Label Reading = Avoiding Poisons

This past Sunday was the big day to go grocery shopping for foods that qualify under the Katelyn-gf diet. The first step was to go through the kitchen and throw out everything that had sugar (not natural), HFCS, and Hydrogenated oils. This was an extensive cleaning I must say, almost everything went from jellies to cereal. It took a lot of label reading as well. Finally, once our kitchen was rid of all its poisons we went to the grocery store, and there we spent countless more time reading labels. It was easier in Publix because if you haven't noticed, and I never did either until Sunday, that if it has a brown self label then it is considered organic, for further explanation click here.

This made it easier on the inside aisles with all the canned and boxed things to spot the brown labels and then check for the poisons, and for the most part that strategy worked well. One of the things that I did enjoy was the fact that I got to buy lots of fresh fruit that I normally don't get, even though I love it!

A quick note on my adventure into Earthfare, to try and scope out some sales and even though I have been in there several times, I was thrown for a complete loop. It was like I had Organic Food Shopping Disorientation (OFSD for short). I was wandering around the store, up and down the aisles, looking at all their product but not processing a single thing I was seeing. I felt like I wasn't in a human grocery store, and I got freaked out, wondering what I was even doing there in the first place. After a couple of laps around the store, I started noticing some things that were on sale, but I just couldn't quite get to where I needed to be to tackle the OFSD. I bought some Cape Cod chips and called it a day, determined that next time I go in there I will either take Alex with me or have a plan of attack.

Meals this week so far have been pretty simple, and the hardest part for me is making myself cook. We have enjoyed some chicken stir fry which consisted of boneless skinless chicken breasts, fresh California vegetables with soy sauce and sesame seeds. I even made a pot roast last night with carrots and potatoes, which I will probably leave to cooking in the crock pot from now on, it wasn't very moist. Also we even had pizza which I made a homemade sauce, which is exceptional if I do say so myself. We have also been cooking breakfast every morning which means we have to get up a little early, but the protein and fiber are doing a great job at holding me over until lunch time. Overall we have been trying to make sure we have protein, fiber, and a little fat with every meal, the only sugar I am consuming is the natural sugars found in the fruit that I eat.

I did find a wonderful article in the August issue of All You magazine about sugar in your food. It was a nice little read and I am going to do a little side blog about it within the next week or so. It will help me give you a little bit more information on how to look for sugar in your food, as well as what they suggest as some guidelines on the amount of sugar you should eat per types of food. So look forward to that soon!

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions for me please feel free to ask them!

K8ers

"The Katelyn-gf Diet"

After spending almost a whole week with according to gf, who scolded me about my non-blogging as of late, he inspired me to start writing again and to take on a whole new challenge. The challenge started out as what gf calls, "The Katelyn Diet," which is eliminating sugar from your diet. Then we are going to implement "The Katelyn Diet" with "The gf Diet," which eliminates Hydrogenated oils and High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS) from your diet as well. You can read a brief explaination on the whys in gf's blog here.

When I say "diet" I mean the term loosely, because as we have discussed before it is not a "diet" but more a lifestyle change. It is not something you can do for a couple of months and lose the weight you want and then quit. This is something that you will have to remain conscience about for the rest of your life. This is a long term commitment. While it may seem difficult, which I am well aware the the first few weeks will be just that, I am told that you will get to a point where when you eat a "poison" it will totally jack your GI tract up.

The Katelyn-gf Diet as it will now be referred, will follow this basic principle: If you cannot grow it, pick it, or catch it, you shouldn't eat it. Now I know there may be some confusion in this so I will try and break it down the best I can.

•  Grow It:
• This refers to your basics, such as fruits and vegetables. Yes fruits are a sugar, but your body recognizes this sugar and can break it down. Plus many fruits also contains fiber which is good for your body. This category also includes the means by which you get your flours and other basic dry goods. These dry goods however must be 100% whole grain and when looking at your label not have anything in it you do not recognize. Au Natural if you prefer.

• Pick It: 
• This is things such as spices, oils, and anything else you might find in a garden or on a farm. This does not include however HFCS or Hydrogenated Oils. Your body does not know what the hell this stuff is and it does not know what to do with it, so don't put it in your body. Once again look at your labels, make sure it is stuff that you know what it is. Also try to avoid things where the first ingredient is sugar.
• Catch It:
• This of course refers to the meat aspect of the diet. Now I'm not saying you have to go out there and catch your own chicken if you want to have chicken, but what I am saying is to pay attention to the meat you buy. Most of the meat that is on the shelf at the grocery store is packed with antibiotics and growth hormones that we don't need in our systems. I'm not saying it is going to be possible for everyone to buy organic meats but if you see it is on sale then maybe you should purchase than instead. But meats aren't bad, just try not to eat as much red meat if you eat it a lot.

I have decided to fully commit to this diet and I have the full support of my boyfriend who will be doing this lifestyle change with me. According to gf started out with "The Katelyn Diet" and lost a good bit of weight and then discovered the poisons of HFCS and Hydrogentated Oils and proceeded to cut those from his diet as well. In a little over a year he has lost over 50lbs, because he now pays attention to what he eats. And you will be surprised too of what you can find this poisons in. I have been under his tutelage for almost a week now with very in depth conversations on the matter, and Sunday I plan on putting all of this knowledge into action and take my first trip to my local natural food store. Wish us luck, and I promise I will let you know how the process goes! I hope that I have inspired you to start something new, and maybe you can give it a try with me.

K8ers