So it's been 3 weeks since I quit sugar. And I have to say, up until this week, things were going pretty well and I wasn't finding it too hard. I started to ready my body, when I was full or when I had too much of one thing, and it was great.
I still however am craving sugar. Which is pretty normal since I haven't finished the 8 weeks yet. Last week, as I was cutting up fruit for the girls to eat for a snack, it was sooooooo tempting to take a little bite of the apple or have some of the mandarin But I haven't given in to those cravings yet, and I feel really good about that. I keep telling myself that it will all pay off in the end.
When I started this week though, thoughts crept in of "Do I really need to go through all this torture?" "Is it really worth it?" And as I read the IQS book again, these feelings are normal for this week. So it's so important to not give up. I know once I get through this week, it'll start to get easier. And in some ways it is.
So I'm definitely not giving up or giving in. And until the cravings stop, eggs and whipped cream are my friends! Oh, and chai tea! I've never liked chai tea much before, but now I love it! And it's so easy to grind up the whole spices in my Thermomix, and then warm the tea in it. My Thermomix makes going sugar free easy :)
Thanks again for readying :)
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Weigh in!
Hey there!
I meant to do an initial weigh in before I started the no-sugar challenge but I forgot. So I did it at the start of last week (week 3 of the challenge). Had a long week last week, of which I am still doing some catching up for.
Although these scales aren't the best, I'm going to say that at the moment, I'm 75 kilos. I did weigh myself in the middle of the day in this picture, which I should have done that first thing in the morning, but it doesn't matter too much. I have been 75 kilos for a while so I'm pretty sure this is accurate enough.
Going sugar free is not all about weight, but it is a little. That is just one of the many benefits of it! I don't have a goal weight at the moment because I think that going sugar free will put me at my ideal weight, whatever that might be for me at this stage in life (and having had 2 kids). I didn't measure my waist either, but at the moment I wear a size 14 in jeans and I wear a size 14 (or baggy 12) top.
That's all for now! I will do a weigh in at the end of the 8 weeks. Only 4 1/2 more to go!
Thanks for reading :)
Friday, 12 April 2013
IQS-Week 2 update
Well.....the week got off to a pretty good start. I felt that I did pretty well to avoid sugar. Although I was still having some fruit each day and the granola that I made has rice malt syryp in it (though no fructose), I didn't really consume any other sugar. Oh, and sometimes in the evening I have a few pieces of a very good quality dark chocolate, using coconut sugar to sweeten. Then I caved last night :(
My husband and I went on a date last night and we got pasta and galato to take away. The pasta, not a horibble choice of food but the galato, not such a good idea. See the problem with sugar, is once you start, you can't stop. And fructose especially, makes it so you can't tell if you're full or not. So you just keep eating. Which is what I did. So I had a lot of galato. And another thing that fructose does is you get a very short high, and then you crash. Which is what I did. Not long after having way to much galato, I crashed. I felt so tired and yuck.
Come today, I had a big headache and stomach cramps. So what does this tell me? I really can't and don't want, to have sugar. For the moment anyway. Starting Monday, and for 6 weeks after that, I won't having sugar at all, including fruit. This will hopefully reset my body and mind so that I will be able to know much sugar I can cope with. After this 8 week challenge, I'm not sure what will happen as I haven't made any hard fast rules about that. All I wanted to do was to do this challenge and see how I feel after that. I'm pretty sure though that I will want to keep eating this way. Throw in an occasinal treat once in a while, and maybe limit myself to 1 piece of fruit a day. We'll see!
One thing I am learning is to really be in tune with my body, to what it is saying. To listen when it's telling me to stop.
Thanks for reading :)
My husband and I went on a date last night and we got pasta and galato to take away. The pasta, not a horibble choice of food but the galato, not such a good idea. See the problem with sugar, is once you start, you can't stop. And fructose especially, makes it so you can't tell if you're full or not. So you just keep eating. Which is what I did. So I had a lot of galato. And another thing that fructose does is you get a very short high, and then you crash. Which is what I did. Not long after having way to much galato, I crashed. I felt so tired and yuck.
Come today, I had a big headache and stomach cramps. So what does this tell me? I really can't and don't want, to have sugar. For the moment anyway. Starting Monday, and for 6 weeks after that, I won't having sugar at all, including fruit. This will hopefully reset my body and mind so that I will be able to know much sugar I can cope with. After this 8 week challenge, I'm not sure what will happen as I haven't made any hard fast rules about that. All I wanted to do was to do this challenge and see how I feel after that. I'm pretty sure though that I will want to keep eating this way. Throw in an occasinal treat once in a while, and maybe limit myself to 1 piece of fruit a day. We'll see!
One thing I am learning is to really be in tune with my body, to what it is saying. To listen when it's telling me to stop.
Thanks for reading :)
Sunday, 7 April 2013
My journey to quitting sugar (fructose)
Hey there!
So I haven't been writting here much, but I'm going to start again. I have started a quit sugar plan and I think it will be helpful to journal about it. So this will be more of a journal that a blog I guess! The book that I am using is called "I Quit Sugar" by Sarah Wilson. You can find it online, or in places like K-Mart and BigW for around $25. The book includes the 8 week program to quit sugar, and over 108 recipes to help you do that.
Now just to clarify, the aim is not just to quit consuming sugar, but fructose. I could give you lots of info on reasons why this is a good idea, but I think you can do the research if you want! Good places to start is Sarah Wilson's blog http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/category/i-quit-sugar/ or David Gillespie at http://www.sweetpoison.com.au
Why do I want to quit sugar? Well, for about a year, I've been hearing a lot about the negative effects of sugar (fructose) and the benefits of quitting but I just didn't know if I could really give up the sweet stuff. I love sugar! Candies, chocolate bars, thick shakes, you name it! But I as I have become more aware of chemical/additives/preservatives, I wondered if sugar could be a problem too. One of the benefits of quitting sugar that I liked was the weight loss. I don't' feel that I have huge amounts to loose but I definitely need to shed a few kilos, especially after not always eating well during pregnancies. So as I kept hearing about the idea of quitting sugar, last September I finally decided to quit sugar for a month, along with a group of other people on facebook. The idea of that challenge was to quit processed sugar though, and for only 1 month. And it was for those two things that it didn't work as well. First of all, if you want to quite something, it takes at least 8 weeks to kick the habit, especially with fructose. And secondly, it wasn't fructose that we were quitting, but just the highly processed sugar. So after the month, although I still kept using only less processed sugar, I didn't quite altogether. And the 2.5 kilos that I lost, I gained back. So after Christmas, and just a bit before Easter, I realised that I really just needed to quit sugar (fructose) altogether. I mean what could I loose, expect some extra weight? And what will I gain? My health and better sense of nutrition back.
So that is why I want to quit sugar. There are more detailed reasons why, but I think for now I will just blog about the process and I can put in more facts later, especially as I learn more about it myself.
Technically I am into week 2. Week 1 is all about just making slow changes. So if you drinks lots of soda/pop/fizzy, then replacing that with unsweetened tea, etc. Since I have already been eating this way, that week wasn't much of a challenge. The idea though, is once you hit week 3, when you go cold turkey, to have the least amount of sugar in your system as possible. So that is what I was trying to do.
I think week 1 went pretty well. The only major slip-up I had was when we ordered some burgers for tea one night, I had a milkshake. I knew I shouldn't order it but I really wanted it so I did anyway. Honestly, I didn't feel good after drinking it. I felt yuck! And tired. So I won't be doing that again soon! But I'm not going to feel horrible and guilty because that won't get me anywhere. It's all about getting back up and trying again.
Today (Monday), I'm starting week 2. Week 2 is about replacing sugar with fat, good fat and protein. So I'm going to be eating lots of nuts, coconut oil, meat (with all the fat), olive oil, and eggs. After this post, I will keep things more brief, just short updates on how I am feeling, physically and emotionally, so I can track my progress. And I'll do a weigh in as well. Just have to find my scales!
Well, that should be about it. If you're interested in joining me in this challenge, please do! The more the merrier!
Cheers :)
So I haven't been writting here much, but I'm going to start again. I have started a quit sugar plan and I think it will be helpful to journal about it. So this will be more of a journal that a blog I guess! The book that I am using is called "I Quit Sugar" by Sarah Wilson. You can find it online, or in places like K-Mart and BigW for around $25. The book includes the 8 week program to quit sugar, and over 108 recipes to help you do that.
Now just to clarify, the aim is not just to quit consuming sugar, but fructose. I could give you lots of info on reasons why this is a good idea, but I think you can do the research if you want! Good places to start is Sarah Wilson's blog http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/category/i-quit-sugar/ or David Gillespie at http://www.sweetpoison.com.au
Why do I want to quit sugar? Well, for about a year, I've been hearing a lot about the negative effects of sugar (fructose) and the benefits of quitting but I just didn't know if I could really give up the sweet stuff. I love sugar! Candies, chocolate bars, thick shakes, you name it! But I as I have become more aware of chemical/additives/preservatives, I wondered if sugar could be a problem too. One of the benefits of quitting sugar that I liked was the weight loss. I don't' feel that I have huge amounts to loose but I definitely need to shed a few kilos, especially after not always eating well during pregnancies. So as I kept hearing about the idea of quitting sugar, last September I finally decided to quit sugar for a month, along with a group of other people on facebook. The idea of that challenge was to quit processed sugar though, and for only 1 month. And it was for those two things that it didn't work as well. First of all, if you want to quite something, it takes at least 8 weeks to kick the habit, especially with fructose. And secondly, it wasn't fructose that we were quitting, but just the highly processed sugar. So after the month, although I still kept using only less processed sugar, I didn't quite altogether. And the 2.5 kilos that I lost, I gained back. So after Christmas, and just a bit before Easter, I realised that I really just needed to quit sugar (fructose) altogether. I mean what could I loose, expect some extra weight? And what will I gain? My health and better sense of nutrition back.
So that is why I want to quit sugar. There are more detailed reasons why, but I think for now I will just blog about the process and I can put in more facts later, especially as I learn more about it myself.
Technically I am into week 2. Week 1 is all about just making slow changes. So if you drinks lots of soda/pop/fizzy, then replacing that with unsweetened tea, etc. Since I have already been eating this way, that week wasn't much of a challenge. The idea though, is once you hit week 3, when you go cold turkey, to have the least amount of sugar in your system as possible. So that is what I was trying to do.
I think week 1 went pretty well. The only major slip-up I had was when we ordered some burgers for tea one night, I had a milkshake. I knew I shouldn't order it but I really wanted it so I did anyway. Honestly, I didn't feel good after drinking it. I felt yuck! And tired. So I won't be doing that again soon! But I'm not going to feel horrible and guilty because that won't get me anywhere. It's all about getting back up and trying again.
Today (Monday), I'm starting week 2. Week 2 is about replacing sugar with fat, good fat and protein. So I'm going to be eating lots of nuts, coconut oil, meat (with all the fat), olive oil, and eggs. After this post, I will keep things more brief, just short updates on how I am feeling, physically and emotionally, so I can track my progress. And I'll do a weigh in as well. Just have to find my scales!
Well, that should be about it. If you're interested in joining me in this challenge, please do! The more the merrier!
Cheers :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)