Since starting this journey of 100 days without sugar, alot of good things have happened. It has not truly been 100 days totally without sugar, since I have had moments of indulgence. But it has been a period of clearing my system of sugar and then observing sugar's effects on me when I decided to eat it. Mostly I have been without.
I have lost 10 pounds. I am sleeping at night again. My abdomen does not ache anymore. A cravenous thought rarely ever crosses my mind. My bowels are regular. I no longer feel the need for a nap midday. My skin looks and feels better. I don't feel bloated anymore.
But the most important thing of all to me is this: I CARE ABOUT BEING HEALTY AGAIN! It has become a priority for me. I realized through these 82 days so far that little steps can effect big change. I have had a shift in my thinking. I can slowly move myself towards better health by adding or subtracting one thing at a time. I don't have to be in a hurry. And the sky is the limit. It doesn't take all or nothing to gain your health back.
And for the first new year in a long time my resolution isn't to lose weight, because it isn't about what I will accomplish this year. I have resolved to get my physical world in order. And that is my choice for the rest of my lifetime. Change of course, new plan of action, good things ahead!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Day 54 of 100
DETOUR!!!
I have eaten alot of sugar the last two days. I am having major cravings all of a sudden. I think it is a quadruple wammy. Stress, I'm tired, Holiday food EVERYWHERE!, and hormones fluxing. I certainly didn't eat the 1200 calories of sugar I started out eating before my 100 days without sugar, but enough to start having aches and blurry vision and general bloated feeling again.
I have determined that I do love sweet things. God designed me with that wonderful taste bud and I still feel the need for it. But where was the detour? I was doing just fine without sugar. I let myself run completely out of the foods that I now use to satisfy my sweet tooth: bananas, grapes, pecans, pretzels, crunchy foods. So I'll be taking a trip to the market tomorrow.
I did have a delicious experience this week. Several of my grandkids were over this last weekend and the temperature was supposed to dip below freezing that night, so we headed into the garden to harvest the last of whatever we could find. It is always sad to say goodbye to the garden for the winter, but what a great harvest! I had saved a whole patch of late carrots and it was time to start pulling. It took three of us working a good 15 minutes to get them all pulled, but they were so beautiful. We brought them in with the last of the peas and the lettuce and piled the carrots up across the bar in the kitchen. When we tasted them , we were so surprised. I have never tasted a carrot so wonderfully sweet. Our early summer carrots were not sweet like these. I guess the cold ground made the difference.
Blessing! Harvest! Grandkids! What a great day! .......... I am so very thankful.
I have eaten alot of sugar the last two days. I am having major cravings all of a sudden. I think it is a quadruple wammy. Stress, I'm tired, Holiday food EVERYWHERE!, and hormones fluxing. I certainly didn't eat the 1200 calories of sugar I started out eating before my 100 days without sugar, but enough to start having aches and blurry vision and general bloated feeling again.
I have determined that I do love sweet things. God designed me with that wonderful taste bud and I still feel the need for it. But where was the detour? I was doing just fine without sugar. I let myself run completely out of the foods that I now use to satisfy my sweet tooth: bananas, grapes, pecans, pretzels, crunchy foods. So I'll be taking a trip to the market tomorrow.
I did have a delicious experience this week. Several of my grandkids were over this last weekend and the temperature was supposed to dip below freezing that night, so we headed into the garden to harvest the last of whatever we could find. It is always sad to say goodbye to the garden for the winter, but what a great harvest! I had saved a whole patch of late carrots and it was time to start pulling. It took three of us working a good 15 minutes to get them all pulled, but they were so beautiful. We brought them in with the last of the peas and the lettuce and piled the carrots up across the bar in the kitchen. When we tasted them , we were so surprised. I have never tasted a carrot so wonderfully sweet. Our early summer carrots were not sweet like these. I guess the cold ground made the difference.
Blessing! Harvest! Grandkids! What a great day! .......... I am so very thankful.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Day 46 of 100
I am so thankful to be healthy and to have choices. Choice is a wonderful thing. Have you ever thought about how many choices you get to make in a day's time for yourself? Never take that for granted. It is a rare commodity for so many in this world.
I chose on Thanksgiving Day to eat sugar. A wonderful piece of apple pie. And the next day some homemade caramel corn. And I had a headache both times shortly after eating. And ached the rest of the day. I had forgotten about the aching. I used to ache every day when I was eating so much sugar. I rarely ache anymore since starting my 100 days without sugar.
Inspite of a week of good rich foods I am down another pound. That makes 9 in all. And I notice alot of it is the viceral fat around my waist that I so dispised and that motivated me to start this journey to begin with. I wonder how much more of it will disappear if I continue on my full 100 days?
Viceral fat is the wicked fat that is so bad for your heart and other organs. When we saw the BODY exhibit in Florida I was amazed at how our organs all fit tightly together like a wonderfully designed puzzle at the core of our bodies. And viceral fat snuggles all around them and does its damage. A good graphic reminder in my mind that I CHOOSE LIFE! Tomorrow is day 47 and the next, day 48..... Carry on.....
I chose on Thanksgiving Day to eat sugar. A wonderful piece of apple pie. And the next day some homemade caramel corn. And I had a headache both times shortly after eating. And ached the rest of the day. I had forgotten about the aching. I used to ache every day when I was eating so much sugar. I rarely ache anymore since starting my 100 days without sugar.
Inspite of a week of good rich foods I am down another pound. That makes 9 in all. And I notice alot of it is the viceral fat around my waist that I so dispised and that motivated me to start this journey to begin with. I wonder how much more of it will disappear if I continue on my full 100 days?
Viceral fat is the wicked fat that is so bad for your heart and other organs. When we saw the BODY exhibit in Florida I was amazed at how our organs all fit tightly together like a wonderfully designed puzzle at the core of our bodies. And viceral fat snuggles all around them and does its damage. A good graphic reminder in my mind that I CHOOSE LIFE! Tomorrow is day 47 and the next, day 48..... Carry on.....
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Day 43 of 100
There are sooo many ways to get fat. Although I have lost 8 pounds and I am not eating sugar, I have already had 5 Thanksgiving dinners with freinds and groups I am involved with in the last two weeks and the actual holiday is still two days away. There is an abundance of mayonaise based foods at these gatherings! I really don't want to gain any weight back, but it its truly wonderful to sit and have a meal with people you enjoy and care about and be thankful together. I find people to be especially grateful this year after such a rough year for so many of us.
Peoples' reactions to going 100 days without sugar have been interesting to observe. I have gotten alot of "Oh, I just admire that so much! I couldn't do that." And yet, it is just one small discipline. I don't have to be diligent in alot of areas. Just this one. And I would imagine most everyone has one or two things that they are vigilent about. It is really no different from a person who goes for a walk everyday, rain or shine, no matter what. Or is at the gym 3 times weekly whether they feel like ir or not. It is really just the same thing. One small area of faithfulness that has a big impact.
I find it to be human nature that when we sacrifice in one area, we find reward in others. We seek the counterbalance. And life is good.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Peoples' reactions to going 100 days without sugar have been interesting to observe. I have gotten alot of "Oh, I just admire that so much! I couldn't do that." And yet, it is just one small discipline. I don't have to be diligent in alot of areas. Just this one. And I would imagine most everyone has one or two things that they are vigilent about. It is really no different from a person who goes for a walk everyday, rain or shine, no matter what. Or is at the gym 3 times weekly whether they feel like ir or not. It is really just the same thing. One small area of faithfulness that has a big impact.
I find it to be human nature that when we sacrifice in one area, we find reward in others. We seek the counterbalance. And life is good.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Day 35 of 100
We are creatures of habit. Bill and I went to the movies the other night and I realized I usually take a bag of chocolate covered nuts to the movies with me. So I decided to go check out the sugar free chocolate section at the drug store. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Hershey's now has sugar free chocolate bars and also Reese's cups now come sugar free. I got some of both and when I got home I read the back of the bag. It said that the sweetener used can have a laxative effect.
Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. So I took a few of each with me to the movies and enjoyed them all. The peanut cups tasted wonderful. The chocolate bars were like cheap easter chocolate. Not especially rich or creamy. And then I was awake most of the night with my intestines grumbling. Not sure it was worth it, but glad I tried them.
Bill has been experimenting at our house with homemade cinnamon roll recipes for an event we have coming up over the holidays. So I broke down and had one. I passed on the icing and even just the plain roll was sooooo sweet to me. First sugar I have had in a month. It tasted great, but I can tell that my taste buds are really changing. I don't think sweet is my favorite food anymore.
I have lost another pound. That is 8 in all. My jeans are very comfortable these days. I would like to lose some more, but it feels really good to lose slowly as I am making permanent changes in the way I eat. It all just seems very manageable.
Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. So I took a few of each with me to the movies and enjoyed them all. The peanut cups tasted wonderful. The chocolate bars were like cheap easter chocolate. Not especially rich or creamy. And then I was awake most of the night with my intestines grumbling. Not sure it was worth it, but glad I tried them.
Bill has been experimenting at our house with homemade cinnamon roll recipes for an event we have coming up over the holidays. So I broke down and had one. I passed on the icing and even just the plain roll was sooooo sweet to me. First sugar I have had in a month. It tasted great, but I can tell that my taste buds are really changing. I don't think sweet is my favorite food anymore.
I have lost another pound. That is 8 in all. My jeans are very comfortable these days. I would like to lose some more, but it feels really good to lose slowly as I am making permanent changes in the way I eat. It all just seems very manageable.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Day 27 of 100
I've amazingly lost one more pound. I say amazing because I have spent the entire last week indulging in lots of salty snacks. And I really enjoyed it. But my tongue was shriveled up this morning because I ate so much salt yesterday. I did check my blood pressure the other day to see if I was doing harm. It was actually the lowest it has been in a year. So I am attributing that to the fact that I have lost 7 pounds.
I survived a sugary holiday (Halloween) without eating any sugar. It really wasn't so bad. What has been worse is the change in weather. I want to bake wonderful sweet things. Not only am I craving them, but it is my tradition to do so at this time of year. I tried making muffins with just fruit in them to sweeten them. While they weren't terrible, they grew green fuzz on the third day before I could eat them all. I will have to freeze them if I try that again.
Then I ordered a used cookbook off Amazon called "The Best Low Fat, No Sugar, Bread Machine Cookbook EVER!" Then I borrowed my mother-in-laws bread machine. I stayed up till midnight making the first recipe. And when I got up the next morning, I could not wait to eat the bread. I took one bite and threw the loaf away. It was awful.
I am not giving up. I made sugar free brownies with stevia. The chocolate flavor was divine, because I have gone so long without it. But they were bitter, not hardly sweet at all. My granddaughter gave them a thumbs down, picked all the nuts out of them and handed me the plate back.
I stood for 30 minutes in the baking isle at the grocery store reading labels. Surely someone has perfected a sugar free confection. But I came home empty handed because they all had aspartame.
Ahhhh, well.......... did I mention that I lost another pound?
I survived a sugary holiday (Halloween) without eating any sugar. It really wasn't so bad. What has been worse is the change in weather. I want to bake wonderful sweet things. Not only am I craving them, but it is my tradition to do so at this time of year. I tried making muffins with just fruit in them to sweeten them. While they weren't terrible, they grew green fuzz on the third day before I could eat them all. I will have to freeze them if I try that again.
Then I ordered a used cookbook off Amazon called "The Best Low Fat, No Sugar, Bread Machine Cookbook EVER!" Then I borrowed my mother-in-laws bread machine. I stayed up till midnight making the first recipe. And when I got up the next morning, I could not wait to eat the bread. I took one bite and threw the loaf away. It was awful.
I am not giving up. I made sugar free brownies with stevia. The chocolate flavor was divine, because I have gone so long without it. But they were bitter, not hardly sweet at all. My granddaughter gave them a thumbs down, picked all the nuts out of them and handed me the plate back.
I stood for 30 minutes in the baking isle at the grocery store reading labels. Surely someone has perfected a sugar free confection. But I came home empty handed because they all had aspartame.
Ahhhh, well.......... did I mention that I lost another pound?
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Day 23 of 100
I am enjoying the most amazing sleep! For the last few years I have just not slept well. I have attributed this to many things: a shift in harmones, stress and too much caffiene. In fact, I had limited myself to one glass of tea in the morning to see if I could alleviate the problem that way. I can't say I ever found a good solution.
Imagine my surprise about three days into my one hundred days without sugar when I began to sleep through the night. Deep and sound. And if I did wake up with a full bladder, I was able to get right back to sleep. I can't remember the last time I was able to do that. Usually when I wake up in the night I am up for hours.
I can't tell you how exciting this is. Maybe the wrinkles around my eyes will start to disappear now that I am getting good sleep...... :0) Well, one can hope, anyway.
But even more amazing to me is that I am dreaming again. I never dream. Or if I do, I don't ever remember them. Haven't for years. But now I dream almost every night. In fact, two nights ago I dreamt there was a big spider in between Bill and I on our bed and so I sat up really fast and tossed the covers in the air to send it flying. But of course, that woke both me and Bill up and I felt like an idiot. We had a good laugh the next morning.
I have a freind who called me that same morning and told me she had dreamt that I was giving her a tour of the most wonderful rustic lodge (I owned it) that she had ever seen. It sounded wonderful. I wish I could go visit her dream. I told her that probably means I will be selling her a new house soon ... :0) One can only hope!
Imagine my surprise about three days into my one hundred days without sugar when I began to sleep through the night. Deep and sound. And if I did wake up with a full bladder, I was able to get right back to sleep. I can't remember the last time I was able to do that. Usually when I wake up in the night I am up for hours.
I can't tell you how exciting this is. Maybe the wrinkles around my eyes will start to disappear now that I am getting good sleep...... :0) Well, one can hope, anyway.
But even more amazing to me is that I am dreaming again. I never dream. Or if I do, I don't ever remember them. Haven't for years. But now I dream almost every night. In fact, two nights ago I dreamt there was a big spider in between Bill and I on our bed and so I sat up really fast and tossed the covers in the air to send it flying. But of course, that woke both me and Bill up and I felt like an idiot. We had a good laugh the next morning.
I have a freind who called me that same morning and told me she had dreamt that I was giving her a tour of the most wonderful rustic lodge (I owned it) that she had ever seen. It sounded wonderful. I wish I could go visit her dream. I told her that probably means I will be selling her a new house soon ... :0) One can only hope!
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