I Quit Sugar for Life (7 page)

I believe it’s a good idea to take charge and limit your gluten where you can.

PALEO INSIDE-OUT BREAD:

This is a fun gluten-free bread idea and a complete meal in itself
(see
here
)
.

Heard of it? Perhaps you know it as the ‘caveman diet’. The premise is that eating as our forebears used to, before the advent of agriculture 10,000 years ago,
serves us best. This period is roughly when our genes and metabolic processes developed. With agriculture came a whole bunch of foods we struggle to consume – primarily grains and legumes
– and that also compromise the ecosystem. Our diets have changed radically, but our genes and metabolism have not, goes the argument.

The paleo approach is fundamentally low-starch, anti-processed and pro-organic. It turns to meat (pasture-fed; nose-to-tail cuts), saturated fats (no processed or seed oils)
and vegetables, with a little fruit. Some paleo types eat eggs, dairy and nuts and some starches such as sweet potato. Some don’t. Paleo is also anti-sugar, and the philosophy overall –
eating whole, living sustainably and dodging toxins and stressors – is on the same page as what I’m banging on about here.

If you’re PALEO or GLUTEN-FREE . . .

The recipes in this book are largely gluten-and grain-free, simply to cut down on toxic load, but also because when you go sugar-free, it necessarily eliminates a lot of
processed carbs anyway. Where a gluten or grain product is used, it’s easy to substitute the following options:

▶
courgette ‘pasta’ (see
here
)

▶
gluten-free pasta

▶
quinoa (see
here
), millet, amaranth or buckwheat (all of which are seeds, not grains)

▶
gluten-free and nut flours (be sure to add extra butter or oil when using nut flours)

▶
coconut flour (but add extra liquid)

▶
rice – jasmine and basmati are best: they’re not as high in the grain fibres that cause so many gut issues. Brown rice contains a
lot of phytic acid.

▶
extra vegetables – a whole baked sweet potato is a good choice. (Simply place the whole sweet potato, skin and all, on a baking tray
and roast in the oven – preheated to 200°C (gas 6) – for 45 minutes or until tender.)

LET’S TRY THIS

(If you’ve been off sugar for some time)

If you’re curious about whether carb-less living might do good stuff for you, cut back on, or cut out, bread, wraps, pasta, rice, cereal, pizza, noodles, polenta,
etc.
and see how it makes you feel. Replace them with the substitutes in the box on the left. Keep a food diary, or at least get mindful of any reactions, shifts in energy, cravings, gut issues and
weight changes. And slowly reintroduce carbs back in if you’re just not feeling great. I also advise doing this experiment alongside a doctor or nutrition professional who can monitor your
health with blood testing before and during. Also: if you have compromised health, please research this issue further and consult a nutritionist or doctor before jumping in. Abruptly cutting all
carbs can cause weight fluctuations and related hormonal issues.

CALORIE-COUNTING

Please know this: calorie-counting is a waste of energy. How so? It doesn’t take into account the way we burn energy once the food is in our gob. We are
not
‘calorie-in-calorie-out’ machines, despite what some antiquated diet pedlars like to claim. We’re more complex than that. For instance, starchy, fibrous veggies contain a lot
fewer calories once they’re inside us – we burn more energy accessing the calories through the hard-to-rupture cell walls. Further, cooking ruptures most cell walls, so cooked veggies
have more calories than raw. And what about this: once digested, protein foods contain fewer calories than are listed on the label.

How so? Again, because it takes a lot of energy to break the protein down. Plus, some proteins require our immune system to get involved during digestion, which burns even more
calories.

Can I be frank here? My research has led me to conclude that a meat-inclusive diet is more ethical, more environmentally sustainable and more nutritious per calorie intake than
a grain-and legume-based one. In Australia, 22 times more animals are killed to produce the latter, through destruction of habitat to make room for agriculture. That said, I’m grateful to
vegans for placing the issue on the table. Every meat-eater should be made aware of these issues and eat meat mindfully (see ‘Shop Differently’
here
). Plus this much we all agree
on: vegetables are the bomb. For more reading on this subject – and I really do encourage it on this important topic – see the ‘Reading List’
here
.

If you’re VEGAN, VEGETARIAN or EAT DAIRY-FREE . . .

Many of the recipes in this book contain eggs, dairy and meat. However, you can make your own substitutions according to your needs, but please be mindful of a few things (I
consulted my vegan mate Sarah from MyNewRoots.org on this one):

▶
Only use grains, legumes and nuts that have been soaked and activated (see
here
), fermented (see
here
) or sprouted (see
here
). These practices minimise phytic acid, a toxin that leaches valuable minerals from our bodies and damages the gut lining, leading
to ‘leaky gut’ and a host of resulting health issues from there.

▶
Avoid soya products in general, unless they’ve been fermented (miso and tempeh), and even then only in small amounts, for similar
reasons as above.

▶
Beware: many packaged vegan foods are highly processed and packed with sugar and chemicals.

▶
Take
extra
care to ensure you get enough fat and protein at every meal. Dose up by adding to meals:

▶
Choose substitute milks with the lowest amount of sugar. Some use rice malt syrup instead of sugar; invest in these. Or make your own nut
milk (there’s a recipe in
I Quit Sugar
).

▶
Make nutritionally sound swaps:

Well, first, I don’t freak. Quitting sugar for life simply means making the best available wellness choices and doing your best (by yourself). It’s a gentle, curious
experiment, not a mean diet. Also, this: so-called lapses are good! They are perfect for reminding us why we choose not to eat sugar.

Take comfort: once you know the deal with sugar, you don’t go back to where you started. ‘You can’t unlearn this stuff!’

When I do get too far outta whack, however – like when my sugar intake creeps up or when I’ve been eating out too much, drinking coffee daily, not getting enough
sleep – I recalibrate. I do a mini 8-week programme, just for a few days.

And here’s the thing about recalibrating: this gentle steering back to the ‘blank slate’ is precisely what instils stronger habits.