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Just been reading this article http://www.positivelypositive.com/2014/02/25/5-questions-to-ask-yourself-every-morning-to-increase-your-happiness/

 

 and stumbled across this part: 

 

"2) Am I making good choices with what I put into my body?

As an ex-fitness competitor and expert I cannot emphasize enough that what you put into your body is in direct proportion to your happiness! Say this over and over and over to yourself now.

If you are eating highly processed foods, high-sugar, chemical laden foods, you will feel lethargic, lack passion and certainly lack motivation. The media has conditioned us to look at calories and fat content as our metric, which helped raise awareness however, if you are eating 500 calories of “low fat†food that is processed and filled with sugar and chemicals, versus 500 calories of nutrient dense fresh foods, I assure you, you will have two very different energy outcomes. Additionally if you are eating healthy foods, but gorging them, you will also feel exhausted.

 

MAJOR LESSON HERE: Not all food gives you energy. Most of what the American diet consists of depletes you of your energy.

 

I am really passionate about raising peoples' awareness in the connection of food and happiness, because of my own personal life-changing experience, that literally cut my sugar addiction almost immediately. Which in turn, increased my mental clarity, productivity, patience, and passion for everything! Before I tell you more about the discovery, I think it's important to give you some background information first.

 

When I was a child, I was extremely active, so much that my nickname was “Cyclone,†amongst my extended family. I was very thin so I was allowed to have treats all the time. I was obsessed with sugar. I mean really obsessed. Even when I wasn't allowed to have a treat I would sneak spoonfuls of sugar out of the sugar jar. I would climb up on the counter and find the Hawaiian Punch Mix or Ovaltine jars my mom “hid†and take spoonfuls out of there too. I had this unquenchable desire for sugar. This desire continued into my adulthood, but with more and more education, I would utilize my willpower to resist many of my urges and my ego (vanity) to stay active so that I would stay in shape. I honestly struggled with the “addiction†constantly. I believe that there was a subconscious component, which inspired my path into the fitness industry. So that I would HAVE TO stay in great shape out of a greater level of accountability, hoping that would someway control my sugar addiction. And I could inspire others too.

 

As a leader in the field and when competing I would impose strict diet regulations on myself and allow myself one “cheat day†per week. That was usually Sunday. Well, you know what happens when you diet right? You become even more fixated on having what you can't have. I would obsessively think about all the sugary treats I was going to eat on Sunday. Birthday cake icing was my biggest obsession. I would think about what bakery's made the best icing for my Sunday splurges. By Sunday evening I was exhausted, laying on the couch in a sugar coma. Come Monday I would wake up beyond exhausted and be completely lethargic all day. I would despise how I felt!

 

After I had my twin daughters, my sleep was obviously depleted immensely and my energy and mental clarity became more and more important to me—because I felt such lack of it. One day when my girls were in nursery school, there was a party during the day for a holiday. That morning I woke up with an exorbitant amount of energy. I had a to-do list that ran off the page and I was excited and determined to get everything done. I energetically tore through my morning and ran to school at lunchtime for the party. At the party I was presented with a cupcake, with my favorite type of buttercream icing on top. I never ate the bottom of the cupcake, or cake at all, just the icing. When I got back to my office, I dove back into my to-do list. About 20 minutes later the icing hit me. I felt exhausted!! I could have taken a nap on my desk. I noticed that my mood changed from happy to irritable. My passion for my goals that day went right out the window. I was so frustrated. I made a mental note as to what happened and in that moment I changed my relationship with birthday cake icing, and all foods in that moment. I realized, I didn't have time to be tired!

 

Instead of looking at foods that aren't good for you as something I “couldn't have†(forbidden fruit syndrome) where you give your power away, I looked at is as something I no longer had time for.

 

I began to take a mental snapshot of how I felt after everything I ate. Instead of my food journal being a guilt-laden, will-power game, it instantly went to a place where I took my power back and chose foods (and portions) by what gave me energy and eliminated what didn't.

 

Please note: I didn't commit to myself that I would never have birthday cake or (fill in the blank) food ever again because that becomes a scarcity mindset. Instead I worked from an abundant mindset of what fuels me to success. This realization changed my entire life and thousands of people who I have shared these strategies with. At this stage of my life I constantly crave nutrient rich foods that give me energy, mental clarity and drive my passions to a whole different level. When I choose to eat foods that I know aren't energy enhancing it's a conscious choice when productivity is not a necessity. But I can honestly say I don't enjoy them much because of how I feel after. I love having lots of energy! And as mentioned earlier, my sugar addiction is completely gone. I could sit at a table filled with desserts and say no to all of them, or when I choose to indulge, it's a small portion because it tastes too sweet to me now."

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  • 1 month later...

I am guilty of eating sugar right from the spoon and know of 3 bakeries within 5 miles of my house that make buttercream frosting so good i'd leave my husband for some of that frosting.  lol (kidding)  I too, am truly only interested in the frosting and the cake is just a decorative stand for the amazing stuff to sit upon.  :)  it does me well to see others having the same obsessions as I did once upon a time.  i'm on day 11 of my whole 30 and feeling really good actually.  I'm glad you posted about not feeling well even after 1 cupcake...makes me aware of how deadly the delicious stuff really is. Thanks for posting :)

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