Whatcha Drinkin?

This may be old news to some. A few of months ago I ran across a statistic that approximately one-third of America’s sugar consumption comes from sweetened beverages. According to this document from the CDC about one-third of our sugar comes from sodas and about another 10% comes from sweetened fruit juices (not 100% juice). After I let this statistic sink in, I realized that this was probably true in my case. These numbers are based on a study done almost 15 years ago, from 1994-1996. I would guess the numbers are much higher now, wouldn’t you?

Before we really started watching what we eat and drink, I was consuming about one can of soda every other day. There are about 41 grams of sugar in one 12 ounce can of Cherry Pepsi. Daily I drank at least two enormous cups of coffee along with 3 or 4 tablespoons of my favorite sweetened creamer in each cup. A serving is 1 tablespoon, by the way. So that adds up to about 48 grams of sugar in my coffee. There was also a good chance I might drink a glass of juice or some good old southern sweet tea. But why even bother adding any of that in. I was already consuming about 65 to 70 grams of sugar with my coffee and soda and was way over my daily recommendation. The recommended sugar intake for adult women is 5 teaspoons (20 grams) per day, for adult men, it’s 9 teaspoons (36 grams) daily, and for children, it’s 3 teaspoons (12 grams) a day. I was drinking more than 3 to 4 times the amount of sugar I should have been consuming for the entire day!! I was probably eating at least the same amount in processed foods, if not more.

So after hearing this statistic, I decided to stop drinking sugar. Now I drink an average sized cup of coffee with a couple tablespoons of skim or 2% milk only. No sugar. I usually drink 2 to 3 cups of unsweetened green tea. Maybe a glass or two of water, and a glass of wine with or after dinner. We rarely eat out anymore, but when we do, I usually drink unsweetened tea with extra lemons. (If you live in the south, you really have to emphasize the ‘un’ when you’re ordering. And don’t be surprised if they think you’re a tourist or an alien or bring you sweet tea instead.) A side benefit of cutting out this sugar was that, pretty quickly actually, it became much easier to say no to other sweet treats. I am proud to say that I have overcome my sugar addiction and no longer have a sweet tooth! Now if I could just do this with sodium. (I’ve been working on this one for awhile and I’m finding it to be much harder to kick. Suggestions are welcome!!)

There are a slew of reasons I drink green tea, coffee and wine each day. First of all, drinking water all day is just plain boring! Especially when you’re trying to cut down on snacking. Sometimes I’ll have a hot cup of green tea, also with some milk, when I get the munchies. That way, not only am I avoiding the calories, but green tea has been shown to help with weigh loss. These drinks are all high in antioxidants and have way too many health benefits to list here. And they are so comforting to me. Maybe it’s just the relaxation induced by sipping a nice glass of red wine or a warm cup of tea or coffee. Or, maybe it’s knowing that the cup is filled with dozens of health benefits and that there isn’t one thing in there to feel guilty about.

Hello world!

I’m just a mom trying to lead my family through a healthy lifestyle. It’s a daily struggle and sometimes it’s nice to get my thoughts out.

About six months ago the family starting living a healthier lifestyle. We cut back on processed foods laden with high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, artificial and modified ingredients, and opted for healthier whole foods. We try to buy local and organic when reasonably possible. We don’t eat out much anymore. Sounds simple, right? I wish it was. There’s so much information out there and it’s difficult and time-consuming to sift through.

I thought that table sugar was a good alternative to high fructose corn syrup. I was on the ‘hfcs is evil’ band wagon (shame on me). Then last week I found this video and learned otherwise. One of the comments under the video said something about how choosing between hfcs and refined table sugar is like choosing between crack and cocaine. Now I’ve never used crack or cocaine, but I totally get that analogy. So now I’ve modified my view of it. I still avoid hfcs like the plague. I mean it’s in almost everything these days. It’s the cheapest and most widely used sweetener in the food industry. Just by avoiding it alone we’ve really cut our sugar (and processed food) consumption dramatically.

It costs too much and it takes so much time to eat healthy!

The two most common arguments for not eating healthy are (1) it costs too much, and (2) it takes too much time. The high cost is the easiest concern to lay to rest. Everyone has heard that you either pay now or pay later in health care. True. But we’ve saved money in health care already. I have never felt so good and I haven’t been sick since we started this journey. I also feel more focused and content than ever. Another way to save is by cutting portion sizes, especially in the expensive meat department. I knew our portion sizes were out of control, but I didn’t realized how much until I started counting calories. Oh and go back to your roots and be a hunter-gatherer. Hunt for good deals even if you have to gather them from a few different places.

The other less obvious, but true fact about the costs is that processed food costs more. Really! Yes, I know I can get a box of something resembling a snack (through the filter of my deluded mind) for under a dollar. I could also get a frozen prepared “meal” for a buck if I combine a coupon with a sale. I was an avid coupon-er. Sometimes they even pay you to eat it (creepy). What are we really buying? Well, mostly fillers that will only feed an addiction to junk food. “Bet you can’t eat just one!” Ch-ching! And I bet you’ll be hungry again soon. The truth is, by weight, whole food costs less than processed food and is more filling. Advertisements show healthy happy people consuming their products, but who really feels happy and healthy after eating a value meal chased down with a giant soda. Oh and the diet soda. There’s no sugar in it, but there’s a lot of salt. So you’ll still be thirsty and have nothing to show for it. No nutritious value and you’re still feeding the addiction to sweeteners.

Trying to convince someone that’s it worth the extra time is a little harder. It is more time consuming. But it is worth it. Change is hard. Once it’s second nature, it won’t take as long. You’ll figure out ways to save time. It also helps to change your view about the additional time it takes. I could have just poured four bowls of cereal this morning. Then I could have quickly eaten mine and headed upstairs to work, all within about fifteen minutes. Inevitably one of my kids would run up to tell me that they were still hungry and thus, start my hectic day. Then I would have spend the next couple of hours trying get my sluggish brain going while intermittently being interrupted by my unhappy, unsatisfied children who are starved for my attention (and no doubt, food itself). Instead, I spent an hour making and then eating breakfast with the girls. We ate French toast made with whole grain bread and small amount of pure maple syrup, cantaloupe and unsweetened coffee for me. The girls drank packaged lemonade or hot cocoa because we were out of milk and I try not to be a stickler about everything they consume all the time. Can you hear the birds chirping and see me dancing happily around the kitchen while serving my perfectly happy children a perfectly healthy breakfast as beams of sunlight and fresh air pour through the open windows? Well, not quite, but I did stop to take a picture of London happily eating the nutritious meal. We not only satisfied our hunger, but we were satisfied emotionally. You just can’t get that kind of satisfaction from a bowl of cereal. So they didn’t miss me much when I came upstairs to write this and I didn’t feel guilty about not spending more time with them.

London enjoying her French toast.

I have also come to realize that the extra time spent on preparing these meals got me out of an unproductive sedentary life style I’d been in. My small garden takes time, but it also provides exercise, as does running around to collect all this wonderful food. Even the small amount of energy that it takes to prepare meals is better for me than sitting in front of the t.v. or computer.

Another thought just occurred to me. If this lifestyle was more time consuming and costly, then shouldn’t we be suffering financially by now? We’re not. We’re actually in better shape then we were six months ago. Brian is getting a promotion and I’m putting a few more hours in at work each week. But how is this possible if I’m spending so much time gathering and preparing all of this food? I think our healthy lifestyle choices have a lot to do with this. As I said, we’re feeling better, looking better and performing better than we were before.

My unsolicited advice is to start small. Throw away anything that you want to eliminate from your diet. If you just don’t want to waste that jar of peanut butter, use it. When it’s gone, replace it with a healthier alternative that fits your food philosophy. Continue to do that until all the products in your house fit your philosophy. We are getting there, but still have a lot of work to do.