A lifestyle of feeling healthy
Written: Jan 14 '03 (Updated Jan 15 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Feel Great, More energy, weight loss results, relatively simple to follow
Cons: a little confusion in product brands allowed, must be disciplined to eating healthy
The Bottom Line: My recommendation for beginning the Sugar Busters diet is have faith, remember it's your life, & your in charge of what goes in your body. You can do it!
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| gjess's Full Review: Sugar Busters! |
*** The beginning of this is more like my story & how I came to begin Sugar Busters, then at the end I gave an explanation & more factual info from the book!
I recently decided after the new year that I needed to begin some kind of weight loss system. I had seen all the commercials for Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and a new diet clinic that opened in the area. I actually went in and was going to join one of the programs and discovered how much it would cost weekly for someone to " teach " me how to control my eating. I also found out that I would have to pay for any meetings that I missed, like a punishment of some sort. Well, I walked out and decided that I could do it myself. I left and drove straight to the bookstore and picked up Sugar Busters.
I had heard of this book from a co-worker who had lost 67 pounds in 9 months and had lowered her cholestorol from 305 to 190 just by following the books advice! I decided that I would try. Since my family also had been wanting to begin a diet and wanted to begin a healthier way of eating, I shared what I had learned from the book ( I read the book within an hour and was so excited about discovering all the ways food affects your body!) I got them interested and I was off to the store to "clean out my old way of eating & begin again".
I was amazed at how long it took me to read the labels on each item I picked up. Even though I knew what I could have (basically anything except for items with over 4 grams of sugar, made from refined flours/white flour, & ripe bananas, pineapples, beets, watermelon, potatoes, &corn) It actually took time! I already felt healthy! ( My mother was the skeptic though, saying well, I am tired of this everything I pick up has sugar!) Exactly! I thought the process was kind of fun, since I was being challenged to discover exactly what I was going to be eating & what would be processing through my body! After filling my cart to the brim, I returned home & began rummaging through the meal ideas to see what I could make.
It was pretty simple, basically simple portions of what I was eating previously, but eliminating the "no, no's". I will admit it was a little hard the first day, (I am used to every meal consisting of some potatoes & of course corn & a soft drink!), but the second day I awoke feeling more energetic! Each day was more and more excitement as I thought out what to eat, what to snack on, etc. It was a process now, not just a " no-brainer activity" that made me gain weight.
I hopped on the scale " just to see " & already have lost 10 pounds! One of my family members lost 8! The weight loss is great, but the thought that I may be able to prevent diabetes, hypoglycemia, etc is even better! I love this way of living, it does beat feeling unhealthy! I have never been one to stick to a " diet ", and have always, (since high school) felt unhappy with my body, and wear as much baggy clothes as I can to cover up. I missed wearing nice clothes that made me feel good, and I already feel like I am going to see that happen. I am unable to exercise much due to a medical condition,not diabetes, that actually requires my body to have sugar when I am sick, so I was worried at first, but so far, so good! My fiance also began the Sugar Buster's plan with me & he is losing weight, he is discovering that he is sweating more, without doing much work at all! The body processes are working! I am sleeping better, waking up more energized, and feel great! I hope you will too, Good luck!
* Due to the comments I have included these next comments soley on the diet.
The Sugar Buster's basic concept is that much of the diseases we have today, hypoglycemia, diabetes, obesity, are in part due to the refined sugars that we eat daily.
The Sugar Buster's book gives great detail, and goes to great lengths, on explanations that allow you to understand how your body works with the foods you eat. For example when doing Sugar Busters, it is a helpful tip not to drink too much during your meals. This in effect, " washes " down your food in LARGE pieces, which takes the body longer to digest. The fluid also makes it harder for your digestive juices to " properly interact with the food ". It is recommended that you drink in moderation DURING your meals, but you are free to replenish yourself during the day.
Also when we eat various foods that contain excessive amounts of sugar, our insulin level rises and then falls drastically, hence the reason we are so tired after a " big meal ". By eating less of the refined sugars and watching your portions(no more than what would fit on the bottom of a dinner plate), our sugar levels, insulin level stays more moderate, and we do not feel the marked rise and fall in energy.
The Sugar Busters lifestyle does take some changing in meal planning. Since you no longer can just drive through a McDonald's and " get a burger ", although you can have virtually everything in the burger, except for the White buns themselves! The book gives you sample meal plans that you can follow, but basically by keeping in mind the premise of "No refined Sugars, Lower than 4 grams per meal, No White potatoes, white flour, white sugar" you can basically adapt a meal plan that fits your lifestyle.
I had no idea about what to buy, what brands to get, what had sugar or not. So the first trip to the store prepare to spend at least 2 hours! Keep in mind that my pantry was originally stocked with nothing but SUGAR!! White potatoes, white flour, white starches, etc!! By reading the acceptable foods, and not acceptable food list, I cleaned out my pantry, and refrigerator, and discovered by getting rid of the sugars, I had emptied out my house of food!! (you do not have to get rid of all your former food, but I found that if I got rid of the "old" way of life, and refilled my house with the proper foods, I was less likely to "fall back into unhealthy eating habits!" This is the reason I spent a little over $100.00!!
This is an example of MY daily eating.
Breakfast 6:30 am: 1/2 cup Post Original Shredded wheat mixed with 1/2 cup Original Cheerios. 2% milk (as much as recommended on jug)
Mid-morning snack: apple (or other fruit or vegetables)
Lunch 11:00 am: Sandwich (tuna, chicken salad, lean cuts of meat) with lettuce, tomatoes, spread of mustard and/or light mayonnaise. Vegetables to snack (takes the place of chips for me!) or a vegetable salad with red wine or balsamic vinegrette dressing (all others have sugars unless you make your own.) A few sips of water. 12 pecans (or other nuts) this helps curve the sweet cravings!
Afternoon snack 3 pm: fruit or vegetables
Dinner (finished before 8pm so you can allow at least 2 hours for your food to process, the book says by eating late then going to bed, our body is never allowed time to burn the fat we have, since it is constantly trying to break down the food we ate, as a result Weight Gain!!)
Lean cuts of meat, chicken , turkey, beef, broiled, baked, sauteed. Some type of vegetable, I like to saute the yellow squash and zucchini with a bit of olive oil and seasoning! It's great! Again only sips of water.
If my dinner is eaten early (5 or 6), I allow myself to have a fruit around 7 or 8 since I usually go to sleep around 10:30. (The book recommends eating fruit 30 minutes before or 2 hours after a meal which helps indigestion, since the body will interact with the fruit by itself in the stomach not with all the other foods)
This is my typical day, and it really seems like you are eating all day, I am not used to it. I never ate breakfast, possibly lunch & a big dinner before sleep!
The Sugar Buster's book gives you great information about the way the pancreas is constantly having to produce insulin because of the sugars we eat, and as a result when we do not give it a break, it stops working properly and as a result diabetes begins. By eliminating the refined sugars we take in (all sugars except those with fruit juices), we allow the pancreas to rest, and our other organs to work as they should. This helps us so much!!
I hope this helps a little more, thank you for the comments I received that helped to " fix " my original review! :-)
*** helpful brand names: Hodgen Mills (wheat flour, spaghetti noodles, lasagna noodles) Natures Own Sugar Free Wheat Bread, Dannon Plain Yogourt(available only in large container),Nabisco Triscuits, Nabisco stone ground wheat crackers, Post Original Shredded Wheat, Cheerios (original yellow box)
Recommended:
Yes
Approximate Monthly Cost (US$) so far $100.
Food Variety Restrictions A somewhat varied menu
Restrictiveness of Portions Satisfying
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Epinions.com ID:
gjess
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Location: Texas, USA
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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