Feel like chicken tonight?

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Did you know that the chicken nuggets from McDonald's contain only 50% chicken?

The other 50% includes sugar, corn derivatives, leavening agents (a substance used in doughs and batters that causes a foaming action which softens and lightens the product) and other synthetic ingredients.

Check out these scary chemicals (ahem - ingredients) you'll also find in there:

• dimethylpolysiloxane - an anti-foaming agent made of silicone. You will also find this in silly putty (a kind of play-dough like stuff for us Aussies)...
• tertiary butylhydroquinone - a chemical preservative that is documented as 'harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Skin, eye and respiratory irritant'

Not sure if I could ever look a nugget in the eye again...

Sweet weekend - why fat isn't the bad guy

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The whole idea of quitting sugar in the past would have freaked me out.
I'm a sweet tooth, always have been.
It's not like I didn't think I could do it (I am a pretty stubborn woman, you know), but I didn't think it would be easy.

And you know what? It kinda has been.
The key was simple. Cut out sugar, add in fat.

Now, tell me this a few months ago and I would've thought you were crazy.
I was aware of just how bad sugar was, I just wasn't aware of just how good it made fat look when you compared the two.
Now, let me get this straight, right off the bat. I'm not saying I have been gorging myself on deep fried spring rolls, bacon and hot chips. I have been using foods that are 'full fat' to fill me up when I would normally turn to food that were high in sugar. We're talking cheese, milk, nuts, good oils (coconut, virgin olive oil etc.) and avocado here.

Put simply, fat and protein satisfy your hunger, they fill you up.
Sugar (fructose), on the other hand, is not recognised by our bodies. So we keep eating... and eating... and eating... (how many of us out there actually stop at one square, or one row of chocolate?)  It is converted straight to fat.
So if we stick to good fats and protein, we eat less as we fill up quicker.

I have found that this has most certainly been the case for me.
I have been eating less than normal, I no longer have the 3 o'clock sugar cravings, and I feel less bloated.

You see one massive myth out there is that fat makes you fat. It doesn't.
The fat in our bodies isn't the same as the fat we eat. As a matter of fact, we need good fats in our diet in order for our body to function properly.

As mentioned earlier this week in my posts on milk, I have switched my occasional skinny-cappuccino to full cream. I am also having things like nuts and cheese as snacks throughout the day.
I can't say I have lost a great deal of weight (perhaps just a little) but I am feeling better for it. I am eating less and I am enjoying the food I'm having. I don't really feel like I am missing out on anything and to me that's a really important thing.

What are your tips for cutting out sugar?

why the whole quitting sugar thing can make you feel like an outsider

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Ever gone on a diet and had everyone in your office hang shit on you when you rejected a slice of mudcake on someone's birthday? Or your group of mates attempt to force a glass of wine down your throat on a night out on the town after you told them you weren't drinking?

I have always found it amusing when people feel the need to put their 5 cents in on what I have chosen to do (and not to do) at various times in my life when it comes to eating and drinking.

People (women especially) hate to eat or drink alone. We like to see that our partner, or friend, or workmate, is going to eat that hedgehog slice at a birthday party with us, or have another glass of champagne on a Saturday night out, or order a dessert after dinner.

So when I told people that I was quitting sugar I got some very weird looks from people. 'Oh, that's just crazy!' and 'I could never give up my 3pm chocolate!'. Yesterday, at a morning tea, after I refused a yummy looking scone with jam and cream, I got 'oh, you're not one of THOSE people are you?'
I tell you, lucky I have a sense of humour and I'm well used to these kinds of reactions, it can almost be enough to make you cave due to the peer pressure of it all! ;)
My usual response? 'Well, it's not as hard as you would think. I just feel better not eating sugar'. But normally people just dismiss the whole idea of it. And that's cool, I know what I'm doing is making me feel good and hey, I kinda feel sorry for you that you rely so heavily on your 3pm sugar hit!

While I'm not exactly pushing the idea onto people, it's been hard not to steer my husband away from all the sugary sauces, biscuits and juices on our weekly supermarket shop. (Bless the poor thing! His support is amazing)
Or when I hear people talking about how healthy they have been, as all they have been eating is fruit and low fat yoghurt for the past few days.

So sure, quitting sugar, quitting anything actually, can make you feel like an outsider. But I really don't care! The key is to be well informed and in total support of what you are doing and how it makes you feel.
It's human nature to single out those who don't conform. And they're not trying to be nasty, they just feel uneasy seeing someone succeeding at something they feel as though they could never do themselves...