Like most people I usually overindulge over the holidays (beginning with Halloween and going through New Year’s) then make my resolutions to be healthier, lose weight, eat better, and exercise more. But this year I’ve decided to get a head start and begin in December. Sometimes the “wake up call” for a new direction comes when we least expect it.
Let me say at the outset that I consider myself a pretty healthy guy. I’m not a “health-nut,” but I’m a leader in the “men’s health movement” and I try and practice what I preach. I’m usually ahead of my doctor in finding early warning signs of problems and correcting them before they cause any damage. But I was blindsided by my recent lab results:
“Of most concern,” my doctor wrote, “is that your hemoglobin A1c which is a long term marker for elevated blood sugars indicates that you are early prediabetic.” Me, prediabetic, how could that be? I don’t eat that much sugar. Well, the more I looked into what I actually eat, the more I had to conclude that “I probably eat more sugar than I think I do.”
I stay away from putting sugar in my tea, don’t drink soft drinks or other sugary beverages, and I don’t eat much candy. I know I have to watch out for baked goods, which I love and are high in sugar and fat. But I often forget that sugar is hidden in many of our common foods where we least expect them, including the following:
- Salad dressing
- Catsup and barbeque sauce
- Soups and sauces
- Breakfast cereal
- Chinese food (think, sweet and sour anything, Yum!)
- Dried fruit (lots of natural sugar, but often more is added)
- Yogurt (Yeah, I love that blueberry yogurt)
- Bread (bread? Many supermarket and restaurant sandwiches have added sugar to sweeten the bitter taste and research has shown that in some brands, a slice of white or whole wheat bread can contain up to half a teaspoon of sugar.)
- Cocktails (Anything with an umbrella in it.)
What’s so bad about sugar? According to Seth Martin, M.D., a cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, “Too much sugar can disrupt metabolism and fuel maladies ranging from heart disease to cancer.” Dr. Martin also warns about the connection between diabetes and heart disease. “When it comes to heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure have claimed much of the public attention, but sugar is, without doubt, a central character in fueling cardiovascular damage. In fact, two out of three heart attack patients in the United States have either diabetes or prediabetes.”
That got my attention and when my colleague Barry Friedman told me about his program, “30 Days Sugar Free,” I asked him to tell me more. I knew Barry as a successful business man and world-class entertainer. “I could easily have been voted ‘Least Likely Person to Ever Go Off Sugar for a Single Day’ before this whole crazy idea came to me on Feb 28th, 2012,” says Barry. He tried it. It worked. He wrote a book: I Love Me More Than Sugar: The Why and How of 30 Days Sugar Free and he developed the one month program that I’m excited to be starting.
When I signed up I got a message from Barry and his staff that resonated for me:
Take Control of Something That’s Been Making You Sick and Tired Your Entire Life
“Achy joints. Afternoon crash. High blood pressure. Over weight or obese. Skin problems. Anxieties. Taxed immune system. Rotting teeth. Insatiable hunger. Insulin resistance. Heart disease. Gout.
This is a small list of the ways human beings pay a high price for their addiction to processed sugar.
You’re here because you are considering another way of being in the world.
Welcome… we’ve been waiting.”
I’m ready to begin. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Drop me a note if you have questions or suggestions. If you’d like to learn more about my health-promoting activities stay tuned to this blog and join me on Twitter @MenAliveNow
So, I began my first day. Good support and a great meditation to relax and get clear about why I’m doing this (for me health, would like to lose those 10-15 pounds that keep coming back on my belly), change my diet for the better, take on a challenge that will be fun, and encourage others to make a commitment to their own health.
I started the program in July and can’t believe the change for me. Barry’s program is great. It’s crazy to see where sugar is “hidden”!
Erin, Thanks. I’m already learning a lot from the program and its a good focus for change for good.
It’s amazing how much sugar is in breads/grains. Wheat / grain products have a higher glycemic index than sugar. Ask any T2 diabetic when eating potatoes, rice, wheat, oats, corn, etc. Bloods sugar raises 100 – 150 points. So lowering your carbs are most important, as well.
What about substitute sugars? I’ve read they are not a whole lot better than real sugar.
Yeah, Jenny, I’m staying away from anything I think has added sugar of any kind, including the artificial ones. Enjoying eating foods with natural sugars in fruit, vegetable, and whole grains.
I’ve lost 62 pounds in 18 months under a doctor’s guidance. The regiment called for 800 calories daily in the form of doctor supplied shakes and candy bars but no surgery. I was weighed weekly and the doc knew for certain whether I cheated, so I didn’t too much and the weight came off. This was brutal deprivation. I am now on the maintenance part of my new regiment and my weight varies within 5 pounds of my lowest weight. I found that total elimination of sugars equals deprivation and the mind and body won’t tolerate it. My formula is to substitute the fake sugars wherever possible for real.sugar, since everything is about calories in minus calories spent. Also required, an increase in weight resistence exercises, which reduce body fat, build muscles and strengthen the bones. I control the processed and most complex carbs also. My proteins are consumed by the size of a portion that fits my palm. Finally, I eat no proteins or fats after 8 in the evening and light carbs when desired. It has been working, going on.the sixth year.
Have read of a book called “That Sugar Book” written by an Australian on an experiment he did with himself on sugar intake. Average Australian takes 30 teaspoons of sugar a day in their total diet.
BRAVO! Mr. Diamond.
IMO, if the wide ramifications could be measured, this might just be the most impactful change toward quickening and truly Nourishing the transition into Alive Men(humans) that we could make.
Bravo Jed for sharing this during the sugary season (not that sugar isn’t a “cheap drug” year round)!! 🙂 As a Wellness Coach I ask my clients what their daily diet is like. It is amazing how many drink soda pop and/or coffee daily. I challenge them to switch these drinks with water or to pick a herbal tea flavour that they like. After 30 days I ask them how they are doing. It is amazing how many who suffer from diabetes have noticed that their blood sugar levels are more balanced or that their energy is more stabilized. There are naturally occurring sugars that we need to be aware of too – including: fruit sugars, honey, and maple syrup. No doubt these are better quality sugars, especially if they are local and chem free! I love to utilize the word, BALANCE as much as possible. If a person can have a balanced diet between veggies, fruits, and naturally raised meat (if they consume), and if they are drawn to sugar, to eat it in moderation, that would be best.
Blessings,
Grant
PS All the best of the season to you and yours!! AHO Bro!! 🙂
We (my husband and I) started a low-sugar diet about twenty years ago, prompted by a program called “Sugar Busters”. It was very beneficial in helping us to regain and maintain dietary health. While I can’t honestly say that today we do not use sugar in our cooking, we have consistently avoided processed foods because of the often-added ‘extra’ ingredient, sugar. This also has lowered the salt intake in our diet. So your new program will not only reduce sugar but salt from your diet most likely. We love eating fresh, as most people do after they have been eating that way after a way. For most of us, eating processed foods and cooking with sugar is nothing more than habit. And habits can be changed.
Refined Sugars are one of the worst things we eat, and we eat a lot. Part of the reason is because we’re told to avoid fats, which are needed for food to taste rich and good. Fats are extremely beneficial, however: in addition to being needed for some nutrient absorption, most protiens aren’t ‘complete’ protines without adding a fat (yay!) or a carb (aka sugar!). As long as people avoid eating fats, they’re going to have a hard time feeling full and often use sugar and carbs (bread and rice) to try to make up for the lack of taste and the constant hunger.
Don’t avoid fats, of any kind, for ‘health’ reasons. Full fat yogurt, full fat milk, full fat chicken skin, full fat salad dressings — these are all healthy for you. Fat is healthy. Sugar and carbs are not (but I still eat some because I’m human!).
Eat Fats: follow this and life is a lot tastier and healthier.
Friends, Thanks for your comments and support. Still going strong on day 14. Hopefully this will re-balance my system in a positive way and set me on a new, healthy course, for the rest of my life.