Sugar Cravings: Twinkies and Depression

Continuing on with Dr. Oz's thoughts on what causes sugar cravings...if you missed yesterday's post "Feed Me Now or I Will Kill You" be sure to check it out if you get, um, grumpy before meal time!

You know what it is like...you want something sweet, but you aren't really sure what you want...so you find yourself going through the cupboards for something sweet. Dr. Oz refers to this as "I'd really like a Twinkie".

He points out that, although there isn't a lot of evidence yet, that holistic doctors claim this could be due to too much yeast in the gut. One treatment is to take probiotics (which are the "good guys" of bacteria...think of them as wearing tiny white hats!) So while the evidence may not be there the probiotics have worked enough for Dr. Oz to suggest them.

Dr. Oz then moves on to the period cravings...when it is time for our period we will have low levels of serotonin and so we feel more depressed than usual.

To break the period sugar cravings eat dark chocolate--about 1 ounce. That small amount of chocolate will provide a natural antidepressant as well as some carbs.

Finally Dr. Oz points out that frequently we think we want to eat something...even when we aren't really hungry...because we have neglected other needs...including exercise, sleep, sex or water.

So...try taking a walk or a nap... or a "nap" (wink wink) and drink lots of water!

I will again recommend Dr John Gray's Mars Venus Wellness Solution. I found my moods were much more stable throughout my cycle...that and consistently exercising really helps keep my hormones balanced.

But taking a "nap" sounds good, too!

Sugar Cravings: Feed Me Now or I Will Kill You

Dr. Mehmet Oz is a regular on the Oprah Show and writes articles that appear on her website. He wrote recently about sugar cravings and his suggestions for dealing with them. You can see the article on the Oprah site.

He identifies 3 basic categories of sugar cravings, what may be the cause and his suggestions to counteract them.

In today's post we'll review the first one...

"Feed me now, or I'll kill you." Hmm...I can relate to this one! This is typically due to low blood sugar. One of the typical responses is to eat sugar...this helps short-term but then as you plunge down the sugar abyss it just gets worse.

To break the low blood sugar curse Dr. Oz suggests sucking on a Tic Tac or two to stop the major craving, then eat more protein (and reduce sweets) to keep your blood sugar more even. Eating many small meals throughout the day rather than 3 main meals can really help.

I knew a guy who said he had PMS...3 times a day..."Pre Meal Syndrome"...if you suffer from this, get grumpy or irritable or fatigued, then definitely try the mini-meal approach. It has really helped me a lot!

A book that helped me break the sugar blues is The Perricone Prescription by dermatologist Nicholas Perricone. By eating more frequently and learning about even healthy foods that are higher in sugar content I was able to make better choices that helped my skin and my body.

For me, this worked temporarily but it was just too much work...so I couldn't keep it up.

I later did find Dr. John Gray's Mars Venus Wellness Solution and that helped my cravings and it was super easy!

Next post we'll talk about the other two causes of sugar cravings according to Dr. Oz.

Bob Greene's Best Life Plan Highlights--Exercise

More on Bob Greene's Best Life Plan...

Bob suggests you start doing cardio 20 minutes a day five days a week.

I had you start at 15 minutes with my exercise-made-easy plan (from Dr. John Gray)...I actually started this plan sitting on the couch or bed because of severe back and knee pain from my obesity! Can't get much easier than that.

Check out other posts where I discuss alternative exercises that are easy on the body and varying exercise, getting work out buddies, etc all tips to help keep you motivated!

I'm no longer on the couch and I am able to exercise more rigorously for 30 minutes every day and I feel (and look) great!

Tomorrow we'll cover Bob's foods to eliminate....

Controlling Cravings Through Chemistry

Sixth (and final?...oh never say final!) in a series on controlling cravings!

Today's Success Tip:

Balance Your Brain Chemistry

"Will power" is an over-used phrase that, frankly, has little basis in reality.

Most dieters I know have lots and lots of will power! We have given up foods we love for years, only to have the cravings for them coming crashing through the gate of "will power"!

That is what leads so many of us to give up hope and become resigned to being fat the rest of our lives.

But you have made the conscious decision to change your life! Fantastic!

You are making the small changes necessary to achieve your goal! Terrific!

You are repeating your affirmations, you are exercising, you have your plan and you are instituting it--You are a Rockstar!

So, how come some of us STILL have cravings and feel like we are not yet in control of our lives?

It could be brain chemistry!

This should not be surprising if you really think about it. How long have you been putting extra sugar (through the white stuff and through other refined carbs) into your brain? It doesn't just go into your body...it also affects the brain. That's why we get that sugar "high"...and that can be just as addictive as some of the other illegal drugs. What's hard for us is that our "drug" is sold just about EVERYWHERE so it makes it really hard to avoid.

The good news is that we can rewire our brains so they no longer crave this "drug"...

The Mars Venus Wellness Solution by Dr. John Gray has helped me from the beginning to balance my brain chemistry, which reduces the cravings. He didn't design this as a weight loss product! (although for me and lots of other people that has been a great side-benefit!) John is the author of the series of books Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, and his specialty is communication -- and brain chemistry plays a part in that.

So if you want some extra support in balancing your brain chemistry, and wouldn't object to having that help you with your relationships, moods and maybe even your waist line, then give it a try!

You can check out the link in the sidebar if you are interested...or if you have any questions, let me know!

His book can be found in a lot of libraries--so get informed and see if this feels like a great tool for you to use.

Today's Tip to Curbing Cravings

Continuing the series on cravings--and getting control over them!

Today's Success Tip:

Exercise

I definitely include some gentle exercise every day.

I will often incorporate my affirmations into my workout. That helps keep me positive and moving!

When I first decided that I WOULD and COULD lose weight, I weighed 100+ pounds more than I do now. My knees hurt. My back hurt. The idea of exercising was painful--so I decided I would do what I could and not worry about if it was "enough"!

I bought the DVD of Isoflex movements--simple "bounce and shake" exercises that I could start to do in only 15 minutes a day!

I then modified even those simple movements (because even they were too hard for my obese body at the time!).

I actually started doing the exercises sitting on the couch or edge of the bed. In fact some of them I did while I was laying down so there was absolutely no pressure on my back or knees.

When I could, I added walking to my routine. I started with frequent, short walks...sometimes to the mailbox was all I could handle.

Now I do these exercises for 30 minutes every day and I go for a long walk in nature at least once a week, in addition for frequent walks in my neighborhood. I love that my body feels better, I have more stamina, and I can exercise without pain!

See the sidebar if you want to get the Isoflex DVD that helped me. Otherwise check out some other gentle exercise tape or DVD. Don't start with kickboxing!

Dealing with the Sugar Blues

Yesterday we talked about avoiding overeating from the sugar high...what about the opposite? Eating driven by the sugar blues?

When I eat more than just a little refined carbohydrates...especially if I do it for a couple of days...I find that I wake up a bit more groggy and grumpy. My mood is a bit lower and so is my energy level.

I know that if I grab an extra cup of coffee, or a sugary treat I will get a temporary boost and almost immediately feel good. I also know that it doesn't last and to maintain that, I would have to keep ingesting sugar and caffeine all day long.

Since I have consciously chosen to treat my body better and to improve my health, the sugar/caffeine route is not an acceptable alternative.

I will allow myself my usual cup of coffee, but I start my day with a lemon cleanse. I use products by Dr. John Gray, but if you prefer, get some lemon juice (or squeeze your own) and put it into a glass of water--at least 8oz of good filtered water. Drink that when you first wake up.

Then I move to my exercise routine. I will be gentle with myself...taking a bit more time to warm up than usual, but I keep the routine up for longer. I want to be sure I can feel my body warming up from the inside, so I know my internal furnace is "cooking"...

Now I will have my coffee (I use 1/2 decaf), no sugar. I enjoy the quiet time, read a little or listen to something that is positive and uplifting.

After that I am ready for some good protein and complex carbohydrates and another big glass of water!

Starting my day this way helps me to break the sugar cycle. If I feel a slump later because I really over did it the day before I have a small snack of protein and complex carbs...this is the perfect time to have a few nuts!

Starting My Day

This morning I woke up to the most beautiful sunrise. Wow! It was the perfect complement to my morning lemon drink.

Part of the Mars Venus Wellness Solution is to start each morning with a glass of "Lemon Cleanse". I really enjoy it. I like the taste and I like how I feel when I drink it. It feels very light.

I used to be a huge coffee drinker. Hmmm. Well, actually I was pretty big, but what I meant to say is that I was an avid coffee drinker. Before I started John's program I used to drink pretty much a pot myself. There were times in my life where one pot would have been nothing!

Now I have coffee when I want it--as part of an experience as opposed to a habit. For example, it is Saturday morning...I'm going to enjoy a large mug of coffee this morning because I like the flavor of it. I like that I am in control of even my coffee intake! I no longer need that daily jolt of caffeine to get me going.

Fat Burning Exercises

I've mentioned before how important it is to mix up exercising see Refuse to Diet: Walking for Weight Loss, Part 2: Variety is Key. I believe that mixing it up is crucial to prevent boredom and to affect all your muscles and not require spending hours and hours working out.

That being said, I still find that I have a routine that I get into (I don't like to call it a "rut") and sometimes I don't remember exactly why I'm doing a specific thing. That is why I like to go back to the basics from time to time.

I did that this morning. I have been following Dr. John Gray's program with great dedication for over a year now and have had FANTASTIC results. However, I have not been watching the DVD daily. I do the "bounce and shake" and follow the philosophy and achieving fat burning through my exercising, even though I was not doing exactly what was on the vid.

That's okay, but this morning I decided I wanted to watch the program and bounce along with John.

I was struck by several things.
1. It is so much easier to follow now than it was in the beginning (hurray that means I've made progress!0
2. My arms still get tired at times (if your arms get tired it is okay to adjust the motions--you want to avoid "feeling the burn")
3. I had forgotten how many of the motions are specifically designed to stimulate various hormones to assist in burning fat and balancing our chemistry!
4. The time actually went by more quickly when I was watching the DVD!

So if you haven't already gotten the Isoflex Exercises DVD and you are looking for some gentle ways to burn fat, check it out. I started this when I weighed over 250 pounds and was having lots of back, hip and knee problems, so if I can do it and have success, I know anyone can!

Nutrition not Calories

Nutrition is the key to successfully shedding those pounds of fat--not counting calories.

Calories are not all equal. So many people get caught up in counting calories that they ignore what those calories consist of.

I am a proponent of indulgences--it is so important to not feel deprived. So rather than having little 100 calorie this or that snack, I focus on being nutritionally sound and then really enjoying it when I have a splurge. I have found a couple of benefits--I splurge less because I don't have the cravings for the foods; I have broken the sugar and carb habit; when I do have a treat I typically share it with a friend because it is just too much for me alone--so I save money, too!

Even Dara Torres (41 year old woman who one 3 medals at the Beijing Olympics) is keen on nutrition. Here is a woman who can pretty much eat anything she wants because of the amount of exercise that she does, and probably her metabolism. So we're not in that league, but we can take some pointers from her.

She says she drinks a nutritional drink every morning--and before each race. This drink provides her with the nutrients and protein that she needs from a meal.

I don't know what product she uses, but I know what I have been using with great success. The Mars Venus Wellness Solution shake gives me all the nutrients including amino acids that I need in a meal and to optimize my brain chemistry.

Why is brain chemistry important? It is the brain chemistry imbalance that got me into trouble physically. For some people the imbalance leads to drug addiction or alcohol abuse. My drug of choice was food--especially ice cream. I couldn't have ice cream in the house, it "called my name" so loudly that I would eat whatever was there, even when I didn't want it!!!

Thanks to Dr. John Gray's Mars Venus Wellness Solution I no longer have those cravings. I am finally in control of my eating and have what I call a "normal relationship" with food.

Boost Your Walking

As great as Bounce and Shake is, I actually enjoy my walks, so here are some tips for folks like me who want to get out in nature and move (walking is something John Gray fully endorses by the way!)

If one of your excuses for not getting out is that you have little kids, you can actually use them to assist you in your fitness goals. If they are small enough to ride in a stroller then push them. The extra effort you expend to move them along burns calories and helps you to build strength. Just remember, you don't want to feel the burn or get out of breath. Too many kids to push...enlist the help of a friend or two. If you have extra adults you can trade off pushing the strollers so everyone gets the benefit and no one gets overly tired!

Plan a route that includes some hills. Start with some gentle hills. Later as these become easy scout a route that has more incline in it. Don't have the entire walk be just up and down. Have some flats in there too. Mix it up.

Go to your local animal shelter and become a dog walker! This can boost your serotonin too because you will definitely get lots of affection from the dogs and appreciation from the shelter staff! This is great for animal lovers who live in apartments and can't have a dog, or live with someone who is allergic, or for whatever reason have chosen to be "between" pets for now.

Exercise Made Easy

One of the best ways to exercise is something Dr. John Gray has developed and calls "Bounce and Shake". Take 15 minutes a day and follow his example and you gain energy, strength, flexibility, drop fat and balance your body chemistry.

Sounds unbelievable, doesn't it? Check out the video---he gives you several different routines so you don't get bored doing the same thing every day. Each routine works a different part of your body chemically.

I'd love to hear back some of your results! Keep me posted.