So it's Boxing day and although I've not been too bad I am bloated and I bet I'm not alone !
Christmas is the season of excess, we've already eaten our fill of turkey, Christmas pudding, chocolates, maybe a cheese board and crackers then some more chocolates oh and don't forget the wine...so why do we want more? Are we greedy and beyond help?...No we are slaves to sugar !
If you have ever been a smoker you will know the misery of a nicotine craving, the desire to give up because you know it's bad for you yet you just can't get past those cravings, that hollow feeling, nagging away at you it can even make you feel sick, depressed, stressed, restless and a whole lot more. Stop and think for a moment, is anybody born a smoker? No, no baby is born craving a cigarette (unless of course the mother was a heavy smoker during pregnancy, but lets assume she isn't) it was the first cigarette that any smoker ever had that made them want the next and the next and the next. Have I ever craved heroin? NO because I have never had heroine therefore I do not feel a craving. It is the same with sugar, have you ever gone all day without any sort of junk food then had a biscuit to nibble on while you cook tea then before you know it you've eaten a full pack of Hob nobs , a wispa and 3 packets of crisps?I know I have !
Some people can limit themselves, some people cannot, unfortunately I am the latter ! If I have chocolate I just want more and more...and more. Quite often I find that if I avoid altogether then I feel better and I don't eat half my body weight in junk.
Another reason why we can't just stop at one is eating sugar gives us a release of dopamine in the brain making us feel good, unfortunately this doesn't last long , insulin levels rise to deal with the influx of sugar and the body works hard to distribute the sugars to be used, if there is too much sugar then the liver has no choice but to turn the excess into fat and store it in the body. All this activity has alerted the adrenal system but it interprets it as stress to the body and as such releases cortisol and epinephrine which makes the heart rate rise. So in short eating sugar gives us a short term high and a longer term low !
How can we translate this to help us be healthy and perhaps lose weight? Well understanding what it does to your body and why you're feeling the way you are can hopefully stop you repeating the never ending cycle, if you cannot limit yourself to a sensible amount then avoidance is the only way. If you crave sweet treats try a smoothie or fruit instead and then get up and do something, distract yourself, bad eating habits are largely mental rather than physical. If you have just eaten a full Christmas dinner then you're body is NOT hungry, you are either seeking comfort somehow or feeding an unnecessary craving.
If in doubt distract yourself for 20 minutes, painting your nails is a great way to stop yourself eating or better still go for a short walk !
If you are ever in doubt about whether or not you are hungry stop and think;
When did I last eat?
How active have I been?
Did I nourish my body at the last meal?
Am I thirsty?
Am I feeding an emotion ie. boredom, loneliness, sadness?
If you ate 10 minutes ago then the chances are you aren't hungry, however if you worked for 2 hours doing heavy gardening in the morning, skipped breakfast then ate a packet of crisps then yes you could be hungry because you didn't nourish your body properly. If you ate beans on toast half an hour ago and since then have just sat watching tv then no you aren't hungry you are bored, restless or uninspired.
Try to think about what your body needs and when it needs it. Unless unavoidable (ie. set lunch time at work) don't just eat because it is a certain time, wait until you are hungry but not so hungry that you just throw the nearest junk into your mouth.
So in short give more thought to food and your feelings and you will find that you make much better decisions.
**EDIT** January 'new year new me'
So then more than a month has passed since I created this blog post and I decided to practice what I preach, I love a good experiment and what better guinea pig than myself !
My motto has always been eat what you like (within reason) but fuel your body with what it needs and burn off your treats.
Over Christmas I noticed that every time I ate chocolate my stomach would bloat, even before Christmas I was eating chocolate every day and justified this with the 20 plus hours of exercise I do a week, but when I took a moment to reflect I thought about how banging my body could be if I only dedicated as much effort to my diet as I do my exercise.
So I gave up chocolate for the new year and here's what I noticed;
After 5 days of no chocolate I lost 5cm from my stomach
After 48 hours I no longer craved chocolate
I was replacing chocolate with cake in the first 2 weeks, not because I thought that cake is any better but because I suspected my problems could be due to milk intolerance, so I was having milk and soya free cakes. Still I was getting bloating although not as bad as before, but what I really noticed was that when I was reaching for the cakes I wasn't hungry but fulfilling a craving, much like I used to experience as a smoker, I was trying to put a full stop to my meal.
Although the cakes were just a full stop, an ending of eating, I found that whereas pre cake I was full and satisfied that post cake I was craving more, and not a gentle craving like pre cake but a much more hunger fuelled craving yet I knew full well I was hungry.
So the next step was that I cut out all cakes, crisps and other junk food and after 2 days here's what I noticed;
After 1 day my stomach size reduced by 2cm
After 1 day I didn't want to eat as much, I felt satisfied after my meal and I wasn't ravenous leading up to it.
By day 2, sleeping better and waking up feeling refreshed
By day 3 I wanted healthier food
By day 3 I started appreciating more subtle flavours and seeking out healthy embellishments to my sandwiches such as fresh basil and tomatoes (something I would have avoided a week ago)
By day 3 absolutely no cravings for unhealthy food and a feeling of satisfaction after a moderate sized meal (small in comparison to what I was eating before)
I'm still working on this experiment but so far I am feeling great for not eating junk, instead I am using my calories on good wholesome food, I feel much lighter and more streamlined and more importantly my energy is up.
So while I still maintain that you should eat what you want provided you are fuelling your body and spending your calories on exercise, I can also now highly recommend at least trying to free yourself from sugar slavery, give it a try what have you got to lose? 3 days, challenge yourself, keep a diary and see if you can see as significant a difference as I have.
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