New year, new resolve

New years resolutions are not usually my thing but I decided this year that January 1  is a good time to take stock and have a think about how give some forward motion to all those “I must  do such n such” thoughts swirling around in my head. My  most pressing “ must do” is to nurture my body back to health.

I have been very lax on my diet during 2009, following my 3rd pregnancy in which I stacked on about 20kg. None of which I have lost yet. That’s right, my baby is now close to 17 months old and my weight is the same now as it was 2 weeks after giving birth. In fact, I haven’t been a healthy weight since the first trimester of my first pregnancy- Umm, 10 years ago.

I’m not going to go making any promises to myself to lose all the fat,  it really is only a secondary problem. The primary problem is my love affair with sugar. I eat way, waaay too much sugar. Me sniffing chocolate is like an alcoholic getting a whiff of a favourite drink. I figure if I can solve the sugar addiction, I go a long way to dropping a lot of this excess fat I have on me. Add to this my new Wii Fit Plus, EA active exercise routine and getting back to my martial arts training and I think this flab will start to disappear, simultaneously revealing both the old and a new me.

I’m hoping to get a bit of support and continued inspiration from others out there in the same boat. I know I am a naturopath and am supposed to be the picture of good health but I’ve found that theory and practice are sometime two different things. I have recently had conversations with a few Twitter buddies about committing to a healthier lifestyle in one way or another and look forward to following their progress.

A conversation with with a twitter pal sparked my thoughts about giving away sugar and we made a loose binding agreement to give it away at the conclusion of the festive season. @AgooAustralia tweeted an invite to join her team in @fatlossathon (fatlossathon.com) and I have accepted the challenge-In theory. I have started filing out the entry form twice now and keep stopping when I get to the request for measurements and a before photo of myself in gym wear, swim wear or under wear- Ekkk!!! I will get that done today… That brings me to @phdinparenting– The bravest lady in the blogging land since she posted pictures of herself in swimwear in her post I want to be myself again. Although, I can’t say you look terrible in a swim suit Annie…

I hope that this post will find others who have resolved to bring in the new  year with a healthier lifestyle in one way or another. I’d love it if you could record your health goals in the comments section of this post and leave an update every now and then.  If your blogging about weight loss or achieving better health, please leave a link to your post so that we can support each other.

For anyone that wants to join me in a sugar free start to the new year- Here is a plan to help get us started. I’ll be committing to 8 weeks following this plan to the letter and start on the 4th of January at the same time as my fatlossathon teamkicks off. After that, I will reassess my situation and see if I need to get stricter or if I can relax it a bit.

Take some nutritional supplements that can help with cravings, including:

– Amino acids: Tyrosine, phenylalanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), tryptophan, and glutamine can help. Glutamine is sweet-tasting and can be placed under the tongue after a meal or between meals to calm cravings.
– B-complex: A good quality B-complex supplement is essential for reducing cravings and supporting your nervous system through the withdrawals.
– Minerals: Some researchers claim that cravings are based on the need for minerals in our bodies. This is especially true of chromium, which has also been shown to help balance blood sugar levels.

• Accept the cravings and give them a chance to pass. Eat fresh fruit sparingly in response to pesky cravings. They will lessen over time and will disappear altogether after about 2 weeks.
• Keep a food journal- For at least a week, write down everything you eat. You are less likely to eat something you know you shouldn’t if you have to record it somewhere.
• Don’t use any artificial sweeteners. They are worse for fluctuating blood sugar levels than sugar itself and do nothing for helping you to beat the sweet tooth. They are also carcinogenic- you don’t want them. Stevia is the only sugar substitute that is not harmful in some way and can be used if you really must have a sugar substitute. You can get it from a health food store.
• Eat low glycaemic index foods. There is a good data base at glycemicindex.com. It is maintained by the University of Sydney and is actually a great site to learn about all things glycemic index.
• Eat some protein with your meals and snacks. This can be as simple as adding a handful of nuts and seeds to your breakfast cereal.
• Ensure you eat before you get ravenous.
• Add spices to your food. Cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaf can help reduce sugar cravings.
• The herb Gymnema can be helpful in curbing sugar cravings but it is not suitable for those who suffer from hyopoglycemia. If you get light headed and shaky with your sugar cravings, don’t even think about using Gymnema, it will lower your blood sugar levels further.
• Read labels and avoid anything that has sugar or corn syrup in it as an ingredient.

Well, I think that is a pretty good start. Do you have anything to add?

Please don’t forget to leave your resolutions and blog links in the comment section below 🙂

To good health in 2010!!