Lets Celebrate!

Why oh why America does every holiday revolve around tasty treats. The more events I attend, the more I am greeted with the stark reality that it is impossible in people's minds to have a good time with out sugar being present. Seriously, I challenge you to try to have a birthday or wedding party without a cake. People will look at you like you have lost all sense of reality. So what do we do? Do we we make a cake anyway and just determine that the whole world can go into sugar shock, but we will stand strong? Do we make a sugarfree chemical filled goodie and hope that no one realizes that eating chemicals is no more healthy than sugar? No. Lets be realistic here. The whole world will not come to a screeching standstill if there isn't sugar present. You may have to field a few "When do we cut the cake" comments, but mark my words, no one is going to take their present and storm out hollering, "no cake! no gift!"

My friend once told me, "Kristen, you aren't going to change the world one person at a time so why bother!" My retort to her, "Oh yes I will." I'm not asking for a total revolution here, but a few less parties where we all go home in a sugar coma will do the world better. So here is my challenge to you. In light of the looming events coming down the pike. At your next event try to forgo the candy and cake overload. Get fun little gifts to hand out to the kids at the end of the next birthday party or make an extra special meal instead of focussing on the dessert at your next dinner party.

Second Thoughts on Sugar-

Are any of us having any second thoughts on giving up sugar. Have some of you been experiencing the dreaded sugar headache? Or should I say, lack of sugar headache. Some of you will be experiencing moodiness, a deep sense of loss, and some of you will even suspect a bit of depression. Is this girl kidding? No, I'm not! Eating sugar increases serotonin in our bodies which is our feel good hormone. If we have been spiking our serotonin by sugar stacking our way to happiness it goes without saying that a lack of this surge will leave us feeling a bit down in the dumps. No fret. After a week or two your body will learn how to regulate it's own serotonin levels. You will notice better nights sleep, more alert days, a significant decrease in afternoon slumps and your feeling of hope will return. I promise all of the hard work is worth going through.

Are some of you finding yourselves in the kitchen opening every cabinet and refrigerator door hundreds of times during the day hoping that something appealing without sugar will jump out? Shut the doors people and step away from the kitchen. Now is a great time to find a hobby. You will find yourself having a bit more time. Now, lets not get too excited here, we're talking 15-20minutes more. This is the amount of time the average person wastes prepping for and eating those unneeded sugar calories each day. With your time, pick up your house, organize that closet that was on your resolution list, google hobbies and pick one, pick up a good read, go for a walk. You are quickly becoming the healthiest you, you can be.

Challenging first night

Wouldn't you know it that the moment you make a commitment to changing your diet life would come around and kick you right in the back end. My husband, however loving and caring, came home last night with a QUART of soy delicious ice cream. So the dilemma, do I eat the ice cream and make my husband happy or stick to my iron will to never even think about sugar again let alone humor the thought of eating it. Yes, fellow readers, I ate the ice cream, all three bites of it and then passed the rest to my husband. And do you know what I learned? I didn't really even care to have it. Knowing I could took away all of the desire to eat it. Why do I mention this? Because you will all have temptations and when those arise you need to tell yourself, "If I really want this I can have it, but do I really even want it?" Too often we eat the banana cream pie and can't even stand the taste of bananas. We simply finish it because our minds tell us we should want it and if we can have it we should probably take twice as much.

Our next step is simple. All I need you to do is stop and give yourself a good thirty seconds before you give in to that next temptation. Go through a quick list of questions. Do I really want this? How will I feel when I am done? How did I feel the last time after I ate something really sweet? I'm not saying you will always make the right decision, but you will certainly be well on your way to making better decisions that will eventually become habitual.

Bye Bye Sugar.

Ok everyone! We should all be well on our way to Healthyville. I'm sorry to say that I have a challenge for all of us that I think may alter our lives for the better. It wont be easy or for the light of heart. It may challenge you beyond what you would expect and for many you may even think it's obsurd. I'm challenging us to kick the sugar 'habit' and for some of us, infact, many of us, addiction. I think I must start by explaining the whys and negatives of what sugar is doing to each and every one of us personally and societally. Sugar on a personal level increases inflammation, causes rapid aging (Women! Deep Set Wrinkles), loss of muscle mass, sagging skin, decreases overall energy, causes moodiness, spikes insulin levels, diabetes, sets us up for many cancers and leads to weight gain and inability to lose weight. Need I say more?

I realize most of you are thinking "Yea, SO!" I can name a million things that I do that cause those kinds of problems and if I worried about everything under the sun I probably wouldn't leave my house. Ok but I'm not asking you to worry about everything under the sun, just sugar for starters. You will immediately see benefits when you stop eating sugar (in the form of refined carbs and sweets) and you will immediately feel better. I for one am on board. Yes, I realize that this will be a very difficult endeavor and I may cheat a time or two but I'm asking us all to build a support and accountability group. Just like if you were addicted to drugs or alcohol you would ask others to help you in the journey to kicking the addiction. Some of you may be thinking, "Seriously? This girl is comparing sugar to drugs?" Yep, I am because strangely enough you have the very same chemical reactions in your body when you eat sugar as you would if you injected heroin.

So today we start. Don't worry about tomorrow or the next day or even five years from now. Today say "I'm going to do my very best to not eat sugar."

PS Lets not get too ridiculous here either. Fruit is not added into this equation so long as it is in it's whole natural form not blended and added to a pastry.

Kick'n Ass in 2011

Have we all set our New Year's Resolutions? Have you all completed at least one or two exercise sessions or made a healthy(ier) meal this week. Have some of us cleaned out a closet, organized a drawer, paid toward a credit card, told someone we love that we love them? Some of you will answer no while others will holler yes with such joy and jubilee that you would think it was Christmas all over again. Many thought it was impossible others knew it was because your goal was made in a drunken stupor. No, Joe you probably won’t marry Jessica Simpson this year and Jenn you probably won’t climb a mountain since you have a very healthy fear of heights and despise the outdoors. But, who am I to judge. If, however, you have deemed that a new and realistic resolution is your best bet, fire away. Remember the rules though, make it lofty and make it fun.

I've heard from one or more than two of you that you don't set resolutions any longer and you think they are silly. This explains a lot with what is wrong in the United States. People let me explain why it is that we set resolutions and no it isn't so we can feel bad come February 1st when we haven't even attempted to resolve to change. A resolution simply states this: the act of resolving or determining on the action to do something. If you don’t at least a few times a year resolve to do something big or even worthy then we all should just stick our heads in the sand and call it a day. Why is it that we wake up and each day and head to work, school, our local coffee shop, or even just our kitchen table? Because deep down inside each and every one of us there is something telling us, spurring us on, encouraging us to do great things. Some of us ignore that very small or in some cases loud voice, while others take their lives by the horns and demand to sharpen the saw (Thank you Steven Covey.) Why am I on my soap box today? Because I want better for us in 2011. I want to look back on this year and think, "Man, we really kicked ass and took names, we are brighter and better than we were at the start of this year and we are happier and healthier to boot!"

Hello 2011

As you ring in the New Year and search out your 2011 New Year resolution please do me a favor. Do not and I repeat do not set a weight loss goal as your resolution. I know what you are thinking. "That pretty much defeats the purpose of a resolution!" Bear with me on this one. This year, pick a new goal. Something fun and challenging, something you never thought you would be able to accomplish because you thought you were too fat, too thin, too out of shape, too busy, too lazy. This is the year that you are going to prove yourself wrong. So, the sky is the limit. A 10k race? A mountain climb? Sky Diving? A marathon (you can join me)?

Once you have set your goal lets go about drawing up our game plan. The good news is that you won’t start January off in a dead sprint only to give up by February 1st. Nope, we are all going to start at a realistic pace and gradually increase until we have hit the floor running. This means by May you will be well on your way to a changed person. MAY! What in the heck! Why in the world would I ever want to wait that long to be "different?" Well, quite honestly because if by May you are still on track with your New Year’s Resolution you will also be on track in June, July, August. Are you following me?

So here is an example. Your resolution is to go on a 10 mile hike. In January you would start by visiting your local gym three times a week. NO, not five six or seven times just three. We are looking to create a habit. Sit down and pick the three easiest days to exercise. If Mondays are horribly busy at work and home, Monday is not a good day to count on for exercise. Three days a week for four weeks. People I think we can handle twelve days. Once you hit February you will be well on your way to habit mode and also ready to kick up the intensity a notch. Some of you will even be able to add in a day or two each week.

If you are still reading hoping to get months March-December's game plan, stop reading. We are going to take this year one step at a time. So your homework is to set your resolution. Make it lofty and make it fun. Let’s make 2011 better than 2010. You are strong enough, determined enough and worth it!