Three in a row: days of exercising, that is. I haven't done that on purpose for a few months. Unh! How ya like me now?
I also only ate two of the twelve special dark marshmallow-topped brownies that a student gave me today. And I gave the rest away so they don't tempt me tomorrow.
Anybody have any tricks, secrets, black magic, or anything to help with cravings? Chewing gum and my fingernails is not going to last for long.
I know it sounds absurd but cravings come because our food is so full of sugars and they are highly addictive. Just like any addict you have to stay away from them. Here's where the wierd part comes in...the longer you stay away from such foods the more your taste-buds will change. You will crave those foods less and less and when you do eat them you will be shocked by how truly (and almost repulsive) sweet they are. There are healthy alternatives that are sweet. Look up on line "xylosweet". It looks like sugar, tastes like sugar, but isn't bad for you like sugar. It isn't a chemical either, it's natural. Also, I just bought myself some liquid "stevia". It comes in 12 different flavors (chocolate, berry, root beer, etc.) and is ALL natural & super sweet. They also sell powdered stevia to put on top of foods. It is derived from an herb and is in no way harmful. You can add this to water for a sweet drink on the go. I hope you are avoiding soda at all costs. That is the number one thing to change. Soda is liquid poison, I'm not kidding. Avoid many other "artificial" sweeteners that are chemicals...they cause cancer and are toxic for the body.
ReplyDeleteSorry to go on and on but my point is, don't deprive yourself. Invest in yourself and spend some money on a healthy alternative to other things. Xylosweet although good for you is VERY expensive but it is worth it in my book. Sometimes I think that trying to eat healthy in this day and age is like trying to swim up river. It is possible but it takes strength, courage, and a determination that can only come from within (supported by prayer).
(Joe, if you think I am being too pushy with my advice tell me to zip it and I will. I just feel so passionate about this subject and it has taken me years to weed through all of the information out there. And I still have a long way to go.)
(oh, and your blog was still hard to leave a comment on. I had to log into my google account first then leave this comment)
I had one more thing to tell you that I forgot to say earlier. About 2 years ago a lady who has been one of my "healthy" mentors said something that has stuck with me. She said that she lives by the "80/20" rule. 80 percent of the food she eats is good & nutritionally dense but the other 20 percent is not so good for her. I have adopted this rule to my own life. The problem we all run into in America is that 98 percent of what we eat is crap and so not only does the food we eat have no nutrition but it sucks the nutrients from our bodies. If we are eating the food we should be then our bodies can handle the small percent of junk that we put into them.
ReplyDeleteSo, have your brownie...after you've eaten your nutritionally dense lunch! 80/20 makes it seem possible for me. :)
I use smaller plates. We have a big dinner plates and "Salad" plates. We use the salad plates for our dinner. Mentally, it works for me. I have also been trying to eat a piece of fruit whenever I crave candy. I would also suggest using measuring cups. I poured myself some cereal yesterday. It says 170 calories per serving which is fine but I poured myself 1 and 1/2 servings without thinking. After using the measuring cups I could see what a serving really looks like.
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