Kim and her family before changing their diet
Today I want to share a story of a mom named Kim and her 7 kids, yes I said 7! I met her through my Fit Moms For Life DVD program and then went to ND and did a bootcamp out there for a bunch of her friends. She just launched her own FMFL community at a recent elementary school orientation and has 36 women who have committed to working out together each week and getting together intentionally to support on another and develop authentic relationships!
I recent wrote a post on “How much money are you wasting?” This story you are about to read goes pretty well with it.
Here it is in Kim’s words:
“I always thought we were doing pretty good with what we were eating. The kids ate school lunch and I was taking a freezer meal to work for every day. Kevin ate a lot of bologna sandwiches with Miracle Whip and Cheez Whiz, and we had a lot of macaroni and cheese for dinner. Kevin didn’t really have a severe weight problem and I was maintaining a 30 lb loss that I achieved with Weight Watchers, with freezer meals and a lot of fat free foods. Aside from your typical kids’ sicknesses, we didn’t have anything major wrong with us, and I was proud to be feeding nine people on a strict grocery budget. I sometimes made it a game to see how cheap I could get our food. It did seem like I took a lot of days off of work because of colds and flu, and we were always in the clinic with somebody. That seemed to be part of having seven kids.
Kevin’s job required a lot of lifting and twisting and he was at the chiropractor a few times a week. His chiropractor finally referred him to a medical doctor who started a series of X-rays and MRIs. The diagnosis was bulging discs and the treatment plan was physical therapy and probable surgery down the road. Kevin wanted to avoid surgery at all costs, so he started seeing a wellness chiropractor in another town. She did a lot more than adjust his back and send him on his way. She started picking apart his diet. What could his diet have to do with his back? We thought she was crazy, but continued to make the changes she suggested.
The first thing to go was the 6-10 cans of Coke a day. Along with the pop, the candy was stopped as well. She also suggested we throw out all processed foods, white flour and white sugar. Click here to learn about all the dangerous effects of sugar. She introduced us to the world of organic fruits and vegetables and we started eating different kinds. We sometimes make a game out of how many different colors we can get on our plate. She also started a fire in Kevin for knowledge about nutrition.
With her guidance, we threw out all of our vegetable oils and purchased coconut oil for cooking. I was already buying butter instead of margarine. Not because I knew that margarine was such an unhealthy fat, just because I liked the flavor of butter, better. We started the whole family on cod liver oil supplements. Kevin continued to research and I started modifying recipes and learning how to cook and bake with different flours and sugars. I was still of the mentality that good moms bake cookies for their kids, and that kids need treats.
Kim's family after
We learned the importance of eating grass-fed meats and free range eggs. We started making changes to the dairy we were consuming as well and went from skim to whole milk for the whole family. Our pediatrician was not excited about this change. He disagreed about the fat content in whole milk. We merely smiled and continued on, believing in what we were doing.
It wasn’t long in to our changes that one of our triplets started having problems in school and we took him in for hearing tests. He ended up being diagnosed with ADD. The first (and only) suggestion we received from the child psychiatrist was medication. Not wanting to go down that route, we researched ADD and discovered that some people have problems with focus and hyperactivity because of gluten intolerances. We decided to take the whole family off of gluten for a while and see what happened. This was a difficult change as gluten free food is not the best tasting. Little by little, we eliminated grains. This made meals a lot more difficult, because I relied a lot on pasta or grilled cheese sandwiches for quick and easy meals. We had to modify some more, but we got used to it pretty quickly. We still eat gluten-free pastas from time to time and occasionally I will purchase a loaf of Ezekial Bread, but we really eat very little grains.
Sometimes, I second guess the latest changes Kevin wants to make, but they are validated to me every single time I receive my Fit Mom’s For Life dvd in the mail and listen to Tracy Hittman’s nutrition segment. This makes me feel better that we are making the right decisions, but the biggest indicator that things are going really well are all the radical changes we are seeing in our health. So, while our grocery budget has easily doubled, the changes we have seen in our health have been priceless.”
Day One
Breakfast
Choice of:
Nitrate Free Bacon and Free Range Eggs
Greek Yogurt Smoothie
(Greek Yogurt, Frozen Fruit, Milk, Protein Powder)
Lunch
Grass-Fed, Nitrate Free Hotdogs
Assortment of Fresh Fruit – (melon, grapes, berries)
Cottage Cheese
Dinner
BBQ Chicken Legs
Dilled Baby Red Potatoes
Assortment of Fresh Vegetables – (carrots, celery, broccoli, cucumber)
Day Two
Breakfast
Choice of:
Nitrate Free Bacon and Free Range Eggs
Greek Yogurt Smoothie
(Greek Yogurt, Frozen Fruit, Milk, Protein Powder)
Lunch
Romaine-Spinach Salad
Baked chicken breast, cheese, broccoli, carrots, ranch dressing
Assortment of fresh fruit
Dinner
Meatballs (made with grass-fed beef)
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Asparagus or Green Beans
Day Three
Breakfast
Choice of:
Nitrate Free Bacon and Free Range Eggs
Greek Yogurt Smoothie
(Greek Yogurt, Frozen Fruit, Milk, Protein Powder)
Lunch
Chili topped with greek yogurt and cheese
Assortment of Fresh Fruit
Dinner
Beef Roast
Baked Potato
Assortment of Fresh Vegetables
Snacks include: String Cheese, Yogurt, Organic Granola Bars, Apples and Peanut Butter
Most fruit and vegetables are purchased organic. We try to follow the Dirty Dozen List.
Stay tuned for part two were Kim talks about what changing their families eating habits have done for the family. It is pretty shocking!
Do you have questions for Kim? Please feel free to ask her in the comments section below?
The past 18 months I have flown more than all my other years combined. Traveling can be a stressful and tough time to make healthy choices. But when I hear people saying the can’t eat healthy when traveling, or use the excuse that it is impossible to make healthy choices, it really gets me upset. These are just excuses to help make us feel better. I had a bootcamper recently tell me she was having trouble eating healthy because she lives alone and doesn’t cook. Again, that is just another excuse to help justify a current behavior. Sure things might not be ideal, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the right choice with a little planning. Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser, has probably logged close to a million frequent flier miles since the start of Biggest Loser, but I have heard many interviews with her explaining that she refuses to eat any processed food and packs all natural all organic snacks and meals. It shows in the way her body still looks despite the fact she says sometimes she goes weeks without working out.
Ok, I will get off my soap box now…
I am writing this from UC Irvine, just got done with a great workout with my friend Andrew and we are headed to the Huntington beach. Yesterday I had 10 hours of travel with a 4.5 hour layover. I wanted to show you how I am able to make healthy choices when traveling.
I have to give a shout out to my girl friend Abby who made these snacks for me to take.
What are some of your strategies you use when traveling and trying to eat healthy?
I filmed this video about 2 weeks before my fitness cruise so I was really focusing on eating the best food possible.
Click here to check out another recent post I did about shopping at the grocery store and learning what foods are the best to buy.
I also did a shopping tour with ABC news, click here to watch the video.
Here was my list:
Cod fish
Cage free organic eggs
Tuna in water
Pickles
Olives
All natural peanut butter
Avocadoes
Hot peppers
Tomatoes
Apples
Frozen berries
Feta cheese
Bananas
Organic whole milk
Plain Greek yogurt
Steak
Organic mixed greens
Asparagus
Brocolli
Alphalfa sprouts
Olive oil dressing
Cucumbers
What are some of your favorite things to buy at the store?
I am a little slow to share this story with you, but here is a great transformation from a woman, who didn’t let her physical limitations stop her from changing her life. I have never met Patrice, but hopefully will one day! Patrice, I would love to have you comment at the bottom of the post to let everyone know where you are at today.
To have results this quick takes almost 100% discipline and perfection. These results aren’t typical, but are possible for many who trade in their old unhealthy habits for new healthy ones.
Patrice’s eating is very good. High protein, small frequent meals, all natural, grass fed/wild, and not much cheating at all.
I hope you can take a few new ideas for food items, and if you aren’t currently part of a consistent workout program, think about trying my Fit Moms For Life DVDs. You can try the first month out for just $7.95!
Patrice’s Journey
Patrice Before
On November 30th, I started my journey to become healthier. Putting myself first was the hardest thing to do, but making the commitment to being healthier is the best decision I have ever made. I try to exercise 5 days a week. I alternate between the Fit Mom’s for Life DVD and the Got Core DVD. I keep a journal and write in it everyday. I keep track of measurements, what I eat and drink, exercise, and how I feel. The journal helps to keep me honest to myself!
In 2005 I developed spinal stenosis and lost the feeling in my legs and feet. The stenosis affected by balance and I could barely walk. 4 years of acupuncture later, I have regained some feeling in my feet and legs and am slowly getting my balance back. I felt ready to attempt exercise again. I saw Dustin on the morning news station and checked out his website. I immediately wanted to order the DVD but emailed Dustin to get his input due to restrictions I have from back surgery (rods and spinal fusion). I ordered the DVD, and was very pleased w/how the DVD’s were set up. I have to modify some of the cardio but am able to do the workout. So if you have some health issues – YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
I LOVE to cook and cook most everything from scratch. It does take time but I really enjoy it. I feel we eat pretty healthy but I did cut back on the amount that I eat, I am trying to eat more fruit and look at what I eat from a nutrition standpoint that I learned from the phone coaching series w/Tracie. I drink a lot of water and green tea from Cha Cha Tea. I like coffee in the morning but instead of drinking traditional coffee, I drink Teeccino coffee which is decaf and made of herbs, roots, etc. Please note: I cook all of my veggies and omelets in coconut oil. We garden and process our own herbs and freeze our veggies. We make and can our own tomatoes, tomato sauce, marinara sauce, etc. I make bread every week and add things like nuts and flax, etc. My husband and I hunt and fish so most of what we eat is wild game and fish.
Stats
The first numbers are from Jan 20, 2010 and the second are from Feb 27, 2010!
Weight 195 (Nov 30th) 180
Chest 38 34-3/4
Waist 37-1/2 35-1/4
Abs 39 35-1/4
Hips 47 44
Arm 13 12-3/4
Thigh 22 22
My pictures: I have included a “before” pic and a “right now” pic. The “after” pic would be when I reach goal #1 (loosing another 20 pounds).
I can barely contain myself…….I have been doing my measurements as you suggested and I was blown away w/my results when I compared them to the last time. I have never gotten these results before! I am really enjoying the DVD’s.
- Patrice 5 Weeks Later
Day 1
Breakfast – Quail egg omelet w/veggies and milk
Teeccino Coffee w/one packet of Stevia
Glass of water
Snack – Kashi granola bar and banana
Glass of Water
Lunch – is almost always leftovers from what I cooked for dinner the night before, in this case it was Veni Mexican which is Veni meat casserole w/salsa and re-fried beans and a glass of water
Glass of green tea
Snack – apple and one piece of cheese
Water
Before Fit Mom’s workout – plain yogurt w/blueberries and kashi flax, honey, almond clusters
Dinner – blue gills and homemade sweet potato fries, homemade bread and milk
Glass of green tea
Day 2
Breakfast – home made bread w/natural peanut butter and fruit and milk
Teeccino Coffee w/one packet of Stevia
Glass of water
Snack – banana and small bowl of cottage cheese
Glass of Water
Lunch – salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, cottage cheese) and Veggie Sandwich on whole wheat bread
Glass of water
Glass of green tea
Snack – Homemade Hummus on crackers
Glass of water
Before Abs workout – plain yogurt w/blueberries and kashi flax, honey, almond clusters
Dinner – Veni Stew (tomato based) over brown rice and mixed veggies and salad and milk
Green tea
Day 3
Breakfast – 10-Grain hot cereal w/fruit and homemade whole wheat toast and milk
Teeccino Coffee w/one packet of Stevia
Glass of green tea
Snack – Kashi granola bar and banana
Glass of Water
Lunch – leftover Veni Stew and veggies.
Glass of water
Glass of Green Tea
Before Fit Mom’s workout – plain yogurt w/blueberries and kashi flax, honey, almond clusters
Dinner – Wheat Spaghetti w/veni hamburger and homemade tomato sauce and salad and milk
Green tea
Day 4
Breakfast – Quail egg omelet w/veggies and milk
Teeccino Coffee w/one packet of Stevia
Glass of water
Piece of fruit and kashi granola bar
Lunch – leftover spaghetti and salad
Glass of water
Snack – fruit and piece of cheese
Chicken w/mixed veggies, salad and milk
Glass of green tea
Day 5
Breakfast – 10-Grain hot cereal w/fruit and homemade whole wheat toast and milk
Teeccino Coffee w/one packet of Stevia
Glass of water
Snack – piece of cheese and fruit
Water
Lunch – left over chicken and veggies
Glass of green tea
Before Fit Mom’s workout – plain yogurt w/blueberries and kashi flax, honey, almond clusters
Dinner – turkey w/hominy, salad and milk
Green tea
Day 6
Breakfast – my husbands makes what I call goulash – eggs w/left over meat and veggies and home made toast and coffee
Water
Banana and small bowl of cottage cheese
Lunch – homemade celery soup and homemade bread w/water
Before Abs workout – plain yogurt w/blueberries and kashi flax, honey, almond clusters
Dinner – Homemade falafel on homemade pita bread w/tahini sauce, veggies and Baba Ghanoush
Green tea
Day 7
Breakfast – Quail egg omelet w/whole wheat toast and coffee
Water
Snack – hummus on crackers
Water
Lunch – left over falafel
Water
Fruit for a snack
Dinner – quail, sweet potatoes and salad and milk
Green tea
When I took my measurements I could barely contain myself when I saw how much progress I had made in such a short time. The hard work IS PAYING off, but I still have quite a ways to go.
Do you have any questions for Patrice?
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I can’t wait! I am heading back to MN to spend time with my family, it was last Christmas since I was back, so I am excited!
Yesterday I was on ABC giving some very practical ways that you can enjoy Thanksgiving to the fullest and still be healthy (well at least a LITTLE healthy 
) Also pay attention to the workout tips I give because these can save your body from retaining any more fat as you eat more calories than you normally would.
Do you have a healthy Thanksgiving tip that you would like to share? I would love to hear it in the comments section below!
One of the more popular services I provide is a 60 minute grocery store shopping tour in which I take people into the world of lies, deceptions, and temptations, known as the grocery store! The store is the place where billions of advertising dollars, 10,000′s of products, hundreds of chemicals, and strategically designed layout, all come together into one big place!
If eating were considered a war, the grocery store is the forefront battle ground. It is where the battle of the bulge and health and sickness is waged. I think that is why I am so passionate about teaching people how to shop, not only smart, but healthy. After someone leaves the tour, they have been empowered to make the wise choices, set a good example to their kids, and have the tools necessary to stock the fridge and pantry with wholesome foods.
Recently Kim Sveum, of ABC news asked me to join her in the store as I hit on some of the main topics at the grocery store!
Kim Sveum has been blogging about her experiences the past 5 weeks going through my program. The final results are in (you will have to wait a bit longer to see it on TV), but all I can say is WOW! You won’t believe how much she lost in just 5 weeks! Click here to read all her blog posts.
If you are in the Madison area and would like to join me on my next grocery tour, please click this link to sign up! The next two dates are Thurs Dec 3rd at 6:15 pm and Monday Dec 7th at 7:00 pm. Space is limited to 10 people, so sign up immediately to secure your spot. Only $20 and you will be given valuable handouts that you can take with you to the grocery store!
I am writing this from my hotel in Connecticut. Yesterday I flew in to NYC and took at bus to the north side of Manhattan. I was invited to stay with the world renowned author Victoria Moran in her beautiful new condo near Central Park! You may have seen her a couple times on Oprah.
I didn’t quite get off at the right bus stop and had about a 1.5 mile walk at night in Harlem with my two bags and computer (yes I pack like a girl). Now that is an adventure! No longer in Wisconsin! I never knew there could be 5 “African Barber Shops” all next to each other on one street.
Once I figured out where I was going and met Victoria at her place, we were soon off to a birthday party at a local bar on lower Manhattan for a guy named Phillip who has lost 200 lbs by following a raw food diet. He was just featured on the show “The Doctors.” All his friends that were there were also raw food followers. For the next 2.5 hours I spent time listening to their stories and hearing about how raw food has changed their lives. The VIP room that was rented out for the group was large and quite full, and there was not one person there who could stand to lose any weight.
I also spent a lot of time talking with an awesome guy named Anthony. He is a professional model in NYC and raw food activist. He was super friendly and talked about the challenges and benefits to eating raw foods.
For those of you who don’t know what raw food eating is, google it! But basically you can only eat raw foods (duh) that are all natural, organic, and vegetarian. This eliminates about 95% of the American diet which is one thing that makes it very tough to adhere to, not because you can’t get enough great foods and nutrients in, but rather the culture we live in makes it very difficult to eat raw and still be social with non-raw counterparts. It was amazing to hear the stories of those who went raw and how unbelievable they feel once all the toxins have been eliminated from their diet. Many only need 5 hours of sleep to be refreshed, because the diet is so easy on the digestive system!
This post isn’t suppose to endorse or discredit the raw community or way of living, but I really think many of their principals are right on! I bet if everyone in America followed a raw diet for one year 80% of obesity would be eliminated! Our society is so full of toxins in the body that trash our organs, mess with our hormones, and create diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Of course America won’t follow this type of diet but I would be very curious to see if they did! I would go so far as saying that it is almost impossible to be overweight on a raw diet. Your body will do such a great job at telling you when to stop eating that you would really have to force it to gain a lot of weight on it.
The next morning I got on a train and headed for CT, to meet with a small group of highly successful fitness trainers as part of my mastermind group. These group meetings have been such a big help to me from a career standpoint and helping me to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. If you aren’t part of a group that has a mentor in it, I highly recommend you join one!
I have one more day in CT then back to NYC for a couple days with one of those days being filming of my first national TV spot! More to come on that another time!
Last night we held our MamaTone party which was awesome! Bootcampers don’t worry we will have one for you soon! I made the first recipe on today’s blog. I really love sweet and sour chicken and this was certainly an easy way to make it! There was tons left after the party, but I would like to think that was because there was so much other wonderful food instead of the alternative… nobody liked it! So it looks like I will be eating sweet and sour chicken for the upcoming week!
Enjoy my mom’s recipes!
As we promised last week, we will share some crock pot recipes today. Dustin just called and was trying to figure out what to bring to the Mamatone potluck this evening (Thursday); I just happened to be looking at the following recipe for chicken. He thought it sounded good and said he’d try it out and let us all know how it turned out . If lots is left, guess we will have to try to revamp it!
CROCK POT SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN:
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
18 oz. bottle sweet and sour sauce
16 oz. pkg. frozen broccoli and carrots, thawed and drained
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. pepper
Cut chicken thighs into 1-1/2″ pieces. Mix with simmer sauce in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8-10 hours or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Twenty minutes before serving stir in vegetables, thyme, and pepper. Cover, increase heat to HIGH and cook for 20-30″ or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
I hope to have room for several recipes, so let’s move onto a breakfast that cooks all night in the crockpot:
SLOW COOKER FRUIT, NUTS, AND SPICE OATMEAL
2 c. steel cut oats
2 c. diced apples
1 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1/2 c. chopped pecans
3 c. water
1 c. milk
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. butter or coconut oil
Combine all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on LOW overnight or 8 hours. Someone blogged that they used cider instead of the water and that they added the nuts just before serving to keep them from getting soggy. Others wrote that the time was too long, depending on your heat setting, so you might want to check it before the 8 hours. Obviously, whatever you have handy should work in this recipe.
Here’s one for you meat eaters:
SLOW COOKER BEEF STROGANOFF:
2 lbs. cubed beef stew meat
2 reg. can of condensed golden mushroom soup
1 c. of chopped onions
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. beef broth
2 Tbsp. corn starch
4 Tbsp. cold water
1 c. sour cream
noodles, cooked
In a slow cooker, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce, and broth. Cook on LOW SETTING for 8 hours, or on HIGH setting for about 5 hours. Stir in the cornstarch/water mixture.
Just before serving, add the sour cream and reheat-do no boil.
Serve over your favorite healthy noodles.
I think we can slip one more in here, just to help use up all those apples we have around from our visit to the orchards. Dustin will remember when Nana came over when it was time to make applesauce with our neighbor’s apples (the kids would always help pick every fall and we’d make gallons of wonderful apple cider at their place)……she would always make a huge panful of Apple Betty, Pennsylvania Dutch style. Here is the slow cooker version:
SLOW COOKED APPLE BROWN BETTY:
3 c. apples-peeled, cored, and diced
10 slices w.w. bread, cubed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. seasalt
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 butter, melted
Place apples into the crockpot. In a bowl, toss together the bread cubes, cinnamon, nutmed, salt, and sugar. Place on top of the apples and drizzle with melted butter. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 hours, or until apples are tender.
My Mom’s version was made in the oven, resulting in crispy bread cubes. I think we also mixed the apples with some sugar, and sliced the apples instead of dicing. The Pa. Dutch touch to this recipe is serving it right out of the oven with milk sweetened with brown sugar~yikes, eh?! And it was the main dish, served after a busy day of canning…..guarenteed no leftovers with hungry kids!
Looking forward to your favorite crockpot meals ………
Keep eating~healthy!
Dustin’s Mom~Joy
What a long break we’ve taken from doing recipes! But Dustin does seem to get some interesting topics going here, so never a dull moment on this site! We do plan to address your requests from awhile back regarding what you’d like to see here, including the new recipe ideas, etc. But ever since Tracy, Dustin’s nutritionist, did those articles on soy products, the thyroid, coconut oil, etc., some of my basic dietary understandings have been upended big time–anybody with me on that one?? I felt like we should delete all my past postings of recipes, for starters! Then I had the further eye-opening experience of hanging with her at your awesome Farmer’s Market at your capitol this summer–what an education, believe me; she knows so many of the vendors and exactly how their product is raised/grown, etc. She really does need to do Farmer’s Market tours, just like Dustin’s grocery tours!
The coconut oil got me quite excited-I have lots of books from the library and have been trying out recipes, etc., plus being in touch with Tracie with all she has researched and learned with her clients. Tracie will be writing a blog post next week on coconut oil but I thought in the meantime I would share some recipes.
Here is a quick story before I share the recipes……now that we have been REALLY reading labels, we have discovered that soybeans have truly invaded the planet-even my vit. E capsule has soybean oil in it-yikes! The other day I was at a natural foods store with my friend Kristy and she picked up some mayo–we read the label and of course there was our friend the soybean oil; after cautiously telling her about it and coconut oil (who wants to be the person who is always telling you how bad that food is that you are about to buy?!), I got home fast and emailed her a recipe from my Bruce Fife book for coconut mayonnaise…..at her request.
Here it is:
COCONUT MAYONNAISE:
1 egg
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 T. prepared mustard
1/4 t. paprika
1/4 t. salt
1 1/4 c. melted coconut oil
Blend the first 5 ingred. plus 1/4 c. of the coc. oil for 60 seconds. While machine is running, pour in the remaining oil very slowly in a fine, steady stream. Each T. of the mayo with have about 1/2 T. coc. oil.
If you have been using coc. oil, you will know that this will harden in the fridge; just let it sit at room temperature half an hr. or so to soften. They recommend using this within several days and say that the texture is best when freshly made. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
Okay, gotta’ tell you that I have yet to experiment with this or any dressings, so feel free to share your experiences! More on Healthy Coconut Fat Recipes
Make a mental list of what you ate today… How much of it contained sugar? I have a feeling quite a bit of it contained sugar even if it isn’t obvious at first glance. I believe the dramatic increase in sugar consumption the past 50 years is one of the biggest culprits in today’s obesity epidemic. That includes the fake sugars found in diet sodas and “low carb” products.
In my grocery shopping tours, I teach people to read the ingredients label and that the ingredients are listed in the order of quantity… meaning the first ingredient is the most prevalent in the food you are going to eat. When those on the tour start to read the ingredients they are amazed at how much sugar is in foods and how many different names there are for it.
One of the biggest problems with sugar is that it sends blood sugar levels up quickly; since this would be toxic to the bloodstream, insulin quickly comes to the rescue and shuttles the sugar to either the muscles or liver (if they were depleted) or store it as fat. If you are eating sugar at times when you are not very active (night time) this will almost always get stored as fat. To make matters worse, sugar doesn’t provide much nutrients and doesn’t do a good job at signaling to the body that it is full and satisfied from eating sugar, so you then eat more, whether it is more sugar or something else.
If many of the products you buy used only one form of sugar instead of 3-6, I would bet that many of these products would contain sugar as the first ingredient.
A great site to check out to visually see how much sugar is in your favorite foods and products is http://www.sugarstacks.com/
Keep in mind not all sugar is created equal; fructose which is found in fruits, doesn’t affect blood sugar quite as much as some other forms of sugar. Also eating fruit is great because it provides you with so many other benefits through fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. So take home message: Don’t stop eating fruit!
I received a great email awhile back of a list of 56 names of sugar. This is great, because now you can recognize when a product contains sugar even if it doesn’t say “Sugar.”
Here are the 56 names of sugar: More on Names Of Different Sugars
