High Fructose Corn Syrup… My Before & After

What are you buying at the grocery store? How much of the food in your home is natural vs. processed?

A couple years ago when I went to Europe the first time, I couldn’t get over how good the Europeans looked. I didn’t understand how they could look so good and still consume heavy fats, like sausages, breads and cheeses. Well, one of the simple reasons is their foods don’t carry loads of high fructose corn syrup. Yes, there are countries that have it, but not nearly as much. Here are some links www.change.org and www.huffingtonpost.com to two articles I found on this matter.

Oh! If that doesn’t convince you, here’s a story that happened to me while getting a coat fitted while in Florence, Italy. The designer was measuring me and I overheard her say to the other designer, “the American will need the larger size.” How flattering is that?! I still love Europe though. 😉

Here’s the deal! Our bodies are good at turning unknown substances into fat. The really sad part is, we don’t always feel full after eating large amounts of processed food either. That’s because the high fructose corn syrup is addictive and makes you crave more. The bacteria that builds up from the high fructose corn syrup actually makes you crave more of that same food that the bacteria was built from. It’s totally true. My hubby and I have tested this on our own bodies, and when I let up on the candy and all the foods that are loaded with high fructose corn syrup, my body totally went into withdraw, and I had to mentally fight the craving. For me it took two weeks of pure hell to flush that crap out of my system. I had to completely remove all sugar, even natural sugars, like fruit for two weeks to wipe out the sweet craving. After the two weeks I slowly brought back fruit and ate it in the proper proportions. I did not put any unnatural sugar into my body after that, only natural.

We should be more aware of what’s in the meats, breads and other foods we bring home. In America, a lot of our deli meats, hot dogs and other meats are loaded with sugar. In Europe, it’s meat. It’s important to read the back of the labels and see what’s inside these foods. If you’re buying meat that has loads of sugar in it, I strongly encourage you to stop.

Exercise no longer is enough! You can’t out exercise a bad diet. You just can’t. Also, dieting is temporary, so I’m encouraging you to make a lifestyle change like I have. Oh, this also goes for cleansing.

Our bodies were not designed to digest high fructose corn syrup. It’s a total recipe for 100% weight gain. Our digestive system can either make you energy or make you fat. Poor digestion leads to weight gain. If your body can’t soak in the proper nutrients and break down toxins correctly, your metabolism will cry, slow down and you’ll start to gain weight.

This totally messes with you and your body, like:

• How you go to the bathroom. It’s in extremes, either you go too frequently, or you’re not able to go.
• Causes gas. I’m sure your partner loves that!
• You get sick more often.
• Brain fog. You can’t focus or retain info as well.
• Bladder infections. Come on ladies, you know you love these! Every time I get one of these I want to rip out my bladder!
• Loss of appetite for sex. Yep, totally been there!

Do any of these sound familiar? No one I know loves these problems. These are real issues I know people are dealing with right now. I’m sure there are more, and the list goes on.

Yes, I understand why companies add preservative to foods, but our bodies don’t need them to live in us for long periods of time. Real food decays faster, therefore it will digest better and faster.

Long story short, Nate and I cut high fructose corn syrup out of our diet. Mind you, these changes are without exercise. We’ve only recently added exercise into our life. That’s our next personal goal.  You also have to understand that this takes several tries. I eat way more greens then I ever did before now. It’s hard to give up this habit and it takes discipline and time. Don’t beat yourself up if you screw up. You can always eat healthy the next time you eat.

Here’s BEFORE photos. I can’t believe I’m sharing these images… These are definitely not our best moments. Ha! We both have so much weight in our faces.

Image by Krissie Spande

Image by Krissie Spande

Funny story. When my son, Sam, saw this photo at my dad’s house, he said, “Mom, who are you with?”

I commented, “That’s dad.”

He said, “Wow, you guys look different.”

Leave it to kids to keep it real for you! 😉

 

Here’s AFTER

Nate lost 60 pounds, I lost 35 pounds.

I don’t want to sound preachy, that’s not the point. I just want to pass on what’s worked for me and has given me loads more energy and better mental health.

So, if you have issues with sugar and want to look and feel better, this is definitely one way to improve your situation. I can also help with that too. I just started posting healthy meals on the go, and I’ll be posting lots more. Also, because I eat more veggies and foods that decay faster, I shop twice a week in smaller and faster trips. It’s not as time consuming as you think and my meals are way better planned out. Holy cow! I can see all the items in my fridge too.

I’d love to hear your comments on this matter.

XOXO

Melessa