Bye, Bye Sugar

As we all know sugar creeps into our diet in its usual tactical ways. We are all born with a sweet-tooth (at least is one of my justifications) and resisting sugar 24 hours a day 7 days a week is a big ask. Personally I am shamefully weak when it comes to the genre of deserts. I tend to trend along the idea that life is uncertain, therefore eat desert first. Is it merely a coincidence that stressed spells desserts backwards? What an ironically bitter realisation! It is decided; I shall not succumb to this and reach for a double-decker when stressed. Let's remember however, a sweet moment is not a sin and nor should we invite it's sibling of guilt. 

The Sunday Times heard our cry for a sugar ban and decided to draw-up a plan for the nation to follow. Its commercial identity was known as #byebye sugar, and for many was the first step in cutting sugar out from virtually all meals. Their initial suggestion was to strip your kitchen of all temptation; a bold first move that supports the attitude of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Things begin to get more specific, condiments are next to go. Start getting used to your salads being extra crunchy without its sauced-bathed leaves. 

To quote The Sunday Times; "experts agree that a healthy lifestyle and a lean, toned body involve 20% consistent exercise and 80% what you eat." There you have it, it is crucial to think before we chomp down on our favourite sugary helpers. If you are controlled in your eating you are more than half way there. Easier said than done? Absolutely. 

Some of our staff at Wellbeing decided to give the scheme a go, let's see how they managed...

Miranda- Miranda was committed to saying farewell to her sugar-binge days by cutting out the following; white carbohydrates, biscuits, cakes and fizzy drinks- whilst leaving a small window for wine. "I was prepared for those familiar moments of wanting a sweet treat, so I opted for nuts and raisins instead." Snack-time is perhaps the biggest test of them all and Miranda's substitution solution was a success. Miranda cooked a lot more and as a result became a lot more creative and confident in the kitchen. 

Roll in the next sugar suspect, Helen. Helen admitted to strongly noticing the lack of sugar and as a result, was made acutely aware of how often it slipped in. At the start Helen suffered from headaches. As the day progressed and four o'clock struck this became a notoriously difficult point in the day. Lunch has been and gone and dinner is on the horizon, we are accustomed to think that this is apt time to increase our sugar levels. Whilst on the challenge, Helen went away and discovered how difficult it is to stick to an altered diet whilst your friends are consuming whatever their eyes are drawn to. At this point Helen curbed the rules and consumed some alcohol, besides this hiccup, Helen was dedicated throughout. 

I found the experience challenging and was receptive to its high's and low's. I found myself feeling less sluggish and found that overall, it balanced my hormones. I also noticed that it changed my taste buds. The couple of times that I did cave in, I noticed that the sugar tasted sweeter and I therefore consumed less. A handy suggestion is to replace your sweetener/sugar in tea with a cinnamon stick. Works like a charm. 

The comforting fact in all this (and perhaps a point of persuasion) is that by retraining your taste buds, the obsession does go away. By having something rarely, the taste becomes acute and your brain applies more thought to what you are eating. However, this does not mean our sweet object of desire shall never rear its sugar-coated head again, but resisting it is a lot easier. Shoo the craving away like an incessant fly and reach for your shiny apple.

Source: Bye, Bye Sugar

The Cambridge Diet: Slimmer Who Went From Size 24 To Size 10 Explains Why It Works

If you want rapid weight loss, the Cambridge diet has been hailed as one of the most effective ways to do so. 

In fact, actress Jennifer Ellison recently posted pictures of herself touting the benefits of the diet.

But what does it actually involve? 

It works on several 'steps' or levels of diet. If you are heavily overweight (they say a BMI of over 25 at least) and have found that diets haven't worked for you in the past, then you will want to start at stage one. 

This is called Sole Source, named after the meal-replacement products you'll be eating, and includes around four Cambridge products a day, coupled with 2.5 litres of water. Price-wise it costs about £44 a week, which they say is cheaper than Weight Watchers. 

We wanted to find out if it really worked, and what the challenges and benefits were, so HuffPost UK Lifestyle spoke to slimmer Cacia Griggs who works as a sales and marketing team leader, who managed the feat of going from a size 24 to a size 10 in 18 months. 

She said: "I started the diet in July 2011 and as with anyone who is overweight, there were lots of reasons why I wanted to lose the weight. But, I would lose motivation because I wouldn't see the results quickly and I had 8 stone to lose. 

Cacia - before the diet

"The final straw was when I saw an article that said if the parents were obese, then the children of the same sex are likely to become obese. I could not imagine my daughter Isabelle, who was three at the time being obese. Something had to change. People in my office had done the diet before and recommended it." 

How to Lose Weight for Good

Spring is in the air and the baggy jumpers and oversized coats will soon be banished to the back of the wardrobe. If only it were that easy to be rid of your winter flab! You would go on a diet but you always put it straight back on again plus a little more for luck. It's not your fault: weight loss triggers hunger - more than 95% of dieters regain their lost weight within five years.

No need to panic though, there is a way you can slim down and stay that way without the need to count calories, embarrass yourself at a slimming group, starve two days a week or develop a taste for quinoa or pomegranate seeds. 

Short term faddy diets are not the answer. They almost always lead to rebound weight gain because your appetite remains raised until you have maintained your new lower weight for at least six months. The key to becoming slimmer is to adopt a lifestyle diet that helps you permanently change your eating habits.

Choose wholefoods and home-made meals, rather than buying takeaways, ready meals, puddings, cakes, biscuits and chocolate. Sugary, fatty foods stimulate the appetite and are energy dense, and soft drinks add a lot of calories to your diet. Drink water instead - that's the stuff that comes free out of the tap. Cut out sugar in tea and coffee and reduce your intake of alcohol as excessive drinking makes you fat. 

Favour meat, fish, eggs, cheese, milk, beans, nuts, heavy bread, potatoes and wholegrains. These are the foods your grandparents ate when obesity was rare and convenience foods didn't exist. If you look very carefully you will find real food in a far flung corner of your local supermarket. You may not have eaten this way since you were at primary school, but only by going back to basics will you have a realistic hope of achieving the body you desire.

Three protein rich meals a day help you resist the temptation to snack. Eating more protein makes you feel fuller which compensates for the increase in appetite caused by weight loss. Include some starchy carbs with your meals. They prevent the food cravings that sabotage many diets. Vegetables provide bulk, so don't just leave them on the side of your plate. A piece of fresh fruit after a meal provides sweetness now you are no longer eating desserts. 

Move Over 5:2 Diet, The Low-GL Diet Makes You Lose More Weight & Faster

The 5:2 diet is the darling of the diet world, but as we know, there's always a better diet waiting round the corner. 

A new book called Burn Fat Fast: The Alternate Day Low-GL Diet Plan by Patrick Holford and Kate Staples (she used to be the gladiator Zodiac before she broke her neck), looks at the priniciples of fasting and food combining, as well as what exercise to do to complement the diet. In short, a full body plan. 

What is striking about the diet is that even though it incorporates fasting, it's a good plan for people who like to eat, or more simply, don't like the hunger aspect that we associate with dieting. Better still the exercise plan involves - on certain days - only 8 minutes of working out. 

 

Salmon and potatoes - mixing carbs with protein

So, first off, what is a 'low-GL diet plan?' GL stands for glycemic load, which measures the amount of sugar and starch in food and their impact on your body. Patrick says that a measure of glycemic load shows how much carbohydrate there is in each food and how fast the carbohydrate will break down into glucose (and therefore how quickly your blood sugar levels will rise).

The crux of the diet is about managing your insulin, or blood sugar levels. Insulin, says Patrick, is an ageing hormone, and also plays a key role in burning fat. So if you can control the levels of insulin, you can slow the ageing process and keep the weight off. 

The idea of the diet is that you combine three fast days where you can eat a maximum of 800 calories, in low-GL foods. You can feast the other four days (on low-GL foods) and should implement the exercise plan during the week.

How does it work and what should I eat?
Since 2005 we've been studying and testing the GL diet – not by eliminating carbs but actually introducing the right kind of carbs alongside protein. Eaten together, protein takes longer to digest