spain had pinned her down on his bed and attempted to rape her… saying, “It’s OK, I’m Catholic, too.” It happened in a flash! She was helpless, she could not move under his weight. She could not believe it was happening! She was saved when his roommate unexpectedly came in. She took that millisecond to escape and run back to her dorm room and lock herself in, where she sat for hours, heart pounding in her chest. How could he???!!!! And Catholic??? Hell would be too good for him, she thought, as she sobbed.
For years she blamed herself for believing that he really only wanted to show her something in his room. She shamed herself for believing that his intentions were honorable. After all, they were not even dating. For years, she was “jumpy” and hated herself… even contemplated suicide. For years, totally humiliated and ashamed, she told no one. She felt so STUPID! Even worse, her body gained weight… adding to her shame and feelings of helplessness. No matter how hard she tried, the weight always returned.
In my work, I find that many women have been completely manipulated and duped into tolerating unwanted or unsought sexual advances… or like my client, ambushed! …and then BLAMED for it!
Everything You Need To Know About Sweeteners
When you have a book called Your Amazing Itty Bitty Diet Free Weight Loss Book, you get a lot of questions about the sweet stuff! The one I get asked most often is, “Which sweeteners can I use?”
While artificial sweeteners like Splenda, saccharine and aspartame are most certainly out, there are natural sweetener options that won’t harm your health.
How to Choose Healthy Sweeteners
First, don’t fall for that nonsense that all-natural equals healthy. Alternatives like maple syrup or agave are still sugars!
The end result in your body is the same: cravings, inflammation, and excess body fat!
Although no sweetener is perfect, the ones below are your best bets.
Here’s the 411 on my top sweetener choices…
Stevia
Stevia is one of my favorite sweetener choices. A small amount of it gives a sweet taste without affecting your blood sugar. In fact, studies have shown that Stevia can enhance glucose tolerance and improve metabolic syndrome. This makes it ideal for people with insulin resistance and diabetes. It is readily available these days.
A common complaint about Stevia is that it has a bitter aftertaste. I have not noticed this myself; however, as many people do, you’ll often find it mixed with other sweeteners or sugar alcohols.
Just like monk fruit, (read more below) Stevia can also cause caloric dysregulation, so moderation is key.
Monk fruit (also known as luo han guo)
Chinese monk fruit has an extract that’s naturally sweet but doesn’t impact your blood sugar levels.
In addition, recent studies also show that special antioxidants in monk fruit extract offer anti-inflammatory benefits and can help prevent cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Before you jump on this bandwagon, a word of caution! Overusing monk fruit (or any sweetener, for that matter) can cause something called “caloric dysregulation.” What’s that and how does it work?
Your brain knows that sweet foods equal calories and, under normal circumstances, knows how to limit them. It has a built in sensor. But if you eat something repeatedly that tastes extremely sweet – in monk fruit’s case, we’re talking up to 300 times sweeter than table sugar – it can break your sensor. When that happens, your brain thinks it’s OK to gorge on super-sweet foods. THIS is trouble!
You may notice that monk fruit is commonly paired with other sweeteners. If the combination is with erythritol or stevia, it’s fine, Avoid dextrose or maltodextrin, which are made from corn. Corn is notorious for causing problems for people with food sensitivities.
Plant-based allulose is the “latest and greatest.” It is classified as a “rare sugar” because it’s naturally present in only a few foods (jackfruit, figs and raisins and wheat). Early research shows that it can help regulate blood sugar and decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes, plus boost weight loss and reduce the risk of fatty liver disease. However, more long-term studies are needed to verify all of this. It has been on the market since 2015. It may turn out to be the best thing ever for regulating blood sugar.
Derived from plant sources, the most common sugar alcohols are erythritol, xylitol, and mannitol.
They got their name because their biochemical structure resembles a hybrid of a sugar and alcohol. Sugar alcohols actually have some calories. Because of this, they won’t trigger caloric dysregulation. In addition, since they can’t be fully digested by your body, they have little impact on your blood glucose. The drawback of this is that sugar alcohols can cause digestive discomfort in some people. That’s why it’s essential to be your own best health detective. The truth is that only you can figure out which sweeteners work best for your body.
A note about Erythritol . It is fermented from corn; however, it doesn’t contain the corn proteins. Therefore, it’s not an issue for those eating a corn-free diet because of food intolerances. However, if you have a true corn allergy (rather than a corn sensitivity), you should probably avoid it.
Glycine is an amino acid (the building block of protein). Research has shown that glycine can help reduce inflammation and improve immune function in diabetic subjects. This makes it an ideal sweetener to help stabilize blood sugar levels for people with insulin resistance and diabetes.
A Final Word: Remember that the ultimate goal is to eliminate sugar cravings by retraining your tastebuds to appreciate the natural flavors of food! So, the key to using sweeteners wisely is to consume them in moderation and phase them out.
I just love my friend Kelly Epperson’s (https://kellyepperson NULL.com/) (now Simmons) posts. She is one of the funniest, kindest and wisest people I know. So, this month, I am sharing her post which really resonated with me. It has so many applications. As we start a brand new year, what better opportunity to put this practice in place? I added my comments in bold.
“Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often.” Those words are from a quote card currently on my desk. I imagine you, like me, have heard over and over that we get to write our own life story, we are the captains of our ship, the creators of our own destiny. I totally dig that. I did wake up and realize my life was up to me (a bit late in life perhaps, but better late than never) and I am over the moon happy. Grateful. Joyful. Tickled pink.
The part of that quote above that grabbed me were the two little words: Edit often. Ah, that resonates. This past decade has been a major metamorphosis. Why? Because I edit often. [Read more…]