Two days ago I quit sugar.
I had been feeling moderately convicted to do it for months, but was ignoring the conviction because, well, I knew it would be hard. And I am tired of doing hard things. But the conviction got stronger, and the guilt at telling my children to do hard things while I was unwilling to do so, got heavier. I signed up for this quitting sugar support group, but they weren't starting until October. So I decided to just take the plunge and do it now on my own.
What that means is that for the next 8 weeks I am cutting out ALL sugar (as much as possible anyway) from my diet. No pop or Snapple, no Cheerios, no fresh or dried fruit, no cookies or muffins (at least not the way I am used to making them). No ice cream or orange juice or lemonade! It DOES mean meat, and lots and lots of veggies, bread, cheese, eggs, nuts, and a new way of preparing snacks and desserts. After 8 weeks I will slowly add back in some low fructose fruits and see how my body tolerates them.
My timing is somewhat ironic, as we are experiencing warmer-than-normal temps and currently have no a/c in the house, so I am already dragging from the heat. Now I am also dragging from the sugar crash, or withdrawal, or whatever you call it when your body suddenly realizes it's being deprived of the chemical jolt it was used to getting (multiple times) every day.
Day 1 was not too bad, actually. I made myself an awesome omelette for breakfast, with two eggs and loads of veggies, a bit of cheese and a touch of fresh basil. So I was all protein-ed up and satisfied for several hours. My hardest time came before bed, when I wanted a small snack and didn't think I had any good sugar free options. After a bit of googling, I came up with toast with peanut butter on it.
Day 2, yesterday, was REALLY hard. My body just wanted sugar sooooo badly! I made it through the day, but it required every ounce of will power I had, and I was not a very pleasant person that last hour before dinner.
Today I have dinner already prepared, sitting in the fridge waiting to bake tonight. I will move our toaster oven out to the porch and cook dinner out there so it will not make my kitchen any hotter. I am trying my hand at my first naturally sweetened, non-bake dessert. This no-sugar way of eating is requiring adjustments to the way I plan and prepare for meals, but I like that it is really simple. There is really only one prohibition so it's really easy to remember!
I'll let you know how it goes....
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
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