Going Paleo
Food and Emotions
Quitting Sugar
BLOG:
NOM NOM PALEO
BLOG:
INSTITUTE FOR THE
PSYCHOLOGY OF EATING
BLOG:
I QUIT SUGAR
BLOGGER:
MICHELLE TAM
BLOGGER:
MARC DAVID
BLOGGER:
SARAH WILSON
Tam majored in nutrition and food science
with the intention of becoming a flavour
scientist but after further study, ended
up a pharmacist, working night shift at
hospitals. During those years she followed
a low-fat diet but felt constantly exhausted
and struggled to maintain her weight.
Going paleo changed all of that and
whittled away her muffin top. As a result,
Tam now avoids sugar, grains and dairy
and enjoys grass-fed meats, fresh fruit and
vegetables. She has also written a book
called Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans.
BLOG STYLE: “I’m always looking for
shortcuts to deliciousness,” she says. The
blog features video and written blog posts,
indexed recipes and a section with more
than 30 days of whole-day recipe plans.
She combines information with food and
family photos and cute animations.
Combining eating psychology and holistic nutrition, David tackles emotional and
binge eating, chronic dieting and fear foods.
BACKSTORY: A consultant in nutritional psychology, the one-time medical
student has a master’s degree in psychology and wrote the bestselling books
Nourishing Wisdom and The Slow Down Diet.
BLOG STYLE: David features video podcasts with some written blogs and posts
from regular guest blogger Emily Rosen, the organisation’s CEO. Followers can
sign up for an eight-week program called Transform Your Relationship With Food.
They can also do a 350-hour program to become an eating psychology coach.
In 2011 Sarah Wilson cut sugar as an experiment for one of her newspaper columns.
She found that the thyroid autoimmune condition she has long suffered radically
improved, so she went sugar free permanently and decided to spread her message
to others. “Though I’d convinced myself I ate ‘healthy sugars’ such as honey in my
chai tea, dark chocolate every afternoon and sweet treats after dinner, I was actually
a covert sugar addict,” Wilson confesses. Initially she spread the sugar quitting
word via her personal blog, which covers issues such as health, nutrition, emotional
wellbeing, going gluten free and managing autoimmune disease. But as her followers
grew (600,000 people have done her program), she started an I Quit Sugar blog too.
“I’ve also always invited others to merely try out my health principles as a ‘gentle
experiment’ – carefully, and to see if it suits them,” Wilson says. “I want to help as
many people as possible maintain their wellness.”
BLOG STYLE: Access to the eight-week I Quit Sugar Program and Wilson’s range
of cookbooks as well a countless recipes, such as thin-crust pide with spicy lamb
topping, and sesame and coconut ice-cream.
GET THE JUMP ON DESIRE
“Of the major macronutrients such as
carbohydrates and fats, protein rates higher
on the satiety scale, which means it makes
people feel fuller for longer after a meal,”
says dietitian Melanie McGrice. Ensuring a
good mix of different protein sources is a
healthy and satisfying way to boost your
nutrient intake. “Animal proteins such as fish,
lean red meat, lamb or beef, skinless chicken
breast, eggs and dairy foods are considered
complete because they contain all of the
essential amino acids,” McGrice says. “Plant
proteins like legumes don’t contain all the
amino acids, but these can be consumed
over the course of the day.”
According to ‘protein leverage theory’,
our bodies demand we eat a certain level
of protein every day and if we don’t hit that
target, we are driven to keep eating until we
reach a certain level of protein. This means
that if we consume a diet with a low protein
content we will eat more than we need in
order to ensure we have had enough protein.
The golden rule when increasing protein
is that eating from all food groups is still
crucial. “If you do increase your protein
intake, make sure you don’t do it at the
expense of fruit and vegetables, as they
are also pivotal to good health and weight
control,” McGrice warns. “And don’t eat
excess red meat as it has been shown in
studies to increase bowel cancer risk.”
GIVE-IN PREVENTION
With Melanie McGrice