Carb Sensitivity, Sugar Intolerance & The #Keto Solution #Health #HealthyEating #LCHF #LowCarb #CleanEating #SugarFree

Earlier this year, I took a long hard look at my health and realised I had to get serious. After all, I'm long past the age of youth when my body forgave my bad eating habits. One of the things I came to discover, was my intolerance to sugar. Yes, we all know sugar is bad for our bodies and our brain but, yet, we remain snared by the sugary hooks of temptation. 

I've mentioned before that I'm a huge fan of water-only fasting and I try to look after my body as best as I can, but still, I had a very unhealthy relationship with sugar. I was hooked! Just couldn't break that addiction, no matter how hard I tried. So, I got serious—mainly because I don't like anything controlling me—and decided to cut out sugar. I'd love to say that was the end of the matter—no more sugar. Sadly, that wasn't the result. I did well for a couple of weeks, then one of the kids had a birthday and the sugar addiction gripped me again. After I recovered from the sugar coma, I realised I needed a better strategy than simply giving up sweet treats and chocolate. While I'd avoided sugar, I was still eating high carb foods, which was doing me no favours since I'm also carb sensitive.  

So, I decided to try the Ketogenic diet again. The last time I was on keto, I didn't count my macros or added salt, or really took it seriously. As a result, I started to have heart palpitations every day. Then the leg cramps set in and I ditched the diet faster than you can say caramel cheesecake. Had I done keto properly, none of this would have happened. Live and learn, right? Anyway, fast forward to the present. I'm back on Keto—properly—and I feel amazing for it. All of my joint aches and muscle pains are gone. The brain fog is lifting. The irritability is gone and I no longer need a baby nap in the afternoon. Now, if I have a sugar craving, I find that 50-100g of berries with a couple of tbsp of double cream is the perfect treat for me. I don't believe I'd ever really kick the sugar habit. I imagine this is what it must be like to be a recovering addict. You have to take each day at a time and make wise decisions as you go.

Not everyone is sensitive or intolerant to sugar and carbs but if you are, you'll know by monitoring your body’s reaction before and after you consume sugar. Do you love sugar so much that you eat sugar-laden foods even when you’re not hungry? This was one of my signs. The other was chronic fatigue. I didn't have the energy—nor the motivation—to do anything. 

Other Signs and Symptoms of Carb & Sugar Sensitivity

• Unstable blood sugar
• Voracious craving for sweet treats and refined carbohydrates
• Mood disturbances/Mood swings
• Stomach Bloating
• Irritable Bowel
• Diarrhea
• Joint and muscle pain
• Skin break-outs
• Brittle nails
• Unhealthy hair and hair loss
• Lethargy and fatigue
• Poor memory/Brain fog
• Irritability
• Severe PMS symptoms in women
• Struggle with weight 
• Tired, tetchy and sleepy (or what I call the afternoon sleepy-weepies).

I'm not saying Keto solves all problems for everyone, but, for me, it certainly has. I'm now full of energy, I can eat tons of fat—did I mention how much I LOVE fat??—and I can sit in front of my laptop and be productive. The fact that I haven't put out a book in a couple of years has something to do with my chronic lethargy as well as the fact that I've been focusing on targeting Harlequin. I live in perpetual anticipation of the day I get The Call, but I digress. 

I've found that doing Keto correctly has been my life-saver. If like me, you suffer from sugar and carbohydrate intolerance, perhaps you might like to look into the Ketogenic diet. It's brilliant! AND a super-fast way to drop unwanted, stored fat!! I've found the Diet Doctor site amazing for information. You might like to check them out.  

And if you're not sold on Keto and you're looking for a way to crush the sugar demons, I invite you to check out one of my books—you might enjoy my Pleasure Flights series. 

Did you know you get the same high from reading a good book as you would from eating sugary treats? The bonus is you get all the pleasure without the unwanted calories! Who wouldn't want that, right?

Here is a taster of Book #1 in the Pleasure Flights series.

ADAM: Her Deal Maker

Making a sexy deal with the deal-maker 

Flying sightseers over California is part of helicopter pilot Lacey Sanders' job. The other part is denying her attraction for hot-bod fellow pilot Adam Swank. A painful experience has taught Lacey never to date her co-workers. So regardless of how sizzling the sparks are, she will never go there again. But when they team up to close a business deal, Lacey can no longer resist Adam’s steamy kisses or sensuous lovemaking under stars on the beach of a private island.

Adam The Deal-Maker has the gift of persuasion. Except when it comes to Lacey. For five years they’ve been dancing around a fiery attraction. Now he has her right where he wants her—in his arms—but can he persuade thrill seeking Lacey to accept his deal and take a chance on an office romance?

ADAM: Her Deal Maker

Pleasure Flights series #1

Copyright © Monique DeVere 2017

Crystal Swan Publications

All Rights Reserved

Snagged around the waist, Lacey found herself swept off her feet. "Adam, put me down!” 

His free hand closed on the doorknob to the stationery cupboard next to them. “We need to talk,” he repeated. A second later he had them shut inside the dimly lit cupboard, her back pressed to his chest, his arm branding her, his body heat reminding her of how hot his naked skin had been against hers. Her stomach fluttered with a warmth that meandered through the rest of her. 

“We have nothing to talk about.” She squirmed and pushed at his arm around her waist, no match for his easy strength. 

“Keep doing that, and we’re going to have an embarrassing problem, Lacey.” His voice dropped to the same seductive husk he’d used that night in Washington. “You must know when you wriggle your butt against my groin like that, it’s going to react.” 

She stilled, frozen in midair as a sudden blast of desire slammed her. She drew in a sharp breath, angry with herself for responding to his words, his touch. 

He put her down, dipped his head so his lips brushed her ear, sending a delicious buzz through her. 

“We do need to talk.” He let his hand slide across her abdomen, making her muscles quiver as he released her. “And I’m done pussyfooting around the issue.” 

“What issue?” The confined space felt too closed-in, too intimate. Too much like the perfect place for lovers to grab a stolen moment.

“You and I.” His fresh, spicy clean scent distracted her as it always did.

She put a step between them, scraped back the lock of her hair that had come loose, her breathing ragged with temper and—she hated to admit—excitement. “There is no you and I—me—I.” He made her so mad she forgot her grammar. 

“All I’m asking for is thirty seconds to say I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Was he really attempting to apologize for the way he’d treated her? 

“For what happened in D.C.”

Or was he simply poking at her wound? “I already know that. You made it clear, so no need to press the point home.”

Adam heaved a frustrated breath, rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m saying sorry for the way I reacted after we made love.”

“Will you keep your voice down?” Her whisper came out a little harsher than she intended. “I’m not anxious to broadcast that stupid mistake to everyone in this place.”

In the gloom, she sensed more than saw him tense, as though she’d landed a direct blow and she experienced a moment of remorse. 

“Why does everything with you have to be so difficult, Lacey? Why can’t we just get along?”

And wasn’t that just the question she’d been asking herself for months? “Maybe we should stay out of each other’s way.”

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Ca | Amazon Au

I Lost 6 lbs in 2 Days on The 5:2 Eating Plan! #Weightloss #Diet #5:2Diet #EatNutritious #GetHealthy

I remember a time when life was simple, weight wasn't an issue and UK size six was baggy on me. Those days are long gone! Two things happened--I can't even really blame my pregnancies because I lost all of my baby weight soon after each baby! First, I hit a patch of huge stress when our little girl was diagnosed with Leukaemia four years ago. Can you say emotional eating? Then I hit my 40s. Okay, so I'm not hugely overweight, but nothing in my wardrobe fits, and to a woman, that spells disaster.

Want to hear something funny? Recently my hubby, being the amazing, helpful man he is, offered to put away my clean laundry. Of course I protested since I hate feeling as though I'm always too busy to do the little things. He insisted, opened my wardrobe door, then slowly turned his head to pin me with his dismayed blue gaze.

"I can see why you didn't want me to hang up your washing." His hands disappeared into the wardrobe and returned with a few items of clothing. "These still have the labels on them," he said with his signature you-are-so-caught smile.

"I know," I replied, trying not to look guilty. "Those are my I-have-a-dream clothes."

Truth is I bought them when I was that size but never got around to wearing them. I do that sort of thing. Then the fat hit and I forgot I had them hanging in my wardrobe waiting for their turns to be worn.

So now I'm close to three stone over what I was when Meg got sick and every time I think I'm about to get a handle on this weight issue, something happens and the emotional eating episodes begin all over again. It doesn't help that I'm an author and sit on my butt for hours upon hours each day, only moving to grab a snack, tea or do the school run. 

Exercise and healthy eating seemed to be a thing of the past until I got serious and started seeking God on my issues. Okay I admit, I ran whinging to Him. It wasn't the first time, I can tell you. Once I heard Him clearly tell me to fast two days each week. I'm used to fasting but I've never managed it without the prompting of the Holy Spirit. My longest no food fast was twenty-one days and that was definitely not on my strength. I knew I'd never be able to fast on my own--I'd tried before and lasted a sum total of two hours. Once I even forgot I was fasting and ate breakfast...end of fast. So I dismissed the Lord's advice. I know not smart.

Anyway, He is good and quick to forgive. This time when I lamented to Him, He said the same thing. Fast two days of the week. I thought it over, wondering how I was going to commit to fasting two whole days every week without faltering. Then I stumbled upon the 5:2 eating plan. What does it call for? You got it, fasting for two days per week. There are many ways you can follow the plan but I feel comfortable with the 5:2--eat normally for five days and fast for two. Some people do a 4:3, 6:1 or alternate day fasting. It's all still intermittent fasting.

Right, totally juiced, I started my fast on Monday. Since the weekends are my regular see-food diet days (for those who don't know about the see-food diet...when you see food you eat it! LOL), I relaxed and, putting the science of metabolism to work for me, began my new eating plan with a cheat day on Sunday. I ate to my heart's content all day Sunday--except when I was at church, but even then I had a couple of sweets--without stuffing myself.

Apparently, eating liberally of whatever you fancy/crave will boost you body's leptin. Leptin is the body's fat burning hormone. To take advantage of the high levels of leptin, I made Monday my fasting day. Mondays work for me cos I always feel blah after my weekend over-indulgences and naturally eat less on Mondays anyway. Yesterday was my second fast day this week and it went great because I knew I could eat whatever I wanted today! Today I feel light and focused. I don't feel the need to eat unless I'm hungry. That was one of my problems, I tended to snack so often I never had chance to get hungry. This is why I never made Paul McKenna's plan work for me.

Here's an article from The Telegraph you might find interesting: The 5:2 diet: can it help you lose weight and live longer?

In the first two days of the eating plan I lost 6 lbs! I fully expected it to land back on my hips the moment I started to eat normally again but it didn't. I've never experience that before.

So far I've lost 7 lbs in 5 days (first week hasn't ended yet) and two inches from my hips without any real exercise. I did half an hour on my exercise bike on Tuesday night but haven't managed any more exercise since then. Prayerfully, I'll get it together and add a couple of exercise DVDs next week. Do pop back next Friday for an update. I'll try to share my journey here with you each Friday on what I will call 5:2 Friday.

Meanwhile, if you've tried this eating plan or intend to, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear about your experience so far. This is my first week and it's a plan I feel I can easily live with. How do you find it for ease, convenience and freedom?