Monthly Archives: November 2015

Now, lets be fair, we all like something sweet but there is a big difference from having a little treat every now and then to grabbing the chocolate every night and binging!

So, what can be done?

Lets explain exactly what a sugar craving is and how they come about (in a non scientific way).

Generally a sugar craving arises when your blood sugar levels drop, the body wants energy to level out your blood sugars and the quickest form of energy it can convert is Sugar (Glucose)

The problem arises when we feed the body Sugar.

Refined Sugars found in white flours, white rice, white sugar, and the majority of pastas, breakfast cereals, sweets, Milk/White chocolate, Cakes etc take less time for the body to break them down, therefore leading to a quicker insulin response all around. This may sound good, but in the long run, quick spikes in insulin and glucose can damage your metabolism and lead to insulin resistance and more cravings.

The more refined a food is, the more it’s been stripped of this natural, information-rich fibers, fats, proteins, vitamins, and antioxidants.

At Bootcamp we call this the Biscuit theory. Eat 1 biscuit and put the packet away, NO CHANCE! You will end up craving more Biscuits, i guarantee it!

Now if you can eat 1 Biscuit or a small amount of chocolate and be satisfied, you will not have to worry. However, working with clients for 5 years has shown us that’s extremely hard even with the best willpower in the world.

So how do we stop this happening?

First, we work with clients to remove as much refined sugars from their diets as possible.

We move clients towards more natural sources that do not create such quick spikes in Insulin.

Honey, Maple Syrup and Stevia can all be used as well as a small amount of dark chocolate.

We actually go as far as to providing a clean chocolate recipe to our clients that is made from cocoa powder, honey and coconut oil.

As a result of using more natural sugars, we see less spikes and controlled blood sugars and therefore sweet cravings reduce.

But is this all down to reducing refined sugars and replacing them with natural substitutes.

No.

A Balanced diet also helps in a big way to keep the body satisfied.

This is the biggest things we work on with clients.

If you can keep the body satisfied overall, your blood sugars will become more stable and therefore less cravings for refined sugars.

If you regularly suffer with Sugar cravings try initially focussing on the following

Make sure you are eating enough!

It still amazes me how little people eat on a day to day basis. SOme eat very little because diet culture has led them to believe they need to eat less to weight less (this causes huge problems!), some eat very littl due to hectic lives and food simply becomes less of a priority around other things.

Focus on Protein

How much Protein are you eating each day?

Proteins are your Meats, Fish, Quorn etc

Your 3 main meals each day should be based around a decent protein hit. Protein helps to keep you full and in turn helps balance your blood sugar levels. If you are generally hungry within 45-60 minutes of eating a main meal, try increasing the amount of protein you have on your plate, it will have a huge effect on keeping you satisfied.

Eat Less Refined Carbohydrates

Ditch the White Breads, Pasta, White Flours, Cakes, Sweets, Milk Chocolate, Crisps etc and replace with some cleaner carbohydrates.

Using Brown or Basmati Rice, Rice Noodles, Sweet Potato, New Potatoes and Wholemeal Wraps will be much better options and cause less sugar spikes and cravings.

Introduce some cleaner sweet treats

Its not always about avoiding sugar completely, its about reducing your intake and controlling your cravings.

With clients we introduce a once a day optional treat using natural sugars.

Greek Yoghurt mixed with some berries and drizzled with a little Honey
Our Cean Chocolate Recipe based around cocoa powder, coconut oil and Honey
Clean Hot Chocolate – Almond Milk mixed with cocoa powder and sweetened with Honey if needed

Using these treats you should once again see less cravings as they avoid refined sugars and also hit that sweet spot when you need to.

Eat Your 5 A Day!

Help keep yourself satisfied by including Fruit and Vegetables with your meals to go alongside your Protein.

This is another area we work hard on with clients to make sure they have healthy balanced recipes to choose from, and a lot of them!

Keep Hydrated

Another huge factor that most people overlook is the liquid they drink each day.

Drink 1-2 litres of water across the day and you will not only be more satisfied you will notice you feel brighter and more alert as our energy levels level out.

Just watch all those trips to the toilet 🙂

Monitor your Alcohol Intake

This is a ig one and also a hard one to cover with clients.

Generally most people consume too much alcohol and it has a huge impact on your daily balance.

There is nothing wrong with a drink here and there if you enjoy it however like sweet treats from refined sources, it needs to be regulated.

Alcohol increases cravings due to making you de-hydrated and also causing a hormonal inbalance.

One thing to be aware of is how you feel the following day, not just how you feel during a drink.

Most people make poor choices when it comes to food when thy have a drink or 2 (or more) and this then has an impact on the next day and sometime upto 2-3 days after depending on the amount consumed.

Have a drink by all means but if you cant regulate it, IT WILL BE HAVING AN EFFECT ON YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY.

If you work on all of the above i guarantee you will see a huge difference in your sweet cravings reducing.

However, is it all down to your food and drink?

All of the following things below can have a dramatic effect on your Blood Sugars and create sweet cravings

Stress. Any stressful situation can lead to less than optimal eating habits. Stress itself increases cortisol levels, which initially dampen hunger. Once the stress has abated, our hormones of hunger ramp up — “Refuel!” the body cries. This can lead many women with stressful jobs and lifestyles to a pattern of nighttime cravings, over-eating, and unwanted weight gain. Over time, chronic stress can lead to adrenal imbalance, eventually resulting in extreme exhaustion. So many women I see have reached a state of adrenal imbalance, and find the only way to get through the day is by drinking lots of caffeine and consuming sugar for quick energy bursts. But this only sets them up for further cravings and more energy depletion.

Hormonal fluctuations. Just before menstruation, when estrogen is low and progesterone is on its way down, beta-endorphin levels are at their lowest. These fluctuations may explain why many women who experience PMS also have cravings — and the accompanying serotonin–endorphin bursts that high-sugar foods can provide.

Insulin resistance. When you are resistant to insulin (Type 2 Diabetes, which can happen as a result of a long-term diet high in refined carbohydrates and low in micronutrients), glucose is not able to enter your cells and ends up staying in your blood as a result. This means your cells are starved for the fuel they need to operate, and signals are therefore sent to your brain to increase insulin. This results in cravings for sugar because even though you may be eating enough, your cells aren’t able to access the food.

Food sensitivities. Food sensitivities are often the result of a situation known as “leaky gut,” where partially digested food particles can make their way into the bloodstream through a damaged, inflamed mucosal lining in the digestive tract. The body regards these food particles as foreign antigens and mounts an immune response by sending antibodies. Combined antibodies and antigens in your bloodstream, known as immune complexes, can lead to intense cravings.

A lack of sweetness in your life. Many things in life can affect our serotonin and beta-endorphin levels — exercise, balanced nutrition, rewarding work, a positive relationship, even a sunny day. The joy we find in our lives speaks to our biochemistry. So when we are lacking positive energy and happiness, it’s not surprising that we seek to fill that void with sugar.

So, hopefully this blog post has given you something to think about when it comes to Sugar and sweet cravings?

Start working on all of the things mentioned and things will improve ina big way for you and your weight loss journey will become easier.

Remember, change is hard but so worth it once you put the work in.

If you need any help please give me a shout at rossyoungfitness@gmail.com

Take care

Ross

Are diet fizzy drinks healthy?

A question asked by a client that has recently joined us at Bootcamp.

The client in question has tried many diets in the past and has always been confused around diet fizzy drinks stating that changing to them means they are talking the healthier option.

Now, this is not really a simple case of a straight forward answer.

Are they healthy?

It depends on your version of healthy!?

They provide very little nutritional value

They do however contain very much less sugar than there full sugar counterparts.

The majority of diets out there are purely run on dropping your calories.

For those that are not aware, in order to lose weight you need to be in a calorific deficit each day.

If you are eating more calories than you are burning, you will not lose weight, its that simple.

Now at LYB we do not track calories however our guidelines stick to whole foods to restrict the chances of over eating as the foods are more calorie dense and therefore you can generally eat more wholefoods than junk in terms of calories.

However, we also look at the nutrients you are putting in and also the structure of your foods across the day.

So, back to the point of this post

If you are someone that has dieted before and have swapped your fizzy drinks to the diet versions you are lowering your intake of calories and sugars from drinks and this of course is a good thing for your weight loss as long as you are not over eating and piling those calories back on through poor choices of foods.

Lowering the sugars will in turn be a good thing in avoiding things like diabetes once again as long as you are not increasing your sugars elsewhere.

This is where your overall structure comes in

Lets take a regular can of coke (330ml), that contains 139 calories per can so if you are drinking 4 of these a day that’s a whopping 556 Calories just from those drinks.

Change the can of coke to a diet can (330ml) and you have 1 calorie per can and if you drank 4 of these a day you would be saving 552 Calories.

So, that’s a positive thing right?

Yes, if your diet is just looking at calories.

However, as i have explained above, we go deeper than that because our experience of working with clients needs us to go deeper than that.

A regular can of coke (330ml) contains 35g of sugar which equates to 6 teaspoons of sugar.

Sugar is a carbohydrate and if not used as energy will turn to fat.

4 Cans of coke each day equates to 24g of Sugar!!!!!!

Now, once again, compare that to its diet variety

A regular can of diet coke (330ml) contains 0g of sugar, thats right 0g of sugar

So once again based on calories and sugars, the diet coke is the better choice.

Now, diet drinks may contain less sugar but they also contain artificial sweeteners.

One of these artificial sweeteners has had a lot of bad press over the last couple of years

Aspartame

Now, being honest and looking at the research they are actually still yet to prove that it is actually bad for you

Yep, you heard me right, there is no official reports saying it is bad for you, it has been given so much bad press that people now avoid it.

Now my view on this as any one who has worked with me knows is that avoiding this is a good thing.

Here is why

I am an honest believer in the research i have done with clients over the last 5 years that fizzy drinks hinder weight loss

Not because of their consumption as such and their ingredients, its mainly a reaction that happens when people drink them

Here is what we find

People who drink cans of fizzy drink across the day generally drink less water

People who drink cans of fizzy drinks across the day generally suffer with higher sugar cravings, this is usually down to poor structure across the day with food and water

People who tend to drink fizzy drinks across the day and evening tend to stay up later and dont sleep aswell. Is this down to the drink itself, possibly but it would be hard to actually blame it on the drink.

All of the above are findings from working with clients

Most calorie based diets out there allow diet fizzy drinks to be free on their plans.

This is the bit i think people generally struggle with

Because they are told they can drink as many as they like because they are free, they drink less water, are generally more dehydrated and have more cravings across the day due to the combined dehydration from a lack of water and poor food structure.

We work with all clients to generally avoid these drinks and replace them with water and also work on the structure of their diets.

In turn people feel more energized, feel fuller, have less cravings and sleep better.

So in summary, are fizzy drinks unhealthy, well it all depends on the structure of your diet.

To classify one thing as the cause to you putting weight on is wrong, diet fizzy drinks can help people stay on track and be used as a low calorie treat or help in a social situation when choosing not to drink alcohol and not be barraged with 100 questions however, for most, that’s the problem, they dont limit how much they have and it reduces water intake and food structure.

One thing is for certain from a sugar point of view, if you are someone who is consuming a high volume of fizzy drinks you will be far better off swapping to the diet variety to save a shed load of calories and run less risk of high sugar related illnesses moving forward.

Have a think as to how many fizzy drinks you have a day?

If you are having fizzy drinks are you still drinking a decent amount of water each day?

Are you drinking fizzy drinks and suffering with sweet cravings?

As usual, i would love to hear your thoughts.

Ross