Learning and Making the Right Decisions for YOU !!!

First, this is NOT a slam on OH, I'm sure there are marketing and advertising reasons.

This is a great example on what may be good for one person, may not be good for another.

WLS is one thing, making proper decisions/choices for the rest of your life is another.

Up on the OH main page right now is an article on "Push the Reset Button with a Monkey Peanut Butter Shake".

Basically it's adding 100cals of sugar. Taking a drink with 5 carbs and increasing it to 23.5.

Raising the sugar content from 1gram to 9.2

Is this a good Reset or WL strategy?

Maybe for somebody, not for me. I like Premier Protein Drinks as they have great numbers, available most everywhere and priced right. 

For a reset or WL adding sugar should be the question ???

 

But here is the kicker, one article down is a great piece by Dr. Alvarez on the reasons to cut sugar.

So, the point is ???

Learn to make the proper decisions for what's best for you, if your down with adding the sugar...... it's a good thing.

If your not on board with adding sugars, than you must be able to see through the things that are pitched to us as "healthy".

Again, not a slam...... just another example of the many things we need to navigate daily !!!!

frisco

*** Edit: Just to say that I don't claim to make the right decisions for me all the time......

 

So, in defense of the soul who concocted the Monkey Peanut Butter Shake, I'm going to venture to guess that he/she was thinking of this shake as a "Meal Replacement". By adding the carbs from a "healthy fruit" many nutritionists believe that it makes a more balanced meal, e.g. protein AND carbs.

One thing I have learned through all of this is that there are different schools of thought about fruit. I walk down the path of "carbs are carbs", but also believe that refined and processed carbs react in the body differently than do whole, unprocessed, carbs found in whole grains, vegetables, and low sugar fruits.

As everyone knows, I have made some poor choices along the way, but I've learned from those poor decisions. For me, a reset has to be as low sugar as possible. Easily digestible carbs wreak havoc with my trigger center and get me jonesing for sweets. After a super low sugar 3 day reset I can handle a 1/4 cup of steel cut oats, if I want them, without losing any control. Give me a doughnut after a 3 day reset and I'm gone - like an alcoholic being allowed that first drink after a dry spell. Whether I have another, I will want, want, want it. The cycle starts all over.

I know a few VSGers who can have a bit of something sweet and be okay, but whenever they need to hit the reset button the first thing to go is added sugar and refined carbs and high sugar content fruits.

The Monkey PB shake would not be a choice for me, but I really believe everyone must do what is right for themselves. That one just isn't so right for me.

 

Great reply Kairk, I totally agree....

frisco

There are so many conflicting ideas about what constitutes a healthy diet that it's imperative for every sleever (and everyone else for that matter) to learn what's best for their particular constitution. I'm like kairk in that sugar sets me off on a cycle of overeating nutritionally deficient junk food (fruit is the exception -- I tolerate it just fine; no cravings).

My personal preference (the scale and my improving health agree with this) is to eat foods as little untouched by humans as possible. Minimal cooking with high-quality lean protein (excluding, for the most part, red meat and chicken), and fresh vegetables and fruits to fill in the corners. I avoid protein shakes altogether, unless I'm sick and too tired to make anything.

There are so many informative books now about healthy foods -- The Omnivore's Dilemma, Forks over Knives, Eat to Live are just a few. Information is power in this area -- the more you know, the better choices you can make.

Ignore the ads; learn about good nutrition.

Thanks, frisco and kairk, for highlighting how important these decisions are.

 

psychoticparrot

I agree about the shake - I didn't even read the article because even the title of it "Monkey Peanut Butter Shake" sounded unhealthy (at least for me).  I am trying to keep the head hunger and sugar cravings at bay.  I recently started drinking one 16 oz latte (nonfat milk) each morning with 2 Splendas.  QUESTION - is Splenda just as bad (or even worse) than sugar?  Is it going to have the same effect as sugar and kick-start the sugar cravings?  Anyone have any insight on this?  If this is a bad road to go down then I need to make a detour as quickly as possible.  Thanks.

YMMV but for me, no. 

Personally, I use artificial sweeteners multiple times every day. I have never noticed it affects my cravings whereas I notice very, very intense sugar cravings when I eat sugar. I've been perfectly happy with my rate of weight loss and my A1C is nice and low, so I don't think I'm having any insulin reaction.