SUGAR has been a HUGE topic at AX Fitness for a number of months now. The Trainer and "Pipes" (AKA Jackie Lehmann) went on a mission to cut sugar from our diet. And if I am being completely honest Pipes was the one that wanted get on board that train before I did. We have both had some significant results with this decision. We went with the "no white theory". No white sugar, no white flour, no white pasta and no white salt. Ultimately, no processed foods. My thought was that our diet was already pretty darn good so what were we going to change?

It was some of the small changes that made the biggest differences like eliminating honey from my coffee or diluting apple juice or just going with water, I use much less butter to cook with just from a calorie standpoint. We drink almond milk, use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and mayo. We use the organic oil sprays. We increased protein with each meal and snack and started really scrutinizing sugar grams, even in our Whey Protein powder. Pipes drinks very little alcohol. I will not totally give up beer and/or the occasional glass of wine. I will also throw some dark chocolate covered nuts into my diet here and there, Pipes won't even do that. She says it's a gateway drug for her. But all studies indicate that dark chocolate is loaded with nutrients that can positively affect your health, when eaten as part of a healthy balanced diet.

Obviously, we do dine out on occasion as we did with the Dagger Dolls on Friday night. We did eat the white pasta and we both paid the price with indigestion and just that overall bloated feeling from eating processed foods. Our weekly produce intake has significantly increased. Fruit has become the treat in our household for Pipes and I will drink a pale ale and call it good. (Omission makes a wonderful gluten free IPA and Pale Ale, just FYI). I am not saying that these changes are easy for everyone but I can say that once you make them, you will feel and see the difference in your health. You will have much less desire to comfort yourself with all the bad stuff and you will find most of it undesirable anyway.

So my point of sharing this with you is that even as a fitness professional, I needed to make changes in my diet. My diet has always been pretty doggone healthy (thank you Mom & Dad) and I have never truly struggled with weight issues. But I am guessing that my diet was better than many of yours BEFORE we went on our mission. My workout program is only part of the equation, the rest is how you fuel those muscle. So, if you are not getting the results you desire then maybe it's time you stop kidding yourself and just make the change to commit to your overall health.

Here is the article I just posted to Facebook. Its all about SUGAR and what it does to your body!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/12/10/sugar-processed-foods.aspx