When you know better, you do better.

Hello everyone. Have enjoyed reading all of your blogs this week. It's so hard for me to take a technology break, but since this is supposed to be a vacation week, I am trying to read more, relax more and of course sleep more.

My house guests are gone and we had a wonderful time together. My son and husband are all that's here now, but my Mom and my other son will be down again in the next few days, and who knows who else will come. It's one of the best and sometimes the worse things about having a house near the beach. I have to admit today I am enjoying the quiet. The streets are empty, the beach is not crowded with people and there is a peaceful vibe down here now. Once Friday comes that will change again.

The title of my blog is a saying that Oprah has been known to tell her viewers: when you know better, you do better. I was thinking that recently and looking back on foods I served my growing children and I myself ate, and how my views have drastically changed. I know some people don't see me as an expert when I talk about cutting back on sugars. Fellow bloggers, Amber, Rosalie, Katie and Kay would have more credibility since they talked the talked and walked the walk. The proof is in the weight loss. I am trying my best and hopefully before too long, when I get to my goal weight, others may pay attention. Why is that so important to me?

Cutting back on the white processed sugars is definitely one of the best things a person can do to ensure good health. I really believe this, whether one needs to lose weight or not. I have not lost much in a month ( 4 lbs, ) but  I feel better, my skin doesn't break out anymore and I function better with a low sugar diet. Gone are those wild crazy "must have something sweet' urges that used to take over me like some sort of demon. I still get a little urge for something sweet after a meal, but some blueberries satisfy me or some dark chocolate in the evening. I'm only human after all!!

 This weekend I mentioned one of my houseguests and I had a discussion about sugar.We disagreed on most things. I told her I wished I knew many years ago when my boys were little, what I know and believe now about the harmfulness of high sugar diets, artifical sweeteners and dyes in our food. I thought I fed them well, but there was certainly sugary snacks, sugary lemonade, kool aid and homemade sweets around the house. Just the dyes in things like fruit roll ups or fun fruits really were a bad thing to give children, yet I put a pack in their lunchbox, thinking it's one sweet thing among the other good things. I didn't know what I know now. She said everything in moderation. I don't see it that way. Bad stuff in moderation is still bad stuff. I'm not saying a kid can't have a  homemade cookie or small piece of dessert every now and again, but all of the processed, dyed junk food and drinks is not good in any quantity, and certainly shouldn't be consumed on a daily basis even in moderation. I saw these visiting kids eating doughnuts, croissants and starbucks coffee drinks for breakfast, cookies and milk for snacks,  and mike and ike candies and twizzlers throughout the day. Drinks were full sugar (39 gms a can) soda or gatorade ( not as bad as soda, but still 22 gms of sugar).  I'm not attempting to criticize here, just reporting on what I observed. It hit me this morning when I was straightening out cabinets and realized that  the whole 2 lb bag of twizzlers, 2 full packs of Chips Ahoy cookies and a huge bag of Mike and Ikes ( bulk size bag) were gone in 4 days. I didn't even check the drink supply but I know there was alot consumed. They brought all of this food, but to see it laid out on the counter as we were unpacking bags, I just couldn't help feeling disgusted by it all. But this might have been what I was unpacking twenty years ago for vacation snacks. She's a good mother and I am a good mother, but I didn't get it then. I didn't know better. Now that I do, I really want to pass it on. Some people don't buy it.

On the Belly Fat Cure the daily sugar limit is 15 gms. That is not very much. But what most people don't realize, is that current recommendations by other organizations are stating we should eat lower amounts of sugar. The American Heart Association released its recommendations that women should eat no more than 6 tsp or 25 gms of  added sugar a day, and men no more than 35 gms or 9 tsp a day. They are not counting naturally occurring sugars in fruits and vegetables, but added processed sugars. That is still a small amount of sugar each day, especially when you realize the average person is eating 22 tsp a day!

So I know better now and I am doing better. I will still try to spread the word to those who want to listen, but unfortunately there will always be those who think it's a fad diet or a passing diet trend. I predict you will see more and more food products emphasizing sugar content in the future, the same way the 'low fat' and 'fat free' trend occurred in products over the last ten or so years. Those in the know, realize the truth about sugar. And so we do better, because we know better. Until next time!

Thought for the day: The past is a good place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there!