My Sugary Mistake
I wanted to touch on a topic that has become a bit of a thorn in my side.
Sugar.
Sugar has become an issue in my health journey and has hindered me from having the results I was hoping for when I came to my one year anniversary of living a Paleo lifestyle.
I have lost about 70lbs since switching to a Paleo Whole Food Diet. But I still have about 45lbs to go and was hoping to have already achieved that challenge. But sugar got in my way.
How? You are wondering? Well let me tell you. Sugar as you know comes in many forms. Cane sugar, coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup, nuts, root veg, grains etc.
Carbohydrates = sugar and weight gain from calories.
Sugar = inflammation in the body.
One of the things I do enjoy about the Paleo lifestyle is that there is still healthy Carbohydrates in the form of nuts, seeds and tubers. There is also small amounts of natural unrefined sugars from fruit, honey, maple syrup and coconut sugar that you can enjoy in moderation. IN MODERATION!
Here’s the problem. I started to crave
sweets. I started to crave “Normal Food” I started to “treat” myself too often with the rationalization that it was ok because it fell under the Paleo friendly is of ingredients.
Thats the issue right there “Paleo Friendly”
“Paleo Friendly”, “Paleo Dessert”, "Paleo” YOU have to educate yourself on what Paleo actually is and what it means to live a paleo lifestyle. I started to make the mistake of following anyone on social media who touted a “Paleo Lifestyle” but here is the thing. There are influencers out there (and I will not name anyone. I am not here to bash people’s choices) who will consistently try to gain followers by creating carb and sugar heavy recipes to keep people engaged.
I REPEAT. INFLUENCERS WHO TOUT SUGAR AS PALEO TO GAIN FOLLOWERS.
And I hopped right on board! Telling myself “Hey it’s ok! Its Paleo!” and again the ingredients were in line with a Paleo Diet. But the sugar (being natural or not) was just too high.
The rationalization “I can have this its Paleo!” means its not Paleo. Its PALEO FRIENDLY.
Sugar is in everything. Its in vegetables, Its in meat. But it's our jobs as consumers to manage that inflaming ingredient and keep it as natural as possible and in small amounts. The American Heart association recommends 6 teaspoons for the average female a day. Most of this can be found in your regular meals and your 8 servings of fruit a day.
So people! I’m not a monster! Do I sometimes have a treat?? HECK YES!! But I do try to use stevia instead of honey, coconut sugar or maple syrup. I almost always use honey, coconut sugar or maple syrup in place of cane sugar. but at the end of the day. I try very hard to limit my treats to a small amount of dark chocolate (a tablespoon) at the end of my day, a bit of dairy free icecream on the weekends, some fruit salad with a bit of coconut cream whip, or maybe an alcoholic beverage once a week or even less!
But you have to chose one! ONE!! and limit it.
Learn from my mistake! Leave the baking to special occasions! Paleo Friendly or not. And when you do have that piece of paleo cake…Enjoy it!