Felt BAD

I leave Cape Town tomorrow...back to Germany after spending 8 weeks in summer time, I have to re-adjust to the cold and winter...not going to be easy for me as I am a summer person coming from Africa...

When I left Germany the 25th October I was still managing to run outdoors with my running team...but hear from them that they all have stopped as too much snow and too cold...

They are waiting for me to return so I can give them cardio and toning workouts 2x a week...in the New Year of course...

We put my gym membership on hold from November till end of December, so will only be back to running and the treadmill from the 3rd January when my family who are coming over to spend Christmas and New Year with us leave for Cape Town...

For the last few days I have been feeling terrible from time to time..

Low energy and also very dizzy...

I automatically thought it was my MS showing it's nasty head..

Went back to the Kino, who explained that I was anemic and that my blood sugar levels were very low as I was not eating enough or often enough.

I was put on Iron pills and immediately felt a huge difference.

I am also back to eating small meals every 4 hours ( should be 3 hours ) which is also helping the blood pressure situation..

I also started adding one apple to my day as from yesterday...

Am now able to drink my coffee without sugar...honey...just coffee and milk, this is HUGE achievement for me.

The next time I update this blog will be when I am back and settled back into my *other* life.

Tomorrow is going to be a very sad day for me

I have to leave my family and my adorable grandchildren behind..

And now my Princess Nunu who I am so madly in love with...

She and I have spend the last two nights together while my daughter had a good nights sleep

I loved out bonding time together..my precious Nunu...x

Information....

If you are reading via your google reader and see the fruit list has been deleted...it was meant for my Weight loss group and not my blog...sorry!

I found this very interesting and informative, I do hope you will as well....

Diet and Weight Loss Tutorial

When we eat, our body converts digestible carbohydrates into blood sugar (glucose), our main source of energy. Our blood sugar level can affect how hungry and how energetic we feel, both important factors when we are watching how we eat and exercise. It also determines whether we burn fat or store it.

Our pancreas creates a hormone called insulin that transports blood sugar into our body's cells where it is used for energy. When we eat refined grains that have had most of their fiber stripped away, sugar, or other carbohydrate-rich foods that are quickly processed into blood sugar, the pancreas goes into overtime to produce the insulin necessary for all this blood sugar to be used for energy. This insulin surge tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it.

However, the greater concern with the insulin surge is not that it tells our body to start storing fat. Whatever we eat and don't burn up eventually gets turned into fat anyway.

The greater concern is that the insulin surge causes too much blood sugar to be transported out of our blood and this results in our blood sugar and insulin levels dropping below normal. This leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more. The unfortunate result of this scenario is that it makes us want to eat something else with a high sugar content. When we do, we start the cycle all over again.

What to Watch For

• Simple Carbohydrates: Because of their small molecular size, simple carbohydrates can be metabolized quickly and are therefore most likely to cause an insulin surge.

Simple carbohydrates include the various forms of sugar, such as sucrose (table sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), lactose (dairy sugar), and glucose (blood sugar). Watch for the "-ose" ending.

• Hidden Sugar in Processed Foods: Watch for "hidden" sugar in processed foods like bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, and soups.
• Sugar in Beverages: Be aware of the amount of sugar in beverages, especially coffee and soda pop. It can add up quickly, and most such drinks aren't filling.
• Fat-Free Products: Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. And as if that's not bad enough, without any fat to slow it down the sugar is absorbed into your blood faster.
• Cereal Box Claims of Less Sugar: Many newer cereals do contain less sugar, but the calories, carbohydrates, fat, fiber and other nutrients are almost identical to the full-sugar cereals. The manufacturers have simply replaced sugar with other refined, simple carbohydrates.
• No Sugar Added: It doesn't mean that the product doesn't naturally contain a lot of sugar. 100% fruit products often contain concentrated fruit juice, still another form of fructose or sugar.

Table sugar (sucrose) is often said to provide "empty calories" because it has no nutritional value other than providing fuel for energy. Honey and other more natural sugars, on the other hand, are often considered to be healthier because of the trace vitamins and minerals they provide. Still, for weight loss purposes, all of these sweeteners can simply be treated as sugar.

What You Can Do

It is also important to understand what happens when you skip a meal or go on a crash diet. When you skip a meal your metabolism slows to conserve your energy. And when you lose weight too quickly for a few days, your body thinks it is threatened with starvation and goes into survival mode. It fights to conserve your fat stores, and any weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle.

Regulating your blood sugar level is the most effective way to maintain your fat-burning capacity. Never skip a meal, especially breakfast, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs and the binges that follow, provides consistent energy, and may be the single most effective way to maintain metabolism efficiency.

When you will be away from home or work, plan your snacks and take them along so that you will be able to eat regularly and won't be tempted by junk food. This may be good advice for people who stay at home, too.

But remember that it was probably snacking between meals that caused you to become overweight in the first place. It will be very important that any snacks are healthy; that they are pre-portioned so you won't be tempted to overeat; and that meal sizes are reduced to compensate for the additional calories the snacks provide.

High fiber snacks and meals also help to regulate your blood sugar level. The fiber slows down glucose absorption and your rate of digestion, keeping your blood sugar level more consistent and warding off feelings of hunger. This makes eating apples and oranges a better choice than drinking (pulp free) apple and orange juice.

My thoughts on Sugar

Saturday the 12 December, my little grandson celebrated his 2nd birthday

I was so happy to be here, I had planned my trip to be here for the birth of my newest grandchild and the 2nd birthday of one of my other grandchildren...

Now before Christmas I am having to think of packing my bags and returning to my life with my husband in Germany...

I have discovered that I am the worst writer ever, or really don't explain myself very well when I do a blog entry, cause after reading the comments after my two last entries I see such confusion that I have decided to try again...to write it as simply as I am able, to get you the reader to understand what I am saying, where I am coming from....so let me try again.

Remember this is about ME....

MY blog, so nothing I say here is suggested for anyone else...

but for me.

1. I was diagnosed with Candida

2. It was suggested I give up ALL sugars as Candida loves sugar

3. 10 days without sugar I was told my body is doing so well to continue for another 3 months

4. First month without fruit, and then to start adding one fruit a day ( Apples, Berries, Kiwi's )

I do have to say that this is fine for me, I do think when you are diagnosed with something and want it cleared you will do whatever it takes, so for someone like myself who could never go without fruit, I am saying, you can go without fruit when you HAVE to....when you don't have to its easy to say that you cant live without fruit...I have been there myself, so understand this...my point is only when one HAS to give something up for health reason's...YOU CAN.

Reading labels I think is good anyway....even if you are not looking for sugars added, but for all the other bad things put into our foods....

I then found after 10 days without sugar that my weight came down...so went back to do research on the effects of sugar on the body, read Tosca's book again with new founded eyes and have seen how bad SUGAR is for one...I'm not talking about fruit.....hidden sugars in so many foods...that is the area I am going to be looking into from now on.

I also mentioned that Europe launched the New Weight Watchers program a YEAR AGO and that I followed the program and gained...when I look at why I gained I see it was due to the sugar....

Yes, over eating on fruit and the hidden sugars in foods caused this. I loved melon and grapes and now see that those are filled with sugar and instead I should have eaten more apples, berries and kiwi's....I am not saying * Dont do WW * ~ I am a firm believer in the program, I lost all my weight following the WW program...but for me the new program meant I over ate on fruit cause it was free and gained...My thoughts were...* who gains weight eating fruit ?* but now I am more educated and know that it can happen...I still firmly believe in this program and if I had to do it again I would do it differently... I just wanted to warn other starting this program from my own experience ~ enjoy the fruit, but chose the fruit you eat wisely and don't over eat on them.

I do hope I have explained myself a little better this time...

I find it hard when I write an entry and then find the comments are more about you the reader than about me and what I am trying to say in my space. My intention is never to sway anyone from what program they are on, but just to share my journey and maybe somewhere you the reader can relate to my problems to your own journey and in a way I can be of some help...

I for example don't eat RED meat, have not for over 28 years...my choice, I will never suggest everyone else stop eating RED meat...this is where I am coming from when I write about my new journey giving up SUGARS.

Have an awesome Tuesday...