8/20/08

Having a change


Like many women I am fighting a constant battle with my weight, and in my case this is not helped by the fact I have Graves Disease, an auto-immune thyroid disease. As some of you know, I have enjoyed good success with Weightwatchers and still think it's a great all round plan. But a couple of years ago I also developed Candida Albicans, an overgrowth of yeast in the whole body and this makes me very susceptible to the effects of sugar.

At that time I followed a sugar reduced diet, or Low GI as it's more commonly known and I not only felt better than I had in years, but also lost weight.

The past month my weight has crept up again, my resolve has been tragically lacking and I have also been struggling with my BP and heart rate at times. Now these can also all be symptoms of my Graves Disease, but I also think the Candida is re-appearing too.

So I am changing diet, well actually I did yesterday. I am now following the Sugar Busters Diet, which is essentially a Low GI diet.

Basically it's not as drastic as a true low-carb like Atkins and allows you more fruit, veggies, nuts, dairy, protein and whole grains. What it does not allow are potatoes, white flour or grain products, soda, sugar and most pre-processed foods. So it means back to more natural unrefined whole foods prepared simply, meaning it's back to the cooker for me!

The ideal daily balance is 40% good carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat - this will keep your insulin levels stable during the day stopping those sugar highs and lows. Not that it's a concern for us, but if you are diabetic or in the warning zone for becoming one, this is a highly recommended diet. The most well-known commercial GI based diet, is the one widely sold by NutriSystem.

Today I had oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast, salad and a whole grain organic wheat roll with pepper jack cheese for lunch. For dinner we had steak, garlic mushrooms, broccoli and cabbage with a cheese sauce and my treat was a Jello sugar-free chocolate dessert. I have not been hungry all day, no sweet cravings and I feel good.

The other positive is the hubster is happy to just do it with me, even though he is slim. This diet is scientifically proven to really lower cholesterol and so he is keen to try it and improve his levels a little.

I will keep you updated on how I'm doing and feeling, but please let me know if you have experience of the low GI lifestyle or can share any good tips for success.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

My sister had/has candida and seems to crave all the bad things...like Marmite! She changed her diet and her weight fell.

I'm looking for a way of eating that will control my sugar levels as I'm susceptible to moody lows at certain times of the day. Maybe I'll have a look at your recommendation.

Living in Poland is a bit of a pain with this kind of thing as they seem to add sugar to everything (maybe because they didn't have access to huge quantities during the Commie times).

Thanks and good luck :)

Tom

Victoria - Florence and Mary said...

Good luck with your plan and so kind of your hubbie to eat the same things, makes it so much easier.

Victoria x

Teresa said...

Sarah, Jon had a physical for work several years ago and much to everyone's surprise, his sugar was through the roof. In researching, he found the Sugar Buster's approach to eating. He lowered his blood sugar significantly, and quickly. He has never gone back to some of his old ways. He is not good to go to the doctor, but by all appearances he is fine. Sugar Buster's is really just good ol' common sense eating and does not require extra measures to be taken. It is also an easy life style to keep up once an habit is formed. I wish you, all the best. You have such a practical and determined head on your shoulders.

I was going to try to ship you an half dozen of those cupcakes. Should I just put that idea in the skip?

Sandi McBride said...

I hope you recover from this relapse soon, Sarah...please make sure that you keep a check on that B/P. Lower your sodium intake, too. Hope the new job is still going great!
hugs
Sandi

Its Just Me - Daring to Dream said...

Good luck there. That's the type of diet I stumbled across (without even knowing it had a name). But its worked for me - but I had to add exercise too. Again - good luck and keep us posted!

Amanda said...

About 6 years ago I was advised to try a completely sugar free diet to see if that would help my migraines which were intolerable at the time. It did, and the bonus side effect was losing lots of weight. However, it has crept on again, largely due to the fact that I have CFS and have retired from work, so get very little exercise. I can heartily recommend the diet though as an aid to well-being.

Daryl said...

Sounds like a sensible and healthy way to not just loose weight and keep cholesterol at bay but too feel full and not be full... a very good thing.

A friend recently began the South Beach diet which sounds a bit like this .. I am going to read into this one further .. I have had allergy issues with Statins which are used to control high cholesterol .. as mine is PLUS mine is hereditary so all am happy to find new ways to control this while we find a med that works and doesnt make the allergy flair

Continued good eating!

:-Daryl

Rhea said...

Good luck, girlfriend! I'm so glad your husband is so supportive and willing to do it with you. That makes ALL the difference.

I hate the weight game...and food cravings. And all that crap! It takes so much energy to eat well and lose weight.

Stevyn Colgan said...

It's not just you ladies ... I've been tussling with the Lard Fairy most of my life and the little bitch is still winning. Having tried every diet there is I've discovered that what I need to do, apparently, is eat less and exercise more.

Is this common knowledge or have I stumbled upon some arcane dark secret? Eek! Does this mean that I must now die?

Unknown said...

Thanks everybody for the encouraging feedback. Day two and still feeling good and not craving or getting especially hungry between meals.

Yep the hubster is a bit of a star, he has a BMI of 19 but still likes to eat healthy!

Sherri said...

Good Luck Sarah! Glad DH is doing this with you, it is always easier when 2 people are doing dieting together!!

Expat mum said...

I haven't been ignoring you - you wouldn't believe what I have just had to go through to leave a message. Anyway, just wanted to say "good luck". I came back from England with an extra four pounds, which sounds trite but is the difference between all my jeans fitting comfortably or not. That was entirely due to not exercising, so we know what I'll be doing from now on!

Anna's Spot said...

Hi Sarah,
I am calling it a night too. Thanks for comming to my blog. I am going to read more of yours tomorrow too. It was a long day.
Hugs
Anna

Pam said...

Yes, I think this is just sensible eating and how we were meant to eat anyway. Sweets from fruits -- that has been a gradual change for me. I don't naturally like fruits but I'm getting better about it. Plus they fill me up better.

Anyway, good luck with this, I wanted to come back and read it more in depth before commenting. Keep us updated on the thyroid too.