the science

So I said yesterday that I don’t have all the answers, and I totally don’t, but Tim Noakes is a medical doctor and has done more research than I will ever have time for. If you’ve found that as you got older, you’ve gotten fatter, no matter what you do, and that you crave food and are hungry often, watch this video. It explained things so clearly for me, I am now even more convinced that what I am doing is the right thing for me. Unconvinced? Leave a comment and tell me why.

the choice

Everywhere I turn these days, I hear people saying, “you must be on a health kick,” and “I could never eat like that, I’m a carbaholic.” And more often than not, I end up waxing lyrical about a diet choice I wasn’t even convinced of a few months ago. What a change, hey? It’s not that I’m losing loads of weight (I’m not), or that I have all the answers (I definitely don’t), but so often when I chat to people about the things they eat, they consistently tell me that they feel heavy and pretty terrible after a meal. Especially the carbohydrate-heavy meals that seem so popular and seem to have people so ‘hooked’. And all I can say to that is, “but you make the choice what to eat. Make different choices and your taste will change”

It was something that occurred to me, after yet another meal after which I felt rough, heavy and uncomfortable. In fact, over the holidays, I mostly ignored good sense and my chosen food choices, and ate what I wanted. Yes, it was enjoyable at the time to tuck into some gooey, cheesy pizza, but the heaviness afterwards? That bloated feeling? Not quite so nice. And so many people I speak to at the moment tell me they feel bad too. And I’m confused.

If we make the choice of food to put into our bodies, why do we choose to put things in it that make us feel bad? Don’t get me wrong, I said I don’t have all the answers, and I genuinely don’t. But the way I reason it is this: if it is natural (so far as I can tell, vegetables are pretty natural, especially if I can careful where and what I buy), and it is whole (most meats are whole, unprocessed or minimally so, if I am careful where I buy what), then it should be minimally bad for me, not so?

And if you are ‘hooked’ on something, surely that means it has power over you that you do not control? Surely that can’t be right? You know what I’ve learned? Carbs are sugars, and sugars break down quickly (even the so-called low-GI ones, they just break down a bit slower). So you feel full initially, but once your body has broken them down, there’s nothing left to work with. That’s why, after your ‘healthy’ seed bread sandwich at 1pm, you’re dying for a chocolate by 3pm. Your body has used all the fuel, and is craving more of what it you have fed it, sugar.

When you don’t eat carbohydrates (except what is present in most fruit and vegetables), your body has more to work with (protein and roughage), and takes longer to do so. Also, it doesn’t crave that 3pm chocolate at all, and it will get to a point where you don’t even worry about chocolate. Consuming all the chocolates in the world doesn’t interest you. But a pack of biltong? Hell, yes.

So if you’re struggling with the ever-increasing problem of food cravings, high and low energy, and a constant feeling of crumminess, give Primal eating a go. I promise you, it will change your life. Have you ever done something that makes people question your sanity? Or consciously made a choice to live better? Let me know, and let’s support each other in our left of centre ideas.

the whirlwind

The last few weeks have felt like a whirlwind of activities. People to see, things to do, errands to run, fun to have, and places to go. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was sending my sister off into the wild unknown (well, America at any rate), and in the weeks leading up to her departure, there was plenty to do.

What that has meant, of course, is that very little in the way of routine was followed, and life rather took the hindmost while fun, admin, and errands were all that really happened. I have even found that I was only washing the clothes I needed all the time, while other stuff just got bundled into the cupboard to wait for better days.

So this year, I want to try to live more deliberately. It’s easy to be swept along by all the events, all the things that must happen, but then years like 2012 happen, where I can’t even clearly remember what happened. Yes, I remember the highlights, but the day-by-day happenings, the walks in the sun, the time spent with my husband? Not so much.

This year, I would like to eat at the table more often than in front of the TV. I want to spend more time doing crafty things, than fiddling on Twitter. I want to learn a new skill (sewing? spray painting? upholstery?), rather than rehashing old ones (I can’t cook all the time). I’d like to make time to do things that will benefit me in the long term, such as take up yoga or pilates. I’d like to spend less time doing things I feel I ought to do, and more time doing things I love.

Too often, we do things and spend our time trying to make others happy, and in the end say no to the things that really make our hearts beat faster. This year? This year is the time to make deliberate decisions to say yes to the things I love, more often than I say yes to the things that other people love.