Ditching the Sugar

I got some great feedback from my last post about my 5 pound weight gain and have been trying to implement some of your suggestions. So far I’ve been eliminating sugar, stopped buying junk food, stopped having protein shakes after my workouts, eating real food and posted my Action Plan on the refrigerator.

Eliminating sugar has been a slow process, but I’m having good success. I still have some sugar in foods, but now no candy or sweets. For example, I have not yet eliminated things like barbecue sauce (and may never!) and the packets of organic oatmeal that include sugar. Once the oatmeal is gone, I will switch to plain. I really like the natural sweetness of whole grains and prefer them plain or sometimes with oatmeal I add a little maple syrup. I have never liked the whole wheat breads on the market because they add too much sugar or honey for my taste. I prefer my sandwiches to lean towards the savory palate than sweet. Well, I don’t eat sandwiches very often, but if I do…

I struggled with bad cravings and frustration over what to eat instead of sweets. But the cravings are becoming less and I’m starting to be more comfortable picking healthy alternatives. Goodness, for a long time I ate very little sugar or white flour, it’s sounds odd to be in this place.

At the same time, I am beginning to reject white flour items also. This is much easier for me since don’t really care for white flour items that much. It’s just convenient to eat a hamburger on a bun, etc. My husband also loves all things white flour, so I think I’ve just let him win the war lately, so to speak.

Without counting calories or restricting my portions in any way, I have lost 3 of those 5 pounds just by eating healthier.

I am still struggling with being well rested. I really need to get tough with myself on this. I need to go to bed at an earlier time. I get up most days at 4:45 to work out. Ha, it was 4:30, but I scrimped out 15 minutes from my waking up time so that I could sleep 15 minutes longer. Not bad, but I really need to just go to bed earlier!

I’m still rethinking the exercise. I’ve basically cut back for now, but for a lot of other reasons too. So, still thinking how to change things up. Here’s a picture from this morning of the park where I run on the bike trail. It’s so peaceful and serene and just beautiful there. A great way to start the day.

A family of turkeys is back in our neighborhood this year. Praying none of the neighbors gets any ideas of Thanksgiving dinner. There’s 7-8 little ones 🙂