The Sugar Monster Strikes Again

I have got to lay off the sugar.

I've been improving on my intake- far less runs are being made to Cub Foods for their sinfully rich (and overly processed) and tasty brownies- but I'm not the best at it yet. Take for example, Starbucks new mini doughnuts. The double chocolate doughnuts are fantastic- and quite addictive. For the last few weeks, they have been my little "sugar rush" a few times a week.

Here's what happens when I eat them, or any other sugary treats.

The yeast in my body starts to grow and get out of control. Not kidding you, I can feel the "dampness" level in my body increase dramatically. I start to get mucousy in the my throat almost immediately, and then it travels to my nasal cavities. I've also noticed that I sometimes get really thirsty afterwards- I think my body's attempt to help my kidney flush everything out (which is probably not a good sign, btw).

So, I need to stop allowing myself these "treats," right? Easier said then done. I told myself today that when I went to Starbucks for my Tuesday afternoon snack (I eat lunch at noon and don't get home to eat dinner until 8:45pm on Tuesdays so a snack is a necessity) I would not get a "treat" unless they had the double chocolate doughnuts, and if not, I was out of luck. Totally ignored my rule upon going through the drive-through. They were out of the doughnuts, but I decided to try the double chocolate cookies instead. Doh!

New rule. I need to bring my own healthy snack to work on Tuesdays so I don't go to Starbucks and give in to temptation. The drug of sugar, salt, and fat is way too strong for me.

Sometimes I wonder how I managed to detox my diet and way of life so much almost two years ago. But then I look back, and I had non-stop heartburn, nightly gallbladder pain, was severely lacking in sleep, and had ongoing anxiety attacks. A diet change was a walk in the park compared to what I had been dealing with on a daily basis for a good year before that.

Here I sit, mildly sick from all the food I ate today (I literally ate and grazed from the time I got to work at 1 until I left at 8:30- not good) in addition to the supplement I took to take the strain off my gallbladder/digestive system, and I think to myself "I could change my diet again if it meant not feeling sick like this." Yet, tomorrow I will wake up and feel fine and probably not have any nausea, digestive issues, or any other things that make me feel uncomfortable. It's just not as easy as it was two years ago when I was feeling sickly 100% of the time.

I've got to take baby steps at cutting the sugar back out. I've taken the first baby step of reducing/eliminating after dinner trips for brownies. Now, I need to cut out the sugary mid-afternoon snacks. Next, I need to limit all sugar intake to only those found in nature: fruit, honey, maple syrup.

Funny enough, I just got my latest Clean Eating Magazine in the mail today and it had a little article about how we consume too much sugar in the US. According to them, we consume 22tsps of added sugar a day (355 calories). Their recommendation to cut down to your 5-9tsps a day of sugar- eat 3 servings of fresh fruit daily to satisfy your sweet tooth. Fruit is coming in season- this should be easy to do!

A Promise Kept

Well, I promised a friend (hi, Renee!) I would make a long overdue post this week. Tonight feels like a good night to write some stuff down.

First, let's get some news out of the way. Yesterday my husband's grandmother passed away. Although it wasn't expected, it certainly wasn't unexpected either. For the past three years we thought she wasn't going to make from holiday to holiday, but, despite her ailing health, she did time and time again. To say that she was a fighter would be an understatement, and her long battle to keep going until the very end is a testament to that. So with great love I would like to memorialize Marcella with this post, if even for a minute. Her fighting attitude taught me a lot about perservance in the short time I knew her. I am blessed to have had a connection with her.

Hard to follow that up with the mundane details of my life, but alas we must move on. I think perseverance would be a good way to sum up the last few months of my blogging absence. There was a stupid amount of drama, a lot of learning lessons for myself, and a lot of growing up that was done in the last few months. Somehow, the planets are aligning for me though despite the recent chaos and everything seems to be settling in to place.

I recently decided to start a jewelry making business. With the urging of my awesome boss, she helped me remember that I have a talent and that I should put it to use by making some extra money doing it. The business, in it's flegling days is off to good start. Sold quite a few pieces and am getting a pretty decent response from people. I'm learning a lot about owning a business, and it's a lot more work than one would think! Hence, my lack of presence on the blogosphere lately. I've done hours upon hours of jewelry crafting the last month! If you want to check out my stuff you can find me at my website or on Facebook.

Health is on the upswing this last week, though I was having some issues the last few weeks. I would like to say that Aloe Vera juice is a miracle worker (relieved some serious IBS symptoms I had been having for two weeks) and my new favorite food for upset tummy is a sweet potato. Weird, I know. On Sunday I was sick of my stomach hurting all day and the never-ending IBS after I ate, so I took a look in my You Are What You Eat Book and it suggested Aloe Vera juice for IBS, and sweet potatoes for the liver. Holy crap (pun intended), it worked! The Aloe Vera juice got the IBS to stop, and my stomach has stopped hurting since I ate the sweet potato.

Kicking myself, however, for not taking a picture of my latest kitchen creation: Asparagus and Fennel soup with ginger and leeks. To say that it's like a warm fleece blanket wrapping around you is the best descriptor I can come up with. I created the soup to help heal my liver and gallbladder, while settling my tummy. All four of those ingredients help both the stomach and liver, and I was so happy the soup came out so wonderful. Plus, everything was in season, and there is nothing better than in season vegetables!

Ok, I promise I will get back to blogging more regularly. Not just for my few readers, but for myself as well. It's nice to have a place to get your thoughts out, and I know I would have benefited from that the last few months.

Been absent a few days...

Where does the time go? I spent the last week or so just being stressed and unhappy and absent while I came to terms with my brewing anger at life. Why, you might ask? No good reason. Just got in a funk. It was a interesting roller coaster ride of emotions for a week or so though!

Luckily, I was finally able to squeeze some acupuncture in before work early last week and things have been better since. My Qi was definitely out of whack, with some low bladder function (which would explain my unusual lack of wanting to pee- normally it's hourly, last few weeks was rarely) and some excess energy in my large intestine (which would explain the tummy issues and returning nausea). Got to love acupuncture, right? It always blows my mind that not only is it accurate, but it works to! The rest of the day I was giddy and upbeat and didn't feel that dark cloud over my head anymore. Even as the week went on, my moodiness was improved and when it returned it was much shorter lived than the week before. I wish I had time for some acupuncture again this week, but it's a no go with the schedule- my coworker is out and that means I'll be lucky if I get time for a quick chiropractic adjustment. Quite upbeat about the coming week though, so that's good.

The best news? I decided to take a "mental health" weekend for myself next week. Can't wait! I'm going to spend a few days by myself, visiting friends, shopping, and relaxing. Shopping will be primarily window shopping because money is tighter than I care to admit right now, but at least I'll get to spend time "planning" the new fabulous things I am going to buy myself. (aka Pants and shirts that fit for the summer- too small now to wear the oversized stuff I wore last year). Good thing for the budget is that the hotel room is free! Had enough points leftover on my account with a hotel chain to get the whole thing covered. I love membership rewards like that! My husband and use to take vacations with saved up hotel points- made the trip really cheap!

But I ramble.

Long story short, my goal is to destress myself. I think every once in a while we all need to take a personal time-out. I'm lucky that I have a husband who supports and understands it and didn't even want to come with me when I offered. More than likely he's sick of my rotten attitude and wants a breather too! So, I am going to take the time and focus on not focusing and enjoy whatever the day brings. Heck, I might even stretch my mental health weekend one extra night even if it means I have to pay for it. Escaping to a hotel can be so rejuvenating. Breaking your everyday routine can bring you renewed energy for returning to the routine. Just knowing that my "mental health" weekend is almost here has calmed me and brought a smile back to my face. Feels good knowing I have some me-time coming up.

Happy St Patty's Day!

Being partially Irish, I follow the tradition of eating corned beef, cabbage and potatoes on St. Patty's Day. While the consumption of this "not so healthy" foods is going over better than last year (seem to recall having a gallbladder attack), I can't say my stomach is 100% happy with me. There is some definite churning going on, though I am sure it will pass soon.

In honor of not talking about unhealthy Irish food and because I am way overdue, I thought it would be a good day to share some more food pix!

I've got two soups to share today. First up, a Leafy Green Soup that was absolutely divine. The recipe was out of a healthy Crock Pot recipe book that I have, though I opted to make it the quicker way on the stove. It's filled with leeks, potato, kale, arugala and topped with parsley. It was both refreshing and filling at the same time and made for some very satisfactory meals when paired with some triscuits (I like whole wheat things). The recipe had actually called for swiss chard, but they didn't have any at the grocery store so I swapped it for the kale- definitely a good call!

The second soup was my attempt at making a chicken soup in the crockpot. While not a massive fail, it wasn't my usual level of spectacularness in culinary creations. I had attempted to follow a gluten free recipe for the same thing on a gluten-free blog I follow (I will not name names to protect the innocent), but it didn't work. The recipe said to leave the skin on the chicken and it made for one very fatty and not satisfying soup. The hubby liked it, but his threshold for eating super fatty foods it higher than mine. After letting the fat rise when it cooled and taking some off the top, it helped a bit on reheating, but the damage had already been done and the fat was overpowering any other flavors in it. I might try this again, but will definitely be leaving the skin off.

That's all I've got for today, but I promise pictures of some vegetarian whole wheat fajitas I made soon! I need to get back in the kitchen more, so I can share more healthy eats!

In the meantime, drink some green (though be careful of too much food coloring!) beer and have a great St Patty's Day!

A Dish for Adrienne

Tonight we had our friends, Byron and Adrienne, over for dinner. They are expecting their first child next month (a girl!) and Adrienne, unfortunately, has developed preeclampsia and subsequently has to avoid salt to keep her blood pressure from spiking. Now, I know some of my loyal readers have personally experienced this in a more severe form, so there is some familiarity here. Luckily, Adrienne's hypertension is not severe enough to put her on bed rest or anything drastic, though if she doesn't do well at her next doctor's appointment this week she might be cut down to half days at work, or even put on bed rest. The catch 22 is that Adrienne, herself, is a doctor. She knows the ins and outs of this condition, and because her job is quite stressful (we swapped some medical nightmare stories today, though hers were obviously much worse than what I deal with at a chiropractic office) she is welcoming the idea of bed rest. I can't say that I blame her when she told me about having to deal with drug addicts and other stress-inducing people that come in to her office. Nonetheless, she is being extremely careful to watch her sodium intake and I wanted to make sure to serve her something tonight that was 100% salt free.

Mission, accomplished.

Tonight's dinner was linguine with roasted vegetable that were seasoned with one of my favorite salt-free blends from The Spice House, Sunny Paris Seasoning. The dried shallots and pink peppercorns came to life with the roasted squash and zucchini, and added to the lovely caramelized flavor of the onions. For the boys and myself I served an Italian Sausage with it, though I could have been more than happy eating just a large bowl of the linguine and vegetables. For Adrienne I served her pasta and veggies first and then lightly salted everything for the rest of us. Adrienne loved the pasta, and I was really happy she liked it so much. To me, it was a fun challenge cooking without salt and still making something flavorful. When you are used to editing and altering recipes for food allergies, taking out the salt is a very similar challenge and I welcomed it. Everyone commented on how the pasta was "buttery" tasting even though there was no butter in it- you don't get compliments better than that!

Adrienne's preeclampsia has me thinking though. Despite her stressful job, she is a really healthy eater by most standards- she prefers vegetables over meat, she has ALWAYS restricted salt because she sees what it does to her patients everyday, she never overeats, and all-in-all has a really healthy relationship with food. She will tell you that she's not perfect with her diet, though I would attest that she eats healthier than 95% of the people I know. Then I think about my coworker who developed gestational diabetes and then severe preeclampsia at the end of the pregnancy and immediately after (she almost died a week after delivery her blood pressure was so high). My coworker doesn't eat healthy (had a hard time with it even during pregnancy- she almost cried when her doc told her to eat Romaine lettuce), but her baby is healthy as can be. Then I consider another friend who has always been a very healthy eater, is a trained psychotherapist who specializes in treating eating disorders, and she developed gestational diabetes. Come to find out years later, she has Celiac disease, but that's another story.

The stories go on and on. The question I ask is, why are pregnant women getting so sick? Maybe I missed something growing up, but just like food allergies, you didn't hear a lot of stories before about these severe conditions years ago. Now, it seems that you hear about preeclampsia and gestational diabetes and other awful conditions that can develop during pregnancy more and more... same as you are hearing of more and more children (and adults!) developing food allergies. I would even add to that the staggering growth of the number of women experiencing infertility.

So, this has me thinking. I can't throw out any definitive answers on this one, or even good speculations. I would love to say it's all about the diet, but given the instances I've seen of "healthy" eaters developing these conditions, it seems to me that it goes beyond food alone. But then, I think about how tainted our food supply is and I suspect there is something with that- we eat a lot more meat than we ever used to, and that meat is loaded with antibiotics and synthetic growth hormones, so even "healthy" eaters may not be immune to side effects we can't see to consuming that food. What else can it be? Stress, yes, there is no denying that our lives are filled with constant stress- especially as women are pulled in many different directions between career, family, and community. But, I still keep swaying back towards food... what other connection can there be to explain these conditions becoming more common? What other connection can there be to explain so many diseases becoming more common?

Isn't the common denominator between us all food? Perhaps the very thing that sustains and provides us life is now making us, our children, and our unborn children, sick. What else can it be????

B Vitamins: The Happy Pill

Ok, I know I said I was going to blog about all the reasons I hate cheese today, but a certain someone didn't do their self-help homework last night. Good news is, I'm pretty sure I am now disgusted by cheese and the strong cravings are going away. Eating my leftover pizza with goat cheese on it for lunch made me feel sick after the first bite. It didn't stop me from continuing to eat it, but it did make me not want to eat it again. Hubby is officially getting what is left of that pizza. Next time, I'm going back to my cheese-free pizza- it really does taste better, if you ask me. It's a flavor that's satisfying but pleasing to my senses all at once.

Today I want to talk about B Vitamins, or, as I like to call them, my "Happy" pills. Probably about five years ago I discovered the magic of B Vitamins and they have become my stand-by for energy and mood lift whenever that "funk" just won't go away on it's own. For some people, it takes a few days or weeks for the full effects of a B Vitamin supplement to kick in, but for me the results of getting an energy boost are practically instantaneous. I didn't deem them "happy" pills for nothing- sometimes I can feel downright giddy while taking them because they make me feel so good. I was telling a coworker the other day that if drug manufacturers did a trial using a placebo of a B vitamin versus their drug, I bet the B vitamin would be just as, if not more, effective than their side effect filled drug. Now, no self-respecting drug manufacturer would do that because they would lose money, but I tell you- these things work!

When we are stressed our body expends B Vitamins in massive quantities. This is part of our fight or flight response. Unfortunately, they can get depleted quickly and when we are under duress for long amounts of time (which is the current American lifestyle- stress, stress, stress) our body is not able to replenish them adequately. B vitamins are essential to many body functions, but are very important to hormonal balance. They help to keep our hormones on an even keel and when in adequate supply allow us to feel relaxed and at ease. In addition to that, they give us energy!

I'm not a doctor or a naturopath or anything of the sort, but I do know they work. For the past five days I have been taking them and it has made a huge difference in my energy levels. Hence the fact I am posting this blog at a time during which I should be in bed reading a book and getting ready for bed. I have lots of energy and need to concentrate it somewhere! Funny enough, despite the extended energy I am also sleeping better. Once my head hits that pillow I am out for the whole night. I'm not waking up in the middle of the night (which is common for me) or tossing and turning endlessly before bed. And even though I may not want to get out of bed in the morning still (what self-respecting person does, come on! It's so warm and cozy under the covers!) I do feel much more rested when I get up. Forget the coffee, I've got my happy pills!

In addition to happy pills, today I made a great leafy green soup (which is filled with B vitamins!). I forgot to take a pic, but I promise I will try to remember when I'm eating it tomorrow! The color is so rich and vibrant green and the taste is healthy and very satisfying- the cheese and crackers I was eating it with tasted so bland in comparison!

And I promise, the cheese is almost all gone. It is going to feel really good to go dairy free again. :)

Cheese

Nope, not taking any pictures. Just eating massive quantities of it. And it's making me sick. You would think I would not want to eat it anymore because it's making me sick, but no, not I. Damn book triggering my food addictions and eating disorder.

I had anticipated being able to say more on the subject, but really there isn't much more to say. I'm craving cheese, eating cheese, and cheese is making me feel like poop. As a matter of fact, not only is it aggravating my gallbladder, but it's making my sinuses bleed.

I can't explain the whole sinus bleeding thing, but I know it's happening because I can taste the blood scent in my mouth and there is a raspy feeling in my throat that comes along with it. It's been a long time since I've had this feeling, but I am fairly certain the cheese is a contributing factor. It's too early in the allergy season for that to be doing it. You see, the sinus bleeding is a form of allergic reaction. When I vaccuum or dust, the same thing happens. Only difference this time is it's a food sensitivity causing it.

I need to get the cheese eating (and sugar, which also has gotten out of control thanks to the book) under control. My strategy? I'm going to journal about all the reasons cheese (and sugar) disgust me. I am going to use every psychological tool I have to get this under control, because sheer willpower is not overriding the strong cravings. Perhaps my handiwork of cheese disgust will be tomorrow's blog post???

On the plus side, I worked out today and I can already feel it. Taking advantage of my free On Demand shows through my cable provider, I did a Jillian Michaels workout that focused on problem areas. It reminded me of the workouts I did with my trainer back when I was doing that (budget constraints didn't allow for both my hubby and I to work out, so I am letting him have his turn). It combined weights with focused lunges and squats and really made my muscles burn. I wish I could say I was in good enough shape to not have to modify some of the moves, but my laziness over the last few months has caught up to me. Gone is the muscle and definition in my thighs, and I've become pretty darn weak. My body likes the exercise though, so I'm making a committment to fitting it in more often. I'm hoping that some of those endorphins will help to override the food cravings too. See, it's a win-win situation!

Now to write down all the ways cheese (and sugar) disgust me...