Let's see how I cope with 6 Cadbury's cream eggs in the house! Yikes!

 
Me?  Great! I have been watching a lot of Youtube videos this week (whilst walking on the treadmill, killing two birds with one stone!)  As well as reading a lot on the subject, Tomas tells me I'm obsessed, I say "if I wanted to turn my back on fags, would you think I'm obsessed?" that silenced him!  Have a peek at the (short) video below!

I have been reading a lot into the following this week; It turns out that we can either be labelled as SUGAR BURNING MACHINES OR FAT BURNING MACHINES  the body uses two predominant types of fuel, fat and sugar. When we eat or drink sugar it raises our blood sugar,  and we release insulin to regulate that. The insulin over-regulates so we get low blood sugar. Then we get hungry again. When we eat fat it releases slowly and does very little to blood sugar levels, we feel more satisfied and stay on an even keel. That's not to say that eating fatty foods is the way and the light, they can be full of empty calories. 

If you keep eating sugar (this includes refined carbs!) ,  the body  has very little need to burn fat, it always has an instant supply of energy in the form of sugar. Moreover, it always has excess sugar, which it will turn to fat. So you will get fatter and you will get hungrier, especially for sugar.  So it dawned on me....oh my god, that means I'm exercising in the hope to remove my stubborn belly fat but as long as I'm eating sugar, my body won't burn the fat I have stored (on various parts of my body! ) It's like a queue in there! It'll burn sugar first, then carbs, then protein, then the fat you have stored in your body! It's just inspired me more to cut right back even more on sugar.  I'm not sweating like a mad person to burn a donought, !  Nothing tastes that bloody good!

Also, I look at it like this; Our body is a warehouse that "scans" food coming in.  It knows what to do with protein (muscle / tissue repair) it scans carbs (complex ones please!) and the body knows where they go (for energy) but then sugar comes in the warehouse, our body "scans" it, and it really doesn't know what the hell to do with it!  Why?  Cos we're not designed to eat sugar!  Also dopamine, the hormone that tells us we're hungry, switches off when we eat carbs, protein and fat, it "scans" and "registers" these foods, but sugar? No!  Dopamine isn't "switched off" when sugar comes in, so we just remain unsatisfied, (or, we feel full, but it's short lived thus, we crave more of the same)
 

Protein is the way to go!  (As well as complex carbs and healthy fats and of course fruit and veg,) protein takes twice as long to digest, so we feel fuller, and it doesn't have to be eggs or chicken!  There are many non animal proteins!  My favs? Porridge, Greek yoghurt and quinoa!






I have been working on the fittest me!  Uf!  there is sooooooo much conflicting information the net!  "long workouts are the best!"  " h.i.t.t is the best!" So, I'm doing both! Make sure I've got it covered!  So 3 days a week I take Amelia to school I walk with Sienna (for an hour, with a pedometer, get one!) and 3 days a week I do a VERY short but INTENSE h.i.i.t (15 or 20 minutes and I'm done) plus lifting weights....

A friend bought me back 6 Cadbury cream eggs from England, I ate one (I've had them two days) I usually would have scoffed the lot, but just knowing there are a whopping 26g of sugar in each one has held me back believe me! 

Till the next time!  Stay fit!  Fuel your body....90% of the time :-)

A tiny, tiny cheat!

Hello my friends! How are you all doing?  So, what have I been up to? Have I fallen of the wagon?  Have I caved in to the gripping claws of sugar....?

Hahahhaha, o.k, I'm being cocky and I thought the pic was hilarious!   Right, back to business!  I have been very good!  It's amazing how I used to drink 3 or 4 mugs of tea with a sachet of sugar in each one..I believe each sachet has 7g of sugar, plus my daily 'treat' ( I confess, sometimes it was 2 or 3 'treats' a day)  In fact,  a few weeks ago I thought to myself: "would it be ok to be extra good all week and have one day where i eat a cake for breakfast, another for lunch and another for dinner?"  or..."Can I eat a packet of chocolate digestives and only that in a day? One day a week?" I'm not making it up, these thoughts actually ran through my head! But I have turned a corner and this feeling of "Being good" is disappearing, I am missing the white crystal, less and less!

Today I went for a coffee, as usual I looked around eyeing up the 'treats' imagining what I would order.  My usual cranberry muffin looked at me with pain in it's eyes wondering why I wasn't buying her anymore.  But as tempted as I was, I didn't buy it, because I stopped and said "Mandy, if you eat it, you'll feel; bloated, sick and guilty, plus, the pleasure is over in about 3 minutes, STEP AWAY FROM THE MUFFIN NOW MISS MILLER" so, I stepped away and I confess, I bought a small madalena....oops!  But I didn't feel guilty and I actually enjoyed it!  Whereas, I was getting to the point with my cranberry muffin addiction where I hoovered it down and felt sick/guilty straight after....

It scares me a bit to think how ignorant I use to be!  Thinking back 10 years ago when I first moved to Spain!  It was hot and it was June so...I was thirsty....I used to drink litres of Fanta!  I remember very clearly reading the nutritional info and seeing "FAT....zero" so I honestly thought it had no calories and it used to quench my thirst so well! 

The same with alcohol...years ago I was so fixed on the fat content of everything I thought "what are the chances? booze is my best buddy AND it's fat free? no fu*king way, this is too good to be true"  I can also vividly see an 80 kilo Mandy Miller buying fruit by the bagful and eating it like there was no tomorrow thinking I was being good (for those of you who read my last post, I am against cutting OUT fruit, but eating 5 or 6 pieces a day was mad!)  Now when I see people drinking Coke and Fanta and hear them say they drink cans of it every day (and for breakfast!) , I shudder (I VERY rarely comment!)  I wonder if , if they knew that 39g of sugar (of the top of my head) is in a single can of  coke = (7 tsp) which is like about 6 sachets of sugar, how many would stop drinking it tomorrow? ( I fear very few...)   And don't get me started on Fanta!  Coke gets a bad rap....Fanta has more sugar, a whopping 42g!   I was out with a friend once was was slagging of Coke , saying her (very young) kids don't drink it....yet, they were drinking Fanta....(I very subtly pointed out that Fanta is no better) I'm glad to say, Amelia doesn't even know what Coke tastes like.

This week, I have been eating well...(when you're trying to eat the minimum amount of sugar, it's hard NOT to eat well)  A LOT of porridge! With a quarter of a banana and some nuts (wow Mandy, watch your nut intake, I keep going for a handful here and a handful there!)   and a dab of honey (yes, I know it's a sugar, but honey at least has SOME health properites to it, sugar has none!)

And, A LOT of protein, because I have been lifting a lot of weights and protein is needed for muscle recovery/repair, plus, it takes longer to digest so leaves you feeling fuller for longer.

I woke up on Tuesday at 05.50 to exercise (which freed up some time in my day)
 


I also ran on the treadmill for 40 minutes before the school run!  Hello?! (said in American accent) I felt so proud of myself! The aim is to do it again tomorrow! Today I walked for an hour with Sienna around Gelida which is so beautiful this time of year! How can you not feel fab walking surrounded by flowers and blossom trees everywhere!?


 

Hey!!!!  Word up mother fu**ers!  (said in American accent) hahhahhhahha, gotta laugh eh?!

So, it's Friday and what have I done....?

What does one mean by the above?  Well, I believe that if you keep things simple (in terms of your food choices)  you're more likely to succeed as well as know of by heart what calories you are consuming!  Here's an idea of what I usually eat....

• porridge for brekkie (as well as when I feel peckish pm)  I add quinoa, nuts, dried fruits, I blend bananas, porridge is my B.F.F!
• Greek yoghurt, usually with quinoa, nuts, dried fruit...protein fills me up!
• Tons of veg!
• Brown rice and lentils
• Tons of turkey, I spend a lot on turkey from the local butchers, but the quality is soooo good!
• eggs
• fish
• sneaky glasses of wine (I have cut down, I promise)
• an apple here and there
• I am trying sooooo hard to up my water intake!

This week I have not added sugar to ANYTHING!  I have been for coffee a couple of times with Amelia and she has eaten a pastry and a bite of that said pastry has satisfied me enough!

Amelia has been off school all week, it's been lovely having her home!  We negotiate; I play with you and take you to the park, you give me 22 minutes on the treadmill! 22 minutes I hear you say, what is she on about!?  Well, in the monthly magazine I subscribe to (Self, love it!) this month there were three 22 minute h.i.i.t workouts, so on Monday I gave one a go (they say you can choose two a week) so, after playing with Amelia , I told her I needed 22 minutes and left her watching Clan, I said to myself `I'll do 22 minutes, plue more running and stop at 40 minutes` hahhahahhaha yeh right!  After those 22 minutes I couldn't have done a second more, here's why;

• warm up 1 minute 30 seconds
• jog 9.0 km 1 minute (the fact that they say 'jog' at 9.00 should have been a warning!)
• sprint 14.4km (help!!)
•  (repeat the above x 7) (gulp)
• recover 30 seconds (thank f+ck)
• jog 9.0 km 30 seconds
• sprint 14.4 km 30 seconds (I repeat, help!)
• (repeat the above x 6) (double gulp!)
• cooldown 1 minute 

Let me tell you, I can't remember the last time a workout whipped my saggy butt so hard!  I LOVED it!!!   Today I did verion two which is much of the same and I confess, I just couldn't hit the 14.4 mark and did the sprint at 14.00....(see below! hahahha)

Also, I am proud to announce that after months of saying 'I must run outside' I finally made the most of the long days and went for a run...twice!  about 30 minutes each time! Feeling tres smug!

I feel great, but damn, didn't get in a single weight training session, impossible with Amelia off, we were having to much fun 'hanging' and besides, I'll get back on track with pumping iron next week.  How often to I get to hang with my best buddy!?

And remember.....

Mmmmmm, this giving up sugar thing isn't as easy as it sounds!

So, I have decided I want to give up sugar!? Why? I hear you (and so many others) ask?

The idea came to me when a friend mentioned a book she was reading called THE SWEET POISON QUIT PLAN, which argues that we should all quit sugar.  In it , the author says EAT ANYTHING YOU LIKE, AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T TASTE SWEET.  EAT IT WHENEVER YOU LIKE AND EAT AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE, JUST STOP WHEN YOU EAT FULL. SIMPLE. Mmmmmm I thought, that sounds simple, well yeh it is, but it certainly isn't easy!

My name is Mandy Miller and I am a sugar addict!  I love sugar!  I love sugary sweets! I love chocolate! I love, love cakes! I love, love, love biccies, I love going for a coffee and eyeing up the cakes, deciding what I'm going to 'reward' myself for! 

Up until about three weeks ago, I just couldn't resist going to the bakery by my house to buy myself a treat.....EVERY DAY!  I'd spend hours thinking about my 'treat', then do something really weird....I'd 'hoover' it down.....so quickly that I often had to ask myself  'did I eat my treat, or is the lady bringing it?' Then, I'd beat myself up for consuming 300 calories and not even enjoying it! 

Then I made a promise to myself,  get 'the treat' and eat it s-l-o-w-l-y and stop eating it when it isn't enjoyable.  A few times I did this and left half of 'the treat' behind because I honestly wasn't enjoying it, which begs the question: 'why do I do it?`

Why do I buy a packet of chocolate digestives (my weakness) and promise myself that I'll have a couple here and there only to find myself eating them all before the day ends cause I don't wanna wake up the next day with them in the house ( the last pack got covered in olive oil and chucked)  I had to face it, I was addicted to sugar! (see definition below)

So, admitting that I was (am) an addict, my friend reading the book (see below) , me trying to reach certain fitness goals, the fact that I'd love to work in the fitness industry and help others reach their goals, the fact that I am attending a course to study all about nutrition, the fact that I wanna maintain my weight, the fact that I'm sweet enough! all screamed one thing: MANDY MILLER, YOU GOTTA KICK THIS HABIT, YOU'RE NOT IN CONTROL, IT'S CONTROLLING YOU!

First, I stopped drinking tea (yeh, yeh, everyone says the same thing, carry on drinking tea, just cut out the sugar) but for me, tea is drunk with sugar! And that said cuppa is accompanied with cakes (and /or) biccies, so I had to cut the tea right!? So, tea got the chopping board.  My daily muffin/chocolate croissant/pretzel habit has gone (I 've had two in the last two weeks) and do you know what; I have to say.....I didn't even  enjoy it that much! Wow! who said that!? Now when I go with Amelia I have a coffee and I'm fine with that, ( I still look at the cakes and imagine what I would order)

Today I have had the following:

• Brekkie : porridge with nuts and a scrambled egg
• morning snack : Greek plain yoghurt with quinoa
• Lunch: a ton of veg, brown rice, lentils, diced red pepper and a turkey breast
• afternoon snack: more porridge with a chopped date
• dinner: salad and turkey breast
• glass of red 

 

• oh and I ......
• did a 22 minute h.i.i.t and went for a 30 minute run!  

So, how will I do on this jourey?  Keep posted to find out!