28 April 2014

Suuuugar

I've been throwing down the Gauntlet Against Sugar for the past 2 weeks.  In that time, my cravings  have decreased significantly.  I've not eaten anything with added sugar at all in that time WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOMETHING SNEAKY.  I'm looking at you Costco's Rotisserie Chicken.  WHY does that have sugar in it? Stupid and frustrating.

I've made a lot of really positive changes in my life in the past couple of years.  I'm fitter/stronger/heathier. 

I'm still overweight and still overweight by about the same amount I was before but that's OK.  I'm smaller than I was, changing my relationship with food and making permanent changes.

I've been running with Conner most days, gearing up for Mile A Day May.  The dog loves it and I love it.  I've also got a May challenge coming up to eat clean and to workout as much as possible.  I think I will hit up the 30 Day Shred and also some Yoga.  This plus the addition of a Fitbit I've got coming and I should be on track to be the healthiest 40 year old possible in June.

I've got this.

20 April 2014

It's always a struggle

As long as I live, I will never not be struggling against sugar addiction.  I crave it hardcore.

I'm trying to go 30 days without any sugar or sweetener added to my food.  I'm really only at about day 3, and it's tough.  I've cut waaaaay back otherwise and the only added sugar I had last week was from sneaky sources.

Which brings me to a point... WHY is there sugar in chicken sausage and in rotisserie chicken?  MEAT DOESN'T NEED SUGAR.
*grumble*

My weight is still up and down.  I'm fine with this because as I fight sugar cravings, I'm eating more of other things like nuts, nut butter which is not calorie free or low in points.

My trainer challenged us to really turn up the fight on sugar this week.  We are also avoiding things like
*all refined flours (already doing this)
*carrots
*potatoes
and limiting
*fruit to one piece per day
*cheese to an amount the size of your thumb
*milk to one serving per day

PLUS sweets.  She totally ratcheted things up by issuing that challenge on Easter week.  I'm a little shocked at how much sugar is in my son's Easter Basket.  It's quite a lot.  In general, I want to remove most of my family's dependence on sugar.  It causes so many more problems than just weight.  *Sigh*

I really hope I can avoid passing my food issues along to my son.


13 April 2014

Sugar

I have a sugar problem.  It's severe.  If I avoid sugar, I look around for it everywhere.  I eat a lot trying to fill that triggered craving. 

It's time to stop that.

That's why it was so perfect when Threw Down The Gauntlet and challenged me to give up sugar for 30 days.   I'm taking wheat with it, because I find wheat to be triggering, too.

I'm going to try some of their recipes during the next 30 days (which start tomorrow.)

I'm going to try to blog more about how this feels, too.  Generally, I'm guessing that I will feel crappy at first but then feel preeeetty darn good.

Here are some of the things I will be trying...
  • eat more healthy fat- including a minimum of 2 tablespoons per day
  • eat full fat dairy
  • limit my fruit to 3 servings per day 
  • eat more vegetables
  • try to include a healthy fat with each meal or snack
Also during the next 30 days, I want to start and complete 30 Day Shred.  I'm also toying with Mile a Day May. Between 30 Day Shred and Mile a Day May, I should be pretty fit when June hits :)

I'm going to try to blog about this more in this space. 

I also want to be blunt.  I'm expecting a big gain at Weight Watchers today.  I'm not excited about it, but it's not undeserved.  I've allowed myself to be triggered into binge eating and over eating for days and days. 

So, my plan for today to get ready for this challenge

1) Make my homemade yogurt this morning
2) get my carrots and celery peeled and washed and ready to snack on
3) clear out triggering items today. 

I'll get this sorted out.

08 April 2014

Countdown to 40

So, anyway, my laptop died, which is lame.  This doesn't mean anything other than I don't have my very own computer that I can use to make infrequent posts.  I use my husbands and it's very frequently occupied.

All ridiculous excuses aside.  It's been going well and it's been going tough, this counting down to 40.

So, where am I with this?


1) Do a better job keeping my whole house clean.  My kid is 6. He can start to pitch in with his own mess.  I can sit on my ass less.  I can be proud of my home.  I don't need to knit for 3 hours per day.

Welllllllllllll, not much to see here, move along.  All jokes aside, some things are improving.  We all have work to do here.  But there's plans to create a playroom and remove the LIVING ROOM mess, which is the mess that makes me craziest.

2) Strength training.  I've got to do it. Period.  I'm going to do strength on Tuesdays, Thursdays and on Saturday when my trainer hands my ass to me for 90 minutes.

This will never not be a struggle for me.  I try, but I am not motivated to do it.  I have to get motivated.

3) Cardio.  I'm going to start running again as soon as the sidewalks clear.  I'll be taking the dog for daily walks until then.

Blah, Stupid foot.  I have an injury.  It's been 3 weeks, it's not getting better.  So, I said 'Eff It" and ran with the dog.  It went ok and hurt no more than walking on it.

4) Stretching.  Yoga and I are going to rekindle our relationship.  This will help with the pain that comes from numbers 2 and 3.
This could be better.  I'm doing a sun salutations challenge right now. That totally counts, right?

5) Food.  I've been doing well on that regard, but it can always be better.  I'm going to continue to watch what I put in my mouth and remove my reliance on man-made food.  I'll eat what I have and then make a positive change for my health and for the health of my family.

Awful, devastating, terrible.  Sugar addiction is kicking my ass lately.  I'm working on it and taking things day by day. Counting points even when it sucks to do it.  That's all I've got.

6) Push Ups.  SOME WAY, SOME HOW I am going to do 40 push ups on my toes.

This? I've got this in the win column.  I did 40 push ups on my toes last night.  It was 2 sets of 10 and 4 sets of 5 but I did it.  I just need to work on doing first all 40 in sets of 10, then 45 in sets of 15, then 40 in sets of 20, then 50 in sets of 25 and THEN JUST DO THEM ALL, OK?

Thanks for reading, touching base with me and reminding me I have a blog.  I need ALLL of these things.  I'm here, I'm clipping along and I'm still trying too hard to figure it all out.