Days 16-18 of my NO SUGAR Journey: The Good Sugar, Glucose

We often hear people talking about how our bodies do in fact need sugar to survive. 

They talk about how sugar is our main source of energy. 

This can be very miss leading and most of the time the people making these statements don't fully understand what they are referring to. 

Today we are going to properly explain, in simple terms, exactly what they are referring to. 

When people talk about sugar being our body's main energy source, they are referring to Glucose. 

Glucose is the form of energy we were designed to run on. 

It is a simple sugar found in the body used by every cell as a form of energy. 

So yes, you do need "healthy sugar" but no, you do not need to eat sugar to produce that "healthy sugar". 

Let me explain. 

Your body turns everything you eat into a simple sugar called glucose. 

This is done through a process called gluconeogenesis. 

(That's the only massive scientific word I'll use today, I promise.) 

This simple sugar is then deposited into your blood stream and gives your body energy. 

Here is where the confusion lies:

You do not need to eat sugar in order for your body to produce this very important sugar. 

Your body will turn proteins and healthy fats (like meats, veggies, avocado, nuts, olive oil...) into glucose, the simple sugar that your body needs. 

Let me say that again. 

Your body turns PROTEINS AND HEALTHY FATS into healthy sugar. 

"Are you saying I don't need to eat sugar to get sugar?" 

YES!!!

In fact, since the beginning of time, this is the way human bodies have always received energy until this generation. 

So ya!  You don't need to eat sugar to get this heathy sugar, and I'll tell you why. 

80% of glucose is instantly used by all the organs in your body while the other 20% goes to your liver, is metabolized and then stored for later use. 

If you eat things like cookies, candies, cake, donuts... and hey while we're at it... ketchup, most cereals, ranch dressing, most brands of any kind of juice, ice cream, a frapuccino or most coffee drinks... the list goes on, your body will produce tooooo much glucose and what the liver is not able to store will be stored as fat. 

Keep in mind, you're also consuming fructose sugar with these kinds of food and as we said before, fructose is processed by the liver, so you're really putting your liver through a lot. 

Your body can also produce glucose from things like rice, pastas and breads but most people over eat this and again, too much glucose is produced so it gets stored as fat. 

This is why a lot of diets will recommend just half a cup of rice with each meal, or half a slice of bread. 

But no one talks about the fact that you can get more then enough glucose, or body sugar, from proteins and healthy fats. 

Your body is going to make that healthy sugar from the healthy food you eat, so you don't need to consume more sugar, contrary to popular belief.  

So if you're telling yourself that you're eating sugar to "be healthy" you're lying to yourself and what's actually happening is you're storing fat because foods containing added sugar will be too much for your body to process in a healthy way. 

We are not designed to eat large amounts of refined sugar. 

So to recap: 

Most of the foods with added sugar contain fructose, and the body processes fructose in a very different way then glucose. 

Your body turns everything you eat into simple sugar (glucose) and if you're eating foods with added sugar (which will most likely contain fructose), your body is going to go bananas and store all that extra sugar as fat. 

So all you really need is proteins and heathy fats.

If you want to add bread, rice or pasta in there you have to make sure you're not eating too much, cause that will get stored as fat as well. 

This is the truth about sugar. 

If someone tells you "you need sugar for energy" you can say "I know. That's why my body will turn all the healthy food I eat into sugar for me." 

If they're confused, just have them read this blog. 

I really hope that clarifies things for us all because I know how frustrating it can be to eat sugary foods and wonder why the heck I'm getting fat, or plateauing, if my body is suppose to be burning sugar for energy when I work out. 

The good sugar, glucose! 

This was one crazy busy weekend and I apologize for being MIA for a few days. 

I've been either singing and researching glucose so that I can properly inform you. 

I'm happy to report that there were no slip ups this weekend. This girl is still sugar free! 

We have a gig this weekend if anyone is interested! Check us out on Facebook. Our band is called Buena Onda. 

Joyful in all things, 

                   Daisy Julia 

Day 15 of my NO SUGAR Journey: Furious Fructose!

Lately I've been telling you about my experience with getting over sugar and we've been sharing ideas on how to get creative but today we're going to change things up a bit. 

I was inspired to explain, as simply as I can, the complicated concept that is SUGAR. 

I was told today that sugar is actually good for you. 

Some people might respond by saying that is absolutely not true and others actually believe that is true. 

Well the answer to that is it both is and isn't. 

But it's not as simple as that. 

There are actually different forms of sugar. 

Often times we hear the words glucose, fructose, sucrose, corn syrup and we think, at least I thought, "Well all that's just another name for sugar." 

Or we think "huh?" 

For the next few days we are going to briefly examine the different forms of "sugar" and I'll help point out which forms are good and which are bad.  

Specifically, we are going to touch on Fructose, Glucose and Sucrose (also known as Table Sugar). 

Today's topic of interest: Fructose

Fructose has been found to be a major contributor to: 

• Insulin resistance and obesity

• Elevated blood pressure

•Elevated triglycerides (a type of fat found in your blood which lead to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, underactive thyroid and kidney disease). 

•Depletion of vitamins and minerals (low immune system) 

• Cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis and gout. 

Now that we're all effectively freaked out, let's explain exactly what fructose really is. 

Fructose itself is not bad.  After all, we do find it in God's naturally made fruits and veggies.

It's actually the insane amount of fructose that we've all been exposed to in man made foods that is extremely damaging to our bodies. 

When you consume fructose via fruits and vegetables, you are also receiving nutrients such as fiber, vitamins and minerals. 

Also, when you eat fruits and vegetables you only consume about 15 grams of fructose. 

This is nothing compared to the 73 grams of fructose a typical American consumes per day from sweetened drinks alone. 

The reason why fructose is so bad for you is because: 

•Your liver is the only part of your body that metabolizes fructose, unlike glucose which metabolizes basically everywhere in your body. 

•People consume much more fructose in their daily foods which make its damaging qualities more prominant in your body. 

•Fructose turns into fatty acids and triglycerides and is stored as fat in your body. Yes, FAT!

•These fatty acids end up causing insulin resistance which eventually cause type 2 diabetes or liver disease. 

•Unlike glucose, fructose ends up turning into active glycerol which results in you storing more fat. 

•* Fructose interferes with the brain's communication with lepids, a hormone that relays messages from your brain to your body about whether you are hungry or full, which then results in overeating. 

I starred that last one because I think it's really important to know that essentially what is happening is that because of fructose, your brain is unable to tell your body that it's full. 

You're just going to keep eating and eating and eating and eating all day!!! 

This is why you hear so many people saying "I'm always hungry!" 

To give you one last example:

You will store less than 1 calorie as fat out of the 120 calories of glucose you consumed. 

With fructose however, out of 120 calories consumed, you'll store 49 calories as fat! 

What the sugar?!! 

Basically, fructose isn't that great. 

It won't be damaging if you're only consuming it by eating the proper amounts of fruits and veggies, but all that other stuff it's in.... that stuff's no good!! 

That fructose is one furious woman!! 

It's in everything guys. Don't kid yourselves. 

The point is to make wise choices. 

The bottom is better then the top. 

It was a bit longer then the last 2 weeks, but it was worth the wait! 

Joyful in all things,

                   Daisy Julia 

Day 14 of my NO SUGAR Journey: Yet Another Celebration!

It's beginning to get easier to not eat sugar. 

I don't even think about it throughout the day. 

Eating sugar use to be something I thought about all the time. 

I couldn't pass by a café without dreaming about a chocolate Danish or a donut or a chai tea latte (which to my surprise DOES have sugar.) 

Basically all day was a struggle to get thoughts of sweets out of my head. 

One way or another I'd get my fix. 

However, now I go most of the day without even thinking about any sweets at all.  

The only times I really think about any sweets is when I pass a McDonalds, which is weird cause I don't even like McDonads.  

Even then I look away quickly and my mind is preoccupied with more important things. 

So I'm excited to share that my cravings are starting to dwindle down! 

We'll remember that on day 14 is when I stopped craving sugar so much. 

That's 2 weeks now!!! 

Yet another celebration! And like last week, I'm going to reward myself by continuing to stay consistent and diligent on this journey. 

Yay me! 

I seriously love Chipotle! (I think they're owned by McDonalds... Ironic) 

Chipotle has saved me from many unhealthy meals. 

When I'm on the go and want a good meal but have no time to make myself one, I go get myself a yummy bowl of brown rice, veggies, half steak half chicken, mild salsa, corn, cheese, guac, and lettus. 

Sooooo yummy! 

If you haven't tried it, you should!! 

Congratulations to you and to me for going 2 weeks without eating sugar! 

Joyful in all things,

                  Daisy Julia 

Day 13 of my NO SUGAR Journey: Let's Get Creative!

So it's day 13 and I've lost 3lbs. 

I actually lost those 3 lbs in the first week. But then I plateaued. 

I think this is because although I haven't been eating sugar, I HAVE been eating everything else that's not healthy.

I've been eating pizza, pastas, chips, tortillas or rice at practically every meal.

Although for now it's okay to enjoy these fun foods every now and then, the point here is to gradually begin to work towards making healthier choices. 

I'm not going back on my rules, I just think I've been over doing it. 

I want to have fun with this, but if I don't start making healthier choices more often it's going to be pretty hard to give up refined carbs next month. 

So we need to get creative and find ways to eat more meets and veggies in a dish that we'll enjoy! 

So the lesson today is: enjoy yourself but don't over do it. 

This week let's find ways that we'll enjoy making healthy choices! 

Let's get creative! 

This looks like it could be fun and yummy to try out! 

This is the Thia Shrimp with Coconut, Lemongrass and Red Curry. 

Here's the recipe: 

10 oz of shrimp 

1 bunch cilantro 

2 cloves of garlic 

1 small peice of ginger

2 stalks of lemongrass (what is that? I'll have to look it up.) 

1 lime

1 red bell pepper 

1 scallion (?????... Google) 

1 13.5 canned coconut milk unsweetened

2 tbsp red curry paste 

1/2 cub of brown rice (or your choice of rice) 

2 tbsp of honey (I'm substituting sugar with honey)

Enjoy! 

Joyful in all things,

                  Daisy Julia 

Day 12 of my NO SUGAR Journey: Rest is My New Wrench

What do you do when you're sleep deprived?!

I spent the day trying not to pass out from being so tired. 

I had band rehearsal in the evening and the drive was pretty far. 

I wasn't sure how I was going to make it... I was so tired. 

My band mate was drinking a Red Bull and even though I HATE that stuff, I was seriously considering drinking it. 

I picked up the can and read the ingredients and of course... sugar added. 

Ugh 

I couldn't find anything that would give me energy that didn't contain sugar. 

It didn't help that sugar was all my body was asking me for... 

I've learned from experience that whenever I'm tired I need to eat all day long. 

This is because I need more fuel to get me through the day. 

Mainly though, the kind of fuel my body wants is the kind that comes from sugar infested foods.  

When I eat healthy it actually burns faster so I was getting hungry more often throughout the day. 

To be clear, because I was tired my body needed more energy. 

In order to get more energy I had to eat more food but the food that I was eating, because it was healthy, was burning off really fast. As a result I was getting hungry faster. 

Sleep is really important when you're trying to eat right. 

The reason is obvious. 

If you're tired, you're body is going to require food energy and the temptation to eat sugary foods will be great. 

I'm happy to say I didn't cave and I didn't pass out. 

I did however knock out when my head hit the pillow, despite my little brother trying to talk my ear off. 

Like his sister, he's a little chatter box. 

Sleep is not only important so that, as we said before, one can have a more a productive day, it is also important so that we don't feel forced to eat whatever will give us the most amount of energy therefore causing us to cheat. 

More simply explained, being well rested will lower the possibility that you will crave sugar. 

Give yourself the gift of rest. 

So many things in this life seem more important but the night was made for sleeping. 

I think if we can trust that being well rested will actually help us be more efficient throughout our day, then we will have an advantage in every area of our lives. 

I find that to be more and more true every time I experience sleep dipravity.  

Sleep is not something that has been easy for me to do but it's also something I know has slowed me down in all areas of my life.  

So if you think that you're alone in this, you're not. However we can overcome this and achieve success!  

It's exciting to do this! 

It's exciting to be so well rested that you accomplish more in one day then you thought you could, experience more focus and have less cravings because your body doesn't need that extra sugar powered energy. 

Therefore you'll feel more accomplished and healthier. 

We all use many tools to achieve this. 

Let's add rest to our tool box. 

Rest is my new wrench. 

Yesterday's band practice. I love these guys! They bring energy to my life with their music and talent. 

We have a gig this Saturday at La Caridad. Come check us out! 

Address: 

2619 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles CA 90026

See you there! 

Joyful in all things,

               Daisy Julia 

Day 11 of my NO SUGAR Journey: Support and Encouragement

I had the great joy of being reunited with all of my friends today at Spaghetti Factory. 

It was basically all couples and of course the night started with segregation. 

Boys on one end of the table and girls on the other. Each talking about what interests them the most. 

Shopping, life, relationships, dieting and .... Well who know what guys talk about.

Obviously by the name of the restaurant you know I had pasta, but as we've said before, that is being allowed for this month. 

As the night went on, I thought I would be fine.... Then the waiter came and said everyone gets ice cream with their meals!!! 

I burst out "Hold my ice cream! I don't want it!"  

Everyone around me was enjoying ice cream and cake. Detour was an understatement. 

All I wanted to do was throw in the towel and join my friends in enjoying the sweets. 

On top of that, my girlfriends were making those oh so convincing arguments: "one time won't hurt" and "I'm going to quit sugar on Monday." 

For them these things were true!

One friend can afford to indulge every once in a while (like I said before, once I reach my desired weight I'll be able to enjoy a treat every now and then) and the other is actually quitting sugar on Monday. 

My "Monday" was 11 days ago.  So I had no excuse.  

Truly, the accountability of this blog helped keep me from caving in. 

Accountability is really important. 

I have to say my friends were incredibly supportive and tried to keep the sweet talk to a minimum around me. 

It's also important to have supportive people around you. 

There are some really important factors that go into dieting that most people are not aware of. 

Have you ever noticed that the second you decide to diet people start saying things like, "you're fine", "a little bit won't hurt", "what do you mean you want to lose weight?!", "You need a little bit of sugar, it's not good to cut out all sugar..." Huh? 

I could be wrong about this but I think subconsciously some people don't want you to start dieting because that means they have to start as well. 

If you're responsible they'll have no excuse for being irresponsible. 

If you do it, that means they can do it too, and they may not be ready to make a change so they try to stop you from making a change because your change will only make them feel like they failed. 

But we all love each other, it's not like your friends and family are purposefully trying to sabotage you.

So because we aren't aware of what's going on we allow ourselves to be convinced to give in to temptation. 

Also, someone else isn't going to care if you cheat because they have responsibilities of their own to think about. 

This is why it is so important to surround yourself with supportive, encouraging, understanding people and have a few friends that will keep you accountable, helping you put spoon full of ice cream down!

I was so happy to discover that my friends were so supportive. 

They were the main reason why I didn't cave. 

Their excitement for me excited me! 

It has been the case far to many times where I am surrounded by people who love me but discourage me from getting fit because they themselves did not find health a priority. 

The support and accountability of my friends last night was incredibly refreshing and made me feel genuinely cared for. 

I'm encouraged to continue and stay strong! 

Support and accountability will get you to the finish line. 

Thank you so much my friends for encouraging me and being so supportive. You really make this journey I'm taking  seem more like a joy and less like a depravity. 

Love you all so much! 

Joyful in all things,

                   Daisy Julia 

Day 10 of my NO SUGAR Journey: Proud, Satisfied and Happy!

Looking in the mirror, and putting on my pants, I can see and feel the layers of fat falling off of my body! 

Jeans are always the ultimate determiner. 

If you fit into your favorite jeans, that's how you know you're diet is working! 

It's only been 10 days and I impressed with how well my body is responding to not eating sugar. 

My skin looks better, I feel more energized and alive and with all this water I've been drinking to keep myself away from temptation, my skin is more hydrated! 

I have to say, the detour method has proven to be the strongest and most effective tool I have. 

I haven't worked out a single day since I stopped eating sugar because I could feel my body saying "Hold up! No way, one things at a time Chiquita" 

That's how my body talks to me... 

However, today I felt excited and motivated at the thought of exercising! 

yyyaaa boy!!! 

My body is getting use to not eating sugar and is at peace with the idea of doing more to improve. 

I know it sounds a little weird to say "my body is at peace with the idea of..." But the truth is sometimes you just need to improve one step at a time. And it's okay to be proud of yourself for taking things slowly. 

As a matter of fact, it's more than okay! It's admirable. 

Remember what we talked about a few days ago; the tortoise might move slowly, but he is consistent and doesn't give up. 

That's a sure way to get the results you're looking for! 

So I guess today's lesson is: be proud, satisfied and happy for yourself! 

A compilation of the things that have helped us these past 10 days. 

Detour

Water 

Tea (hot or iced)

Honey

Raisins 

Nuts and Seeds 

Berries 

And consistency! 

Joyful in all things, 

                   Daisy Julia