Grocery Shopping Sucks

Posted by Leesa :) comments (0)

When you first start grocery shopping ‘clean’ (a.k.a. healthy) it feels like you’re a bunny caught in the headlights of a car; stunned and rooted to each aisle for a good ten minutes, reading labels, deciphering chemistry jargon and working out whether or not fat is good for you; fat is bad for you; what’s the difference between fat free, low fat, reduced fat, low carb/high fat vs. low fat/high carb.

After 20 minutes and completing only two aisles you throw your hands in the air grab whatever is nearby, feel a throbbing headache coming on, but you have 3 other errands to run before you go home, start dinner, do kids homework, finish off an assignment, check facebook, feed animals, check facebook, take washing in, hang washing out, check facebook, get everyone ready for tomorrow and at some point relax for the day.  Sound familiar?

Whether you are a dad, a mum, one half of a couple, an empty nester, or a 19 year old uni student; you absolutely must plan and prepare for the grocery shop, and that means you absolutely must plan your week’s dinners and lunches before you make the list; or its “bunnyville” for you.

And yes unfortunately eating clean costs more – it’s a good thing you are totally worth it!

Just about every item of food can be googled for its nutritional values – get knowledge about the food you buy and eat as you create your MASTER list of groceries.  It’s all about planning and preparing.

I “save as” my ‘MASTER’ grocery list as a ‘WEEKLY’ list, and delete and add items as required.

Okay, so you’ve planned your meals, you’ve written down the food you need to get. Remember to do this as well:

Step 1. eat a meal, then shop.  Never ever shop hungry

Step 2  stick to your list…..  I MEAN IT

Step 3  white bread, white rice, white sugar, white pasta, white flour = bad

Step 4  skim milk (you’ll get used to it I promise)

Step 5  Good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil = good

Step 6  Fish, tinned or otherwise, lean cuts of meat, chicken breast, eggs, in season fruit and vege/salads = good

Step 7  Leave the ice cream, biscuits, chips, sweets, desserts in the grocery store. If you don’t buy it, you won’t eat it. It’s not a treat, it’s a glob of yellow lard on your ass. L



If you are unsure about food content and serving sizes please check out http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n31.pdf

Strive to be better than you were yesterday, and you will find that you are better than ever before.

My facebook is at https://www.facebook.com/trainingtokickoldageintheface


 

FRUIT. HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

Posted by Leesa :) comments (0)
Fruit is great food loaded with nutrients. Everyone should eat fruit in season.  However, go easy there buddy as fruit also contains fructose, and too much of that is not good.

Too much fructose can slow down thyroid function and your metabolism.  Now don’t dismiss fruit altogether, I just don’t want you to think that 5 pieces of fruit a day are doing you good, it isn’t.  However, 1 or 2 servings (not pieces, but servings) each day is good for you.

 Too much fructose in the diet increases glycation.  WHAT THE HELL IS GLYCATION ? 

If you really want to know… it’s the cross linking of proteins and DNA molecules caused by sugar aldehydes reacting with the amino acids on the protein molecule to create Advance Glycosylation End-Products (AGEs).

 I know what you’re thinking…. blah blah blah Leesa 

 In short, glycation does NOT raise insulin, therefore insulin is not getting into your muscle cells,  it just hangs out in your blood stream and buggers up your metabolic rate = Bad L

ALSO, too much fructose can advance skin aging, vascular degeneration, and development of diabetes. 

By the way fructose can be manufactured as well. They shove it in all fizzy drinks, fruit juice bottles, cartons, juice boxes, poppers, so called sports drinks and some so called health bars.

Too much fructose will mask satiety sensors in body, so you don’t feel full, and you keep eating. Fizzy drinks are famous for that awful flaw!

ARGHHHHH!!! 

Now don’t go running for the hills just yet.  Remember I’m saying TOO MUCH is bad for you.  Enjoy your fruit in MODERATION (there’s that word again!)

If you are unsure about food content and serving sizes please check out http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n31.pdf


Strive to be better than you were yesterday and day by day, week by week, month by month, you will be better than ever before.

My facebook is at https://www.facebook.com/trainingtokickoldageintheface

The Clever People are listed below:

Poliquin, C. http://www.charlespoliquin.com/lifestyle.aspx

Boaz, L., Moshe, W. Fructose Triggers DNA Modification and Damage in an Escherichia Coli Plasmid. Nutritional Biochemistry. April 2001. 12(4), 235-241.

Bousova, I., Pruchova, Z., Trnkova, L., Drsata, J. Comparison of Glycation of Glutathione S-Transferase by Methylglyoxal, Glucose, or Fructose. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. May 2011. Published Ahead of Print.

De Jong, M., Docter, R., Bernard, B., et al. T4 Uptake into the Perfused Rat Liver and Liver T4 Uptake I Humans Are inhibited by Fructose. American Journal of Physiology. 1994. 266, E768-775.

Goode, K., John, J., Rigby, A., Kilpatrick, E., Atkin, S., Bragadeesh, T., Clark, A., Cleland, J. Elevated Glycated Hemoglobin is a Strong Predictor of Mortality in Patients with Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction who are not Receiving Treatment for Diabetes Mellitus. Heart. 2009. 95, 917-923.

Schalkwilk, C., Stehouwer, C., Van Hinsbergh, V. Fructose-Mediated Non-Enzymatic Glycation: Sweet Coupling or Bad Modification. Diabetes/Metabolism Research Review. September 2004. 20(5), 369-382.

Stanhope, K., Schwarz, J., Keim, N., Briffen, S., et al. Consuming Fructose-Sweetened, not Glucose-Sweetened Beverages Increases Visceral Adiposity and Lipids and Decreases Insulin Sensitivity in Overweight/Obese Humans. Journal of Clinical Investigation. May 2009. 119(5), 1322-1334.