random questions about girl diet

[carmella_marie]

Fiber--I thought I read somewhere that you should take fiber because it helps the body get rid of excess fat. If so, how much should you take? Every day or only AF-O or O-AF? Should I be concerned about sodium, potassium, calories, etc?

Coffee/Caffeine--I hear so much controversy over this. I personally love my cup of coffee in the morning. I hear the caffeine hinders calcium absorption but I am wondering how much? If I drink decaf coffee is that still bad for my sway b/c of the anti-oxidants? I don't think I could make it through the morning without something hot to drink....

Cranberry juice--I have read you're not supposed to buy the juice cocktail, but straight cranberry juice. What brands/what is this called? why not the cocktail?

Sugar--Does sugar sway? I mean like pure granulated sugar? I know aspertame sways pink and certain other sweeteners sway blue, but on the "low everything" diet should we be aiming for low sugar too? I know low blood sugar is one goal of the diet, but I am not very knowledgable about reading labels and seeing so many grams of sugar and knowing what that means for my sway.

[zanacal]

Hi Carmella

You can take a fibre supplement like Chitosan at whatever dosage it says on the jar - I took one before each meal throughout my cycle. You should aim for 1500-1800 cals (or less if you have lots of weight to lose - I had 1200)/40g protein/700-1000mg sodium on the low everything diet.

The idea of the Low Everything diet is that all nutrients are low and for many of us we've chosen that that principle should also apply to calcium - so we haven't taken calcium supplements or tried to up our intake through our food. I chose to have 2 cups of coffee a day - one on waking and one mid-morning (with sweetener and skimmed milk) to help me make it to lunch time without eating. I wasn't fussed about the calcium thing - and personally I think that even if you are then a couple of decaffs a day won't matter!

Again, cranberry juice isn't recommended on the LE diet because it contains lots of nutrients. Sane amounts of aspartame (diet coke/pepsi are good) and a daily low dosage aspirin are recommended.

Sugar is fine on the LE diet (I ate a lot of sweets as they're a good way to get calories up without much nutrition/protein/sodium), so long as you're not eating it all day long because that will keep elevating your blood sugar levels. If you stick with 2 or 3 meals each day and restrict your sugar to those meals then you'll be ok - and the threads on here where girl mums explain how they got their girls suggest that a combination of sugar and aspartame is a good idea!

[carmella_marie]

I wasn't going to drink loads of cranberry juice, just something to replace all the coffee I drink. I was a pot a day drinker! I am trying to cut back and just need something else. I can't drink much aspertame because it gives me a headache. I want to try peppermint tea.

Thanks for the info!

[pinkdreams]

You can also use splenda to help lower your PH, although not as effective as aspartame it does help. I found the artificial sweeteners to be very helpful to lower PH. There are some who feel the peppermint tea may be counterproductive in a girl sway, I drink it because my friend who had a daughter then 2 boys was drinking a ton of it before she had her girl and was an artificial sweetener fanatic. She was constantly dieting in not necessarily recommended ways. After having her daughter she became "healthier" while still remaining slim she wasn't as fanatical about dieting, and then had 2 boys.

[pinkdreams]

Oh and BTW I use the Metamucil clear and natural fiber. It comes in a blue container. I like it because you can add it to anything and it doesn't alter the taste at all. I add it to my peppermint tea and to my crystal light. My mother has diverticulitis and was told by her Doc that it is better to drink your fiber than taking pills, that it was more effective that way. (of course through food is the best way but not easy with the diet) I have been taking about 20 grams a day, it really helps to not feel so hungry all the time. Good luck!

[atomic sagebrush]

1)Go off the directions on the fiber that you buy because they are formulated differently. I liked Chitosan but you can use Metamucil or another brand if you prefer. Just make sure there are no vitamins in it.

2)As long as you're following a 1500-1800 calorie, 40-50 g protein with 20-30% of your calories from fat, I wouldn't worry one bit about the potassium in foods. Potassium is seriously in everything and there is no way that you can really avoid it and so I think people should just not stress over potassium. Sodium is a hard one but my personal opinion is, it's probably not necessary to avoid it, but since it's fairly easy to avoid, no harm in reducing it to 700-1000 mg a day if you can.

3)The idea that caffeine hinders calcium absorption is an old myth that has been debunked. Coffee does have some antioxidants but you ahve to eat something. I know tons of pink mamas who are total caffeine junkies.

4)The reason why cocktail is not allowed on the IG diet is because it is blended with apple and white grape juices and those things are alkalinizing and do not have the right minerals. The reason why I am down on juices of all sorts is because it's a concentrated source of nutrients and they are not filling so it's like the worst of both worlds - a lot of nutrition for not a lot of satisfaction. I would much rather you drank seltzer water, Crystal Light, peppermint tea, or even your coffee.

The cran juice will be called 100% cranberry juice or something like that. It tastes vile though. You may prefer the Ocean Spray cranberry juice sticks (they have no juice in them altho they are fortified with Vit C) and they are sweetened with aspartame.

5)Here is my thread on sweeteners and how they sway. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?2038-Sweetening-up-your-sway!-For-pink-and-blue You do not need to avoid sugar for a pink sway, because the funny thing with sugar is, when you eat it, your body actually releases insulin that makes your blood sugar drop even lower than it was to begin with. In fact, on the LE Diet, sugar can be very helpful way to get calories without adding protein or fat.

6)To keep your blood sugar low, it's actually very easy. Skip breakfast, don't snack, don't eat huge meals with lots of protein, fat, and carbs that take forever to digest, lose a few pounds, and wait until you're actually hungry before eating again. If you do those things, your blood sugar will take care of itself and you don't even have to give it any thought. Do not even look at the grams of sugar on the label, it doesn't matter for your sway at all.