Chef Marian – Baby Steps to a New You

I have been cooking, taking classes on food and nutrition, eating in Michelin Star Restaurants worldwide and the one thing I know for sure is: You will be successful at getting healthier if you take Baby Steps to a New You.

Why you might ask? Because of the bacteria in your gut. You have grown bacteria to crave sugar. So when you start craving, no amount of good will is going to work. Sure, you can deny yourself that custard filled chocolate eclair you just walked by. But little by little that thought about chocolate and custard and sugar is going to creep back into your thoughts. And here’s what might happen then….

You might eat a bowl of chocolate cereal with almond milk (16g sugar). You might have a scoop of ice cream (a gazillion grams of sugar). Gazillion. That’s a technical term. lol

But what you won’t do is satisfy that craving, and now you’ve had both chocolate cereal and ice cream. Get my point?

I have a 3 Bite Rule:

First Bite: Wow! This is gooood.
Second Bite: Geez. This really, really hits the spot!
Third Bite: Now I’m being naughty.

Three bites of anything isn’t going to kill ya (of food that is). I remember the days I would go into Baskin Robbins and get a baby size chocolate chip mint sundae. That’s 3 -5 bites. And I was totally satisfied for months on end.

Later, I would pass Baskin Robbins and think: cream. Do I really want to eat cream? The answer would always be no. So now I was cutting down on the ice cream, not by sheer will power, but instead by making better choices based on what I really feel about today’s milk products. I hardly ever eat ice cream anymore. And why would I with such yummy coconut, rice milk and other frozen products available at the market?

But again, we can’t kid ourselves. We have to monitor the sugar. If the rice dream bites in the freezer say 16grams? We have got to make that a ‘once every 3 or 4 months treat and not eat it because we’re tired or unhappy or happy or..… You get the idea, yes? There’s a million and one reasons to eat sugar. And this article is written to talk about why you eat sugar, what it does to your insides and how you can become more mindful about it.

And the less sugar I eat, the less sugar I want. Again, it’s not your fault. It’s not will power or your lack of it. It’s about your gut bacteria screaming for sugar.

I really believe the only way you are going to even realize how much sugar you are taking in is by keeping a log of what you eat, for one week. Documenting through the labels how much sugar each day you are eating, or doing a close guestimate will show you where and when you eat sugar.

It’s only then that reality will hit.

Today I wanted Rice Dream Bites. I remembered that I did not have sugar all day today. I thought to myself: “Maybe tomorrow” and let it go. That’s a baby step. Putting off sugar a day or two, a week or two, and later a month or two, because now I can without feeling deprived? That’s what has worked for me. I have a history of this kind of behavior. For me, it’s not will I or won’t I. It’s just a matter of when and how often.

Baby Steps to a New You! And next Monday, our last article in a series of four is called “Health is Wealth”.

Mad thanks to those of you who forward this article and post it to your social Media!