Nutrition: What to Avoid

First of all, and I know you are not going to want to hear this part… Here’s what you need to avoid:

Sugar:

This is one of your worst enemies.  Sugar messes with your blood sugar levels, causing you to have massive energy swings – up and down.  The last place you want to have a blood sugar crash is during a test.  It will affect your ability to think AND to cope.  These swings can cause test anxiety and can even escalate you into an anxiety attack.  Sugar also negatively affects your immune system in a big way.  How many times have you gone on a sugar binge only to come down with a cold the next day?  It’s happened to me a lot.  I think this is why people get sicker around Christmas time – all the sugar.

Since sugar is addicting for many people (just try to wrestle the chocolate out of a PMS girl’s hands someday – it may be the last thing you ever do), I suggest you go cold-turkey – or close to it.  It will be tough at first...  You may even feel worse for a few days as you come down off of your chronic sugar high and start to detox.  But definitely get yourself down to one dessert a week.  Keep it as a treat for the weekend. 

Let me make myself very clear here.  I’m talking NO sodas, NO candy, NO ice cream, NO sugar.  Sure, if you have Cheerios, there’s a little sugar in there… That’s not the sugar I’m talking about.  It’s the obvious stuff.  It’s not the Cheerios – it’s the Fruit Loops.  Oh, and there’s one other place sugar lives – fruit juice.  Did you know that a glass of orange juice has as much sugar as a candy bar?  I know what you’re saying, “Oh, but that’s NATURAL sugar.”  It may be, but, when push comes to shove, your body doesn’t know the difference.  It’s sugar, baby.

For you ladies, you’re going to notice a huge drop in PMS and cramps with the no-sugar thing.  And guys, suggest this to your girlfriends – just be careful what time of the month you do it!

After a couple of weeks on little or no sugar, you'll even find that your "sweet tooth" cravings will stop.

The whole “low carb” thing is very hip right now so, this isn’t going to be news to you.  Things like bread, crackers, donuts and white pasta are not the best thing for you.  Why?  They convert into sugar in your body.  So cut down on these.  Instead of having a sandwich on a big sub roll, wrap it in a flour tortilla.  Don’t just sit there and eat half a box of crackers while you’re doing your homework.  Have spinach spaghetti instead of wheat.  Your body will tone up and your energy will increase.

I think I got my point across on this one earlier.  All that caffeine and sugar is not good for keeping stress levels low.  Now, you’re probably thinking, “What if it’s decaf with that fake sugar stuff?”  Keep reading.

Anything with artificial sweeteners:

Diet soda, diet ice cream, diet anything is really unhealthy.  Why?  Aspartame.  What they don’t tell you is that aspartame converts into formaldehyde in your liver.  Studies also show that too much of it will impair your memory.  If you must have something sweet, real sugar is way better for you than fake sugar.

Red Bull, etc.:

Ok, if I'm anti-coffee because of the sugar and the caffeine, do I really need to go here?  Remember that, just like with drugs, anything that will hype you up will drop you like a ton of bricks after it works through your system.  You don't want your days to be a bunch of highs and lows...  You want to have a normal and steady stream of energy throughout the day.

One word of warning:  When you cut these things out (even just the sugar and bad carbs), you may actually feel worse for a couple of weeks.  This is called detoxing.  Yes, just like if you were coming off of drugs.  Your body will fight it – it’s used to the junk and doesn’t like change.  Work through the first three weeks (don’t cheat) and you WILL notice a big difference.  I guarantee it.  You will feel great!