Energise Blog: Natural Health & Alkaline Diet

Unbelievable!

I got back from the Tony Robbins Date with Destiny event on the Gold Coast yesterday morning and I am still totally buzzing. The shift that has happened in my body and my heart is truly mind blowing and Tony was right - the reason I THOUGHT I was going to this event was soooo wide of the mark!

For those of you who have no idea of what Date with Destiny is - read this and watch the video.

I have learned so much about myself. There were just so many moments of absolute clarity. Even in areas I did not expect at all.

I will never forget the rush when things suddenly clicked into place. It all just suddenly made sense and I realised how much everything was linked. My psychology and physiology are already completely different and you can’t half notice! People are reacting so differently to me in so many ways. I was a nice guy before but now people just seem to want to stop and talk and connect with me like never before. Ha ha ha, I’m ranting on a bit and might seem a bit ‘loved up’ by the whole thing (and am still very sleep deprived - but hey, who needs sleep) but it is true.

One of the most amazing things was that I was lucky enough to be there with my bro and we have literally spent the last 48 hours connecting and bonding and, man, I’ve never felt so close to him. The difference in our relationship is already obvious. And after spending so much time since Friday night talking to him about the event (we barely actually saw each other all week because we had the best buddies ever!) it is insane how much we are the same and had been conditioned into our old values and rules by strikingly similar experiences and fears - and the more we share the more unreal it becomes. We have literally been following the same patterns in all areas of our lives. Our fears and beliefs have been identical. It is freaky stuff!

I am going to share quite a bit about the event over the next few weeks and am happy to share my experiences and help you to try and go through some of the amazing exercises we covered at the event, but I really urge you to go. I don’t make any money or get any financial gain from you going so take this as a message from my heart - GO. It is on twice a year, once in the states and once on the Gold Coast in Australia. If you have ever been to UPW you will know what a change Tony Robbins can make, but DWD makes UPW seem like play school. It really does.

I was one of those people whose life was ‘good’, ‘easy’, ‘comfortable’ and I didn’t realise how much pain this was actually causing. But seriously, life will never be the same again!

THANK YOU TONY & JOE!

Hey all

Just a quick update! I know I have not posted on my book challenge yet, but fear not I am onto book 3! The first two (4 Hour Work Week & The Prince) were amazing. Especially the 4 Hour Work Week - totally life changing, and I will post asap. I’m now onto Freakonomics. Also brilliant so far!

So, there will be limited posting again for the next week as Callum and I are off to Date with Destiny on the Gold Coast in Australia! For those that do not know - DWD is a 6 day Tony Robbins extravaganza, almost like a UPW x2!

So Callum is flying somewhere over Asia right now. Quite a mission for him. Much less so for me as I only live in Sydney and it is a short 1.5 hour hop up to Queensland!

But after the event, expect posting galore as we both put into practice what we have learned, discovered and enjoyed from the event! I honestly cannot wait to go - it is the perfect time for both of us not only professionally but personally too.

Hello there!

I love reading because I love learning and developing. However, I still find myself going through phases when I kind of stop reading - for weeks on end! So I am hereby challenging myself to read 26 books over the next 52 weeks.

I have had a long think about the contradiction of this situation - I love learning, reading is a great way to learn and it gives me such a great feeling of satisfaction - so how come I can go through long periods without picking up a book? I think the answer is twofold:

1. I haven’t generally had have set reading times (i.e. before bed, on the way to work etc), and for me personally, until something is habitual I have to schedule it in. So now that I get a bus into the city most days a week, I am going to switch the iPod off and get the book out.
2. I read FAR too much non-fiction. In fact I read marketing, business and self-dev books almost exclusively for the last few years (with the very rare exception). I need to vary it up a bit, give myself a break and throw in some fiction and some other types of non-fiction (I loved studying political history and philosophy at uni, so I want to learn some more of that stuff).

So, every two weeks I’m going to have finished a book and I’ll write a review here. You might not really care that much(!) but it is my way of having accountability. And as we all know, it is the great way to stick to a goal.

So to put it formally:

For the next 52 weeks (until March 9, 2009) I plan to read a new book every 2 weeks, posting the review here on the Monday

So here are some of the books already on my list:

Non-Fiction

The 4-Hour Work Week (up first, see pic for proof!)
The Long Tail
The Game
The Prince
Leviathan
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis
Meatball Sundae & The Dip
1914-1918: The History of the First World War
Call to Action
Brilliant Presentation

Fiction

Don’t Cry for Me Aberwystwyth
Running with Scissors

Hmmm, a bit short on the fiction side so if anyone has any suggestions (or non-fiction, I’m far from 26 books!). As a guide I have loved all of Irvine Welsh’s, Mark Haddon and Malcolm Pryce. Help!

There, that’s it. Its done and I’m ready to go!

It feels good.

Hi all.

Just a quick post to let you know that fighting the spam attack on the forum is top of the agenda at the moment. It has become increasingly time consuming, demoralising and frustrating but we are determined to beat it!

I can only apologise for some of the content that has appeared over the past little while and fully appreciate that many of you have young families and do not want to worry about the content that could be seen on a normally trustworthy website.

For now, while we search for a permanent solution - we are going to have to do a LOT by hand. So if anyone out there has any suggestions then please do let us know.

For the record we have tried:

- many different sign up scripts
- different captcha options
- email verification

If you can help us - then raise your hand!

Thanks again for your patience.

Tottenham Hotspur are probably the most well-known ’sleeping giant’ in world football. Always the underachievers, this team has ‘turned the corner’ more times than any other. No other team in sporting history has felt so comfortable in being mid-table. Whenever there has been a glimpse of promise, things have never quite worked out. (non-sports fans, stay with me!)

Just recently, the team belied all expectation and finished 5th in the league for two consecutive years. Experts everywhere tipped them to be the team to break the ‘Big Four’ clubs who dominate English football. But then what happened? Ten games into the new season and the team were in the bottom three.

Time for change.

The manager left, a new manager, Juande Ramos, came in and the team suddenly looked rejuvenated. Only losing four in their last 24 games, things are on the up. Now sitting back in the top half of the league, into the last 16 the UEFA cup and a League Cup final to look forward to on the weekend the team are unrecognisable. But what actually changed?

The team that runs out every weekend is almost identical to the one that sat in the relegation zone. The formation is the same. Everything looks the same, but something is different.

How has this team of underachievers suddenly become a team of winners?

The answer is…diet.

You might think - but they’re professional athletes! Surely they should be eating properly anyway? Apparently not. On his first day in charge, new fitness coach Marcos Alvarez noticed things were awry:

The truth is, the first buffet I saw I took photographs of because it was very interesting. Lots of sauces, a lot of cakes, chocolate muffins, a box full of sweets. So we tried to put things right.

The squad were 100kg overweight.

When these changes were first introduced Michael Dawson, an England Under 21 international, missed two games from detox headaches! Tom Huddlestone, another England U21 player had been out of form and out of the team all season and admitted it was because he couldn’t last for the full 90 minutes of a game - he has played nearly every game since.

Overall the squad has lost half of that extra weight, and there is still some room to go. Since those changes started come into effect:

They have now lost between 40 and 50 kilos. Now getting the rest off is the most difficult part - but we have also turned a lot of fat into muscle. At the start, the players complained as we were taking away the things they liked. But gradually they have understood that we have done it so they can improve. And as the results have improved they have realised that it is necessary. They have all lost weight — some drastically. But they have seen how performances have improved and the team has moved up the league and they have accepted it.

The man behind the diet, Antonio Escribano has similarly transformed Spanish sides Sevilla, Xerez, Murcia and Deportivo La Coruna, as well as bullfighters, models, dancers, marathon, triathletes and many other sporting stars.

Is it the foreign influence? Possibly, but closer to home we know that clubs such as Bolton Wanderers have recruited the likes of Phil Richards, who is a fan of the alkaline approach to health - green, fresh, raw, healthy, energising foods and drinks. Phil also works with the likes of Amir Khan, professional rugby and cricket players and olympic athletes - so we know the trend is spreading.

Even the Independent ran an article highlighting the difference between now and then, highlighting one of the modern game’s true revolutionaries, Arsene Wenger, as one of the first to bring his team into line (and look at the difference he made there).

Now, it’s not always called alkalising, but the principles are there. A quick scan of the new Tottenham diet reveals that excessive meats, cooked oils, condiments, sweets, sugar, fizzy drinks etc have all been cut out and have been replaced by green foods and wholesome meals. The players are even given fresh juice at half-time.

The alkaline/acid balance approach to health has always struggled to get mainstream attention. But it is starting to be taken seriously. Gone are the days when footballers finish the match with a can of beer and a fish and chip supper. They are now super-athletes. The amount of money that is poured into, and generated by, football means that there are HUGE expectations on these players to deliver consistently high results. The professional game has moved on - and every team is seeking that little difference that sets them apart from their rivals.

In this intensely competitive environment, could it be that the alkaline diet is giving them that edge?

The Energise blog is back in business.

We’ve had one hell of a busy ride over the last six months and we’re expanding quicker than ever. As such a few things took a bit of a back seat and the blog was sadly one of them. I guess we’re still coming to terms with everything because we are still a relatively new, small business who is finding it’s feet. Now that we’ve got the management of the business coping with our new found success we have put the extra resources and processes in place to allow me to continue blogging! Hooray! It really is probably the part of this job that I enjoy the most, so I am glad to be back onto it!

So what have we got coming up? Well, there are lots and lots of exciting projects and things to look forward to! Here are just a few of them (I will be expanding on each a little more over the next few days).

Firstly, we are working closely with Kate A’Vard, who is a trained (by Dr Young) live blood analyst. Kate and Energise are running an ongoing detox and cleanse plan to help you get your health and energy up to the next level and have you feeling better than ever. More information coming soon! (…and, pssst, it’s free!)

Unleash the Power Within is just around the corner AGAIN! It surprises me how quickly this comes around every time! You’d think I would have learned by now. Anyway, as ever we have got some of the most kick-ass seats in the arena, including FRONT ROW, 4th row, Ruby (9th-17th rows) and Emerald (40th row onwards). Click here for more info (psst, all tickets come with the Tony Robbins Personal Coaching Collection FREE!)

Dr Young is coming to the UK! We are really pleased to be a part of this and are offering a range of tickets for this too (inc. front row). He will be going through the alkaline diet in depth and will be doing some live blood analysis on stage too!

…and for a short time we are able to offer 30% off Tony Robbins Pure Energy Greens – meaning that a 6 week supply that was normally £69.99 is now £49.99. Good stuff.

Anyway, the blog is about ready to ramp up again as we move away from winter and into spring so keep your eyes peeled for a raft of interesting articles, recipes, how-to’s and discussion!

I know this has been about for a while (I think it tipped after Beyonce’s Dreamgirls publicity) but it is really starting to pop up everywhere in mainstream Australia now, and I’m sure it is in the UK too - but I really cannot understand the logic behind the lemon detox diet (Master Cleanse).

I can see how people are attracted to it - lots of celebs and celeb magazines banging on about losing weight but in reality, have any actual, unbiased, uninvolved nutritionists come out and said that this is a good idea? I would doubt it.

My principle concern is this: where is the nutrition?

I’ve spoken about this in my post on lemon water and I need to make this distinction clear: lemon water (thats just water with lemon) in the morning, or as a refreshing drink in the afternoon is great, cleansing and alkalising. Sustaining your entire body 24/7 on just lemon, water, sugar and pepper is madness!

I also advocate cleansing for 3-7 day periods, but this cleanse involves flooding your body with raw, live, fresh vegetables, eating 6 times a day and having as much food as you need. Not relying solely upon one drink. The alkaline clease actually gives your body MORE nutrients to work with (because cleansing is stressful for the body) not LESS.

I would absolutely question any diet that involves consuming only one thing - where are you going to get the range of vitamins, minerals and nutrients your body needs to sustain, detox and flush out the toxins - let alone just do the normal bodily processes.

A typical meal on an alkalising cleanse would involve a raw soup made from:

• avocado
• broccoli
• celery
• spinach
• capsicum/pepper
• cucumber
• garlic
• sping onions
• and any other greens you like

Compare that to a meal of water, lemon juice, syrup and cayenne pepper.

Even as a one off there is a clear winner - now compare that for every meal, of every day for 10 days!

Now I know this is a rant. And rightly so. The Lemon Detox is ludicrous.

And I haven’t even touched on the metabolism argument. By consuming nothing but lemon water and sugar for 10 days your metabolism is going to grind to a screeching halt, meaning that when you go back to eating normally again you WILL gain back the weight you have lost.

One thing the lemon detox does do is cut out the crap, but sadly it doesn’t replace it with anything. To have a healthy body and feel great you have to give it the resources it needs. And besides, even Beyonce doesn’t endorse it.

Interesting Reads on the Master Cleanse/Lemon Detox/Lemonaide Diet

Jim’s Diet Blog - the comments are particularly interesting

A real life account of the clease at Sarah Lane’s blog

Another reflection at day 10 by Bill

HumbleBeeHealth have a three point critique/discussion on the Master Cleanse, giving a bit of a balanced viewpoint to mine, but in some parts agreeing with mine too!

Hello - just a quick one - I just made myself a luuurvely evening green drink and sweet jesus is it GREEN! I’ve been packing boxes all evening so I deserved something that was going to make me feel good ‘n healthy! I like to have a juiced green drink at least once a day as I know then that no matter what else happens, I will have had at least my minimum veg servings for the day.

And when I’m talking green drinks, this is how leafy green I’m talkin’! I’ve set a standard here, the bar has been raised! So how green is your green drink?!

To make it this glass-melting-ly green I used:

Two big handfuls of spinach
3 sticks of celery
One little gem lettuce
Half a green pepper (capsicum)
Half a cucumber
A handful of alfalfa sprouts
And as a magic booster I always add some of this and this for SUPER alkalising!

If you’ve got a juicer and you’ve not tried a green drink before then definitely give it a whirl! See how healthy and alive you feel afterwards!!!

Just a quick post to highlight the excellent blackle.com. Blackle is Google blacked out. It is still all the functionality of google.com but black. Brilliant.

Apparently:

Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. “Image displayed is primarily a function of the user’s color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen.” Roberson et al, 2002

Black Google has the potential to save 750 megawatt hours per year by simply not being white! This is brilliant in it’s simplicity. OK so the energy saving might not be HUGE, but the effort to make this tiny change in your life is so small - and it will all add up.

So, change your search home to blackle.com

“Blackle.com - Saving energy one search at a time”.’

Hey all

Just three weeks to go until C2S! I can’t believe how quickly it has come around, although having said that, this year is flying by so quickly it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.

Anyway, for those that don’t know - City 2 Surf is Sydney’s (and possibly Australia’s) biggest fun run. Starting at College Street in the city and winding 14k through Kings Cross, up onto South Head Road, through Rose Bay and ending up at Bondi beach.

It’s certainly not the longest run I’ve done by a long stretch, but I think it’s the run I have most looked forward to. Partly because I’ve not done a huge amount of running lately so it gave me a reason to focus on hitting the roads again, but also because it is such an iconic Sydney run. There are going to be over 60k people running it and the weather should be glorious as we are just getting towards spring now.

It also houses the challenge of ‘Heartbreak Hill’ which I am particularly looking forward to. In preparation I’ve been training by including the hill on Bradley’s Head Road in Mosman which is a bit of a killer! I did it today and kept a good pace so I’ve got nowt to fear!

Well, anyway, I guess there is a point to this post - set yourself a challenge! I had really dropped off on my running until I gave myself the C2S challenge - and now I’ve really recaptured my motivation and am really loving getting out there and hitting the streets. Without something to look forward to it is actually pretty tough to keep up the motivation, as with many things in life, if you have not got a reason to drive on then you become slack. This is particularly true though with exercise, because there are so many excuses and ways to convince yourself to skip a session or start tomorrow.

So get yourself up, find a motivating goal and get moving!

If you’re doing C2S - good luck! Let me know what time you’re aiming for! If you’ve done it before let me know your tales of woe! I’m especially keen to hear how the hill was for you!

City 2 Surf Map
My run today

An article on bbc.co.uk this morning reports on a claim being made by researchers at Department of Public Health at Oxford University which states that 3,000 lives could be saved every year in the UK if VAT was added to fatty, sugary and salty foods.

They claim that by taxing these foods there would be less fatal heart attacks and strokes.

That’s good, right?

Well, in an idealistic world, yes I guess it is. But it raises the debate again on how much involvement the government should be playing in our day-to-day lives, particularly where health is concerned.

Should the government penalise unhealthy choices we make for ourselves? Is it not our responsibility to look after our own bodies?

I could see this being beneficial to the government as they GAIN money through increased tax AND healthier people (thus less pressure on the NHS) - whereas most other health focused initiatives would probably COST them money. But Tony Blair had already spoken against ‘fat tax’ in 2004 citing that it would be a step too far in the direction of a ‘nanny state’.

I personally feel that the time is still not right for this sort of guiding policy from the government. More should be done to educate I think, even at this stage of the obesity crisis. We are all responsible for ourselves and I still believe that increasing the tax on fatty foods would have little to no effect on their consumption. It would just mean people would pay more. If they couldn’t afford more - then it would open up a whole new market opportunity for food companies to provide even more budget (and therefore low quality) options for consumers.

What do you think? Could ‘fat tax’ work or should we just take more responsibility for ourselves?

Cut out sugar!

If you are ready to start alkalising then your first main aim should be to start cutting out the most acidifying foods, beverages and behaviours from your life. Alongside this you should also start to try and increase the amount of alkalising foods, beverages and activities. But, as I’ve always maintained - don’t necessarily try to do everything at once!

So where to start?

Personally, I think that cutting sugar from your life is the single most effective step you can take to revolutionising your health. To fully understand why, lets get back to some basics of alkalising.

The key to health is balance. Look around you now, wherever you are (if you’re on your own right now then think of five people you met today). The chances are at least 90% of these people are out of balance and are sufering the symptoms - overweight, underweight, prematurely aging, suffering from allergies, low energy & fatigue, stressed, depressed immune system with coughs, colds and splutters, unfit, sick and tired?

To be truly healthy and on top of our game we need balance. And guess what, sugar makes us wildly out of balance. If we remember back to the very basics of the alkaline balance approach to health, we know that the pH level of our internal fluids, particularly our blood, effects every cell in our bodies and to keep an optimal alkaline balance in our blood, it takes about 20 times as much alkaline to neutralise one part acid (hence most green drinks being concentrated at 20:1).

(I think it is important to point out at this stage that not everywhere in the body needs to be at pH 7.365. Blood and tissues, yes, but each area of the body has different acid/alkaline requirements. For instance the lower bowel should be slightly acidic, urine should be about neutral).

According to Dr. Young (alkaline diet pioneer and author of The pH Miracle):

‘Physiological disease is almost always the result of too much acid stressing the body’s pH balance, to the point where it provokes the body into producing symptoms of disease…All the body’s regulatory mechanisms (including breathing, circulation, digestion, and hormone production) work to balance the delicate internal acid/base balance. Our bodies cannot tolerate extended acid imbalances. In the early stages of the imbalance, the suptoms may not be very intense and include such things as skin eruptions, headaches, allergies, colds and flue and sinus problems. As things get further out of whack, more serious situations arise. Weakened organs and systems start to give way, resulting in dysfunctional thyriod glands, adrenals, liver and so on. If tissue pH deviates too far to the acid side, oxygen levels decrease and cellular metabolism will stop. In other words, cells die. You die.’

I know that was a long quote to pull from Dr Young, but it is a really powerful one to demonstrate the basic premise of this approach to health and vitality.

So how does the body deal with an onslaught of acid? It does whatever it can to maintain the alkaline balance where we need it. Just as our body does whatever it takes to maintain our body temperature at 37C/ 98.6F it will do whatever it takes to maintain our blood pH at 7.365. When we give our body too much acid to deal with, it will strip alkaline minerals from our tissues and bones to compensate. The most alkaline and called upon minerals in our body include sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium (so you can see how being over-acid can lead to calcium deficiency problems such as osteoporosis).

If we continue to bombard our body with more acids, then the next line of defence for the body is to neutralise what it can and then dump the rest into tissues for storage - putting the pressure on the lymphatic system to neutralise whatever it can. However, the lyphatic system has a very limited capability to neutralise acids and whatever is left over is then…….dumped back into the blood.

So a vicious cycle begins with more alkaline minerals being leached from our organs and tissues. This literally effects every single cell in our body and set the stage in which illness and disease thrives. In the beginning you will notice the symptoms of the body trying to get rid of as much acid as it can through whatever organ it can. For example, eliminating toxins through the skin results in acne, irritation, eczema, dry skin, rashes, headaches, cramps, soreness etc. Once all possibilities to remove acids have been exhausted chronic symptoms appear. If there is too much waste to handle then the acid wastes are dumped into our major organs such as the heart, lungs, liver etc. and in our fatty tissues such as the breasts, hips, thighs, stomach etc. (and I’m sure you know what the result of that is!). There is also another name given to the process of acid wastes breaking down and being deposited around the body…’the aging process’

And then it gets worse…yeast…candida…fungus!

An acidic environment is an environment in which candida absolutely thrives. Candida is actually the latin name for yeast, which is actually a type of fungus. And herein begins ANOTHER cycle of acidity as the more acidic - the more yeast - the more yeast the more acid. So while you might naturally only think of a couple of symptoms caused by yeast overgrowth, the truth of the matter is that with our typical Western diet, the majority of people have massive yeast overgrowth within our body and the result of this is disasterous. And it is not just candida, it is also mold, bacteria and viruses that are all thriving in an acid environment.
And worse still! ANOTHER CYCLE emerges, as the wastes produced by these microforms (mycotoxins and exotoxins) are even further damaging to our bodies. These toxins are produced by the fungus when it ferments on sugars (which we are getting to!), proteins and fats - the same three sources our body uses for energy.
By creating an acid environment within our body we are essentially giving these toxins and yeasts licence to run riot.

And the outcome of yeast/fungus overgrowth? Well you’ll probably be aware of a couple of common ones such as athletes foot, thrush - but what about:

• diabetes
• cancer
• atherosclerosis
• osteoporosis
• fatigue
• thyroid failure
• diarhea
• asthma
• PMS
• dizziness
• joint pain
• arthritis
• hay fever
• acne
• insomnia
• dry skin
• lack of sex drive
• depression
• bad breath
• lethargy
• headaches

The list could easily go on and on. Yeast overgrowth creates an environment in which these symptoms develop and thrive. It underpins a absolutely HUGE list of symptoms.

So you can see the problem here:

Overacidity and microform overgrowth are inextricably linked. Microforms are a major source of acid in the body. Acidification creates a comfy environment for microforms…This is what I call the cycle of imbalance

Which brings us on to…SUGAR!

So lets recap. To be truly healthy, we need to create an environment in which our body can thrive and easily maintain a pH balance in our blood, tissues and organs. By eating the typical Western diet we are actually putting an incredible amount of stress on our body by overconsuming sugar in the form of sweets, cakes, biscuits, cordials, fruit juices, alcohol, fizzy drinks, chocolate and putting sugar directly into our teas and coffees.

‘Sugar feeds microforms like petrol feeds a fire’

Microforms, yeasts and fungus adore sugar. Sugar is literally the perfect fuel for microform s, overgrowth of these utterly destructive acids that only serve to produce more acids and put more and more stress on your body. Sugar is literally the most destructive food you can consume.

And it is not just white sugar. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that there are ‘good’ sugars. All sugars are bad. And while it is true that the body obviously needs some sugar - we get more than enough from the sweeter vegetables such as carrots and beetroot.

Mainstream media is finally catching onto this fact. The number of times people have told me that sugar from fruit is good for you over the years is incredible. But look around now and you can see the evidence is more widespread now particularly here in Australia where nutritionists are now strongly recommending only having one glass of fruit juice per day (or not at all), insisting that you water down juice for kids, and instead of suggesting 5 pieces of vegetables OR fruit per day, they now recommend 5 serves of veg, and only 2 serves of fruit.

And some of you Tony Robbins fans might remember him teaching to eat only fruit til noon? He’s admitted that he was ‘dead wrong’ (I think the original suggestion was in Unlimited Power - he’s admitted he was wrong on Get the Edge and in his live shows.)

So all forms of sugar must be cut out, including - white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, syrup, sucrose, fructose, refined sugar, sweets, soft drinks, chocolate etc.)

The more sugar we consume, the faster the microforms will develop. And the more they develop the more they reproduce. And the more they reproduce the more acid we become. And the more acid we become the more microforms will produce…

So how can we stop this? Quite simply - cut off the supply. Stop consuming sugar, foods containing sugar and foods that break down into sugar.

Top 5 Tips for Beating the Craving

Be aware though, this isn’t easy. Sugar is a drug. When you stop consuming sugars, the microforms in your body will demand more, you will get cravings. You have to ignore them. Again, this is not easy. But when you get these sugar cravings give your body something different. Give it healthy, cleansing water, greens, salads, almonds, vegetables. Teach your body to switch back to healthy fats for energy, consume omega oils from flax, hemp or oily fish.

So here are my top 5 tips:

1. Drink something instead! It really works! Have a glass of lukewarm water, and perhaps squeeze a bit of lemon in for variety.
2. Try a chromium supplement - this is a great solution, but a temporary one! Chromium is a mineral that helps the body maintain normal blood sugar levels - so you don’t experience the big peaks and troughs and the cravings that go with it.
3. Eat some raw carrots and other slightly sweeter vegetables. This will definitely help as it gives your body more physical fuel from the sugar in the vegetable, but also the fibre in the veg helps to balance out blood sugar peaks.
4. Eat more fibre! High fibre snacks are excellent at regulating blood sugar levels
5. Finally, take it one meal at a time - start with breakfast and eliminate sugar from there. This could be tricky if you are used to breakfast choices such as toast with jam, fruit juice, sugary cereals, tea or coffee with sugar etc. But if you can nail this meal then you will be 9/10 of the way there because starting the day with a big sugar hit sends you on a spiral that is really difficult to control. If you can get breakfast sorted then all of the other meals will be really easy to de-sugar from then onwards!

Best of luck! If you have any questions just let me know below!

PS And if that wasn’t enough - here are 146 other reasons why sugar is ruining your health!

PPS a note about sweeteners…