food addiction

How Much Sugar A Day?

Sugar is actually good for us. Sugar fuels our brain and provides quick energy. At least that is the case with sugar before it is fully processed and transformed into the white substance we normally see. Sugar cane contains minerals and vitamins (like calcium, phosphorus, chromium, magnesium, cobalt, copper, zinc, and manganese). All those nutrients and the fiber in the sugar cane help us digest the sugar. When we consume sugar without the other nutrients (as is the case in white sugar) the body can be forced to leach calcium from bones and other tissues to help process the sugar. So how much sugar should we get a day?

Two hundred years ago it is estimated that Americans ate about 10 pounds of refined sugar per year. Today that poundage is estimated to be 156 pounds per person per year. This does not include sugars from whole fruits or dairy products. Just added sugar (white sugar, sugar cane, honey, maple syrup, agave, etc).

The American Heart Association recommends 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 teaspoons a day for […]

How Much Sugar A Day?Maggie Downie2019-02-13T17:46:20-05:00

Six Tips for Eating Healthy

Playing with my food.

After a yet another month of mindful eating, I’ve come up with six tips for eating healthy.

Distraction

Being busy definitely helped me stay on track. It is much harder to eat right on the weekend when there is no set schedule, but lots of fun activities. In some ways that’s a sad statement. It is almost like saying I eat when I’m bored. But there is one tool I’ve always used that sometimes works and sometimes does not. If I want to eat and I think it’s just for the sake of eating, I take a walk or start doing some exercise. If afterward I still want the food I can have it. If nothing else, at least I’ve added more movement before eating something I perhaps should have skipped.

Planning & Prep

Having healthy snacks ready and on hand makes all the difference in the world. Junk food is very easy to grab. The good news is if pressed for time, there are locations that we can buy premade healthy options. For me, nuts was an easy snack to have around. But if you are a cheese lover maybe […]

Six Tips for Eating HealthyMaggie Downie2018-02-09T14:25:38-05:00

Live Longer

My Grandma inside the igloo for her 89th birthday!

My Grandma will be 92 tomorrow. She lives on her own, cooks for herself, loves the movies, and is interesting to talk to. She has moments of forgetfulness and relays a lot of stories from the past and her youth. Now and then my mom will call me to tell me she is worried my Grandma might be losing it a little. Sometimes my mom seems right and other times I say, “I do the same thing. If Grandma has dementia then I must too.”

A week after Christmas my Grandma called me to thank me for the beautiful amaryllis I’d given her for Christmas. She left a message and as I listened, I grew a little sad. I had not given her an amaryllis. Perhaps my mom was more right than I realized. Someone else deserved this thank you. Not me. It signaled that my Grandma seemed to be losing it.

Later that night when Matt arrived home, I told him about my Grandma’s message and how my mom might be onto something. “I didn’t get her an amaryllis,” I told him. “Yes, […]

Live LongerMaggie Downie2018-02-14T15:54:22-05:00

Mindful Eating Challenge

Years ago I started doing the No-Sugar February Challenge. It has evolved into the Mindful Eating Challenge. That means if giving up sugar isn’t really beneficial for you—maybe you aren’t the addict I am—you can choose a challenge that fits your needs for the shortest month of the year.

Challenge Suggestions (pick one or all):

Give up sugar (or whatever your vice is).

Make sure you aren’t distracted while eating. Take time to stop and eat. That means no eating in front of the television, Facebook, or while doing the crossword.

Try not to overeat at meals.

Try to include more veggies (perhaps even a veggie at every meal).

Use an app or excel spreadsheet to record everything you eat and watch calories in vs. out.

Try to drink more water, reduce caffeine or cut out beverages with calories.

Select a program like the Whole30, Paleo, vegan or some other food related lifestyle you’ve been interested in experimenting with.

Take a picture of all your food and text it to a friend.

Details:

We started a Facebook group if knowing you aren’t alone is helpful. It’s the Mindful Eating Challenge group with lettuce leaves as its profile picture. The challenge starts […]

Mindful Eating ChallengeMaggie Downie2018-02-14T15:56:37-05:00

Just a Spoonful of Sugar

As I write this, I’m snacking on some popcorn, which I can gladly say has zero grams of sugar. Since I did the ten day detox (no grains, sugar or dairy) last month, I’ve been very mindful of how much sugar I eat. Note: I still eat it. I’m just trying to be aware.

I’ve always known that there is added sugar in everything, but I’d never stopped to really think about where or how much I should or shouldn’t consume in a day. In prepping for the detox, I read that Prego Sauce has the same amount of sugar as two Oreo cookies. Based on both their websites today, Prego actually has a bit more than two Oreos (a serving of Prego: 10-grams of sugar, a serving of Oreos (which is three cookies) 14-grams of sugar). Just two cookies and you’re actually getting a little less sugar than if you have the sauce. This surprised me, and I was annoyed. I don’t even eat Prego, but the idea that all sorts of food are adding unnecessary sugar annoyed me. I make a delicious spaghetti sauce without any sugar. I don’t want […]

Just a Spoonful of SugarMaggie Downie2017-12-29T21:52:41-05:00