Since I Wasn't Strange or Picky Enough Before...

On June 4, 2010 (so serious!), I decided to stop eating sugar and flour. Aided by the ideas of the man, Dr. Gott, who wrote the book unsurprisingly titled, "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar(TM) Diet," I embarked on a new way of eating that fairly-dramatically altered my normal habits. I've been tossing around whether or not to share all the details on my blog. The over-analyzing detail-loving part of me won over, and, as you can see, it's happened. Now I shall endlessly analyze food and mention the words sugar and flour more than you ever cared to read. Hazah!

The idea seems simple enough. Eliminate empty calories by cutting out all sugar and flour. Since your body burns through sugar and flour quickly, it soon leaves you hungry again, leading to more food consumption - potentially that which includes even more empty calories. This is bad. So instead, you eat foods with better nutrients that digest slowly. And, technically, as a result you feel healthier (and your body potentially reflects this).

In theory, yay! In practice, it's a little tricky. Check the label on just about anything in your fridge or pantry and I bet you it has either some form of sugar or flour in it. Also, a lot of diets just cut out white/processed flours. For this one, corn flour, whole wheat flour, whole grain flour even, all are a big NO. If the word flour is listed, you can't eat it. Sugar in many forms, including even honey, is not OK. I'm still reading the book and hopefully that's explained better, but in the meantime, I'm avoiding them all.

The first thing I did after reading about fifty pages of the book was to purge and segregate foods in my kitchen. I tossed the really horrid stuff, gave some food away, and separated out the things that I couldn't toss, but that others could eat. It's worked well. In my cupboard, I keep the food I don't want to eat anymore in one half, and don't even open that part now. Then I set about avoiding flour and sugar more strictly than I've ever followed something before. It's been approximately a week and a half. Do I miss them? Let's examine.

Flour. What I miss the most right now is bread. But what I miss most about bread is less the taste and more the convenience. Need a quick meal? Grab a sandwich. Grab a bagel. Snack on a pastry. This is no longer allowed. In terms of floury things like pastas and crackers, I've found substitutes (rice noodles, plain Triscuits) that work well so I don't even think about the prior options. Flour tortillas were something I'd eat often, and now those are completely not allowed. But, I've found that my old aversion to corn tortillas has passed and I've been able to incorporate those instead. My only other outstanding concern: pizza. I love pizza. I have to find a way to still eat it!

Sugar. Before I get into my semi-pious "I don't really like sugar or sweet things anyway" spiel, let me admit that this morning, all I wanted was a tasty, sugary coffee-cake muffin. I mean, I seriously, immensely wanted that muffin. But, when I finally talked myself into going to Dunkin Donuts for an iced coffee a few hours later, I had already left the shop before I realized I had completely ignored the donuts and muffins. All last week (I mean... I never go there!) I passed by the pastry case at Starbucks and just got in the mindset of not needing or wanting anything - even the "reduced fat" coffee cake (notice a trend?!). Maybe that's what prepared me to stay strong today at the DD?

Anyway, sugar. In general, I was way out of the habit of adding sugar to cereal, coffee or tea, or anything of the like. So that wasn't a huge deal. I had already switched to diet soda a few years ago (I know, I know), and I no longer get sweet coffee-concoctions. But I used to always claim that I didn't like chocolates or sweets all that much anyway, but that's basically a lie. There are so many amazing shops in Boston/Cambridge that make scrumptious sweets, and I love them. Maybe in the future I'll make bi-monthly exceptions? For now though, at the beginning, I want to stay strong and be as strict as possible to form good habits. In the last 1.5 weeks, I've been faced with about FIVE different social situations where people were eating desserts and I had to refrain. It got easier each time, although I have to admit that when I was baking cupcakes for a going-away party for some friends, I might have "accidentally" eaten a bite or two of chocolate cupcake. Bite, bite, oops. And you know what? It was OK, but not amazing. I'll save my cheating for dark chocolate bits from Burdick's. Mmm!

But other than the obvious, stand out, "we are sugary-goodness" products and goods, there's the issue of all the hidden sugar content in things. Whether you know it or not, sugar is in practically EVERYTHING sold at the market. There are the normal foods that you'd expect: cookies (of course), pasta sauces, like 99.999% of all cereals. I'd also assumed sugar was in packaged meals, including the meat parts. But then there are the ones that surprised me. Refried beans (the canned kind, anyway), my old standby taco seasoning (onion, garlic, and chili powders on their own are fantastic - why does the packet even need added sugar?!), even low-sodium V8! Blast! It seems laziness is never rewarded completely.

Anyway, with a bit of attention to labels (although I don't want to become totally obsessed and no fun to be around), eating at home can be controlled and it feels manageable. But what about dining out? It should be a snap, right? Just eliminate the breads and you're all set? Wrong.

I don't often eat at all these places, but once in a while it happens, so here's the low-down on fast-food options.

Chicken sandwiches. In general, most chicken items are right out for the simple fact that they're breaded or covered in some sort of crispy-flour outer layer. At Burger King, the only "plain" chicken option was the Tendergrill Sandwich. But it's pumped with a bit of sugar, and another drawback is the insanely-high sodium content. I know I'm not banning salt, but 830mg in the chicken alone? Next. McDonald's and Wendy's are basically the same.

Hamburgers. Without the bun and condiments and maybe with some cheese (yes, please!), burgers are mostly acceptable. The exception: McDonald's offers a "100% Angus Beef" patty that might taste good (?) but is simply 100% gross. I found sugar listed twice, as well as molasses, corn syrup, maltodextrin, caramel color, dextrose, etc. Although, their regular beef patty has "no fillers, no extenders," and is seasoned with just salt and black pepper. In general, burgers at fast food restaurants are not ideal, but wouldn't kill me in a pinch.

Less fast-foody, local places like B.Good and Boloco are slightly different, better option. Can I eat there? Here's the scoop.

I've never tried B.Good's turkey or chicken sandwiches before (because the burgers are so darn good!) but they are hand cut and grilled, or house-ground and hand-packed, and I'd suspect either option without the bun would be good to go. The burgers are local, natural, house-ground. I'd be quite surprised if they added sugar to their meat. I hope they don't, since I ate one with lettuce as a bun just the other day. Still delicious! I didn't see the sign, but my friend did, and apparently you can substitute veggies for the bun. I bet there's a bit of an upcharge for it though, so I could probably just ask for no bun next time so I don't feel so tragically wasteful leaving the bun sitting there.

Boloco is not at all a burger joint (woohoo!), and a good place to opt for when dining out. Their wraps are little bundles of deliciousness. The "in a bowl" option eliminates my flour/sugar issues. And they have a variety of tasty ingredients including cheese, celery, romaine, black beans, etc.

Other mid-range chains like Au Bon Pain and Boston Market are places I RARELY go to, but are near my workplace/home. Since nearly everything at Au Bon Pain is bread or pastry, and their salads are too pricey and not tasty enough for me, I'm going to give ABP a general no. Boston Market might do if it had to. I could get plain protein and veggie sides.

Finer dining, depending on food type (Mexican proved to be a little hard) should be even less of a problem, since plain meats and vegetables are usually available. Or, as a last resort, opting for a salad sans dressing.

The thing about dining out is that I've been less inclined to do so now that I'm on this new eating plan. (My wallet and credit cards probably say thank you.) I used to always want to run out for lunch during work, and although I didn't always let myself do this, I did still go out more than I should have or needed to. Now I'm more excited to run home and make something that's tasty and allowed. I also noticed that, even though diet sodas (fake sugar!) are not off the list, I've still been gravitating toward iced tea or just water at restaurants (or at home) more often than the sodas. Wild!

Conclusion (of sorts): Even though I might not always avoid sugar and flour to such an extreme degree, I'm leaning towards sticking to it for quite some time. Realistically I understand that there will be times (over at someone's house for dinner, out at a place that simply doesn't have other options, etc.) where I will have to set my strictness aside. But trying to keep to it as much as possible within the realm of my control feels like the right thing.

Like any fad diet (although the Gott attempts to distance himself from the others), I'm sure there are some cons along with the pros. But as long as I'm experiencing benefits from it, I'll continue. I feel full for longer amounts of time. I don't feel grossly-full after meals. And seeing how much sugar (and flour) is hiding in nearly everything we eat these days was an eye-opener.

What I still need to do is not just eat things that are like non-sugar-flour cousins of what I used to consume; I should actually incorporate even more fruits and vegetables into my eating. I'll get there. Obviously, this means I've opted not to go vegetarian at this time, or even to cut out dairy. At this point, I'm still adjusting to finding food options that work with the above restrictions. Perhaps as I get more comfortable with everything, the shift to more veggies and fruits will occur naturally, and I'll find better protein and nutrient options. I wouldn't want to give the impression (as I'm sure it seems based on my dining out options listed above) that I'm just going to sit around gnawing on meat all the time. Oh yum.

I probably won't update as to my progress on this, since it's more of a general "this is what I'm doing," and "did you realize you were eating all that sugar?!" sort of post. Hopefully I didn't annoy any of the "but I freaking LOVE sugar, what's your issue?" readers. Go sugar! Go flour! They're just not for me. For now.

x Andrle x