Fat loves stess and stress loves fat!

"Fight and flight" is an automatic response to danger and I know I wouldn't be here today, if I hadn't responded to that primal instinct a fair few times.

We can make our bodies feel like they are perpetually in fight and flight mode, when we allow 'bad' stress to become an everyday part of life.

I say 'allow' and 'bad' stress, because we choose by our responses to situations, to allow 'bad' stress to take over.  'Good' stress however, pushes us to evolve as individuals and progress in our lives. 

Exercise is a great example of a 'good' stressor. Moving and getting your heart rate up, if only a bit, releases chemicals to deal with this 'stress' which ultimately has the positive effects of greater fitness and stamina, reduced chronic health risks and a better state of mind.

Any health professional, who helps you manage 'bad' stressors and possibly associated anxiety or depression, will say their number one piece of advice... "get out, move and commune with nature".

Bruny Island Tasmania Australia

'Bad' stress - you know what I'm talking about, is the day after day, no end in sight type. You can't sleep, you make poor food choices, you're moody and generally don't feel sociable. 

If that wasn't enough - with 'bad' stress comes another, not so great thing, to rear it's cruel head... your FAT MAKER.

If you are having high GI, fast sugar foods, as a large part of your food everyday, your insulin levels will constantly go from high to low, just like a see-saw, up and down and up and down and so will your energy levels.
Add high levels of 'bad' stress for prolonged periods and in steps even more insulin, to help your fat-maker FATIFY you, even more.

Your body thinks it is under attack when there's 'bad' stress consistantly and wants to make sure you have plenty of energy reserves packed away for later. Your body is trying to ascertain if it's going in for the fight, or RUUUUUUN! Either way, it knows it needs energy stores to last the fight or the flight!

Managing the 'bad' stress in your life and changing to low GI slow sugar eating leads to you fighting your fatifier - for good, right there!

GI GiGi

How to start to replace the "bad" stressors with the "good"?

Here's some ideas:

1. If the way you think isn't working -  change it!

Isn't it your mind which is controlling the way you feel about the conditions outside of you?
You have to nurture your inner thoughts or conditions, to have an influence on the conditions on the outside.

No-one can make you feel a particular way, only you. There are a lot of things that people do, that you don't like but inside your head is THE ONLY place you can make a decision, to feel a particular way about it.

So, you have a choice. You can choose to feel differently, especially if it is having a negative impact on you or ACCEPT the feeling and move on, without blame (remember in this instance, you chose to accept it).
 

If you don't like something in your life and it causes you on-going stress:

1. Stop, look and listen - what is it that you don't like?
2. What would you like instead? We always know what we would like instead but focus on what we don't want - go figure? So, focus on what you do want, NOT the things you don't want.
3. What can you do to change it? The way you think about it? The way you behave or react to it? Simply, what are you going to do about it - what are the options?
4. Put your one of your options into action, whatever that is and test it, giving it time to take affect.
5. Evaluate - how's it going?

This process of assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating, will happen over and over and make you more aware of your feelings and choices. This will in turn, give you a greater sense of control and feel happier and less stressed.

Assess, plan, implement and evaluate

    2. Get some mindfulness in your life!
This is time for you. Something that gets you so focussed, you don't hear the "noise and chatter" in your head, that gets you all stressed out. This is the time when you shut off the world and find your quiet place, even just for 5 minutes. Here's some options:

Deep Breathing
Did you know that a simple routine of breathing: slowly in through your nose for the count of 6 and slowly out through your mouth for the count of 8, repeated 3 times, is irresistible to your calming hormones. Your body CAN NOT RESIST it's calming effect.
It's portable, it's helpful and calms the "fight or flight" you may feel in your day.

Yoga
The word "yoga" can have negative connotations. When I say "yoga", I don't mean twisting your legs behind your head or standing upside down. I tried various yoga classes because instinctively I know, the skills of conscious breathing and greater flexibility are going to be good for me. I always came away feeling a bit scared and down-hearted. Everyone there could hold poses for impossible lengths of time, as I rocked and shuddered and felt inadequate. As usual, I thought there had to be more than this to yoga, something flowing and quiet, that I could build on. I found Adrienne on YouTube and the rest is history. Try out this 5 minute beginners quick stress fix by Adrienne.

Meditation
This can seem as daunting as yoga but if you've identified that stress is a big factor in your life and you're serious about fighting your fatifier, then be kind to yourself and if not yoga as a de-stressor, then take time out to be quiet, in a place you feel secure and comfortable and just be.

Hypnosis
I'm talking about self hypnosis here, not having to go to a practitioner. Self hypnosis can help to quieten the busy mind and develop different thinking paths to support change. Hypnosis Network has a great range of free and low cost downloads you can listen to in your quiet time or when you go to bed, to still a busy mind.

Hanmer Springs, South Island NZ

    3. Stop "shoulding" on your self and do more of things you love, with those you love.

What do you love to do?
What makes you happy?
Why do we make the mundane more important than the joyous?

How about a swim or a float in the pool or ocean? A walk with your dog? Painting? Reading? Singing? Riding? Talking with family or friends? Playing with your babies? Cooking? Yoga? Pilates? Alone time? Dancing? ANYTHING that makes your heart sing - you know, that feeling so joyous, your breath is taken away and you well up with the amazement of it. You just can't resist laughing and smiling. That's what I'm talking about.
The time you have with those you love is precious and finite - use it well and with joy, as often as possible.
Relaxing, letting go of the serious and getting a good dose of "a little of what you fancy, does you good".

Shotover Queenstown NZ

        

        4. Move

Get a dog and go for walks. Mow the lawn. Swim. Run. Skip. Clean. Vacuum. Garden.

Move more from your desk at work - get an app to remind you to take breaks from sitting

Get a pedometer or download an app on your phone, to count your steps and challenge yourself to up the steps you take, everyday.

Any movement is good movement, that's what we're designed for, like any other machine.

 

Mowing at Cape Bruny Tasmania Australia

 

 

Want to know more about the elements of  Living and loving the Low GI Slow Sugar Life?

My book:

Coming any day/ hour now, with my website too...keep your ears and eyes open for this EXCITING event...

 

 

Don't deny... low GI and slow sugar'fy



   

                                                   

 

 

 



As sweet as sugar...

I receive an email every month from our local library letting me in on what's coming up. Part of that, alerts me to events they host with different members of the community, who share their time and knowledge for free.

I went to an info session about business on-line.

In the interesting 10% I retained, these words of wisdom struck me and stuck with me, from Elizabeth Gilbert,

"Never under-estimate the value of a part-time job".

There is an interesting name for those of us that work during the day and pursue our entrepreneurial instincts at night - slashies!

I work my part-time job, as a nurse, as a necessity. Like us all, there are bills to pay, we want food on the table and money for fun. Over and above this, I have a BIG desire to follow what makes my heart pound passionately, not just follow a bill-paying jaunt.

Enter - GI GiGi - love of my work life, passion of my working hours and controller of my creative thoughts. P.S. Mr. GiGi you do have all the rest!

The 8 Pillars to Living the Low GI Slow Sugar Life

I'm a process kinda person.

Anyone who has worked with me would say that. 

Mr. GiGi loves to make fun of my coloured stickers and labels.

I like to break "tasks" into easy step by step processes. 

"Start here. Follow the arrows. When you've got to the box that says "end" you know you haven't missed a step".

 

It's just what I do.
 

I suppose this goes along with the fact that I like to file things too, so I can find them easily later.
 

The common denominators?
 

"Ease" and "structure".
Those 2 things make life a better place for me.
 

I have learnt that in the midst of chaos I stop, go to my quiet place, breath my magic three breaths, reassure myself it's all good and go on.

I really do, do this.
Breathing in through the nose to the count or 6 and out through the mouth for the count of 8 has been shown to release your happy hormones - calming and reassuring you. IT WORKS - try it!
 

As a nurse, it has always come in handy. For me, it gives me a quick moment to formulate my plan of attack!

As a cook, nothing is different.
 

The same principles applied, when I decided a formula for low GI-ing favourite and traditional recipes, would really make things a lot easier. 

Just because I wanted to live a low GI life, I still wanted to have recipes that I'd grown up with or cooked for myself.
Like this Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

As you know, you'll never stick with something if it involves depriving yourself.
 

So, I came up with:

The Eight Pillars to Living the Low GI Slow Sugar Life

 

The lower GI eating and cooking formula, to slow digestion and de-fatify your body, at the same time.

As I have said before, as a women, I have been utterly sucked in by all the "noise" about what we "should" and "shouldn't" eat and when. I question everything.

In my upcoming book "Living the Low GI Slow Sugar Life - Low GI-ing Traditional Recipes"

Eliminate the "shoulds" - clear the food roadblocks.

There is no cutting out of food groups or particular nutrients, even carbohydrates!

 Learn the Eight Pillars of Low GI Slow Sugar cooking and eating

Living the low GI life is full of joyful some-things, I love to create and cook.

 

Living the low GI life is my life, everyday.

 

Stop "shoulding" on yourself and say "I CAN"!

 

YOU CAN do this!

 

                                         Low GI-ing, no "shoulding", no denying.

 

 





The steps YOU took to get HERE are not the same steps you'll need to take to get THERE...

I remember those first steps.

 

"Footprint in the sand" courtesy of  Ron Almog http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

 

WOW, they are very different to the steps I have needed to take, to get me here, EXCEPT, the intention behind them has never waivered.

My intention was to prove my hypothesis (to come) and keep on talking and talking until listening was going to be your best option.

Well the talking and talking bit hasn't changed, I've just added in writing and writing  and here YOU are. Thanks for dropping by.

My hypothesis, way back when - about 15 years ago...

"Low GI is for everyone, not just those with diabetes".
 

Reasoning...

• Type 2 diabetes  is a lifestyle related condition, causing your pancreas to release not enough or poor quality insulin and
• Those with type 2 can modify their lifestyles (including a low GI life) with a good chance of reversing their symptoms and the effects.

So ...

• There's a good chance those lifestyle changes (including a low GI life) would be of great benefit to us all, especially with weight and related chronic health issues being so concerning.

Now, I haven't had the benefit of scientific laboratories and teams of lab technicians behind me. 
I do have all my senses and a very inquisitive mind and with those, I got started on the low GI life - research, practice and investigation.

 

I'm pretty happy to say and see my hypothesis has lots and lots of evidence based research to support it now, including my anecdotal research. My cooking, my philosophy and the person I am.

 

What are those lifestyle changes? They are the elements of Living the Low GI Life -

 

1. Eat the low GI way
   
   
2. Get up and move

 

These WILL lead to...

     3. Being a healthy weight

The Human Comedy Mask by Ernest Christophe courtesy of sfmission.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

I believe passionately about the validity of low GI-ing in the world, over and above FADs with no facts, one foot follows the other with both rhyme and reason, ALL THE TIME.

 

From the moment I was introduced to GI-ing, with the chance purchase of a book for my workplace, on the Glycaemic Index, I was smitten.

In my next post I want share with you my

8 Pillars of Living the Low GI Slow Sugar Life

My lower GI eating formula to start slowing digestion and de-fatifying your body

                                                                                                  Low Gi-ing, no denying

                                                                                        

 

 

 



Low GI, don't fatify...

Are you sure you know what makes you store fat?!

Did you know, that if you eat high GI carbohydrates a lot of the time, a couple of very interesting things, your not going to find so nice, happen in your body?

Imagine the way fairy floss miraculously dissolves in your mouth within seconds of touching your tongue.


Cotton Candy Courtesy of WinVictorious http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=356680&searchId=a32ec2f9aa673d3fcceca42622d48bd0&npos=15

 

That is exactly what high GI, fast sugar carbohydrates do when they hit your bloodstream.

BAM - the sugars are straight into your system in one big dump.

Problem with that?

 

• Your blood sugar hits the roof and you're pretty happy right now!
• You get a great dump of Insulin to try and bring the sugar level down to some sort of manageable level.

 

In an attempt to do this, Insulin uses both good and not so good, diversionary tactics.

 

1. It is acting as the key master to your muscle and brain cell doors, opening them up to let sugar in, so they can do their jobs.
2. While the Insulin is doing that, it's also doing something, I think your going to want to know more about.

Hok Kian Courtesy of RainbowFantasy http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=7401640&searchId=81f20ad86944fada4560738d5b60f8d8&npos=2 

The Insulin is also acting as the gatekeeper to your fat cells. It opens the fat cell doors, letting the extra sugar, that isn't being used by your muscles, brain and liver, in to be converted into, you guessed it, MORE FAT.

 

But wait, there' s more.
 

At the same time, it is acting as a BARRIER, stopping any fat in fat cells getting out.
They just get bigger and bigger.
 

So, not only do you crash because of the dump of insulin and the resultant low blood sugar, but you just stocked up the fat supplies too.
Ok if you're starving.  I'm guessing that's not the case.

Me - scary isn't it! So is this scenario!

 

Medium to Low GI eating -  
= slow release of sugars in the carbohydrates
= slower release of insulin
= more sustained blood sugars over a longer period of time
= no trying to pack the sugars away as fat for later
= YOU FEEL GOOD
 

Like I say.

What brought me to low GI-ing?

 IT MAKES SENSE

 SCIENTIFIC SENSE

 

                                                             Low GI-ing, not fatifying...

 

Have you met JOY? She may be slow BUT she sure is sweet...

Lately, I have had cause to get clear on what I write about and teach and why GI GiGi  - Living the Low GI Life evolved.

 

It is very clear.

I write about the JOY of having good, healthy food in my life.

Joy is something we are all looking for in our lives - in the things we do, with the people we love and when we plan for the future.

What I have observed is, thinking about the "what", "who" and "when" of joy, is simple. 

Actioning it, is not.

I wanted to know what really makes for a happy human. When I read Gordon S. Livingston's book "Too Soon Old, To Late Smart", years ago, his conclusion: there are three necessary elements for human happiness, "Something to do, someone to love, something to look forward to" - made sense and it still does. 

 

So, why is it so difficult to find the joy in all the areas?
 

Confusion!
 

So much "noise" in our lives. So much conflicting information that involves the word "should" a lot of the time.

You shouldn't "should" on yourself. 

This is a major roadblock to your joy and happiness.

 

I know, as someone who has always found joy in the creation of food for others and then seeing their joy, I have been subject to the "shoulds" of doing this. I "shouldn't" use that or I "should" do it this way.

Dare I say, I have been addicted to creating joy but at the same time, have been mindful of my and others, internal, physiological joy too.

 

As a women, I have been utterly sucked in by all the "noise" about what we "should" and "shouldn't" eat and when. I question everything.

 

What I discovered through my love of science and questioning was the Glycaemic Index and slow sugars. How, if you follow a few simple principles when choosing, preparing and cooking your food, you eliminate the food confusion. 

 

The principles of the Glycaemic Index are for everyone, whether you are vegetarian, vegan or a paleo lover. They eliminate the confusion surrounding food choices and preparation. They eliminate the "shoulds" for you.

 

• Eliminating the "shoulds" will clear the food roadblocks for you.
• There is no cutting out of food groups or particular nutrients, even carbohydrates!

Living the low GI life is full of joyful some-things, I love to create and cook.

Living the low GI life is my life, everyday.

 

Stop "shoulding" on yourself and say "I can"!

 

You CAN do this!

 

                                         Low GI-ing, no "shoulding", no denying.

 

I EAT SUGAR and my brain loves me for it...

T

he Glycaemic Index was always a “HELL YEAH” food moment for me – it has never been a “NO”. (You can read more about "No more yes. It's either hell yeah or no", at Derek Sivers)

In a world where “carbohydrate” is considered a dirty word, there is so much noise, confusion and misinformation about what you “should” be eating. Living the Low GI Slow Sugar Life, presents you with “CAN-DO” eating and yes that means CARBS.

Low GI Living means eating low GI, slow sugar carbohydrates, as part of all meals. Lower GI slow sugar carbohydrates release their sugars into your system slowly, ensuring sustained energy, less snacking and minimising insulin’s “fatifying” effect, which you will find out more about soon.

You WILL eat outstandingly delicious food and feel fuller for longer.

Oven Roasted Honey Chicken Wings

 

Why Low GI and why Slow Sugar?

It makes sense!

I love science and when I examined the extensive and validated research containing proven and quantifiable results over the last 20 years- that was a green light for me.  I also trust my gut instinct – pardon the pun. A lifestyle that includes the Glycaemic Index in it, feels right in my gut, literally and figuratively speaking.

What is the GI (Glycaemic Index)?

It is a measure.  A measure of the rate at which different carbohydrates effect your blood sugar after eating them. Those that raise it the most quickly are ranked as high GI, while those that raise it moderately are medium GI and those that raise it slowly over time, are ranked low GI.

High GI foods - absorbed quickly when you eat them = high blood sugar = larger amounts of Insulin released = crashing blood sugar and getting HUNGRY (or hangry) sooner after a meal.

Low GI/Moderate GI foods – absorbed more slooooowly when you eat them = lower/more even blood sugar = smaller amounts of Insulin released = more stable blood sugar and feeling fuller for longer. The trick is to combine high GI and low GI foods in your life = moderate GI = no denying!

 

What is a Slow Sugar?

Low GI and moderate GI foods are slow sugar foods – those that release their energy slowly into your body. A rule of thumb – the less processed a food, the less dramatic the effect it has on your blood sugar. There are exceptions and that’s where my recipes come in.

For detailed information on the Glycaemic Index and GI foods and SWAPPING you can go to:  http://www.glycemicindex.com/

Asparagus,Tomato and Cheese Tarts

Low GI and your “fat maker” (fatifier) - Insulin

I don’t profess to be a dietician or doctor but I do understand the research surrounding how our bodies react to carbohydrate rich foods. I’m sorry to say – Insulin plays both the good cop AND bad cop role.

Insulin good cop – gets out their keys, opens your muscle cell doors and lets the sugars in. Good time had by all because now you have energy – especially your brain, whose ONLY food source is the sugars from the carbohydrates. (Now you know why you feel fuzzy in the brain when you haven’t eaten any carbohydrates).

Insulin bad cop – when insulin levels are high (when you’ve had a HIGH GI processed feast) this cop acts like a bouncer at a nightclub -  it opens the fat cell doors and lets all the extra sugars in to be converted to and stored as fat AND it won’t let any of the already stored fat out. The fat “nightclub” just fills up and multiplies.

In this case, science shows it’s better to stay on the good side of the law – eat lower GI, keep blood sugars at a constant, sustain energy and beat your “fatifier”.

I want to say something about FAT.

I’m not scared of using fat as low GI lover. Fats are actually part of healthy eating. You will see butter used in recipes and I’ll tell you why. There are some traditional recipes, in their adaptations, that really would not be themselves, if I didn’t use butter. No, it isn’t low fat and no, it is not recommended all the time. I don’t use it all the time, I use it sometimes, in low quantities per serve, for “treat” eats and THAT is very acceptable.

Hollandaise Sauce

 

Absolutely, eating a diet high in fat will contribute to weight gain, if you are having too much consistently. BUT, if it is high GI foods you're eating all the time, that is the thing that will encourage your body to produce and store fat.

Now, you CAN know how to ignore all the noise, confusion and misinformation. Stop “should-ing” on yourself and start “Living the Low GI Slow Sugar Life”, with me

   GIGiGi -   Low GI’ing, no denying…