Say goodbye to over-processed foods! 14 things you must do to make your sugar reduction plan successful

I’ll never forget the sheer terror I felt one day in February 2016 when my 4-year-old daughter, Ivy, woke me up with a cry of agony. She screamed in pain: "Mommy! My whole body hurts! I can't get out of bed, I can't walk! Mommy, save me!"

My husband hurried upstairs, taking three steps as if they were one, and quickly carried her to our bedroom. She had a high fever of 41.11 degrees Celsius, and what was even more frightening was that the joints in her fingers, toes, knees, elbows and ankles were all very swollen.

We contacted the pediatrician, who told us to take our child to the Children's Hospital for emergency treatment without delay. Twenty-four hours later, we had the diagnosis: juvenile polyarticular arthritis.

I hope to find other alternative care methods because I have autologous thyroid disease and I know that in order to reduce inflammation in the body, there are indeed special diets that can affect the immune system. I asked the doctors on the rheumatology team if they had seen any patients succeed by changing their diet, and they just emphasized that changing the diet wouldn't help, but if I thought it would make me feel better, I might as well try it.

After Ivy was diagnosed, we eliminated a ton of foods that we otherwise would have eaten. As mothers, we have an urgent physiological need to protect our children and keep them from harm. This is the ultimate expression of maternal love. Regardless of whether the children are angry because we don't allow them to play on the road because it is dangerous to play on the road, it is our responsibility to protect them. Likewise, it doesn’t matter if my kids actually want to eat junk food, I love them too much to let them poison their bodies. I loved Ivy too much to sit there and watch her suffer like this. So why can't I love myself the same way ?

Before February 2017, I had lost 9kg; and before the third month (March 2017), I had successfully lost 21kg. I continue to work on maintaining a diet of whole, non-processed foods, staying hydrated, and eating only the right amounts of food, and the weight continues to drop. Later in August 2017, I successfully lost weight to 61kg. I decided to persevere, and I lost 34kg in seven months, a total of 57kg!

Whatever your motivation, whether it's to lose weight, gain energy, reduce bloating or get better sleep, you're sure to see and feel a difference if you follow this recipe book. Here are a few things you need to do to set yourself up for success:

1. Take a "before" photo.

2. Clean out the refrigerator and food storage cupboards.

3. Restock on Whole Foods.

Breakfast = a smoothie or egg dish with lots of vegetables.

Lunch = a protein-rich salad, leftover food, or a light meal with low sugar content (quinoa, brown rice, green beans, oats) plus plenty of vegetables.

Dinner = a meal suitable for the whole family to share. It doesn’t matter if the sugar content is a bit high, just pay attention to the portion size. For example, any one-bowl meal, kids meal, or lunch/dinner meal. Lunch and dinner can be interchanged, but meals high in sugar are best eaten at lunch.

4. Pay attention to portion sizes.

5. The kitchen is not open after 7pm.

6. Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.

7. Track and record everything.

8. Make sure to drink at least 8 glasses of 230C.C. water every day.

9. Keep moving at all times.

10. Eat dessert once a week.

11. Limit alcohol intake.

12. Increased frequency of eating.

13. Don’t cook lavish meals for all six meals a day.

14. Set success goals for yourself and bring your whole family together.

I tend to make bad eating choices at dinnertime, when I'm trying to make dinner too late and have no idea what to prepare. Planning your meals is important, the more you plan, the easier it will be to make them. Eventually you'll have a library of recipes for your favorite meals that you're familiar with, and you'll have the ingredients handy so you can cook quickly and easily anytime, anywhere.

In this book, I provide a 30-day cooking plan to help you take the first step. Many of these meals can be directly swapped with other dishes. You just need to remember to avoid eating two high-sugar meals a day and drink at least 8 230CC glasses of water every day. If you want a snack, you can choose any meal or snack with a vegetable side dish from the recipes at the back of this book.

★Light and Fresh Mediterranean Bowl

Makes 2 servings:

With the right combination of vegetables, herbs and spices, this refreshing Mediterranean dish is not only delicious but also healthy. Plus, cooking quinoa in a pressure cooker is quicker than cooking it on the stove, taking less than 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup quinoa, rinsed and drained.

• 1 cup homemade or store-bought chicken stock, or water.

• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder.

• ¼ teaspoon dried minced onion.

• ¼ teaspoon sea salt.

• ½ cup diced red bell pepper.

• ¼ cup seeded Kalamata olives, diced

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley.

• 3 tablespoons chopped shallots.

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice.

• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil.

practice:

1.Pour quinoa into a pressure cooker and add broth, garlic powder, onion and salt.

2. Close the lid and make sure the pressure valve is set to "Sealing". Select "Manual/High Pressure Cooking" on the screen panel and use the +/- buttons to set the cooking time to 1 minute.

3. When the pressure cooker beeps, cooking is complete. Release the pressure naturally until the display shows "LOW: 10" and turn the pressure valve from "SEAL" to "VENT" position. The steam is very hot when it comes out, be careful.

4.Put the cooked quinoa into a bowl and fluff it with a fork. (Transferring stops the cooking process and prevents the quinoa from becoming mushy.) Add bell pepper, olives, parsley, shallots, lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil. Mix well and serve.

This article is from the book "30 Days to Lose Sugar and Lose Weight Fast: 125 Recipes of the American Slim Queen, a Healthy Dining Plan to Lose 57kg in a Year" published by Creative Market