Zits, bloated and drowsy from sugar?!

Ariane, 
Last week went pretty well – I was eating clean (happily) and by the time Friday rolled around I was feeling fresh and full of energy and also light(er). I have almost completely cut out sugar from my diet over the last 2 weeks of Slim & Strong. I was actually starting to find my Jay Robb whey vanilla drink a little too sweet. Is that normal?

Anyway, my weekend was a bit of a disaster. I wound up eating out 3 meals and made some terrible choices. I ate way too much sugary dessert and basically over indulged. I have a sweet tooth and have tried to limit the crap I eat but I think after the 2 weeks of clean eating my body just did not like it. At all. I spent yesterday feeling drowsy and bloated and a little sick. Plus I got a zit. From all the information you’ve been sharing with us I take this to mean I am sensitive to sugar? Or was it just that I overdid it?

I spent yesterday beating myself up about it – but I guess not wanting to feel that crappy again is just more motivation to stay clean, right? Sorry about the rambling but I want to be held accountable for my choices so i wanted to share.

See you tomorrow!
Arita



Arita, 

first off, congrats to cutting out the sugar for two weeks. As soon as you do that, your cells become more sensitive to sugar. After two weeks of eating clean, they regain their insulin sensitivity, so when you then eat sugar, it will hit your system much much harder than before when it was a regular part of your diet. 

Everyone reacts a bit differently to sugar. Some people end up crashing from the sugar with mood swings and low energy, others develop ravenous cravings, some break out (you included), some get headaches, some experience increased joint pain (a sign of inflammation that sugar causes), some get bloated and retain several pounds of water…. What you experience is all completely normal and actually a sign that your cells have become more sensitive to sugar. That’s a sign of good health. The less sensitive they are to sugar, the greater the risk of developing insulin-related disease, such as diabetes, pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, and anything associated with metabolic syndrome, such as high blood pressure, increased waist size and increased risk factors for disease. 

Your experience over the weekend was actually a good one, even though it felt awful. Feeling crappy will keep you away from sugar for a while because you surely don’t want to feel like this too often. So, there is your built-in turn-off mechanism to sugar. It’s not ME who is telling you to stay away from sugar, but it’s your body – much more powerful because it’s intrinsic. 

Your tastebuds have also cleaned up. You find that sweets now taste sweeter and that’s a good sign as well. You may find that even veggies, such as carrots and beets are very sweet. Fruit should also taste sweeter and a little goes a long way. 

Stop beating yourself up over having indulged. You are allowed to lose it once in a while. You’ve already paid for it by feeling badly, so don’t feel even worse now beating yourself up. You learned a very valuable lesson here: Sugar makes you feel and look crappy. What more do you have to gain by beating yourself up? 

Next time the dessert cart rolls around you’ll quickly associate the sugar with pimples, bloat, a few pounds of water retention and feeling sick. And, before you know it, you’ll build that aversion to sugar. Sure, there will be times you’ll choose to have the sugar, but it will be a lot less frequently and that means you’ll be dropping pounds, improving your health and clearing up your skin in the meantime.



The best you can do right now is to stay clean to drop the extra pounds of water you probably gained. Before you know it, three days have passed and you’re back to your light and energetic self, continuing to make progress. 

See you tomorrow!

Cheers, Ariane

I’m craving sugar after lunch and dinner!

Hi Ariane, 

Here’s my food diary for the last week. I’ve noticed a jump in my energy level without as much starch in my diet, which is great. And I feel like I’m getting better about incorporating more protein. I’ve never kept a food diary or really paid much attention to my eating habits, so it’s been a real learning curve.

Beyond learning to “eat clean” I’ve been facing two challenges: 

1) I’m finding that a shake for dinner is not filling enough. Do you have any suggestions?

2) I’m craving a sweet after lunch or dinner.  I’ve been trying to substitute sugar with fruit when the craving is too strong, but I know that’s not ideal. What can I eat instead?
Food Diary
Day 1:

Breakfast: 1c kefir and 1/4 c steel cut oatmeal

AM Snack:  Fage yogurt and a handful of almonds (dry roasted)

Lunch: Baked zucchini and grilled chicken

PM Snack: Apple and string cheese

Dinner: Vegetables and tofu in yellow curry sauce

Day 2:

Breakfast: 1c kefir and 1/4 c steel cut oatmeal

AM Snack: Whey protein shake-water and 1/4c strawberries 

Lunch:Roasted pork and zucchini, steamed cauliflower and broccoli 

PM Snack: 1 red Pepper cut up with hummus

Dinner: Roast pork with 20 spears of asparagus 

2 small choc chip cookies and 1/2 c skim milk (cheat snack)

Day 3:

Breakfast: Tofu, egg whites and kale scramble

AM Snack: Apple and string cheese

Lunch: Roasted chicken(1/2 serving) arugula salad, meatloaf(1/2 serving), 1 pierogi. 1 slice chocolate zucchini cake. 1oz. (Office thanksgiving potluck!!!!!!!!)

PM Snack:quest bar 

Dinner: Protein shake–almond milk, banana and spinach 

  
Thanks for your feedback!

Katherine
photo source: http://simplyfantasticbooks.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/sugar-cravings.jpg
Katherine,

that is a great week of eating! 

Given that you’re lean to begin with, you definitely want to eat dinner, rather than just have a protein shake. Skimping on calories too much makes it impossible to gain muscle. If you do have a shake here and there, but the shake isn’t filling enough, you can add 1/2 an avocado, which makes it creamier and more filling.  I think the reason your shake didn’t fill you up on that Day 3 was because you had sugar during the day, which lowered your blood sugar and by the time dinner rolled around and you had just a shake, you simply couldn’t regain your blood sugar balance. 

The cravings after lunch or dinner are typically a sign that your blood sugar isn’t balanced, which can be the result of your previous meal being too small or unbalanced. Take a look at what you had in the meal before and see if it was truly providing you with enough protein (to fill you up) and veggies (to keep you full). Too many carbs and too little protein can cause blood sugar issues, causing it to drop. The cravings set in so that you replenish your blood sugar. However, eating sugar would be the wrong thing to do. You want to raise your blood sugar, not skyrocket it only to drop again.

I suggest you make your breakfast a little higher in carbs and aim for about 30g of carbs along with 20g of protein. For example, 3 eggs with 2 slices of whole grain bread, or a 3-egg omelette with a lot of veggies, or 3/2 cup of slow-cooking oatmeal with 1 cup of low-fat Greek Yogurt. You should notice that your afternoon cravings become a thing of the past if you balance the first two meals of the day. Also, make sure you eat an afternoon snack about 3 hours after lunch to maintain your blood sugar balance and counteract cravings. 

As you continue to eat clean, you’ll become more and more sensitive to sugar and starches and you’ll feel the impact more and more. That in itself turns you off to eating excessive amounts of bad carbs too often. 

Your food intake was great: protein at every meal, along with veggies. Nice job!

Ariane

The PMS Monster Strikes Again!

 Hi, Ariane,

I am writing to confess. Today the PMS monster visited me and ruined my streak of clean eating. UGH!! Not only did I not exercise today (I had a run planned, but lower back pain/cramps forced me to lie down instead), I had a starchy dinner and also found my boyfriend’s ice cream hidden in the freezer and ate two big scoops of it.

The silver lining is that this is probably only the second time I’ve really not eaten clean this month (save a few cheat snacks), which is a big improvement from before Slim and Strong. I also noticed that I ate less of the ice cream than I would have a few months ago. Before, I could clear out a half a pint and not even realize it but I got full after less than half of that. I’ve cut back on even more dairy this month so, being lactose intolerant, my sensitivity has gone up a bit (in a good way—keeps me away from it all!!!), but I think it more so has to do with cutting back on my sugar and becoming more sensitive to the taste. So this clean eating thing is really going well!

The reason I’m emailing you this rather pointless note is because part of my problem in the past with food was that it was so easy to literally pretend that my ‘binge’ hadn’t happened—I lived alone and/or didn’t share food with roommates, much less share my weight loss goals, so no one would ever notice if I kept it to myself—so one cheat meal turned into a cheat day into “f*ck it I’m eating whatever I want” week, etc. So this is my way of cementing this so that I can get back on the right track tomorrow. 

I DO also have a question buried in all of this. When I get my period I notice that my energy level drops dramatically (though I noticed this month it was not as bad. I’m sure clean eating is the reason why!) and that, combined with cramps/lower back pain, consistently causes me to skip workouts for a day or two. If I don’t skip them, I usually end up performing badly or at least still feeling crappy afterward (and then sometimes eating badly afterwards…. like tonight!). Should I just resign myself to having an extra rest day or two during this time of the month and focus as best I can on my eating?

Thanks for listening to my rant—and feel free to kick my butt extra-hard tomorrow!
Lissy


photo source: http://sitelife.runnersworld.com/

Lissy, 
Great confession. You shall be forgiven after 100 push ups and 300 jumping jacks. 

Do not freak out over a mini binge! What you’re experiencing is SO normal. The sugar cravings are part of PMS for many women and this blog post tells you why.
Given your hormones are a bit out of whack, your energy can also drop. Just imagine how much energy it costs to get rid of that egg… :-) so, it’s normal to feel tired the first day or two and you should listen to your body and rest. If, however, you do feel better after exercising, then why not do something that makes you feel good – yoga, a walk or jog, or whatever you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be intense. If you feel completely exhausted, resting is a great option.  

The clean eating should reduce cramps, bloating and back pain, so see how you feel next month. As soon as you cut sugar out of your diet, you reduce your body’s inflammatory response and therefore many women report fewer headaches or PMS related issues. The cleaner the diet, the better you should feel. 



If you do go overboard on carbs and give in to your cravings, then make sure the next day is a low-carb day. sS, tomorrow you should do your best to have veggies only for carbs and skip the bread, starches and definitely all sugar. That way you’re using up the carbs you had today instead of having them get converted to body fat. Right now they’re getting stored in your muscles and liver and tomorrow we’ll use them during the workout, so put down the cookies and get to bed so I can kick your arse in style tomorrow :-)
Cheers, Ariane

How to beat sweet cravings and other questions

Hi Ariane,

in attempt to clean up my diet I have a few questions:

1. First, I get a sweet tooth occasionally. How do I fight that craving? What’s a good replacement?

2. Since I’m working as a nurse 12-hour days, stepping out for dinner at a reasonable hour is not feasible, so when I get home at 9-930pm I’ll eat dinner late. Any suggestions?

3. I like the idea of vegetables with stir fry and grilled chicken. How do you feel about sauces?

Thanks, Erika


Hi Erika, 

sweet cravings are normal. They typically happen when you have had sugar or lots of starch in your diet or when you’re pre-menstrual or when you’re stressed. To get rid of cravings, cut out all sweets and sugar for at least 3 days and you won’t crave it anymore. If you have hormonal cravings then I suggest you go for what you crave, but in small amounts. I always have some dark chocolate in my fridge and I really just need a piece or two to do the trick. Once you’ve cut sugar out of your diet you will find that a small bit of sugar will taste a lot sweeter than before and satisfies you quickly.

Eating dinner late is ok as long as it’s clean and consists of protein and veggies. Don’t eat sugar or starch that late or you’ll store it as fat. If you’re not really hungry, just have a protein shake or just a little snack, such as some turkey slices or string cheese or some Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. Do what your body needs. It will tell you once you’ve cleaned up your diet as you’ll have a better connection to identifying where your cravings and hunger come from.

Sauces? Well, prepared sauces typically contain loads of sugar or artificial ingredients. Skip those and make your own or buy organic/natural sauces. You know now how to read labels, so make sure you check before buying. You can make an easy stir-fry by steaming veggies and then adding olive oil, pepper and herbs and spices at the end. You can make a simple stir-fry sauce by combining low-sodium soy sauce, fish sauce and cayenne pepper, garlic and any other spice you like. 

My Emotions Get in My Way! Help!

Ariane, over the past 20 years I have been on every single diet you can imagine. I have lost and gained hundreds of pounds over the years and I finally understand what and how I need to eat to lose fat permanently. I have dropped 65 pounds in the last 2 years and am continuing to lose. But, what has always been getting in my way is my emotions. The moment I get upset about something I just want to eat. I go for the sugar, starches, and for anything in my sight that stops fat burning. I feel guilty afterwards, of course, and then I try to clean up what I did by exercising more and eating clean. It just seems to be this nagging cycle of being “good” and then losing it and I’m so entirely sick of it that I’m often asking myself why I even bother to try to lose more weight. I know that my emotions are in my way of reaching my goal (of 30 more pounds) and feeling good about myself but I just can’t get a grip on them. Do you have any advice? 

Thanks, Brooke

Brooke,

I have worked with thousands of women and men looking to lose weight. At the core of most people’s challenge to keeping a balanced diet and a healthy body is emotional eating. Let’s face it – after you learned how fat burning is done, after you know how to put together meals and fire up your metabolism, you really should be seeing a quick change in your body fat and body shape, right? Well, if it was that easy then we’d all be slim, strong and happy – but we’re not. We are humans with emotions and our emotions are closely linked to the food we eat. Not just because our parents may have pacified us with a lollipop when we were sad or maybe our aunt was always the one offering us the candy jar when we visited and felt bored. 

These are behaviors that we have learned early on and may now be deeply rooted in our subconscious – always kicking up when we least want them. Some of us grew up without sugar but may have learned over time that sugar and starches make us feel good. These foods actually do make us feel good from a biochemical standpoint. Sugar and starch increase your serotonin level, a neurotransmitter that’s directly linked to your mood. So, don’t be surprised that you crave these foods when the going gets tough or in the days before your period. It’s only natural, but how you respond to these cravings is the key to your success.

I suggest you try the following when you have a sweet/starch craving. Ask yourself “What is it that I really want?” If the answer is that you are truly hungry then a balanced meal of protein and veggies is the right choice. However, if the answer is any of the following: I want to reduce my stress, I want to procrastinate doing this task, I feel lonely, I feel tired, I am angry, I am sad, etc then food is not the answer as it would only be a short-term band-aid. After you eat the sweets and starches your needs will still be there – plus the extra calories. Eating that bowl of Ben & Jerry’s when you’re really in need of a chat with your friend to talk things over will not only make you feel bloated, tired and guilty, but you’re also gaining weight over time just because you didn’t deal with the issues that made you want to eat in the first place.

You need to re-train yourself to make the distinction between hunger for food and hunger for emotional needs. Once that distinction is made and you act on satisfying the true need, then the food option is rarely chosen anymore because you realize it isn’t going to fix the problem.

Another way to tell if you’re emotional eating is if you constantly choose foods that make you feel ill afterwards, – high-sugar foods (cookies, chocolate, pies, etc) or very dense starches, such as potatoes, pizza, pasta and rice. These foods boost serotonin levels temporarily and can make you feel better – until you feel the low blood sugar effects about 1-3 hours after eating them. Again, you’re going for the quick fix without realizing that tackling the issue that made you want to pig out needs to be addressed.

We can keep ourselves from emotional eating once we realize that foods are never a long-term solution.

Stopping emotional eating is a process and doesn’t happen overnight. It requires awareness of what makes you eat and then the ability to stop the behavior and replace it with something healthier. That is in fact easier said than done. What helps is the focus on how good you will feel and look once you have a clean diet, a body you can be proud of and the confidence you will enjoy – And, perhaps a good to-do list that helps you identify the stressors in your life that keep hitting you hard. Change the stress triggers and see how your desire for food changes.

Another issue may also be the environment in which you live. If you have a job that you absolutely despise and the only thing that makes you feel better is to stick your hand in the candy jar of your coworker, then chances are you’re not going to stop that unless the stress factor changes. Just spending 20 minutes on a pro-active job search would likely eliminate your desire for sweets because you’re tackling your discomfort. So, go ahead and create your list of stressors that typically make you want to pig out. Then, develop 2 to 3 steps you can take to address them (other than eating). You’ll find that your mind isn’t a one-way track into the fridge after all and your creativity will be your saving grace from the size XXXL pants.

Good luck! Ariane

Too Dumb for Weight Loss?

Ariane,

I am struggling. Maybe you can help me with some type of suggestion… I have been stuck at the same weight for about 3 months now. I have noticed that I would rather just have a snacky something than a real meal in the evening. This is why I was so excited when the tapas craze took off,
and people now eat small bites in every restaurant in New York City, because I prefer to pick at little stuff than to have a real meal. I am totally good up until about 4pm, but then at night / late afternoon is when I ALWAYS seem to mess it up!!!!

And, I have no willpower these days, not sure what is going on?

This is honestly what happens:

I exercise in the morning and have a protein shake at about 9am while getting ready for work.

I get my day started putting out fires at work and then I have a really great raw vegetable salad with two boiled eggs for breakfast at 11am. Then we are busy during lunch at the restaurant, so I can not eat again until around 3:30pm. By then it slows down and everyone can eat. I always have another raw vegetable salad (which i really DO enjoy) with either a 1/2 piece of fish or a little lobster or something like that. Around 4.30pm is when the trouble starts. I am no longer crazy busy at work – so it’s time for some administrative work and once I sit at the desk I am in trouble. I start to crave ‘a little something’ …. like I just want to PICK at something. And then I start with the darn nuts.
When 8.30pm rolls around and we’re ready to close, I want a SNACK and so I eat more nuts. Then I am totally full of gas and bloated and hate myself and don’t eat dinner.

I am admitting this because I KNOW this is wrong thinking, My brain KNOWS that my body doesn’t feel good doing this. I am an intelligent adult and yet every day I find myself doing that same crap.
And I know that I am consuming more calories and fat than I want to WITHOUT even having a nutritious meal. And, the scale is not budging because of it. What do I do to get myself out of this??  Why am I this person?
I feel so dumb because I know what to do and I am just not sure why I can’t DO IT. I am also being a fatalist because I have my period right now, but I HAVE legitimately been struggling all month with this.

Maybe you can shed some light?

My birthday is coming up and I might be sabotaging myself because I have convinced myself that I can’t reach my goal weight – so maybe i am ‘making sure’ I don’t reach it? i don’t know…. ugh. 
Thank you in advance for listening and for your wisdom. – J. 


Dear J.,

first of all I don’t want you to ever feel dumb for not getting your body to do what your brain wants it to do. We all have struggles like that. I believe that the answer is quite simple in this case and is probably not a matter of will power or ‘dumbness’ at all. Phew – good news, right? :-)

There’s 2 issues you need to fix and once you do I’m almost certain you’ll get your body to budge again:

You need to eat breakfast earlier. Having a protein shake and nothing else until 11am won’t balance your blood sugar and won’t fill you up in terms of feeling satiated. Shakes are liquids and as such as absorbed very fast by your stomach walls. There is no digestion process needed and that makes you hungry quickly again. Move up your solid food breakfast and have the eggs with veggies or a slice of grainy bread within 1 hour of getting up, ideally. If you work out in the morning, then have the breakfast within an hour of finishing your workout. Eating solids will keep your stomach full and will provide you with food over time. Doing this will prevent the afternoon desire for something to nibble on. That craving simply starts because you didn’t fill your stomach with enough food early on and your blood sugar is letting you know it needs fuel.

Secondly, make sure you eat every 3-4 hours the latest. Letting so much time go by without food sets you up for caving in with unplanned food choices. So, don’t get to the point of being ravenous and the pig out only to regret it later. Counteract it. Cut up veggies or snack on baby carrots. Take some hardboiled eggs to work with you and even though you are putting out fires at work you’re going to feed your body. A protein shake in the afternoon would also be a good idea but you might want to put 1/2 avocado in there so the fat can keep you full longer and slow the absorption of the protein into your body.

Look at your eating schedule and what happens:

Getting up – around 7am?

9am: Protein shake – too late. Your blood sugar is already low after a night of not eating and being up for at least 2 hours AND a workout.

11am: Salad with 2 eggs (which is not enough protein by the way. You should have 3). Not enough protein to fill you up or to balance your blood sugar level.

3.30pm: Raw veggie salad with fish. Perfect meal but it’s too late now to balance your already low blood sugar level.

4.30pm: Cravings – well, of course because your blood sugar wasn’t balanced at breakfast or at lunch. And, too much time went by between your breakfast salad and the afternoon salad.

8.30pm: Dinner – you don’t even want to eat because the guilt of your nibbling on snacks tells you that you had enough already. Not eating a decent dinner, however, is a bad move because your blood sugar will drop during the night and in the morning you wake up lethargic and low on energy.

Do you see how this cycle prevents you from losing weight?

Here’s what to do:

  • Eat your breakfast within an hour of getting up or within an hour of your workout
  • Eat every 3-4 hours
  • Load up on more veggies
  • Eat more protein
  • Prep healthy snacks for work (counteract failure)
  • Bigger breakfast, smaller dinner. don’t skip meals.
  • Nuts – get rid of them and have something handy that you enjoy nibbling on. snap peas, bell peppers, carrots, celery….

Give it a go and see what happens….

Cheers, Ariane

Ariane,

I’m much better, thank you for asking.

you were totally right.I wasn’t eating enough early in the day and it made me want to pick later. Since our dialogue, i have been bringing my protein shake (and some almond milk to mix in to make it thicker) to boot camp for directly after the workout. This way i don’t have to wait so long to eat and then I eat a larger breakfast right when i get to work. I figured out that three boiled eggs gives me major gas, but two eggs doesn’t do that – so i have added in a little scoop of plain canned tuna. I know canned tuna is not the most amazing but I am picking my battles with the protein and this seems like the better of all evils .. given my avoidance of dairy and nuts. Miraculously, after I eat my salad for lunch I am no longer interested in picking!

One day i had the health inspector come in and I couldn’t eat since the inspection took about 2 hours. It was almost 6 hours between my meals and …. I was dying to pick on something and had sugar cravings for the rest of the evening!

So I am sticking to the every 3-4 hours rule and am good. Thank you! J.

Why do I crave sugar before my period?

Q: Hi Ariane, I have been trying to eat very clean these past couple of weeks - as in lots of protein. The only carbs I’m having are veggies and dairy. It wasn’t hard the first couple of days but then I started craving bread, pasta, rice. I don’t usually like that stuff and so really don’t eat too much of it. SUGAR- cupcakes, cookies, candies, donuts- anything sweet is my vice. I’m surprised that the sugar cravings have been more manageable but suddenly I dream about plain rolls, noodles and pasta.  Do you have any idea what’s going on there?  I have noticed that it’s especially hard to eat clean right before my menstrual cycle. I’m sure this is no news to you. Can you help explain why this happens and share some tips on how to combat this? – Diana


A: Diana, cravings for carbs are normal here and there. They do subside though the more you get rid of them. Sugar and carb cravings can pop up when you’re stressed, tired or sad, and when you do a lot of cardio. Stress hormones make you crave sugar as they raise your adrenalin levels, which depletes your blood sugar. Pay attention to what’s going on in your life and chances are you’ll find that these cravings are not coming out of the blue. Also, if you’re severely cutting carbs then you’ll crave them more, so make sure you eat enough veggies and do have your cheat meals to keep your sanity.

Regarding the carb cravings before your period – that also is totally normal. When you are about to have your period your estrogen levels drop and with that your serotonin (a neurotransmitter in your brain that regulates your mood and keeps you happy). Serotonin is made in the gut and the more carbs you eat, the more readily it is made. Basically, when your estrogen drops, your serotonin levels also drop and with that you start craving carbs because eating them will rebalance your serotonin levels. So, you’re completely normal. You may want to have some things handy that take the edge off, such as dark chocolate (85% plus), hot chocolate made with water, or anything else that is low in sugar but gives you a little sense of pleasure. There are plenty of brands that produce a small dark chocolate bar, so you don’t cave in entirely. A little bit is all you need.

There’s also a great supplement called Oona, made from black cohosh and chasteberry tree. it helps balance your hormones if you feel PMS is taken overhand. There are two types of products – pms 1 and pms 2. The green tin is taken daily for hormone balancing and the orange tin is taken as needed for cramps, menstrual backaches, etc. 

As a first step I suggest you focus on getting through the PMS by keeping a clean diet. I have seen plenty of clients who cleaned up their diets and their PMS symptoms almost disappeared. Your diet has a huge effect on how you feel before and during your period.