I really feel the need to write something about the role of sugar in our lives.

In my last post, I wrote about a plan to lose weight and keep it off (you can read it here). It’s not a diet, rather a way to live.

In that plan I said to cut down on or cut out sugar. 

Well, that brings up all kinds of thoughts or definitions in a person’s mind. How do you define sugar? 

What I’m talking about with regard to cutting out or down on sugar is really simple sugars. And that is a broader category than just the sweat in candy.  

This is how I understand the role food plays in our body. I don’t have any medical terms, this is just how I view the way the body and food work together. 

We need sugar because that is what our body runs on. Sugar is the fuel for our body. It’s like the gas in our car – we need it to keep the engine running. 

And everything we eat eventually breaks down into sugar. Our bodies take the food we eat and process it, refine it, distill it down to fuel, sugar for our bodies to burn.

Though all food breaks down into sugar, it doesn’t mean it’s all the same. There are some foods that break down slowly into sugar and others that break down very, very quickly.

These last types of sugar we will call simple sugars. We find them in candy, chips, pop etc. 

Foods that break down fairly fast are starches, carbohydrates – foods like breads, potatoes, and Chinese food. … I’m just kidding about the Chinese food, but you’re always hungry about an hour after you eat it, so it must break down quickly. 

More complex foods break down slower, like meat for instance. 

It makes sense that the foods that take longer to break down, or are more complex, will provide fuel for your body for a longer period of time. They won’t immediately flood the body with excess fuel that your body can’t deal with, that causes more harm than good. 

When it comes to sugar, you want to cut down on the foods that quickly break down into sugar. You want to put more premium fuel into your body and less cheap gas. 

We like to buy cheap gas because it fills up our tank for less money. But there are particles and impurities in that cheap gas that is ultimately harmful for our car’s engine. 

That is how sugar works in the body. You want to keep putting in the complex, long-lasting sugar and not the simpler, cheap sugar. 

And, like with anything, never overfill it. You can go a long way on three quarters of a tank of gas.

If you want to see a chart on the breakdown of food, google the glycemic index and you will see the sugar rating in foods. 

This is huge in losing weight. Really work on reducing those simple sugars, while maintaining the more complex sugars. 

If you do, you will see your weight come down.

Here’s the thing: We can try to live on a steady diet of activities that will take all our time and leave us often feeling empty. Do not neglect your spiritual needs which are more complex and long-lasting. Feed your spirit by giving yourself time with God, reading His word, worshipping Him and praying. These are complex fuels for your spirit. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What simple sugar item do you need to reduce or ditch from your diet? Leave your comments and questions below.

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