21/02/2022
PART ONE - SUGAR
I have spent all my life in and around sugar in one form or another, as a qualified chef we cant avoid it and in many areas I excelled owning my own Cake Decorating Academy where I was the Principle Teacher and owning a production facility where I produced wholesale cakes and savoury goods which were sold to Cafe's, Restaurants and Hotels. So as a commodity goes it was just another ingredient or was it?
Last July I resigned from traditional work practises to pursue a more flexible work/life balance to enable me to care for my ageing parents and find time for ME. As my new journey unfolds in the Personal Development/Growth and Continued Education along with Business Expansion and Wealth Creation I have been investing this time to my mindset and my ability to help others. Along this path I have come to understand and continue to absorb information to enable me to become a better person and "Live my Best Life" a para-phrase from Mindset-M-Powerment my new Company. To live by this mantra we indeed must be the best we can each day and take even a small step forward each day to become a better person. What do they say - same s**t, same outcome, make change and you change the result.
I make it a daily ritual now to read/study at least an hour every day to enrich my mind, I walk 6 days at least 5km with my dog and attend gym 3 times a week along with at least 3 sessions of yoga. I meditate and write in my Gratitude Journal, I visualise where I will in accordance to my goals and timelines I have set. And I make time to care for family and grow my new business everyday.
Everybody has always said, from 40 it's all down hill. I have certainly gone past 40 and like the parable, each year we put another pound on and it becomes increasingly hard to keep these extra pounds in check. But you would think with all what I do each week both mind and soul with the exercise I perform my weight as my mind would be under control. My mind yes, but when I look in the mirror it does not reflect the positive mind I was creating.
In fact there was increasing evidence that something was missing from this puzzle as in September of 2021 I came across a book that has changed my life this year after implementation on January 1, don't get me wrong my continued education and realisation is ongoing but this was the missing piece of the puzzle. From September to December it was brewing in the background and after a festive Christmas of cheer and overeating, enough was enough, I put on even more weight after hurting my shoulder in November and not being able to exercise for a number of weeks.
I used this down time to do further research into the anomalies I was feeling. With all this exercise, what do they say calories in calories out or burnt. There had to be different answers as it was not making sense, I was always struggling with weight. All roads and information led to SUGAR. I have tried many different diets many times throughout my life, and always reverted to the normal habits I have cultivated over the years. The one diet or the one ingredient that has always been exonerated was sugar, back in the 70's Fat was made into the villain leaving the Food Industry to add Sugar at will to our foods and in many cases replace fat with sugar to target a healthier option in our Food by saying Low Fat. So what did I have to loose? NOTHING!! Take one ingredient out of my diet!!!
So from January 1, 2022 I gave up SUGAR, not just sugar but all foods that contained SUGAR. I mean the foods manufactured or processed and placed in boxes for us to consume, pre-cooked meats like pulled pork or lamb shanks, fruit juices etc, in fact everything processed and I started to read Food Labels - OMG. Sugar was off the menu, I cleansed for 3 days in preparation to restore my good bacteria in my gut. I cleared out my pantry of all offending goodies and processed ingredients. I re-shopped with the items I needed. There was initially a lot of preparation to bring food to the table, but as things unfolded it became easier to see the reasons WHY.
It took 3 days after the cleanse to start feeling a decrease in the cravings, after 5 days I was totally in sync and I was amazed with no cravings. The other incredible thing that was happening initially was the amount of bathroom visits, (this was not permanent) but I was seeing weight loss straight away as I peed away inflammation and excess water retention. Remember my shoulder, I threw away all drugs prescribed for pain and inflammation before starting this experiment on the 31st December.
From Day 1 to Day 6, lots of emotions around the change, I suggest if you are going to try this, find a buddy and do it together. Weight for the 1st time in my weight controlled life I saw the scales moving down. By the second week I returned to the gym and full exercise, with some restricted movement due to the bursitis injury. Day 14 saw kilos pealing off and this continued in its gentle rhythm and ebb and flow as the body adjusted back to Normality.
Fast Forward - Day 50 - 19th February 2022 and 10.2 kilos are now gone, I have gone from 90 kilos to now registering in the 70's. My mind has never been as clear and full of intension as now, my puzzle is complete - my mind now reflects my total being and I feel I can truly start living "My Best Life"
Is this where it ends - of course not. This is the beginning, my "Intention" is to build on the realisation that we have the ability to repair and restore ourselves given the right foods, after all we are what we eat. My goal is clear and my body I feel for the 1st time will control its own outcome to level my weight to its healthiest state without any intervention from myself. We just need to supply foods that nourish us and give us the ability to be well. I will do a follow up on my progress at the 3 month mark.
My take-away from this initial article would be to inspire people to add to this story with any examples, and ask questions "WHY" this has been allowed to happen. Debate it, research it and ask the trillion dollar question why one industry affects the human race in billions as we age in medical costs due to Sugar. What's your opinion?
Two documentaries you must investigate as an initial starting point are - "That Sugar Film" and "Is Sugar the New Fat"
