Cut Down on the Carbohydrates to Look and Feel Younger
You just can’t get away from it, if you want to prevent aging and stay young; cutting out sugar and refined carbohydrates is a must. It seems like new research on low carbohydrate diets is coming out everyday. There are consistantly new studies that show the problems caused by eating too many starchy foods such as bread, pasta, rice, potato, and the worst culprit of all…sugar. These foods cause large peaks and valleys in blood sugar levels which lead to aging and disease.
Keeping blood sugars balanced and even is one of the best things we can all do to stay young and feel great. So after a Christmas of eating a few more carbohydrates and sugar than I would normally consume, I am going for the all out no refined carbs at all (for the most part).
My Easy Low Carbohydrate Diet Plan
I am waking up to a breakfast of either almond milk or plain Soya yogurt with a combination of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and cranberries. Then I add about 7 teaspoon of a mixture of linseeds and hempseeds that have been soaked overnight. Next I pour some Agave nectar on. I might add some maca powder and some barley grass or perhaps a bit of bee pollen or raw chocolate for extra superfood goodness!
For a morning snack I am eating a piece of fruit and loads of nuts. The reason why I have hesitated giving up carbohydrates is that I am naturally very thin. Whilst most people are trying to lose weight, I always think I look better with a few extra pounds. However, I just can’t deny the facts anymore, eating starchy foods is a cause of aging and I am totally committed to my health and staying young and disease free for as long as possible.
That is why I am stuffing myself with nuts. Almonds and walnuts contain loads of fantastic good essential fats that I hope will keep me from losing any weight. What I don’t want to do here is to make anyone worry about gaining weight if they eat almonds and walnuts. If you want to lose weight…give up the sugar and carbohydrates. Nuts are a great way of balancing the blood sugars and keeping weight balanced either way.
For my lunch I am having a salad of good quality lettuce (not iceberg…this stuff has a rich green color to it!) with tomatoes, grated carrots, a sprinkling of grated broccoli and perhaps a little bit of a finely chopped Brussels sprout. I am all about getting the absolute maximum amount of goodness into my body as possible! Then I make a dressing of olive oil, avocado, that linseed and hempseed mixture I mentioned above, and possibly some goat’s cheese. I sprinkle on a few sunflower seeds and I am off.
In the afternoon I have more nuts, seeds and definitely some Goji berries!
The dinner I have is more varied. My whole day is packed with raw food (apart from the Soya yogurt or the goat’s cheese), so I might have some cooked food at night. I just bought millet today, so I am going to have some of that as it is a grain that doesn’t cause fluctuation in blood sugars but does in theory keep the weight on. Last night I had roasted vegetables (sweet potato, leeks, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, zucchini, and beet root) with sunflower seeds. Then I had dried figs and Goji berries for desert.
Tomorrow night I am planning to make some baked bean burgers…a combination of chick peas and some other beans, carrots, onion, leak, tahini, Soya sauce, and seeds, along with another big salad.
How I am Feeling
The first day I was clucking for some carbohydrates. It was such a strange feeling to be eating and feel full on one level, but starving on another. That is power of carbohydrate addiction, and it was plain to see that after Christmas, my addiction was pretty extreme.
The good news is that it didn’t last long. By day two I wanted carbs less, although I did have a few mashed potatoes with Jerusalem artichokes in the evening. Day three I was totally carb free until I went to dinner at a friends house where I had some wheat free dairy free chocolate cake with dairy free custard. Okay, it wasn’t sugar free but I only had a little piece and she did go out of her way to support my general eccentric food habits! Day four and five have been totally refined carb and sugar free and I have to say, I didn’t once desire any! Such a difference to how I felt a few days ago.
So that is where I am now…about to start day five. I have to say I am pretty pleased. Writing everything down makes me realise just how fabulously nutritious my diet is and I am feeling great! In fact, it is 5:47 in the morning and I have already written all of this…so my energy levels must be pretty good.
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August 14th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
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