SUGARFREEfeb - Getting started *guest blog special*

We are all gearing up for the start of SUGARFREEfeb tomorrow and a few mums have started to ask about alternatives to their everyday foods that contain sugar.  BBB mum, dietitian and nutritionist Marieke Rodenstien shares some of her knowledge with us.

"Would you believe that in 2009 it was estimated that the average person consumes up to 80kg of sugar PER YEAR!! This is up from an average consumption of just 8kg per year in 1800.

Yes, lets face it, we are a nation of sugar addicts and it’s no wonder as sugar has crept into virtually every processed food on the supermarket shelf! From tomato sauce to salad dressing’s, cheese spreads to chips, breads to breakfast cereals and even infant formula! Read the ingredients list and you are almost guaranteed to find sugar in some form or another.

So, I know what you are thinking “how can I possibly eliminate sugar from my diet when so many foods contain it?” Well, the answer is simple - EAT WHOLE AND MINIMALLY PROCESSED FOODS!

What are whole and minimally processed foods? Any food that is, or is close to, its natural whole form (eg brown rice vs white rice, wholemeal bread vs white bread, whole oats vs oat bran/flakes/pops, butter vs margarine, natural full cream yogurt vs low fat flavored yogurt, a whole apple vs reconstituted apple juice etc etc).

What to buy

To help you get started here are some sugar free items to add to your shopping trolley:
(available at most Coles and Woolworths supermarkets)
-    Jalna Biodynamic full cream yoghurt (this is also the best yoghurt to give to your children)
-    True Organic butter
-    True Organic cheddar cheese
-    goats milk feta cheese
-    frozen berries
-    organic free range eggs
-    Mountain Bread Organic Wholemeal wraps
-    Bills Organic Medium Rye Sourdough bread
-    raw nuts (almonds, walnuts brazil nuts etc)
-    raw seeds (sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds)
-    whole oats
-    hummus (best brands: Mum’s Choice and Pilpel)
-    brown rice
-    fresh vegetables
-    fresh fruit (best choices: low sugar varieties such as lemons, limes, grapefruit, green apples and berries).
-    free range organic chicken
-    organic lamb
-    organic beef
-    tinned tuna and salmon in springwater
-    tomato paste (add to sautéed tomato’s with garlic and fresh basil to make your own pasta and tomato sauce)

What to eat

Stuck for ideas on what to eat during meal times? Try out some of the meal ideas listed below.

Breakfast

Forgo the processed sugar laden breakfast cereals (yes, this includes Weet Bix!) and diet yoghurts and opt for one of the following:

•    A bowl of homemade bircher muesli - soak muesli made with whole oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds and walnuts overnight in water (just enough to cover) and a little lemon juice (soaking grains, nuts and seeds makes them much easier to digest). Serve with natural full cream yoghurt, a sprinkle of cinnamon and some grated green apple or berries.

•    A bowl of natural full cream yoghurt with fruit (eg berries) and some nuts and/or seeds

•    Eggs (poached, boiled or scrambled) served with some raw vegetables such as avocado and tomato and/or sautéed vegetables such as spinach and mushrooms

•    A mini omelet with lots of vegetables (eg onion, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, spinach) and topped with some fresh herbs and a little feta cheese.

Lunch

Ditch the white bread and opt for one of the following:

•    Mountain Bread wholemeal wraps, wholegrain/rye sourdough bread or sprouted essene bread (available at organic stores) with some protein (eg tinned tuna or salmon, left over chicken or lamb, egg) and vegetables (eg avocado, cucumber, tomato, grated carrot, rocket).

•    Large salad with protein (eg tinned tuna or salmon, left over chicken or lamb, egg) and vegetables (eg avocado, cucumber, tomato, grated carrot, rocket), topped with some feta cheese and toasted pine nuts.

•    Brown rice sushi (homemade or bought)

•    Large bowl of homemade soup (eg leftover from the night before)

Dinner

Skip the potatoes and opt for a salad or steamed/stir fried vegetables with your meat or fish.

Be sure to check back next week for tips on how to nip those pesky sugar cravings in the bud!

All the best!"

Marieke Rodenstein
Dietitian & Nutritionist
The Nutrition Practice
0450 458 549
marieke@thenutritionpractice.com.au
www.thenutritionpractice.com.au (soon to be launched)

So there you have it ladies - it's not going to be that hard after all - think simple and natural and you will be on the right track..... thanks Marieke.

SUGAR FREE feb

SUGAR FREE is back!  For those of you that joined in with NOsugarVEMBER you will know what this is all about and for those of you that are new to the NO SUGAR challenge you are about to find out what it is all about.

Established by Troy over at Fitta Bodies (check the Fitta bodies blog here), I have jumped on board in a big way and will be instigating two sugar free months per year.  The warm up and pre Christmas calm being NOsugarVEMBER and now the post Christmas, get back on track month being just one week away 'SUGAR FREE feb'.  I invite you to join us on this challenge and make a difference to yourself and also to our charity for this month - we are raising much needed funds to support those affected by the Queensland floods.

Some awesome changes were gained during NOsugarVEMBER and post Christmas and New Year many of us are looking for some great results.  

You will be surprised how much sugar you consume on a daily basis (in various forms) and by eliminating it from your diet, along with a good exercise routine leave yourself open to gaining some fantastic results just in time for summer and before Christmas rolls around.  So, rules, borrowed from Troy's  blog they are as follows:

Starting on the 1st of February for 1 full month (it's even a short month!), we will rid our diets of sugar.

This means;

No alcohol

No cakes, chocolates, pastries, ice creams, soft drink

No Fruit juices, boost juices, smoothies, milk shakes

No white potato

No sugar in tea or coffee

No sweetened yogurt

No dried fruit

2 – 3 pieces of fruit per day only

2 slices of wholegrain bread per day maximum

1 cup of cooked pasta per serve a maximum of two times per week

You are all going to lose some weight in this month, but the main aim of this 30 days without sugar is to show you how much sugar you normally consume and to hopefully curb your sugar cravings.

By the end of this month, you will have developed habits that will see you;

Drink tea and coffee without sugar

Only drink alcohol once or a maximum of twice per week

Only eat sweets once or a maximum of twice per week

Learn that meals should be made up of large amounts of non root vegetables

Treat pasta or rice as a accompaniment to a meal, not the main part of the meal

Never drink soft drinks

Avoid boost and other blended drinks

Learn that dried fruit is not a health food

Choose lower sugar yogurts

So who’s in?

Please put your name down in the comments section on either this blog or on the BBB facebook page (I will be taking down registrations from there. Then head to our fund raising page, join our team and we can kick the sugar as team 'Body Beyond Baby'.  You don't have to be training with BBB to be eligible to join in, the more the merrier and the fitter, healthier and lighter.  Invite your friends and family to join in and help to raise the awareness of what sugar is doing to us and how much better we will feel once the habit is broken.

If you break your sugar free promise, you must log your indiscretion on the blog and/or on the weekly facebook 'confession corner' and perform 5 burpees.  If you happen to break the rules again, you must log your indiscretion and double the burpees. For each indiscretion, you must double the burpees. Just think, 5 times and you will be up to 80 burpees on the 5th occasion!

I am introducing a video log this time of burpees performed by anyone attending BBB sessions - burpees will be done at the end of a session, recorded and posted on this blog and on FB 

Be honest! You signed up to this, nobody forced you! You need some sort of guidelines to keep you on track!

Welcome to 2011

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year, some down time for yourselves and have created lots of happy memories with your family, especially the little people in your life.  Time flies so fast and they grow up so quick and I really tried to take a little step back and immerse myself in my children towards the end of last year and early this year that's why I have been a little absent around here for a while.  We had a wonderful week away at the start of 2011 and this is now week two of being officially back at work. 

Body Beyond Baby is more than just work for me, I love chatting to you all, sharing with you what I have been up to and celebrating our achievements but sometimes you just have to take stock and concentrate on one thing at a time so I am proud to say that my children got lots of mummy time over the break.  It is my goal now to ensure that amongst the juggling act of a working mum I still find time to enter and be present in their world on a regular basis with no other distractions - easier said than done in this fast paced, need everything now, world that we live in.

I have a number of fun and exciting things coming to you in 2011 - here's a sneak peak:

Success stories - Inspiration is a powerful tool and seeing what other mums have achieved can really drive us to get to the next level.  In the upcoming weeks I will be sharing inspiring success experiences from some of our BBB mums.  We will also be welcoming a couple of new guest bloggers on board. If you have a story to share I would love to hear from youy

February see's the start of SUGAR FREE feb - from the 1st of February we will be giving up sugar for the whole month (it's a short month so even easier).  Kick start or put the accelerator on your health goals for this year and join us in breaking the sugar habit, cleansing your insides and loosing a few kilos after the crazy season.  The first few days can be tough but you will break the habit, you will feel better and you will see results - to top it off this time round  we are doing it for charity so there's your community spirit and feel good factor taken care of too.  Stay tuned for how to register.

Boxing Fridays are back - As of March we will be welcoming on board a new trainer and seeing the start to our popular boxing classes.  I have begun working with Hannah already and I am very excited about the freshness and energy she will bring to your sessions.  As a mother of two she knows only too well how important (yet challenging) it can be to take care of mum.  Get in touch now to reserve your spot in our boxing sessions.

September brings the Blackmores Bridge Run - with races for everyone bring the family and run or walk across the Harbor Bridge in the 4km fun run or challenge yourself by picking either the 9km, 21km or 42km races. You now have plenty of warning and time to build up your fitness level to be ready for September.

Here's to a fantastic 2011 glad you are on board for the ride.