The Blues Strike Back

Have you ever had an ailment or chronic condition that disappeared in response to medication or lifestyle modifications, yet you didn't realise how far you'd progressed until one day it all came back?

Well, that's what happened to me this week.

Since adopting a low GI (Glycemic Index) diet several months ago, my moods have stabilised and I have generally been feeling positive for days on end. I cannot remember a time when I felt content day after day, week after week, even month after month. A miracle really.

This ongoing cheer was particularly surprising when I returned from our European summer to a cold and drizzling Melbourne winter. I kept waiting for the bubble to burst and the blues to return, but I managed to keep it at bay. That is, until Sunday.

I woke up Sunday feeling flat and gave myself permission to rest after a succession of hectic weeks with trips to Adelaide, my brother's wedding, fairy parties and numerous dinner dates. I didn't feel much better yesterday and today I can say I honestly feel the blues. This is particularly perplexing since we depart for Bali on Thursday. Shouldn't I be full of rapture and delight?

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my healthcare practitioner who diagnosed me with high insulin levels earlier this year. I am interested to see if there is a biochemical explanation to my current blueish state... or perhaps it has something to do with the big four O coming up in three weeks time. Not that I'm upset about the number, but perhaps I thought my life would be different to what it is today. Who knows.

Until tomorrow, take time to acknowledge how far you've come in health matters and pray they do not return.

Grace xx

If you a. love me, b. love my blog, c. love this post or d. all of the above - please SHARE

Change in focus, not intention

As you may know, I created 'Wednesday Weigh-In' to keep me on track.

I thought a weekly check in would keep me focused, knowing I'd have something to report.

However something wasn't right.

I decided many years ago that weighing oneself weekly was not always helpful in ones quest to trimming down. Contending with the psychological blows that accompany the inevitable fluctuations, often does more harm than good.

Scales are an inaccurate measure of one's true progress. This is because they do not measure fat, they measure weight... and weight is made up of a number of things, such as bodily fluids, muscles, bones, organs, skin, hair, nails - even un-excreted faeces! (not to mention clothes).

A true measure of fat loss is how your clothes fit and how your body feels. If you want measurements - look at centimetres and inches instead of kilo's, stones and pounds.

So with all this in mind, I had to do something that still kept me in check with weekly reporting, but was more in line with what I believe. So, I created Wednesday Wake Up!

Right now, I'm finding out why my body is resistant in burning fat (high insulin and under-active thyroid are major contributors) and learning how I can make adjustments to resolve these issues. I was instructed today to focus on stabilising my insulin first and foremost, then work on fat loss. But you know me, I love a challenge and to multi task ;-)

Until tomorrow, if something isn't working for you - change it!

Grace xx

Email subscribers, click here to view Wednesday Wake Up! video

Sugar Coated

Here in Australia, it is traditional to serve 'fairy bread' (pictured right) at children's birthday parties.

Fairy bread is sliced white bread smothered in butter or margarine, then sprinkled with sugary coloured beads that we call 'hundreds and thousands'.

While it's pretty, colourful and crunchy - one would seriously have to question it's nutritional value and what it teaches children about what we consume at celebrations.

I'm not about to stand on a soapbox and rant about this with a waving finger. I am simply exploring my own upbringing, how much I LOVED fairy bread and comparing where I am now with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight.

So what brings me to this point?

Remember how I said I'd been feeling really tired these last few days? It turns out that my insulin levels were through the roof and have been causing a domino effect, causing my pancreas and liver to go bonkers (Australian for crazy).

This completely puzzled me as to my knowledge, I have been consciously consuming low GI (Glycemic Index) foods for several weeks - I even pick the sultanas out of my weekend muesli (I have a super-smoothie breakfast on weekdays). I was instructed to write everything down to see if we could uncover what I might be missing.

Turns out, my gluten-free bread is higher GI than I am permitted and that different information sources have different values for foods I considered 'safe', like polenta (corn maize) - some say high, some say low, some say medium.

OH MY GOD WHAT AM I TO BELIEVE?

I am becoming frustrated with trying to do the right thing and finding out that it's those 1%ers that are undermining my efforts.

Then my monkey mind took me on a random nostalgic journey of sugary foods that I once consumed with no consequence (or at least I thought they had no consequence), and it brought me to fairy bread. I have vivid memories of the magical party treat looking all tempting and delicious at the beginning of a party - but by the end the colour had bled, thus staining the bread.

Is that what happens to us?

Are we like fairy bread that is bright and vibrant when fresh, then over time become stained by the hundreds and thousands of high GI foods that we've consumed without awareness? And can those stains ever be removed?

Where I'm at right now is looking at my reality - without sugar coating anything. It's a scary space to be in, but a necessary one.

Until tomorrow, ask yourself whether there's anything you've sugar coated that you could do without?

Grace xx