Welcome to week nineteen of our ongoing series about refined sugar & me in 2017! This week I’m holding steady at a total of 13 pounds down from when I first started avoiding most added sugars and processed foods at the end of December 2016. Today I’m actually weighing in heavier than I was earlier this week, though, and my theory on this boils down to:
SALT
Giving up (most) refined sugar for me has really felt like breaking an addiction — and of course, what is one thing people tend to do when breaking an addiction? Yup… they substitute one addictive substance for another. Whereas in the past I might have reached for a pint of ice cream as my comfort food, now I’m reaching for a bag of popcorn. (Food manufacturers know this, too, and often increase salt to balance out reductions in sugar and fat.)
Eating too much salt makes you retain water, and I can easily gain a couple of pounds overnight just by eating a lot of salty food on any given day. (Worst. Superpower. Ever.) And have you seen these recent articles on the ways in which salt may encourage us to overeat? Not just because tortilla chips are so good (so, so good…), but because increased salt might actually… make us hungrier. Oh super, something else to worry about. 🙂
It’s been a long and stressful week
See where the Notorious BKL scratched the table, lower left?
Grr — Must not stress eat over the bad, bad cats… 😉
And during a long and stressful week last week I’ve been telling myself to continue staying away from sugar… but reaching for the salsa. So my goal for this week is to be more aware of when I’m doing that… and to reach for an apple instead. Emotional eating makes me more likely to reach for the few processed foods I’m still eating (specifically: the salty ones) rather than for whole foods, and that’s where I’m falling down lately.
Do you guys do this kind of substituting as well? Give me some advice on yummy replacements for salty foods, please!
So, that’s me this week…
How are you doing on your own healthier eating plan so far — and what have you found that helps you stay on track?
Earlier installments in this series
Dip your toe in with these highlights:
- Week One: The Experiment Begins
- Week Three: By Any Other Name (+ a printable list of common names for sugar on ingredient lists)
- Week Ten: Emotional Eating
- Week Fifteen: A Little Light Reading
- Week Eighteen: Sugar Substitutes
And you can catch up on the whole Refined Sugar and Me series here.
peaches
Thursday 11th of May 2017
People might be interested in myfitnesspal, which is a website where you list how much exercise you have done for the day, and you also list what you have eaten, and it figures out how many calories you have burned off, and how many calories you have consumer, so you can figure out if you need to burn off more calories, or you need to eat less. It has the calorie count for many convenience foods such as lean cuisine and healthy choice. Yes tortilla chips have a lot of salt, but they also have a lot of calories and fat. I used to buy Guiltless Gourmet tortilla chips at Whole Foods, and loved them, but they were bought out by another company, and quit distribution to the Midwest. You can still order them through Amazon, but you have to buy a whole case. I especially enjoy their spicy black bean tortilla chips You can also make your own tortilla chips.
ellen
Tuesday 9th of May 2017
maybe a hot air popcorn popper would help. ou could make your own and season without using salt.
SmartShopper
Tuesday 9th of May 2017
Hi Rachel. I enjoy reading your journey of no refined sugar in your diet. I feel your pain of now trying to avoid salty snacks. I adore salty snacks such as popcorn, potato chips, tortilla chips and Fritos. However, I don't eat them. When I eat a snack, I have carrot chips (look liked ridged potato chips), baby carrots, celery, Paleo crackers (not made with grain or sugar--the brand is called Jilz that I bought at Mariano's), or kale chips. I did these items into spicy guacamole. The trick for me is the spicy guacamole. It can make any boring cracker or veggie come to life. It is delish! It is healthy. Bonus-bonus :-) I tried eating hummus, but it upsets my tummy. You may know this, but when you eat items such as bread, once it breaks down in your body, it is converted to sugar. So, you may be eating low sugar or no sugar bread, but it really does get converted to sugar. I'll keep cheering you on and looking forward to your next update on sugar.
Katie Marie
Monday 8th of May 2017
I like snap peas, tomatoes, celery and broccoli dipped in hummus :)
Mandy
Monday 8th of May 2017
I never was a big salt fan, but high blood pressure made me take a second look. Cheese and bread were the worst for me, so, I really backed off the bread and only eat a little cheese when I can't resist. Now, if I have a burger, it's open face. If I make it a cheeseburger, I don't use ketchup or mayo which are both loaded with salt. I have actually realized that cheese makes me hungry. I wonder now if it's the salt in it? If I have chips and salsa, I measure out the salsa and use no salt chips or make my own salsa and sprinkle on a little salt right before I eat it. It's amazing how many sweets contain huge amounts of salt, and most restaurants are over the top with the salt. Lemon & lime and vinegar really help a lot to perk up the flavor. I also make all of my salad dressing because the bottled stuff is too much for me. I can't give up anything I love, but, I've learned to look at what I eat with more care.