Gettin' Over the Hump

You place a 36-pack of Oreo cookies in front of me and chances are I will eat more than the suggested and "moderate" serving of two cookies. In fact if I were to be alone in such situation with a bottle of wine and a chick flick, I would happily demolish at least half if not the whole damn thing. And then guilt with a side of self-loathing would commence. You feel me right?

When it comes to unhealthy foods that I love, I have no willpower. I can't just eat a little, the first bite sends me into a euphoric frenzy and I will eat more than I should. And I know I'm not alone. When I had my first consultation with the diabetic nurse, she went on and on about eating carbs in moderation but what the hell does that mean? She couldn't give me an exact figure or anything concrete to follow and I struggled with my diet all last year until I started researching on my own. What I've discovered is if I wanted to make permanent changes to my diet and health, the concept of moderation is bullshit. It's almost impossible to get the results you want whilst dipping your fingers into the cookie jar and here's why: 

The biggest problem with moderation is that it relies on willpower

There are biological reasons why you can't eat your favorite junk in moderation

Moderation is an excuse to eat the food that is feeding your muffin top

A friend of mine recently posted a vlog about being unhappy with her weight and wanting to make lifestyle changes, but she said she "can't" give up her favorite vices. I remember feeling this way when I realized I had to give up sugar, but it got easier once I changed my mind-set. 

(Picture taken in 2000 by Hub. I broke my pescetarian diet and was demolishing a bacon cheeseburger and fries)

New Year, New Beginnings

Happy New Year.

 

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break. We've been in the US and it's been lovely. In a few days it will come to an end, but I'm ready and really excited to be returning to Rio. It's the height of summer there and will be a nice contrast to these subzero (polar vortex?) temperatures. The heat will also help in sweating out this Christmas pudge.

So I feel like we won't settle back into our Carioca life until the end of this month and that's when our resolutions will really kick in. Have you made any? I like to make them every year even if I can't remember what they were by the following ball drop countdown. So this year I've decided to write them down. Publicly. Perhaps this way I'll be held accountable and can also report back in 2015.

Hub and I both agreed to learn Portuguese fluently. I've been trying to make an effort to speak even to our bilingual friends, but I need a new more proactive game plan. As soon as we land I'm going to sign up to private lessons, visit lyricstraining.com on the daily (a quirky recommendation from an Expat) and listen to podcast lessons on Hub's iphone.

 

Kick bad eating habits that have lead to my pre-diabetes. I've made some changes to my diet, but to be honest with myself I haven't been consistent about them. I struggle with making the right choices and the concept of moderation. I also had my bloods checked before the move and reality check, my sugar levels have not changed since March. This year I really want to give up refined sugar and bad foods (fried, processed, high sat fat) and never look back.



And dedicate more time to you Jordan's Diary. I love writing to you, sharing my thoughts, recipes and ramblings with you. Me + you = more time gabble in 2014.

I feel another great year is upon us. We have so many exciting things to look forward to like Cousin Dan flying in on Monday, Carnival, the StreetChildWorldCup (and the FIFA World Cup for that matter) and a wedding...So here's to 2014!

Are you an Abstainer or a Moderator?

 

So in my last post about the gluten-free diet trend, I included a link to Gretchen Rubin's post on abstainers and moderators because I found it so fascinating. I thought I'd go into a little more detail and ask are you an abstainer or a moderator?

I first heard about Gretchen Rubin through one of my favorite podcasts, The Fat-Burning Man by Abel James, and she explained how abstainers and moderators deal with diet. I had this AHA moment! When it comes to my eating habits and especially with sugar, I have to avoid it all together. As I've mentioned many times I'm borderline Type 2 diabetic and sugar is my kryptonite. Whenever I have something deliciously sweet, I eat way too much and it stays on mind for weeks on end. I'll just keep craving it and feel a desperate need to satisfy that itch. So for me it's much easier to just not eat anything sweet because a little will send me over the edge and I can't stop. There's a part of me that feels guilt over the fact that I have no control when it comes to certain types of food. Now I feel like it's a coping strategy for certain types of people, it's either all or nothing. I am an abstainer! 

Then there's the moderator. Awhile back a friend posted a vlog about her weight struggles and I offered some advice that I found helpful in my own journey. It was something to the tune of "just let go of those foods that are holding you back" and switch to a clean diet cold turkey. She was not having any of it and said she could never give up her favorite junk foods. At the time I felt sad by her response, but maybe she's right. Perhaps the idea of abstaining from mac-n-cheese would drive her fucking nuts and she might just cut someone! I'm exaggerating, but you get me. She might just be a moderator and needs to have the occasional indulgence to keep her sane. Unlike me, moderators need a weekly cheat meal or a daily sweet fix in order to stay on track overall.

If you want to start making some healthy changes in your life, this might be worth figuring out early on in your journey. It can be useful with your efforts especially when you've fallen off the wagon (which will happen) and you feel hopeless.

Additional Reads

As an abstainer, I'm against the concept of moderation

A link to Gretchen Rubin and the podcast with Abel James

And if you haven't listened to the The Fat-Burning Man, your missing out!

(Pictured above is yours truly at my cousin's wedding during the Viennese hour. One small dessert would have been okay, but I just couldn't deal and loaded up. Then I went back for more... Oops)

Back to Basics: Diabetes & Carbs

"Diabetes is a carb issue," the diabetic nutritionist said. And although excess body fat does plays an influential role role in the development of Type 2 diabetes, I believe this is why I have high blood sugar. I love my carbs and maintaining a slim physique couldn't save me.

The past couple of weeks I've been indulging in foods that are diabetic no-nos and I'm starting to feel the affects. When my sugar is too high, I get moody, anxious, feel thirsty all the time and subsequently feel the need to wee all the time. These are all signs of high blood sugar (and what led to me to the doctors) and it's really annoying.

So I've been referring back to my diabetes notes, which I keep handy to remind me of the basics when I go off track. It's a combination of research, my own conclusions and a great session with a diabetic nutritionist. She gave me some helpful tips on eating carbohydrates for example she said I should aim for 15-30 grams of carbs per meal and there are four types of carbs: fruit, starches, milk & yogurt, and dessert. I wanted to share this because I find it really interesting and maybe you will too. 

Milk & Yogurt

This really surprised me because I thought dairy was low carb, but milk and yogurt are high in sugar. It's called lactose and one cup of milk has 12 grams of carbs and to put this into perspective, one teaspoon of table sugar has 4 grams of carbs. I never drank glasses of milk, but I used to guzzle lattes and sometimes I would drink 3-4 per day. Here's the thing, a small latte is made with a cup of milk and that's an additional 36 grams of sugar I didn't realize I was consuming.

A little pot of plain yogurt also has 12 grams of sugar, but flavored yogurt is way worse. A pot of Activia or Chobani fruit yogurt has at least 19-20 grams of sugar each and that's a lot of sugar in one go. The nutritionist did say the only exception to this yogurt=carbs rule was Greek yogurt. It's very high in protein which slows down the digestion of the sugars in the yogurt. A cup of Greek yogurt has 20-23 grams of protein, compared to natural yogurt which only has 9 grams of protein. It also tends to be lower in sugar, except for flavored Greek yogurt which has more sugar and less protein than the plain stuff.

So my take on this is that if I crave yogurt, I try to eat it before or after a workout because carbs are really important when working out and will amp up my fat burn. I'll also have it before I'm about to step out and run around and as a snack with flaxseeds or raw nuts to increase the fiber, fat and protein content. All of which will slow down the digestion of the sugars. Unfortunately, Rio doesn't sell real, plain Greek yogurt. All the Greek yogurt is sweetened and it's nutritional content resembles that of flavored natural yogurt.

Fruit

All fruits are a healthy part of a diabetic diet and anywhere between 2-4 servings is good. There are a lot of myths and misinterpreted nutrition on certain fruits, mainly tropical fruits like coconuts and watermelon. Coconuts are high in saturated fat, but it's natural occurring and it's chemical make-up is very different from saturated cheese fat. Coconut is not bad, it's fat won't make you fat, and in fact it is loaded with goodness. Tropical fruits like pineapple and watermelon get a bad rap because they are high GI, but truth is they have a low impact on blood sugar because they are rich with water and fiber.

So my take on this is it's sad when people avoid fruit on low-carb diets or certain types of fruits. The Western world is not suffering from obesity, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes because people binge on fruit. I mean just look at Banana Girl...not that I agree with this diet although I find it fascinating. I will admit it's easier to eat more fruit then vegetables throughout the day and so it's good to have a balance. Sometimes I mix fruit with seeds and nuts to balance out the sugar load or eat my fruits around my workout.

Starches

When I think of starches the usual suspects come to mind: bread, grains, potatoes, cereal and pasta. However, I learned that starchy vegetables are more than just potatoes and also include green peas, carrots, pumpkin and beets. They are rich with vitamins, minerals and fiber, but it's important to mix them up with non-starchy vegetables like leafy greens which I don't always do. Also cooking starchy vegetables breaks them down, making their sugars more easily digested and spiking blood sugar.

The diabetic nutritionist advised me to avoid cold cereals, especially my beloved granola. I mentioned how I was experimenting with gluten-free pasta and she said to absolutely avoid it. Gluten is a protein (not a carb) and gluten-free pasta has a high glycemic load because it's usually made with rice flour or corn flour. It also lacks fiber and protein, especially compared to wholegrain pasta, which is a double whammy for blood sugar.

So my take on this is I've given up my granola and gluten-free pasta, except for the occasional rice vermicelli. I'm trying to eat more non-starchy vegetables and getting more creative with them.

Dessert

This is an obvious one and needs no nutrition babble.

My take on this is know thyself. For the love of God I cannot control myself when it comes to desserts. My body and mind do not understand the word moderation and thus 15-30 grams just won't do. It's not always easy to avoid desserts, but I pretty much try. Always.

Healthy reads for this post:
Sugar Shockers
What are starchy vegetables?

What does insulin resistance mean?
This is sugar