Archive for July, 2008
Foods That Raise Blood Sugar
It’s no secret that foods that raise blood sugar are the whites: sugar, white bread, white rice, etc. In fact, you’re pretty much safer staying away from anything white (cauliflower being an exception to the white rule).
But there are other foods that can raise blood sugar that aren’t white, and that may be good for you. These can include sweet fruits like pineapple and potatoes (although potato skins are OK). Raisins and many dried fruits also fall into that category. Corn and peas are two other foods that can raise blood sugar more quickly than other healthy foods.
You need to be careful about yogurt. If it’s low-fat or fat-free, there might be a great deal of sugar in that container. Fruit on the bottom also has sugar, generally in a syrup. Yes, yogurt can be healthy, but plain is best as far as sugar goes. Otherwise…read labels carefully.
Foods That Raise Blood Sugar to Stay Away From
In addition to “the whites” as listed in the opening paragraph, what other foods fall into this category?
As expected, items like cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream show up in this category. But also are chips and pretzels. The chips and pretzels contain white flour or corn (both can raise the bloods’s sugar).
Fruit juice can be counted among the foods that raise blood sugar — and quickly! Part of it is that most fruit juices for sale include HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) that can send blood sugar skyrocketing. Otherwise, juice tends not to have any pulp, present in fresh fruit — and the pulp (fiber) helps slow the release of sugar into the blood. If you must have fruit juice, make it freshly squeezed.
Know Your Body
Some people are sensitive to wheat, even whole wheat, rye, pumpernickle, etc. If that’s you, stay away from these as much as possible.
Others are sensitive to most fruits, due to the high fructose concentration. If you’re ultra sensitive to fruit, eat extra veggies instead.
High blood sugar isn’t anything to laugh about, even if it’s not officially up to diabetic levels. It can damage your body, not to mention help you gain weight (or have trouble keeping it off). Hmmm, sounds like I’ll be needing a post on the damage high blood sugar can cause the body.
But for now, be mindful of what you eat. It’s perhaps unreasonable for most people to cut out high sugar foods in the cold turkey method. But you can start gradually reducing and then eliminating the foods that raise blood sugar from your diet.
Tags: How to Lose Weight Successfully
Are you struggling with how to lose weight successfully? Do you try to be good each day, only to turn to snacks at night…and the diet goes out the window? Or even more frustrating…you do everything you’re supposed to and the weight stays the same on the scales?
Lose Weight Successfully (Keep it Off)
Losing weight is partly in the mind — you have to be committed to your new eating plan. And by the way, “diet” should perhaps be banned from the vocabulary. Why?
Because when you finish losing the weight, you “go off the diet”. But unless you’ve changed your eating habits in the meanwhile, you’ll likely go back to bad habits. I’ll bet you’re familiar with what happens next — you gain the weight back and then some!
But if you’ve exchanged your old bad habits for nwe good ones, you are far more likely to keep the weight off. And incidentally, that’s one reason for a slow weight loss — it gives you the time to develop new habits.
Supplements or Pills?
How to lose weight successfully — can it include supplements? It’s a mixed answer.
Some supplementation is probably appropriate if you’re taking it for health benefits more than weight loss (even if it has somewhat of a weight loss component). An example is a green tea extract; good for its antioxidant properties, and with a mild thermogenic effect.
On the other hand, other weight loss supplements…the answer isn’t conclusive. Some people are helped by the supplements, others aren’t. However one thing is universally true — no supplement will work all by itself, without following a sensible eating program. (And exercise as well.)
A Healthy Diet to Lose Weight
Yes, you can lose weight with a fad diet. But the question of the day is…will you keep that weight off? Or will you need the latest fad again in a few weeks or months?
A healthy diet to lose weight is one that you can follow for life. One that has the amounts of proteins, fats and carbohydrates for your body metabolism.
How to lose weight successfully — how to keep the weight off — depends on your commitment to change. If you keep following your old habits, the weight will just come back.