Mountains and Valleys

We were on level ground when we started this climb.

While I was on vacation, I accomplished two things.  I climbed a mountain and I only gained one pound in 16 days.  I would never have been able to climb that mountain carrying 25 extra pounds.  It was close with the extra weight I am still carrying, but I did it!  There was some cheating, but I also exercised a lot of control.   I have been on this plan for 7 months now so you would think it would be easy. It is easy when you start to slip to just slide. I did well on the trip, but the little cheating while I was gone has led to more cheating since I have been back. I have been lucky so far that the weight hasn't piled back own. I have got to go through the cleaning process again and cut out everything or else I will slowly but surely go back to old habits and the old weight. I also have more to lose so I can't stay in a maintaining mode. It is way too easy to fall back into old habits. 

Last night we had a dinner party for Kenny's work.  Instead of cooking healthy the way I would normally cook, it seemed I tried to see how bad I could be.  Of course, as hostess I managed to eat all the wrong things.  Why is that?  I have delicious recipes that I could have used and probably they would have loved them.  Now this morning, I feel bad.  Eating the wrong things make me feel physically bad.  It also plays with my emotions of why did I do that.  One thing you learn is you cannot go back and undo what you have already done and you cannot let it be a ticket to just give up.   One day or a couple of weeks is very small in comparison to a lifetime.  What matters is what I do now from this day forward.  I have chosen to eat healthy and that is what I will do.  Life it not without temptation and there will be mountains to climb.  I will climb them one day at a time and one day I will notice the breathing will be lighter and lighter.  :)

Food for Thought:  (I haven't had a diet soda in 7 months)

Drinking diet soda depletes the body’s calcium

The average American drinks 216 liters of soda each year.¹ Soda drinking has previously been associated with lower bone mineral density in women and children^2,3 and one study in particular has focused specifically on the effects of diet soda on bone health. The authors commented that this research was sparked by the observation that diet soda drinking behaviors are often different than regular soda drinking behaviors – women often use diet sodas in an effort to avoid weight gain – either to stave off hunge r between meals or as a replacement for calorie-containing beverages. Many women drink over 20 diet sodas per week.⁴ These researchers discovered that parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations rise strongly following diet soda consumption. PTH functions to increase blood calcium concentrations by stimulating bone breakdown, and as a result release calcium from bone.
In the study, women aged 18-40 were given 24 ounces of either diet cola or water on two consecutive days, and urinary calcium content was measured for three hours. Women who drank diet cola did indeed excrete more calcium in their urine compared to women who drank water. The authors concluded that this calcium loss may underlie the observed connection between soda drinking and low bone mineral density.⁵
Although caffeine is known to increase calcium excretion and promote bone loss⁶, caffeine is likely not the only bone-harming ingredient in sodas. A 2006 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found consistent associations between low bone mineral density and caffeinated and non-caffeinated cola (both regular and diet), but not other carbonated beverages.⁷ One major difference between the two is the phosphoric acid in colas, absent from most other carbonated beverages.
In the Western diet, phosphorus is commonly consumed in excess – at about 3 times the recommended levels, whereas dietary calcium often low. Although phosphorus is an important component of bone mineral, a high dietary ratio of phosphorus to calcium can increase parathyroid hormone secretion, which is known to increase bone breakdown. Studies in which women were given increasing quantities of dietary phosphorus found increases in markers of bone breakdown and decreases in markers of bone formation.^8,9 Therefore it is likely that the phosphorus content of colas triggers calcium loss.

There is nothing healthy about diet soda. It is simply water with artificial sweeteners and other chemical additives, such as phosphoric acid. The safety of artificial sweeteners is questionable, and they provoke the release of insulin and other hormones that regulate blood glucose; their intense sweetness confuses the body, which naturally associates sweet taste with calories – over time, these mixed signals can lead to increased appetite and weight gain.¹⁰ Diet sodas don't just weaken our bones, they are linked to kidney dysfunction and promote obesity; furthermore, in a recent study, older adults who drank diet soda daily had a 43% increased risk of heart attack or stroke compared to those that never drank diet soda.¹¹

Click here to comment on this article at diseaseproof.com  (Taken from Dr. Fuhrman's newsletter.)

Recipe of the day:

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Cranberries Serves: 8 Preparation Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced 3/4 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup orange juice
Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Place sweet potatoes in a large baking dish. 3. Top with diced apples, cranberries, and raisins. 4. Pour orange juice over all. 5. Cover tightly with lid or foil. 6. Bake for 1 & 1/4 hours or until sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.