Dear 2016: I promise to do better this year! To get healthier! Let the games begin!!!

[cabmonk]

I guess shouldn't have made that peanut brittle the other day then. But but, It was so easy to make and so so good. Lol

[Lynn49]

PLUS 1 @Lynn49 !
I have been on this roller coaster war path for years, trying to eliminate it all and it is the toughest thing to quit!
That was one reason I had posted this thread 2 yrs ago

http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/388974-...r-year-canada/

because I was amazed that a family had really tried to do the best thing and stop eating sugar.

For new parents these days it must be such a daunting thing to face because food choices are even worse than when I was young ( as in foods are saturated with sugar now like never before )

Well, @walkonby , you were bang on the money back then! I've never kept track of the sugar I'm taking in since, like you, we mainly shop the perimeter of the grocery stores, although once a month or less, DH wants a sweet treat, so we bring home something from the pastry section and honestly unless it's a honey-dipped donut, I don't much care for it. I feel as if my heart beats faster after consuming sweets like that; I have controlled high BP, but they still make me feel 'funny'.

Now salt is another matter. I don't cook with it and only add it on a very few items because my doctor wanted me to increase my intake of salt. Yep...a few months ago he told me to avoid it, so I did. Evidently I avoided it too much and got near a dangerous zone, so I'm back on having a little now and then. And since I avoid most prepared foods, I don't get much of either.

It's when I'm "being negligent" in my eating habits, like this past weekend, that I pay for it.
But sometimes it's so worth the indulgence...

[Lynn49]

I guess shouldn't have made that peanut brittle the other day then. But but, It was so easy to make and so so good. Lol

Yeppers, @cabmonk !

I sometimes think that giving up smoking was easier than giving up sugar! It does such horrible things to our bodies that we should consider it a cancer-inducing-aging-body-crumbling drug.
Which frankly, it is.

I do get tired of dinners consisting or a protein and veggies, barely any starch except for a small potato, 1/2 cup of rice or some such, but in all honesty, and like Walks finds, we just feel better!

We still have cravings, and once in a while we ( or, at least, I) don't deprive ourselves of a treat that isn't considered healthy, organic, wholesome and all around good for us, but life isn't about deprivation. It's about balance.

Excluding times like this past weekend which was a fiasco health-wise, but which are a part pf life, moderation is generally the key. If I have something today, I won't have that 'something' tomorrow.

When I dieted after my pregnancy, I ate about 800-1000 calories a day, for 6 days. On Sundays I could have anything and everything I wanted!! I lost my pregnancy weight (about 30lbs) and more and by the spring I was back into a bikini!!
Sundays were the light at the end of my tunnel: I could have my A&W burgers and fries, ice-cream, anything!

But you know what happened? My cravings for those things diminished as time went on until I no longer even wanted those things on my Sundays! I felt fantastic!

Strange how our bodies can adapt to a healthier life-style!!

[cabmonk]

Ahh pipe down in the peanut gallery lol. But yeah I know what you're saying. Pop, sugar and bread. I'll keep working on it.

[Angela273]

I just wanted to share a small piece of my progress. Easiest way to explain this...I was checking out my biceps in the mirror today and I can certainly see some definition in both arms. I do not lift weighs, I garden and lift my children. My twins currently weigh 20lbs and 17.5lbs and I carry them in their car seats whenever we need to drive somewhere, which makes them even heavier. Our oldest boy is nearly 4yrs old and only weighs 32lbs. I knew having little ones can be a workout.

[walkonby]

I just wanted to share a small piece of my progress. Easiest way to explain this...I was checking out my biceps in the mirror today and I can certainly see some definition in both arms. I do not lift weighs, I garden and lift my children. My twins currently weigh 20lbs and 17.5lbs and I carry them in their car seats whenever we need to drive somewhere, which makes them even heavier. Our oldest boy is nearly 4yrs old and only weighs 32lbs. I knew having little ones can be a workout.

I can attest to that 2Angela273 !! I never had twins, however lugging around all 3 of my kids when they were babies kept my arms in great shape! Once they grow up we have to find something else to mimic that workout. ha ha

[cabmonk]

So today is the first day of my experiment to cut sugar and pop. Except of course if I can find an alternative for baking etc. New studies say gouts biggest issue is sugar, fructose and alcohol. I don't really drink though except at family functions. I wonder if that zevia drink is OK once and a while.

[walkonby]

So today is the first day of my experiment to cut sugar and pop. Except of course if I can find an alternative for baking etc. New studies say gouts biggest issue is sugar, fructose and alcohol. I don't really drink though except at family functions. I wonder if that zevia drink is OK once and a while.

First of all Good Luck cab!! IF this experiment of yours works and you do eliminate even most of the sugar from your diet I can assure you it will be noticeable right away in how you feel. The weakness for cravings goes down too.

[cabmonk]

My main problem is pop. One day last week i drank 2 - 2.5l in 1 day not thinking. Would maybe like zevia once in a while but other than that ill try to cut most.

[cabmonk]

I found new info from several sources that sugar is even worse for gout than meats, seafood etc. While meats might cause an increase in uric acid. Sugar prohibites the excretion of uric acid which is worse.

[sweet sparrow]

@walkonby i saw this at Walmart, wonder if it's any good. 3 DVD workout with free weights and resistance cords. $40

http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/circuit7/6000121498718

@cabmonk : If you have a library nearby, you can check their selection of workout DVDs. Most people find it really hard to do the same workout over and over and over again, though in my teenage years, I once stuck to one for over a year! Now, I don't think I could watch that video of smiling people in pastel unitards and leg warmers without laughing.

For new parents these days it must be such a daunting thing to face because food choices are even worse than when I was young ( as in foods are saturated with sugar now like never before )

@walkonby : Even finding a daycare that either allows you to bring your own food or serve a minimum of cooked meals is ridiculously difficult. Daycare openings are rare as it is, but most of them have a full kitchen and staff that basically open boxes of deep fried nuggets and bake them. It's just sad.

Then, if you decide to take them to the grocery store, with the exception of Sobey's, which is too far for us, the bakery section tries to give out gigantic chocolate chip cookies to any child old enough to hold out their hand.

Try walking though the dry goods section to the plain cereals with all the advertising and all the recognizable foods that the other children in nurseries and daycares get: the "baby" cookies, the crackers, the cookies, the sugared cereals, etc.

I put LO in the only daycare that advertises a wholesome menu. Even though they claim most foods are made in house and purchase fresh foods direct from the grocery store, I see the cereal containers filled with the honey Cheerios, the juices served in morning and noon times, the packaged salsas, hummus, and other condiments, not to mention the salad dressing they allow the kids to eat by the spoonful - without the salad!

Besides that are all the treats for special occasions. Every birthday, the kids (all 50!) get cupcakes and every holiday, they get a large sugar laden snack. Last Hallowe'en, I picked up LO early and was handed a very orange rice krispie square with M&Ms. By the time I got home, the oil from the square had seeped through the paper plate and I was really curious what they did to make it orange!

They advertise that their menus have been looked over by a nutritionist, but I would really love to chat with this nutritionist that gave these menus a go. Today, the kids are having blueberry cupcakes for breakfast....

Our oldest boy is nearly 4yrs old and only weighs 32lbs. I knew having little ones can be a workout.

I'm not sure if I should be concerned, but our two year old has been over 32 lbs for six months now. She's always higher than the weights printed on clothing labels.

[cabmonk]

Thank you, our library is kinda small but still good idea to check.

[Mia001]

when mom died, i lost 15 pounds in a few days.....now almost 4 months later i took 25....so the 15 are back and 10 more....yack !

what i'm going to do with me ???? i'm so untrustable when it comes to ....well , i must say everything now....
i have a huge lack of sleeping (sleeping one night on 2) and when i don't sleep,i cry and i eat, don't have any energy to do whatever i sould and must do
when i go at mom's , it's like if the house is in fire, i can't stay there, it'S like i'm loosing my breath

sorry, maybe i should get some help....or, maybe i't an hormonal disorder as i was plunged into menopause wonderworld last year....but have no wrong side effects so far....

[Mia001]

you can check the internet, there are a lot of workout, dance, etc....you can find....even zumba class lol

also , if you have a wii, you can rent some dance ''games'' at the video club and if you like it buy it

sorry, if i focuss too much about dancing but this is a pleasant exercice and we don,t have the impressing of working out wen we dance

[walkonby]

I have not stepped on my scale for a week or more and I may not for another week or so. I have been doing something ( a class or two ) every single day at the Fitness Centre and then swimming, so focusing on JUST that for now. ( lets the chips fall where they may !)