obesity

Don’t Be So Sure Sugar Is Making You Fat

January 18, 2013 by Veronica Grace 5 Comments

I was watching this series on Netflix this week called “Freaky Eaters”.

It’s a little bit of a buzz word title for a show I know.

No they don’t eat weird things like spiders or insects or anything scary.

They just have severe eating disorders where they compulsively eat junk foods all day everyday.

One middle aged women was so unhappy in her life that she found happiness only eating candy, chocolate, cake and cookies every day and nothing else.

Another middle aged man only ate plain cheeseburgers 3 meals a day. He was afraid of all vegetables and couldn’t even let a tiny strand of shredded lettuce touch his bun without being paranoid it would alter the taste of his burger. (It also looks like he ate fries and a cola with his meals as well.)

A young 20 something year old ate nothing but pizza (of any kind, restaurant, fast food microwavable) for 3 meals a day. He actually made himself so sick that he was throwing up every morning and could no longer play volleyball, but he didn’t think it was in anyway related to his diet.

The last woman I watched was another 20-something who lived at home, and was completely addicted to Coca Cola. It was so bad that she was drinking upwards of
30 colas a day or more and she denied that she had any kind of problem. (She also ate twinkies, ho ho’s, oreos and chips for her meals)

Now these are all extreme cases. My gut tells me that this is not that wide spread. These are severe food addictions and since it is “reality TV” it’s probably embellished a lot to make it look more dramatic.

One thing that I noticed was though that the two women eating and drinking nothing but sugar and white flour were not really overweight.

The one soda girl was told she was pre diabetic but miraculously she didn’t have it yet with all the cola she drank. She was also a normalweight.

The man who ate the cheeseburgers and fries every day was actually diabetic and veryvery overweight.

This is not a scientific analysis by any means, it is just my observation.

But the body actually has an easier time burning off excess sugar (even if it’s white refined sugar) than it does excess calories from deep fried foods(and oil and cheese).

These two women who were not overweight, ate in excess of 6000 calories a day, almost all coming from simple sugars like white flour and white sugar.

Even the young man eating pizza all day every day was not overweight, he was normal weight. (He ate a lot of white flour in the form of pizza crust 3 times a day so it was still a substantial amount of simple sugar.)

So this is why I find it is SO IMPORTANT to teach people to cook without oil and get them off of eating fried foods day in and day out.

If there is one type of cooking that is REALLY holding you back from weight-loss it is that super high calorie fried food.

That means any of your favorites such as:

-fried chicken

-french fries

– “fish and chips”

-potato chips

-tortilla chips or “Doritos”

-donuts and fritters

-hush puppies or fried corn cakes

-onion rings

-fried calamari

-fried mozzarella sticks

-anything battered and fried

HAVE GOT TO GO! Right now.

I’m dead serious!

If you are still eating any of these foods they are seriously sabotaging your health and your efforts to weight loss. I suggest not letting them even be an option
for you when making food at home or going out to restaurants because deep fried food is highly addictive.

If you eat these foods regularly, you are likely to not stop at just one piece, or one bite. You might even feel compelled to eat the whole plate. (Often very quickly and it disappears right before your eyes…)

And when you eat these foods regularly your body will actually CRAVE them.

We are still designed to seek out the highest calorie dense foods, as if we were living in the wild trying to stave off starvation.

So super salty, fatty and rich foods make our brains and bodies go crazy, that once they get some they want more and more and MORE.

The most important thing to do when trying to give up a food addiction is to make it very difficult to get. This is SO important.

That means get any and ALL of these foods out of your house right now!

(Even if you have a spouse or children who want to eat these foods. It’s just too tempting for you to eat them if it’s around). Don’t allow these foods in the house. If someone wants to eat them they should be eaten outside the house only occasionally, thus making it harder for them to get instead of always being in the cupboard or freezer.

That also means not going to you “favorite” restaurant where you typically get that fried chicken, fried fish etc. Try an alternate route if you often drive near places that cause you to feel tempted.

Don’t walk down the junk food aisles at the grocery store, stay away from the convenience store and don’t go down the frozen meat and frozen french fries aisle.

The best way to succeed is to replace these bad habits with good habits.

-Find a new favorite meal to eat (and of course make sure it’s healthy.)

-Find a new place to eat out at, (that is of course healthier too.)

-Only shop at the healthy parts of the grocery store such as the produce aisles.

You cannot expect to change and lose weight and get on track if you are in the same situation every day and doing the same things.

You need a fresh start.

And the first thing I want you to do kick is fried foods to the curb.

ALL of them.

They are the most addicting because they combine crunchy and salty flavors that make you eat more and are filled with white flour and oil (the two highest calorie nutrient devoid foods.)

We can work on the rest later.

But if you’re concerned about high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes etc., and want to lose weight, you’ve got to ditch that fried food.

The best way to do succeed is to find and learn some new healthy recipes that you and your family will enjoy.

So that’s why I’ve put together my Low Fat Vegan Starter Kit.

It’s full of recipes you can use for breakfast, lunch and dinner to get back on track and to start losing that weight NOW.

It just takes a little bit of trying and a desire to make changes in your life for the better.

I’ve already done all the hard parts of figuring things out and creating delicious healthy meals.

All you have to do is buy the ingredients and follow the instructions.

Just go to:

www.lowfatveganchef.com/LowFatVeganStarterKit

If you want to do something good for your health, start by taking out the #1 unhealthy type of food.

No more fried foods. Especially battered and fried meats and cheeses. Those are the worst.

It actually could make a big difference for you.

I bet more than a few of you have a hard time resisting eating these foods compulsively when you see them.

It’s ok. We’re wired to want more of these foods when we have them regularly. So you just have to start removing them from your diet and the cravings will
go away.

Just like any other addiction like alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. You have to stop ingesting them to get rid of the cravings!

How can you possibly stop this addiction if you keep purchasing these foods instead of learning how to make healthier new foods?

I can help with that.

Just go to:

www.lowfatveganchef.com/LowFatVeganStarterKit

And take charge of your health today…

I know you can do it!

Sincerely,

Veronica Grace

P.S. If you’ve already purchased one of my ebooks in the Starter Kit you CAN upgrade. Just contact me for details and I’ll get you set up no problem!

Is Your Favorite Salad Dressing Making You Fat?

September 6, 2012 by Veronica Grace 10 Comments

Today I want to talk to you about something that could secretly be sabotaging your weight-loss goals. Something so popular in America many people don’t even think twice about eating regularly. Some may even think that it’s OK to eat or even “harmless”.

I’m talking about store-bought salad dressings and the fact that they are probably making you fat… or at least keeping you fat!

Those creamy, oily, sugary processed salad dressings that come in hundreds and hundreds of different flavors could be keeping you fat.America is convinced that although salad is health food, the only way to choke down bland and boring lettuce is to slather it in rich decadent dressing.

I really don’t like store bought dressings. I actually despise them and almost NEVER use them.

I’ve had so many salads in my life that pretty much any store bought salad dressing turns my stomach. Even those oil-free supposedly “healthy” salad dressings (which in no way shape or form are even remotely healthy.)

The top 3 Reasons Why Store Bought Salad Dressings Are Bad For You:

#1. Classic Dressings Are Oil/Mayo/Cream Based

Often times creamy dressings have even MORE calories than pure oil. How can they manage to make a dressing worse than pure concentrated fat? By adding high fructose corn syrup to it!

Check out the calorie count of some popular salad dressings:

Calories and Fat in 2 TBS Caesar Salad Dressing
150 cals 16 g

Calories and Fat in 2 TBS Thousand Island Dressing
140 cals 13 g

Calories and Fat in 2 TBS French Dressing
120 cals 12 g

Calories and Fat in 2 TBS Olive Oil
120 cals 14 g

Now while you may think that 100-200 calories of dressing is not a big deal, I want you to ask yourself, when was the last time you had a gigantic salad and only used 1 or 2 TBSP of dressing? It is extremely hard to make the dressing stretch that far and give your salad enough flavor. Many lunch salads come with 2-4 oz of salad dressing. Did you know that’s the equivalent of 4-8 tablespoons? That can be an extra 300-600 calories in your dressing alone!

A green salad with some vegetables might have between 50 and 100 calories depending on how many vegetables you add to it. If you’re also tossing some nuts, avocado, cheese, bacon or chicken onto that salad as well you can be adding another 200-500 calories and your “innocent” little lunch salad is looking rather indulgent compared to a fast food hamburger (which is mostly bread anyway and lower in fat). A high fat diet has been shown time and time again to negatively impact those with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other common diseases.

P.S. Check out my healthier raw vegan Caesar salad dressing recipe.

#2. Rich High Calorie Dressings Prevent You From Losing Weight

Most women think that the key to losing weight is to skip their regular lunch fare and just have a salad for lunch. Well as we learned above, what you put in your salad and what dressing you choose really matters in terms of calorie and fat content. Drizzling dressing haphazardly over your daily salad is not going to help you reach your weight-loss goals if you already have a problem with portion control and late night snacking.

#3. Store Bought Dressings Are Mass Produced And Contain Questionable Ingredients

Many dressings are based on 3 things, oil/fat, vinegar and high fructose corn syrup. Next they add in artificial flavourings, colours and preservatives and salt. None of these items are good for you, and they are all 100% refined. While the low calorie dressings may seem like a “better” choice, they are still based on vinegar and high fructose corn syrup, and let’s face it, you deserve better than that to build your body with. Artificial colours such as “caramel” (also used in colas) are added to many store bought dressings to make it look better but caramel colouring has been labeled in California as “known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.” 1.

So what is the solution then?

Figure out how to MAKE your own tasty and nutritious salad dressings from WHOLE FOODS and healthy fats. It’s a good idea to learn how to master both low calorie and nut based dressings so you have a variety to choose from and you don’t have to eat the same ones week in and week out.

For this weekend only I’m giving away a copy of ’70 Healthy Salad Dressings’ when you buy the GOLD package of my new ebook ‘Simply DecadentSmoothies’. Essentially you are getting 2 ebooks for the price of one and access to over 120 whole foods recipes you can make in any old blender in 5 minutes or less.

I have to say I much prefer homemade salad dressings to store bought ones. Even though they take a few minutes to prepare and don’t last for months in the fridge they are infinitely tastier and better for you. Also instead of adding nuts to my salads, I prefer to blend nuts or seeds into my salad dressings instead of using oil. Ingredients like hemp seeds, tahini (sesame seed butter) almond butter and chia seeds are some of my favorites. I also make some really tasty fat free salad dressings with fresh citrus juice and
vegetables.

If you make salad dressing just once every 3 days you’ll be well on your way to having a heart healthy AND waist line friendly salad that will help you achieve your weight loss goals.

So get in your kitchen and start blending your way to a healthier trimmer you with ‘Simply Decadent Smoothies’ and for this weekend only get ’70 Healthy Salad Dressings’ as your bonus to keep.

What’s your favorite homemade salad dressing recipe?

The Fat Future Of America Is Frightening (This Applies To All of North America)

March 15, 2012 by Veronica Grace 2 Comments

Fat American Couch Potato Eating Chips Cartoon
I have a really great educational graphic on the affects of obesity in America that I wanted to share with you. The designer asked if I could post it on my website as it is in line with what I’m teaching. (Scroll down)

I want everyone to realize that people are gaining more weight and faster than ever before because of the amount of fast food and convenient foods available.

In many states children grow up without every really having a home cooked meal. I even know many adults that would rather eat out every meal of the day than cook something at home (even though this is much more expensive). Yes cooking takes some time, but honestly exercising and dieting takes even more time, so why not make a few more meals at home and save both time AND money doing so?

You may or may not have heard about the KFC Double Down. Many of you will think oh, but not many people eat like that. Well KFC would not have put so much time and money into promoting this sandwich nationally if they didn’t know for a FACT that Americans (and Canadians) would want to eat it, given the chance. And they were right. Even though you know this is obviously not healthy for you, many people are eating it as a novelty, for fun, or because it looks decadent or “manly”.

Kentucky Fried Chicken Double Down Chicken Sandwich

This nutritional info is straight from KFC’s website

Item:	Calories	Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)
KFC Double Down	540	32	1380
Potato Wedges	290	15	810
20 oz. Pepsi	210	0	45
Total:	1040	47	2215

Avg. Rec. limit 2000 calories/ Daily limit 65 g/ Daily limit 1500 mg

(Even if you don’t eat a double down chicken sandwich meal, remember a lot of people eat fried chicken, cheese and bacon as part of fast food meals as well.)

My goal with this website is to help educate people on how to eat MORE plant foods and how to make them 100% healthy and low in fat. Far too often people fall into the trap of craving only battered, deep fried, cheezy, creamy and barbecued food and forsake simple fruit and vegetable based dishes because they’ve either never had them or don’t think they would taste good at all.

This is a shame.

I guarantee you that if you try some of my recipes you will enjoy them. My recipes are not just designed for vegans and vegetarians who like healthier foods, they are designed with lots of flavour that many SAD (Standard American Diet) eaters or omnivores don’t even realize that it is oil free and vegan.

If I can get a SAD/omnivore to exclaim wow this is really good I want more, then my job has been a success.

So far it is working on my friends and family and they are slowly learning how to make more meals from scratch (and they are losing weight too!)

If you continue to eat fast food and junk food when you’re young, it’s very likely that your future will end up like this. The pounds will continue to creep every year and one day you won’t know what happened or even when it started.

Did you know that just overeating ONLY twice a year (On Thanksgiving and Christmas) can cause you to gain a pound or more? So every year your weight is increasing by 1 lb and in 10 years you’ll be 10 lbs heavier.

American Thanksgiving Weight Gain Eating Turkey Scale

Combine that with DAILY treats and overeating just to satisfy your “sweet tooth” or “fat tooth” (in some people) and this can be as much as 5 lbs a year. I’m not kidding. To gain an extra 5 lbs a year, you’d only have to eat an 48 EXTRA calories more than you needed every day! That’s the equivalent to an apple or 1 bite of a chocolate bar! (If you ate an extra apple a day you probably would not gain this much weight as it has so much fibre and takes more energy to digest, but chocolate bars and desserts are high in sugar and fat and unlike a piece of fruit.)

What if you could just walk for 20 minutes a day and switch your dessert for some fruit? What if you switched your breakfast from a mcmuffin and hash browns to a fruit smoothie instead? Or your burger and fries for lunch into a oil free soup and salad?

What if you gradually switched where every meal you were eating was oil free and based on fruits and vegetables instead of bread, oil, meat, cheese, butter and cream?

These things make a big difference over the long run for your health. Not just affecting your weight but affecting your risks for heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.

Start out just trying to eat a little healthier than yesterday. Only compare yourself to yourself, and no one else. Take the time you need, educate yourself, learn how to cook something healthy and new, start walking for fun with a friend.