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Refined Sugar Free is what many people are asking for in their sweet treats these days and for nutritionist (and self-confessed ‘sugar addict’) Sheryl Takayama of Gulf Harbour, keeping refined sugar out of her life has become a mission. Among the many affirmation statements on her consulting room wall are: “Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now” and “All things come to those who work their assess off and never give up”. The 41-year-old mother of two spoke with Terry Moore about health myths and keeping off the weight.
My way of doing things is a bit different from mainstream nutritionists. I feel like it is the evolution of my life’s journey – how to solve my own weight problem and feeling so inspired by my own experience that I took the plunge in my mid-30s to make my passion into my career.
I did an arts degree at Auckland University and that’s where I gained all my weight. Growing up I had a very simple Kiwi upbringing in small town Tokoroa with no food issues. My mother made beautiful baking from the Edmonds cookbook and we had simple, homemade food. We were all a “normal” weight. However, looking back I am aware that at university I was eating for emotional reasons. The catalyst was university life – too much partying, alcohol and bad food and being away from home. But underlying it all was the fact that I lost my best friend in a car accident. She was the reason I moved to Auckland and sadly she was killed in a car accident a month before university started, which was really hard. It was an emotional year and I found comfort in food.
When I finished university I got a job in Japan with the Japanese government teaching English to schoolchildren. One of the first things I had to do was have a medical examination, so I got on the scales. I remember they went to 91kg and I was horrified. I felt really sad to be that large. I hadn’t been swimming in years, and had become good at hiding in family photos. I love food, but my biggest issue is sugar, refined carbs, stuff in packets, chocolate. The sugar addiction is a key part of it and something that I only realised recently. Because I knew no one in Japan, I joined a gym as a social thing. I was so embarrassed, surrounded by all those beautiful Japanese women, but I started exercising and it was fun. After a month I got on the scales and I had gained two kilos, but I didn’t give up because losing a certain amount of weight was not my goal. We started jogging and at first I couldn’t run for more than 30 seconds, but it felt good so I slowly built it up and the weight started coming off. Once your clothes get looser it becomes exciting and momentum grows to eat better and keep exercising. I never weighed myself – all I wanted was to wake up and feel better the next day. Within a year and a half I had done a Half Marathon and lost 30kg – that’s the joy of being in your 20s. I knew nothing about nutrition at the time, except what I believed to be healthy which was: eat vegetables, meat, not too much fat, oats for breakfast – real food and simple.
When I got back to New Zealand I was doing the same things, but the weight kept going up. A friend suggested that I go and see her nutritionist. She was a former body builder and in demand, though it was a very new field then. That changed everything for me. She taught me about the hormonal effect of food and seeing her gave me accountability to someone. That’s why I have never regained that weight – there is no magic formula, it’s just being accountable to another person, which is key especially for emotional eaters. So many people trying to lose weight think it’s about what they are putting in their mouth but it’s actually what is going on in our head. So in dealing with my own issues and now helping others, yes, I tell them what to eat but also help them get their life in order. Everyone who has dieted knows what works: the question becomes – why do we stop and regain the weight, causing that cycle of gains and losses?
I worked for Tourism NZ and then had my first son in my early 30s. Having children made me reassess things and realise I wanted my passion to become my livelihood. My dream job was to sit and talk to people all day about food and weight. So it meant going back to university and studying chemistry and nutrition while being a mum. My husband Alex supported us so that I could do that study – it was a big commitment. Since I’ve been working in this business over the past 10 years I’ve seen fads come and go. I recommend people use Mother Nature as a guide – real food, that’s what we should be eating. Paleo is the word on people’s lips at the moment, but it can be overly restrictive for some people with no dairy and no legumes. If someone is passionate about it, go for it, I don’t judge. But I have had many clients who did Paleo and couldn’t sustain it – that’s the danger if you restrict anything. Instead focus on your blood sugar balancing/hormonal effects of food. It’s not a simple equation of calories in and energy out – the magic of nutrition is where those calories are coming from; that changes everything. One hundred calories from carbs is not the same as 100 calories from protein or fat. The effect on your body changes with different combinations, which is what people have to understand, particularly when they have a weight problem. Anyone who gains weight essentially needs to eat less carbs, especially the ones that come in packets. You have to change your relationship with it. Cutting back on that stuff and eating more real food, including healthy fats – from nature, butter, coconut oil, lard, nuts, olives, avocado – did wonders for me. Some people end up eating more and still losing weight – if you eat the right level of appropriate fats you are not hungry. You can’t sustain a diet if you are hungry.
People eat fruit thinking it’s a healthy choice, but it can stimulate hunger due to the high levels of natural sugar and carbs. And fruit is also about our fixation with sweetness. I am not seeing bingeing on celery or carrots – but doughnuts, that’s a different story! It’s our human desire for sweet things. I have run workshops to help people quit sugar. I view my sugar addiction as seriously as an alcohol addiction – I can’t stop with one. Having something sweet triggers me to me to want more, not by bingeing, but if I have something after dinner today, I’ll want that again tomorrow. It’s a cycle of craving and a habit. You don’t need to give up sugar unless, like me, you see signs of an addiction. There are no absolutes in nutrition but would it do most of us good to cut back? Sure. You only have to look at the bread and biscuit aisles in the supermarket and you can see that those foods make a lot of people a lot of money. They are addictive and people are attracted by those things. To cut out all refined sugar is overly restrictive, but if you find that you have something sweet and you can’t stop, or it controls you, and you are always looking for your next fix, then you need to quit. A lot of the alternatives you see in cafés these days are not helpful from a blood sugar perspective – they are full of natural sugar. As best I can, I now keep refined sugar out of my diet – no chocolate, lollies, cake, muffins, biscuits and also bread and other things made with white flour. But if my mother makes one of her desserts, which doesn’t happen very often, I definitely eat it – that’s special. I see many clients who are addicted to Coca Cola – sugar and caffeine is a powerful combination; if their weakness is soda, it’s always Coke. The combination of fat and sugar is a human invention – you don’t find it in nature. Recent studies have shown that it messes with our ability to self-regulate appetite. That was an ‘Aha’ moment for me. I have seen a lot of food diaries of overweight people and the main problems are convenience food, way too many carb-rich foods and irregular eating – missing meals. Especially for some women it’s eating ‘low fat’ foods like a ‘low fat muffin’ and trying so hard to be healthy but with the wrong formula.
Every day I start by writing down what I am going to eat that day. The reason I write it down is because, like any mum, I am busy and need to know in advance that I am prepared with my food. Then I don’t need to think about it any more. If you are not organised it is easy to reach for more carbs because they are quick. My children are nine and five. Big weight issues often stem from childhood and it’s very important what we say and how we act around food as parents. One of my children is a fussy eater who doesn’t like vegetables and my philosophy is to emphasise the things they do eat and don’t stress about the things they don’t. But I expect them to eat the only three vegies that they do eat, every day. I don’t want any food battles and I don’t force them to finish their plate. Some people think that’s wasteful, but it starts an emotional connection with food that can stay with people and cause problems. If they don’t finish their dinner they don’t get anything else. I hear a lot from parents who are worried about their children’s weight or that they’re eating too much junk food or are hungry all the time. I’ve done talks at Gulf Harbour School and say, “here’s an apple it’s got one ingredient; and here’s a muesli bar which has 20 so it’s going to be harder for your body to deal with”. Where nutrition is heading is what goes on within the gut – how important gut health is to our overall health. And of course the biggest addiction of all is alcohol, when it comes to weight management – it’s not the calories, it’s the hormonal effect because when you drink your liver becomes very busy detoxifying so it doesn’t have the energy to do other things such as burn fat. In some people alcohol can slow the metabolism for days.
Food manufacturers have such a powerful voice and often nutrition messages are wrong: such as ‘eat everything in moderation’. It’s very hard to be moderate with highly addictive food. I find it easy to be moderate in my broccoli intake, but biscuits or chips – who can eat one? You can poo-poo sugar addiction, but unless you have walked that path, don’t judge. There is only one world expert in your nutrition and that’s you. There’s a new book coming out every week – but you don’t need to read books; just start taking action, and get some accountability and support. It’s never been easier – there are many healthy alternatives out there now. All you need is a desire to change.
