Food

Those of you who know me, know that I am not a diet person.  There are quite a few reasons for this.  First and foremost, I like food.  I like food, and I especially like dessert.  My husband always jokes that when we go out to eat, I choose the dessert first, and then decide what my main meal is going to be (and, truth be told, sometimes it isn’t really a joke).  I like all the stuff that is bad for me.  Chocolate.  Candy.  Chips.  Bread.  Meat.  Cheese.  Ice cream.  Pizza.  Fries.  Milk.  The occasional ginger ale.  You get the picture.  

As I have gotten older, I have become slightly more discriminating in my tastes, particularly when I am eating out.  For example, I rarely order dessert now because, and I say this without a trace of arrogance, the desserts I make are better.  I am sometimes more conscientious about considering healthier menu options like salads, because I have discovered that there can actually be more to a salad then just a heap of lettuce with a bit of something else thrown in.  As people demand healthier options, maybe restaurants have been forced to be more creative in their salad making, and lately, I have been known to pass up my go-to fish and chips for an interesting looking salad.  I never eat red meat in a restaurant (except for the occasional burger) because it is never done the way I like it.  I love salmon, and could eat it every night for dinner without getting bored. 

I have never been a dieter, and have never in my life gone on a fad diet.  No Atkins, no Paleo, no Keto, no gluten-free, no dairy free, no vegan or vegetarian (although for several years during Lent, we ate mainly vegetarian dishes in solidarity with those who have little food).  

So you might be surprised to hear that this spring, I decided to try a low sugar diet which was posted on Facebook.  (See it here.)  The meal plan for the 7 day diet was designed by a dietician using recipes from Chatelaine magazine.  The description of the menu plan said “This week-long low sugar diet aims to keep your energy levels high and your mood regulated by balancing blood sugar with the right combination of foods at each meal and naturally sweet foods that let you indulge in a healthy way.” Sugar, as you know, has been on the dieting hit list for a while now, and I was feeling guilty about my consumption of sugar.  I decided to jump on the bandwagon and see if, in fact, a week on a low sugar diet would make a difference to how I felt, both physically and mentally.
 

The overall result was that after a week on this diet, which I followed almost to the letter, including cutting out all candy and chocolate (I know, right?), I did not feel significantly different (healthier, more energetic, more alert) than I did before.  I did, however, lose 8 pounds.  That could be because I was almost always hungry.  I felt that the meals were not substantial enough.  I was always hungry at bedtime, and since there were no after supper snacks in the menu plan, I did not eat any.  I would start each day feeling very hungry, and frankly, a smoothie for breakfast did nothing to quell that gnawing hunger.  As to my mood, well, my dear husband would have to answer that question, but since I was hungry a lot of the time, I’m betting he didn’t see much of an improvement. 

I realized about halfway through the week that I do not actually use a lot of sugar in my meal preparation.  And now that it is just two of us eating at home, I do not make desserts as often as I used to.  Most of my sugar intake comes from my 2 cups of tea a day, and snacks and candy.

I learned that a diet like this one, with lots of fresh vegetables and snacks, is labour intensive.  There were not many “quick” meals, and even some of the breakfasts involved chopping, peeling, cooking, etc.  I missed my quick cereal out of a box breakfasts, and I found that I spent a lot of time every day doing meal prep for almost every meal.  

Diets in magazines like Chatelaine often seem to be quite urban-centric in the sense that many of the ingredients are either difficult (sometimes impossible) to find, or expensive -- or both.  I never did find any sprouted grain bread in my local grocery store.  I had to drive to Moncton to find some of the ingredients (cacao nibs, unsweetened dried cherries) at Bulk Barn, which is neither convenient nor cheap.  I could not get halibut, as it was out of season and when it is in season, it is very expensive, so I substituted salmon.

I missed potatoes.  And cheesy garlic fingers.  And milk.  And my morning cup of Earl Grey tea with one teaspoon of sugar.  The diet plan did not specify acceptable drinks, so I assumed that water and herbal tea were all that were allowed.  

Diets like this also seem to be missing components of what I consider a healthy diet (but I am not a nutritionist).  For instance, the medication that I take has a side effect of calcium depletion.  I am not an expert, but it seemed like overall, the amount of calcium-rich food was low. 

Some of the recipes were not very good.  The lentil soup was tasteless and if you have an issue with texture, like I do, not pleasant.  And it made an entire soup pot full.  I gave a large container to a football player, and even he did not like it.  

Tofu will never again happen in my house.  This point is not open for discussion.

This diet pushed me out of my comfort zone.  I tried some things I had never tried before, like peanut butter on apples, which I actually liked (yes, really, I had never had peanut butter on apple).  A few months later, I have made a few of the recipes again.  In particular, I really liked the Smoky White Bean Chili, the Beef Barley Soup, and the Apple and Walnut salad.  I would never have mixed nuts with yogurt before, but now I eat some form of the yogurt/blueberry/cherry/walnut mix almost every day, usually for lunch, and I love it.  I find that I am snacking (most days) with more healthy food, although life would not be worth living without the occasional bag of chips.  

It is highly unlikely that I will be jumping on another diet bandwagon, unless research suddenly shows that chips, chocolate and cookies are miracle foods, or unless I have to because of a medical condition.  But I have to admit that I am glad I tried this one.  It taught me a few things about my body and my attitude towards food.  

And now, I think I hear a chocolate mint Girl Guide cookie calling my name.