8kg lost now & importance of emotional state

"If I had to remove one food from my diet, it would be sugar." Dr Linus Pauling, a Nobel prize winner in chemistry and a researcher and writer in the health field.
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Definitely 'over' sickness here but it's still happening. Have been unwell for weeks, baby had a very high temperature yesterday, older kids are sick and having days off school etc
Feeling very yucky. However, Stew says that since we've been sugar aware, he has so much more energy. He gets up at 5.30 to get to work and he can still do this after being up for the babies overnight, if they are sick and wake up etc, due to the way we're eating.

Were you tired of reading those 140 reasons why sugar is bad for you from that book, 'Suicide by Sugar'? Stew was. Sorry if you didn't 'like' them, either. He read them all, and said that they WERE interesting but there were just sooo many of them. The author compiled them over many years so there WOULD be lots!  (-:

Who knew this stuff could be so harmful!

All the weekdays this week, bar Monday (the day I report my weight), my weight's been in the 74kg range - 74.9, 74.5, 74.9, 74.5. Maybe this illness has helped there as it makes me feel sick a lot??? As I said on Facebook this week, I'd prefer the loss to be quicker but keep telling myself that my doctor said, years ago, that slow weight loss is better for your skin to be able to adjust well, especially if you're older. Considering I'm not 'dieting', an 8kg weight loss over the 3 and a half months since I started is pretty good, huh! Slowly, surely and healthily...

I learnt a lot from that 'Suicide by Sugar' book. As has been said, sugar is not good for the levels of much-needed minerals in our bodies. From page 26:

"Sugar is an acid-forming food. Therefore, our bodies can become acidic when we eat sugar. But, our bodies do not like this acidic state, so they pull minerals (like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus) from the bloodstream, trying to become alkaline again; trying to regain and maintain homeostasis."

Interestingly though, she also doesn't blame all our problems on sugar, though she certainly maintains that it's the "main culprit". She says this:

"...there are other lifestyle factors that can knock our bodies out of homeostasis. One of these is our emotional state. Therefore, feeling sad, angry or anxious can affect our balanced body chemistry and ultimately have the same effect that consuming sugar would have."

OK, so I must also monitor my emotional state. I don't want to mimic the effect of eating sugar by how I feel. No way, thanks very much!

My youngest son is not doing the Sweet Poison journey, by choice, at this stage. He is currently sick and asked to have some chocolate we'd been given that I was never going to eat. I told him that he is sick and needs his immune system to be well. I read stuff out to him, such as this:

"Sugar suppresses the immune system. It depletes levels of phagocytes (the white blood cells that are needed for strong immune function and that eat up harmful bacteria) and this reduces the body's ability to fight infection and disease."

Yet, he still wanted to eat it! He has yet to read the book. He started it but then got caught up in a good novel and never got back to it. He's finding it much harder to get a sugar hit here, which we warned him. Hopefully, he will get to reading the book and want health for his body.

I told another friend of the book at breastfeeding coffee morning this week, at ABA, and she told me that she is allergic to fructose so would love to read the books, especially the Quit Plan, to learn how to avoid it. She's going to read it from the library first, and then buy it if she likes it, just like I did. Gillespie's message is getting out. Word of mouth is a good thing. As another girl I told about it said the other day, "I like the fact that he doesn't make wild claims or anything. It just all seems so sensible!" Hear hear!

Last 20 reasons why sugar is bad for you

Yesterday's weight was 75.3kg so it's a 500gm loss since last Monday. I feel like it's been around 75 for weeks now. Still, at least it hasn't gone up.

Stew made the Melting Moments last night, that cause my 'moment' of serendipity the other day. They were a bit too soft and are still hardening up. He was told that they're better the next day but they're still a bit too soft. Still, very yummy! It is definitely a Gillespie recipe as that friend joined his website. Only reason I haven't joined it yet is that I want to give it a lot of time and use it properly and don't have time, at present.

Here are the last 20 reasons sugar is bad for you. Remember, it's from "Suicide by Sugar: A Startling Look at our #1 National Addiction" by Nancy Appleton, PhD. She tells you not to eat glucose either and to use Stevia, which contradicts what Gillespie says yet her book is published around the same time. She mainly gets stuck into fructose, like Gillespie, but, where I'm up to so far, also tells you not to eat glucose too. I must ask Gillespie some time about it or try and contact Nancy. Still, I am happy to follow what Gillespie says as he went into it quite thoroughly and it worked for him! She doesn't state why she tells you not to eat it but just lists glucose in the 'do not have' section.

1. Sugar can cause brain decay in pre-diabetic and diabetic women.
2. Sugar can increase the risk of stomach cancer.
3. Sugar can cause metabolic syndrome.
4. Sugar increases neural tube defects in embryos when it is consumed by pregnant women.
5. Sugar can cause asthma.
6. Sugar increases the chances of getting irritable bowel syndrome.
7. Sugar can affect central reward systems.
8. Sugar can cause cancer of the rectum.
9. Sugar can cause endometrial cancer.
10. Sugar can cause renal (kidney) cell cancer.
11. Sugar can cause liver tumors.
12. Sugar can increase inflammatory markers in the bloodstreams of overweight people.
13. Sugar plays a role in the cause and continuation of acne.
14. Sugar can ruin the sex life of both men and women by turning off the gene that controls the sex hormone.
15. Sugar can cause fatigue, moodiness, nervousness, and depression.
16. Sugar can make many essential nutrients less available to cells.
17. Sugar can increase uric acid in blood.
18. Sugar can lead to higher C-peptide concentrations.
19. Sugar causes inflammation.
20. Cugar can cause diverticulitis, a small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall that is inflammed.

{She includes each reason's citation in the notes}

I can get asthma so no.5 is interesting. With diabetes running in my family so majorly, I do NOT want this brain decay mentioned in no. 1!!! I am sure I've had this Irritable Bowel Syndrome thing, at times, so no. 6 is telling.

Cold kills hunger

Woke up with a nasty cold yesterday. So, it has made me far less hungry. Totally skipped breakfast today. Just had lunch and dinner, and a little arvo tea. I have to be careful with fasting as I don't want my body to release the toxins, from fasting, into my breastmilk for the babies. From my limited understanding of science, that is what happens in fasting so they don't suggest that breastfeeding mums do it.

Weighed myself this morning and it said 75.9kg. Went back to sleep for a couple of hours, after breastfeeding the girls, as I feel so sick, and then weighed myself again. It said 75.3kg. Are my new scales dodgy or what? Why would there be that difference? Does sleeping make you lose weight that quickly? I'm not sure what to think.

Next 20 reasons why sugar is bad for you, so we're up to 120:

1. Sugar can cut off oxygen to the brain when given to people intravenously.
2. Sugar is a risk factor for lung cancer.
3. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
4. Sugar can cause epileptic seizures.
5. Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure (pressure when heart is contracting)
6. Sugar can induce cell death.
7. Sugar can increase the amount of food that you eat.
8. Sugar can cause antisocial behaviour in juvenile delinquents.
9. Sugar can lead to prostate cancer.
10. Sugar dehydrates newborns.
11. Sugar can cause women to give birth to babies with low birth weight.
12. Sugar is associated with a worse outcome of schizophrenia.
13. Sugar can raise homocysteine levels in the bloodstream.
14. Sugar increases the risk of breast cancer.
15. Sugar is a risk factor in small intestine cancer.
16. Sugar can cause laryngeal cancer.
17. Sugar induces salt and water retention.
18. Sugar can contribute to mild memory loss.
19. Sugar water, when given to children shortly after birth, results in those children preferring sugar water to regular water throughout childhood.
20. Sugar causes constipation.

Number 2 is awful. So, poor smokers (some people were hooked before we knew the health dangers) with a sweet tooth, have less chance! Poor epileptics also. (No. 4) Although all of these are shocking in their own way, I am indignant at numbers 10 and 19, especially. I am a big fan of breastfeeding and think babies should be only breastfed after birth, if at all possible. None of this giving them sugar water. They used to routinely do that after birth, to give the mother a rest and thinking that the baby needed it. Huh! How do they think that babies survived before they thought of that! As for sugar causing constipation (no. 20), I think I would have to agree with that. Rarely touched by that these sugar aware days. Yay! Not that I had a problem with that but I think we've all been touched by it, at times.

'Moment' of serendipity

Last night, after I cleaned my teeth, Stew got home from Life Group (like a bible study/fellowship group) and presented me with 2 Melting Moments. I was rapt but then dismayed. I can't eat eat such a sugary treat! Stew read my countenance and then happily declared, "They are fructose free!" Oh, such a moment of bliss! He told me the story the following story:

After church a few weeks back, I had seen someone who commented that I'd lost weight so I told them the whole 'Sweet Poison' journey thing. Well, I forgot about all about our conversation. However, Stew told me that that lovely lady had gone away and read the book, after speaking to me, and was doing it too. She had made these from a fructose free recipe with dextrose etc I suspect it may be a Gillespie recipe as it mentions 'Lizzie' in it and I think that was is his wife's name who makes all these recipes.

Due to the already cleaned teeth, I had to wait until today to eat them. Was very hard to wait, I can tell you! They weren't big - roughly about the size of 20c piece each - but they were absolutely delicious. Iced and everything!

See, you never know where telling somebody else what you're doing will lead you. She seemed interested in what I was saying but I didn't know that she'd actually go and do anything about it. I've told many people that I thought would rush out and buy the books/start going sugar free, but they haven't done anything about it. Maybe they're waiting to see if I can stick to it or see if I lose weight etc ??? One friend today, at playgroup, said, "Oh, are you still doing that?" when I brought the topic up as another lass was saying how addicted to sugar she is.

A yummy cake!

Stewy tried again to make a cake out of the Quit Plan. He made the Cinnamon Teacake and it was soooo yummy! I loved it. He broke my heart and took a slice for a guy at work to try. (I could've eaten it the next day) The other cake he made didn't impress me that much but this was awesome. I AM big fan of cinnamon though. Well done to Gillespie's wife who invented these recipes. (Well, I think he said it was her as he said he wasn't a good cook. Might be like me. I love to eat but not to cook. I do what I have to)

My2yr old daughter eating her cake, in her PJs.

Sorry the photo is a bit blurry and small but I copied if off the photo he put onto Facebook to show people. He used his iPhone to take it. [They don't take as good photos as a 'proper' camera!]

Stew made hamburgers for dinner tonight. Hamburger rolls, meat patties Stew makes up himself, onions, fried egg, bacon, cheese slices, lettuce, tomatoes...and...no sauce...but mashed avocado. So, it's Sweet Poison friendly!  (-:    Last night, I made a slow cooker meal. 'Beef in red wine casserole' or some name like that, as the flavour packet said. We served it with brown rice and steamed veggies.

Yesterday was a Monday, so I have to report my weight. It was 75.8, as it was today too. At least, it wasn't back up into the 76 range. Still, last week, it got down to 74.8. I must be still on that plateau range. Still, if it slowly goes down most weeks, I'll be happy, even if it's only a little.

Next 20 reasons why sugar is bad for you, so we're up to 100:

1. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer's disease.
2. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness, which causes blood clots.
3. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance - some hormones become underactive and others become reactive.
4. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
5. Sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress.
6. Sugar can lead to biliary tract cancer.
7. Sugar increases the risk of pregnant adolescents delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
8. Sugar can lead to a substantial decrease in the length of pregnancy among adolescents.
9. Sugar slow's food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
10. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stool and bacterial enzymes in the colon, which can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
11. Sugar  increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
12. Sugar combines with and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes digestion more difficult.
13. Sugar can be a risk factor for gallbladder cancer.
14. Sugar is an addictive substance.
15. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
16. Sugar can aggravate premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
17. Sugar can decrease emotional stability.
18. Sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese people.
19. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit disorder (ADD).
20. Sugar can slow the ability of the adrenal glands to function.

Gee, look at number 18. What chance have us 'fat' people got? It makes us want to eat more! 19 has definitely been proved, as we all know the effects of sugar on any child, let alone one with that disorder. I was told that chocolate helps with PMS but look at number 16!!!!

Mental growth!

I've been doing this for 3 months today, 14th May! Yay! So glad I began it. The thought of giving up sugary food, particularly chocolate, made me so anxious but it's been much better than I thought.

I've said here that I've never dieted properly before ie. followed a strict eating plan etc However, there were many times when I'd try and get rid of 'junk' food from my diet. For me, that was chocolate, sweet food etc However, after a week of being 'good', I'd weight myself and it would be no better, or little better, so I'd give up in disgust and eat junk food again.

So, I've been amazed at how I've not given up this time. Gillespie's message has struck my core being and I've had the strength to say, "Well, the weight is going up and down but I'm just sticking to this, no matter what!" My health matters and, weight aside, I'm still much better not eating sugar.

Stew and I have a bit of a tummy bug at present. No vomiting or diarrhea (in my case) but some awful tummy pains and nausea. This week, the weight has gone, starting Monday: 76.5, 76.5, 75.8, 75.4 and today (Saturday) was 74.8kg. Amazing how much it can fluctuate! Let's hope by Monday, the day I officially go by, it's much less than 76.5, like last Monday!

Next 20 reasons sugar is bad for you, so we're up to 80:

1. Sugar intake is associated with the development of Parkinsons's disease.
2. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
3. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
4. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
5. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
6. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
7. Sugar is the number one enemy of the bowel movement.
8. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
9. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
10. Sugar can make tendons more brittle.
11. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
12. Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women.
13. Sugar can adversely affect children's grades in school.
14. Sugar can cause depression.
15. Sugar can increase the risk of gastric cancer.
16. Sugar can cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
17. Sugar can increase the risk of developing gout.
18. Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in the blood much higer than complex carbohydrates in a glucose tolerance test can.
19. Sugar reduces learning capacity.
20. Sugar can cause two blood proteins - albumin and lipoproteins - to function less effectively, which may reduce the body's ability to handle fat and cholesterol.

As a teacher - well, when I'm not on maternity leave, like at present - numbers 13 and 19 are very concerning. When I do yard duty, I often say to kids, even before I read Gillespie's books, "That's quite a sugary treat you have there. You wouldn't eat that everyday would you?" They usually say that they wouldn't and I reply, "Oh, that's great because that's only 'sometimes food', isn't it?" I got the idea that, especially when talking to kids, you should call junk food 'sometimes food' as we all eat it sometimes but shouldn't be eaten everyday/week etc Rick Kausman's book, 'If not dieting, then what', is good about that. He goes into that well. Gillespie's version of this is, "Party food is for parties".

No. 8 is also relevant to our family. Stew is short-sightedness and Ethan is starting to go down that path so he's currently having eye drops that dilate his pupils etc to try and slow the developoment of this down.

After Mother's Day

On Mother's Day, we decided to do party food is for parties, which is one of Gillespie's rules. We had some honey on our one and a half crumpets each. Yum! We'd missed honey. First honey since Feb 14th. That was all the fructose I was going to have but then it rained and all our plans for going out were ruined. Was a bit depressed, so had more 'party food' of about 8-10 chocolate squares. That was some chocolate I'd hidden away, from before my Sweet Poison journey started, to enjoy on my b'day in August. Had a mild headache for a few hours afterwards.

For dinner, we went to a Sofia's restaurant to have our favourite chicken, pumpkin, cream etc risotto but the chefs wouldn't make the recipe to our usual alteration (it's meant to have mushrooms, not pumpkin) due to being busy on Mother's Day. I was very disappointed. What to have instead! Pizzas probably have sugary tomato sauce on top of the bases. Ended up with a chicken and avocado creamy dish. I do love Italian food!

The last week, my weight has done this, which is very annoying:

• Monday 2nd May - 76.2kgs
• Tuesday 3rd - 75.8
• Wednesday 4th - 75.6
• Thursday 5th - 75.9
• Friday 6th - 75.5
• Saturday 7th -  75.5
• Mother's Day, Sunday 8th - 76.1
• Monday 9th - 76.5
• Tuesday 10th - 76.5

Stayed down in the 75s but then jumped back up and has stayed up. This means, Monday to Monday, I've actually gained 300gms. From the honey and chocolate on Mother's Day??? It's been cold here so I think I've been eating more. I get sooooo hungry breastfeeding the two baby girls - aged 2 and 11mths/9mths corrected - and want to eat. I don't have fructosey treats. I've confessed, here on my Blog, anytime I've eaten the 'wrong' thing.

My friend doing Weight Watcher's plateaued for a month and has only just dropped down further. Maybe my weight is just going to plateau for a while? Well, I'm just going to plug away. Reminds me of how those Amway people say, "Just keep showing the plan", even if nobody listens and they feel depressed. Well, I'm just going to keep "going on my journey", even if the weight doesn't fall off and I get a bit depressed. It's not about weight, in full, so it's still worth it. I enjoy the food we can eat, on the whole, though I do miss honey and chocolate sometimes.

More reasons why sugar is bad for you, so we're up to 60:

1. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
2. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood.
3. Sugar can decrease the amount of growth hormones in the body.
4. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
5. Sugar increases advanced glycation and products (AGEs), which form when sugar binds non-enzymatically to protein.
6. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
7. Sugar causes food allergies.
8. Sugar can contribute to diabetes
9. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
10. Sugar can lead to eczema in children.
11. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
12. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
13. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
14. Sugar can make the skin wrinkle by changing the structure of collagen.
15. Sugar can cause cataracts.
16. Sugar can cause emphysema.
17. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
18. Sugar can promote an elevation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL)
19. Sugar can impair the psychological homeostasis of many systems in the body.
20. Sugar lowers enzymes ability to function.

May the Fourth be with you!

Regardless of what date Blogger puts on this, it's Wednesday night, May 4th, here in Melbourne, Australia. What a day! Amy, my second youngest, has been chucking on/off since last night. She hadn't vomited yet today so I thought I'd pop up to the shops. Got her out of the car, into the pram, walking into the shops, and...blah! She vomited down herself. Lucky I have a spare change of clothes for her, in my bag. Didn't feel like any food to eat, after that! The baby is also sick and so am I. We've had colds since last week, the three of us. Why am I telling you this? Well, in days gone by, maybe I'd have turned to chocolate on such a hard day/days like this/these but now, I don't. Not out of willpower but for my health and the benefits to my body... Why would you eat sugar, with the below list to scare you silly!?!?

Here are more ways sugar is bad for you. This is the next 20, so we're up to 40 in Appleton's book:

1. Sugar can lead to an acidic digestive tract.
2. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
3. Sugar is frequently malabsorbed in patients with functional bowel disease.
4. Sugar can cause premature aging.
5. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
6. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
7. Sugar can lead to obesity.
8. Sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
9. Sugar can cause gastric or duodenal ulcers.
10. Sugar can cause arthritis.
11. Sugar can cause learning disorders in school children.
12. Sugar assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
13. Sugar can cause gallstones.
14. Sugar can cause heart disease.
15. Sucar can cause appendicitis.
16. Sugar can cause haemorrhoids.
17. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
18. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
19. Sugar can contribute to osteoprosis
20. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.

Number 17 is interesting. Varicose veins run in my family, on both sides. I've already had one leg 'stripped' but the doc warned they could come back if I didn't lose weight, or if I got pregnant again. Both of those happened so I have varicose veins again, in that leg, though not as badly. (I never dreamed, back then, we'd go back for more babies) Number 16 also runs in my family but I've not been bugged by them, thank goodness! Remember, I said in an early blog, that a doctor in the USA believes that haemorrhoids would be pretty much wiped out if people stopped being obese. He meant the ones caused by being overweight, not from having babies, like some of my friends have had. Number 4 warns of premature aging! Ahhhh! Who wants that.

Sugar, you really can be evil! However, it's our fault for over-consuming you and the manufacturers for making it hard not to consume you!!!

Help! I'm getting political - Facebook preaching

It seems I am telling others the important sugary message to try and influence their awareness and, hopefully, consumption of sugar. I have told people, in my statuses, to read Gillespie's book and keep advertising my blog regularly. Do I want people to know my real weight? No, not really. But...I DO want to get the good message out.

My most recent Facebook status:
‎"When we eat sugar, our bodies can only respond in one way. They must adjust and try to rebalance themselves after each sugary insult. This balancing act pulls minerals from the body where they are needed and messes up body chemistry, eventually making us sick. Considering the amount of sugar we eat, our bodies do not have the digestive mechanisms to handle the glut of sugar that we consume on a daily basis." from 'Suicide by Sugar: A Startling Look at Our #1 National Addiction. Why our Sweet tooth May Be Killing Us' by Nancy Appleton, PhD & G.N. Jacobs
[Put this status up 25 minutes ago and there's already a comment and a 'like'.  (-:  ]

Another post a few days back:

·           Am reading 'Suicide by Sugar: A startling look at our #1 National Addiction. Why our sweet tooth may be killing us.' Interesting reading, thanks to FTG library doing an Inter Library Loan for me, and Goulburn Valley library services lending it out. Gotta love libraries...

Went on to say:

Read the first chapter so far and, yes, it's very interesting. Love the American arrogance in the title. Yes, it's only a problem that affects the nation of America...not! That's why the Sweet Poison books are so wonderful. They're written ...by an Aussie who doesn't assume that everybody reading the book is an Australian. Only Americans do that in their books, and I hate it. Don't get me wrong, I love America and my American friends, but books from there can irritate me in their egocentricity (spelling?

Last week, I wrote:

More weight lost. Thank God for the Sweet Poison books that have changed my life and brought health to my body...

My sister, who told me last year I had a sugar addiction, but didn't tell me how to fix it but said she knew some books that could: If only you'd listened to me earlier....lol.

Me: You never sent those books so how could I! LOL

My sister: Double lol. You should have just listened to my wisdom, who needs proof!

Me: True, oh wise one! However, you did say the books would help... :-)

My sister: Books do make a huge difference. You need extremely good reasons to give up chocolate! Funny thing is that after you don't have it for a while, you actually can take or leave it.

Me: I will always have am affinity for that stuff, alas, I think, even if the reality doesnt match the anticipation...

The above conversation with my sister brings up a good point. I knew that I was addicted to sugar but it seemed too big a problem. Back then, I didn't know where to start in removing it from my diet. Enter Gillespie's books to help me! By the way, I don't think the books my sister read, were Gillespie's ones so, as he says, there are other good books out there trying to help us...

Thank the Lord for Gillespie's books. I don't worship the guy or anything but am extremely grateful that he wrote them, Penguin published them and the message is getting out. It's changed my life! Thanks Gillespie! [And thanks to this Nancy person, whose book I'm currently reading. She's been trying to get her message out for years...]

Monday musings

Today's weight, it being a Monday and all: 76.2kg. (Of course, for 4 days, it's been in the 75kg range but the day when I have to tell you, it's up a bit!  LOL)

Yesterdays' food, just in case you're interested, and it was not necessarily a good day or anything:

Breakfast: 2 big mugs herbal teas, and 1 hot water with 1/2 lemon squeezed in
                Sweet Poison muesli with Brewer's Yeast and Wheat Germ
                1 Croissant with cheese

Lunch: 1 slice toast with Peanut Butter (no added sugar/salt)
           1 slice toast with mashed avocado
            2 boiled eggs with some iodised salt (good for brain)

Arvo tea: 2 handfuls of nuts & seeds, some pear and orange  (shared with my babies)

Dinner: Chicken Cacciatore, pasta, steamed veg

Dessert, which is very rare: 2 slices of Sweet Poison butter cake (made with glucose/no sugar etc)

Stew, for his b'day on Saturday, decided to make a cake out of The Sweet Poison Quit Plan. The icing was just plain cream, made up with a little glucose. Whole thing wasn't sweet enough for me so I didn't really enjoy it much. Mind you, I had had some sugar (those darn Easter eggs) in the last two weeks so the glucose wouldn't taste sweet enough yet. I've never been a big cake eater, though I always ate it when offered! Wouldn't buy them, usually, except for b'days. My friend's biscuits tasted sweeter, when she made some Sweet Poison ones. I acknowledge that cake etc only used to be so yummy for the sugar hit. Without sugar, I realise I was just eating it for the sake of it. Wasn't to die for, or anything!

It has confirmed my opinion that I'm in no rush to make the biscuits/cakes/ice cream etc recipes in Sweet Poison as I'm not that keen. Have been such a sweet-eater for so long that I am enjoying the savoury stuff and just the sweetness in fruit/veg naturally etc Some people need to eat those things to feel happy but I'm so enjoying my love affair with avocados that stuff like that can wait. Food tastes so much more yummy these days anyway. Yes, even the savoury stuff, as I just so enjoy it for its own taste.

Reasons 11 to 20 for why Sugar is ruining your health. Sorry, couldn't make the bullets go 11 to 20 and can't be bothered typing them up myself:

1. Sugar causes a decline in tissue elasticity and fuction - the more sugar you eat, the more elasticity and function you lose.
2. Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins (HDL)
3. Sugar can lead to a chromium deficiency.
4. Sugar can lead to ovarian cancer.
5. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
6. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
7. Sugar interferes with the body's absorption of calcium and magnesium
8. Sugar may make eyes more vulnerable to age-related macular degeneration.
9. Sugar raises the level of neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine
10. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.