Thirty-one days into this year and as of the last 7-10 days I've noticed the following positive changes:
1) I am sleeping so much better! I am not what you would call a "good" sleeper. Of course, my only comparison is my husband who is one of those people that puts his head on the pillow and is knocked-out cold. Even when he wakes up, he's back asleep before he can even remember being up in the first place. It normally takes me a bit to fall asleep, I wake up a few times every night, and at least 3-4 times a week I lie awake in the middle of the night for awhile (30 min to 2 hours!). Until this past week! I have been sleeping through the night. And yes, I used that phrase, once you have kids the phrase "sleeping through the night" becomes part of your daily vocabulary. And when I do wake up (due to the two kids, snoring husband, etc) I am falling back asleep in about 5 minutes!!
A big difference is that when something does wake me up (crying baby, husband twitching in his sleep), I don't wake up wired. That was the sugar's doing. Without it, my body feels tired (as it should at 3 in the morning!) and I'm able to fall back asleep really quickly.
2) My temperament is more mellow. I'm going to get more into this on Monday's post about the link between my anxiety and sugar, but I can already tell I am am little calmer these days. There have been moments when I know in the past I would have lost my patience and my lid would have popped. Not as much these days. Although I won't lie and say I never lose my temper. I do have two kids in diapers. Sugar-free doesn't make you Mother Theresa.
3) I've lost about 5 pounds. I don't like to harp too much on the weight loss because it's not the most important reason for why I am doing this, but it's worth a mention and I'm not complaining! I actually think the weight loss is due more to not eating gluten. Grains (particularly those with gluten) are difficult to digest and can really bloat you.
So one month down, eleven to go! January was probably the toughest month physically but the easiest mentally. Motivation is always high at the beginning, it's keeping up the momentum that is the hard part. Bring on February!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Prep-ahead Meal #1
Ok so this meal isn't exactly "prep-ahead" but you can certainly do parts of it ahead of time and it is super simple to pull together at the end.
Grandma Sandy's Meatballs from a gluten-free blog. This is the Hubs' FAVORITE! Seriously, he's not one for showing much emotion, but I actually get a big grin on his face when he sees this heating up on the stove. It has a delicious mushroom sauce and he's in love with mushrooms.
I made a few changes for our house but if you follow the recipe as listed it will come out great. I use gluten-free bread crumbs (I may replace these with oats in the future). It makes a lot of meatballs, easily two meals for a family of four. I always take half of the meatballs and stick them in a zip-loc freezer bag to use again. Depending on how much mushroom sauce you like, you can stretch this out to two meals as well. The sauce actually freezes pretty well. You could certainly double the sauce and freeze for later as well. And if you serve it with rice you can freeze a batch of rice as well. So actually, the whole meal could be frozen for later use!
I use arrowroot powder instead of the cornstarch (I try to avoid corn, especially when at the beginning stages of sugar-free) and I serve it with egg noodles for the Hubs and my Music Man. The sauce definitely is comfort food and it lends itself to warm, thick noodles! I eat it over rice, but recently I've just been having the meatballs over a pile of cooked greens. I usually wilts greens with some onions and garlic for a side dish.
I think in the future I'll double the recipe and hopefully get 3-4 meals out of this.
Grandma Sandy's Meatballs from a gluten-free blog. This is the Hubs' FAVORITE! Seriously, he's not one for showing much emotion, but I actually get a big grin on his face when he sees this heating up on the stove. It has a delicious mushroom sauce and he's in love with mushrooms.
I made a few changes for our house but if you follow the recipe as listed it will come out great. I use gluten-free bread crumbs (I may replace these with oats in the future). It makes a lot of meatballs, easily two meals for a family of four. I always take half of the meatballs and stick them in a zip-loc freezer bag to use again. Depending on how much mushroom sauce you like, you can stretch this out to two meals as well. The sauce actually freezes pretty well. You could certainly double the sauce and freeze for later as well. And if you serve it with rice you can freeze a batch of rice as well. So actually, the whole meal could be frozen for later use!
I use arrowroot powder instead of the cornstarch (I try to avoid corn, especially when at the beginning stages of sugar-free) and I serve it with egg noodles for the Hubs and my Music Man. The sauce definitely is comfort food and it lends itself to warm, thick noodles! I eat it over rice, but recently I've just been having the meatballs over a pile of cooked greens. I usually wilts greens with some onions and garlic for a side dish.
I think in the future I'll double the recipe and hopefully get 3-4 meals out of this.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Feeling full!
Just a quick update. Four weeks in and today I actually feel satiated from my meals. Let me clarify, it's 5:30 and I'm getting dinner for my kids and have the option to dish out some soup for myself and I stopped because I realized I wasn't hungry. Since my lunch at 12:00, I've only had one carrot with some hummus. Normally I am ALWAYS hungry, or feel like I need something in my stomach (especially after 5 hours). Without sugar, my body can actually tell me when it truly needs food.
Getting back on the horse...
Two years ago, I had recently moved to Charlotte and was moving past the whole "just moved to a new place, have a 6 month old, have to get furniture, unpack, find a grocery store, meet a friend" crazy stage. I had started eating really healthy, was doing a lot of research online, and decided to sign up for an online program run by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to get my health coaching certification. Two to three times a week I would put my son in his stroller and go for nice long walks while I listened to an array of classes taught by the world-leaders in alternative medicine. Topics ranged from diet to spirituality, vegetarian recipes to how to prepare grass-fed beef, and I felt so good listening to them. They motivated me to get healthier, fueled my disgust for the corporate and government BS that is out there about health, and helped me dream a pretty fantastic future that included being a health coach, running cooking classes, blogging, etc.
About 2/3 of the way into my program I became pregnant with my daughter. And while I tried super hard to eat healthy throughout my pregnancy (for the most part I did pretty well, especially during the first trimester) life began to intervene and I started to slip a little. Compared to what I ate prior to Charlotte, I was still doing great. But what really took a toll was the time I could spend learning about nutrition and keeping in touch with current news regarding health and diet. When my daughter was born I sunk into the abyss that is the first six months of a newborn. I took a little longer to emerge this time because I now had two kids depending on me for all of their needs.
But today, I finally feel like I have emerged. Well, at least in this new "two kids" kind of way. I have come to terms with the fact that as life with your first baby will never be like life before children, life with two will never be the same as life with one!
Today the sun is shining down here in the Carolinas and it is a beautiful 70 degrees out. While my Music Man was at preschool, I took my Little Peanut for a walk through the neighborhood and re-listened to one of the courses from my program. It was all about whole grains and I hope to some day write a little about what I learned. It felt so incredibly great to think about something that wasn't diapers or laundry and actually use my brain to process some really important information. And it motivated me once again to continue on my sugar-free whole foods quest.
I am hoping to listen to these courses more. I don't think two to three times a week is feasible right now, so I'll try for once a week. Baby steps, the only way to move :)
About 2/3 of the way into my program I became pregnant with my daughter. And while I tried super hard to eat healthy throughout my pregnancy (for the most part I did pretty well, especially during the first trimester) life began to intervene and I started to slip a little. Compared to what I ate prior to Charlotte, I was still doing great. But what really took a toll was the time I could spend learning about nutrition and keeping in touch with current news regarding health and diet. When my daughter was born I sunk into the abyss that is the first six months of a newborn. I took a little longer to emerge this time because I now had two kids depending on me for all of their needs.
But today, I finally feel like I have emerged. Well, at least in this new "two kids" kind of way. I have come to terms with the fact that as life with your first baby will never be like life before children, life with two will never be the same as life with one!
Today the sun is shining down here in the Carolinas and it is a beautiful 70 degrees out. While my Music Man was at preschool, I took my Little Peanut for a walk through the neighborhood and re-listened to one of the courses from my program. It was all about whole grains and I hope to some day write a little about what I learned. It felt so incredibly great to think about something that wasn't diapers or laundry and actually use my brain to process some really important information. And it motivated me once again to continue on my sugar-free whole foods quest.
I am hoping to listen to these courses more. I don't think two to three times a week is feasible right now, so I'll try for once a week. Baby steps, the only way to move :)
Monday, January 28, 2013
Why Am I Doing This?
One of the reasons why I shared this blog with friends and family at first was to help them gain a better understanding for why I am doing this sugar-free year. While they all love me, I know a lot of them are having a tough time wrapping their heads around this "sugar addiction" thing and why I have chosen to go cold turkey. I'm sure it seems rather extreme to some people. And I get it. Really, I do. So many of us struggle with eating well and almost all of the literature out there says to make small changes and not do anything too radical because that is tough to keep up with long term. I actually completely agree with this. I think most people should live their life with a 90/10 rule. Ninety percent of the time eat well and ten percent of the time cut yourself some slack. It's actually the main philosophy from the online program I completed.
The problem is, at this moment, I just can't do that.
As I've stated before, I believe I am physically addicted to sugar. Much like an alcoholic. The good news is that the human body is amazing in its ability to regenerate and recover. There is a very good chance that after a year of healing I can eat a little sugar without it affecting me so severely. There's also a good chance that part of this addiction has a huge emotional component, and that through blogging and discovering my emotional cues and patterns for overeating, I can overcome this as well. In those books on sugar addiction that I referred to in a past post, many people find that after a certain amount of time they can handle unrefined sugars. Natural sweeteners like honey, coconut sugar and maple syrup can be tolerated in small amounts. But, for some, they will always struggle with any kind of sugar. I try not to get too hung up on that because there's no sense worrying about that now. I know that I need to do this for more than a few months because that is what I have done before and I wasn't successful. So I assigned myself a year and I plan to stick to it and see what happens come January 2014.
Now with almost a month of blogging under my belt it's time to get this a little more organized. I knew that January was just the start and that my only goal was to make sure I wrote consistently. And I did that! There were a few days I didn't feel like writing but I sat down and made myself do it more often than not. I think I only missed a few days and I'm really proud of myself for that.
I'd like to organize my weeks a little more this upcoming month. So I've decided that every Monday (starting next week) I'm going to write a little bit about the reasons why I am doing this. I want to share all the changes I see when I'm sugar-free and why this really is a big decision for me with powerful and positive outcomes. And there's more to my diet than just sugar-free. I try to eat REAL food. And I'll define this more specifically as the year goes on. I've got seven reasons that I plan on addressing each week:
1) Anxiety
2) Fatigue
3) Long-term Health
4) Weight Loss
5) Support farmers and companies who care about the well-being of their customers and the planet
6) I LOVE Food
7) It Completes Me! (you may have to channel your inner-Oprah to stomach this particular post...)
The problem is, at this moment, I just can't do that.
As I've stated before, I believe I am physically addicted to sugar. Much like an alcoholic. The good news is that the human body is amazing in its ability to regenerate and recover. There is a very good chance that after a year of healing I can eat a little sugar without it affecting me so severely. There's also a good chance that part of this addiction has a huge emotional component, and that through blogging and discovering my emotional cues and patterns for overeating, I can overcome this as well. In those books on sugar addiction that I referred to in a past post, many people find that after a certain amount of time they can handle unrefined sugars. Natural sweeteners like honey, coconut sugar and maple syrup can be tolerated in small amounts. But, for some, they will always struggle with any kind of sugar. I try not to get too hung up on that because there's no sense worrying about that now. I know that I need to do this for more than a few months because that is what I have done before and I wasn't successful. So I assigned myself a year and I plan to stick to it and see what happens come January 2014.
Now with almost a month of blogging under my belt it's time to get this a little more organized. I knew that January was just the start and that my only goal was to make sure I wrote consistently. And I did that! There were a few days I didn't feel like writing but I sat down and made myself do it more often than not. I think I only missed a few days and I'm really proud of myself for that.
I'd like to organize my weeks a little more this upcoming month. So I've decided that every Monday (starting next week) I'm going to write a little bit about the reasons why I am doing this. I want to share all the changes I see when I'm sugar-free and why this really is a big decision for me with powerful and positive outcomes. And there's more to my diet than just sugar-free. I try to eat REAL food. And I'll define this more specifically as the year goes on. I've got seven reasons that I plan on addressing each week:
1) Anxiety
2) Fatigue
3) Long-term Health
4) Weight Loss
5) Support farmers and companies who care about the well-being of their customers and the planet
6) I LOVE Food
7) It Completes Me! (you may have to channel your inner-Oprah to stomach this particular post...)
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Stir-fry Recipe #1
I tried a new recipe tonight and it was a winner. Simple ingredients, can do some prep work ahead of time, and very simple to cook. This earns it a spot in my 20 recipes, under the stir-fry category.
It's from my new favorite blogger, the Wellness Mama: Chicken and Squash Vegetable Stir-fry
I only used one onion instead of two because the mountain of vegetables on my cutting board didn't seem like it would make it into the wok. I stuck to the spices she listed at the bottom, but next time I may add a little curry. I like that you can change the spices a bit to add some variety.
Today was a strange day because it kept feeling like a Saturday since the Hubs arrived last night from a business trip. But alas, it's Sunday, and the work week starts as soon as it ended. I am hopping my kiddos can ditch these colds they have so we can have some playdates. And I hope my little peanut stops waking up at 5:30. We shall see!
I've almost completed one month of my sugar-free year!
It's from my new favorite blogger, the Wellness Mama: Chicken and Squash Vegetable Stir-fry
I only used one onion instead of two because the mountain of vegetables on my cutting board didn't seem like it would make it into the wok. I stuck to the spices she listed at the bottom, but next time I may add a little curry. I like that you can change the spices a bit to add some variety.
Today was a strange day because it kept feeling like a Saturday since the Hubs arrived last night from a business trip. But alas, it's Sunday, and the work week starts as soon as it ended. I am hopping my kiddos can ditch these colds they have so we can have some playdates. And I hope my little peanut stops waking up at 5:30. We shall see!
I've almost completed one month of my sugar-free year!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
First Temptation Thwarted!
Today's the first day I had to have a little conversation with myself about whether or not to eat a certain food. I had fallen behind on my food prep, had been awake since 5:30 due to a certain little girl's current early schedule, and was at the end of a pretty long stretch without the Hubs home. The kids were down for their naps in the afternoon and I hadn't had time to really sit down and eat a legit meal yet (not something I normally do and I highly advise against it. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day). One of the drawbacks of eating this way is there aren't many meals you can just open your fridge or pantry door and make in 2 minutes. So when you haven't prepared in advance and you're super worn out from the day it's tough to motivate to put in the effort to make a salad or cook up some rice or wilt some greens. Instead, you look at your son's leftover pancakes from breakfast for a good minute. You see them on the plate, just a few bites, and think to yourself that if you weren't living sugar free you would have already eaten those three hours ago when you were cleaning up the breakfast dishes. But there they still sit.
People often think the toughest thing about living sugar-free is not being able to eat legitimate desserts. Ice cream, chocolate cake, candy. My friends often apologize if they eat a cookie in front of me. Honestly, that isn't too difficult. Yes, there are times when I just want some chocolate or feel left out if people are celebrating a birthday with cake, but for the most part that doesn't get to me. I know I can't eat dessert, and dessert isn't necessary. It's not like I'm starving and the only option to eat is a huge batch of cookies.
The tough parts are when I literally can't find something to eat! It's days like today, when my only easy lunch options are carrot sticks with hummus and a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon, peanut butter and coconut flakes. Those foods give me calories but are not what I had in mind for lunch. When my meals don't satisfy me then I start looking for something I shouldn't have...normally something with wheat, white flour, sugar and other processed junk.
But I didn't eat them! Woo-hoo! Instead, I got some more carrots out and sat down to watch some re-runs of The Office. That show seriously was so much better with Steve Carrell. Watched The Deposition today - when Jan tries to sue the company and brings Michael in for questioning. I laughed out loud at least four times. Laughing definitely gets your mind off food!
So I chalk today up to a big victory. This go around with sugar-free I just have so much more knowledge. I love that I know why I wanted those pancakes:
1) I needed something to eat
2) I haven't been doing a great job of putting variety into my diet or creating great tasty dishes for myself. This is when I start looking for sugary type stuff.
Hopefully I can find some time over the next week to prepare myself some food. Tomorrow I am starting on my 20 staple meals!
People often think the toughest thing about living sugar-free is not being able to eat legitimate desserts. Ice cream, chocolate cake, candy. My friends often apologize if they eat a cookie in front of me. Honestly, that isn't too difficult. Yes, there are times when I just want some chocolate or feel left out if people are celebrating a birthday with cake, but for the most part that doesn't get to me. I know I can't eat dessert, and dessert isn't necessary. It's not like I'm starving and the only option to eat is a huge batch of cookies.
The tough parts are when I literally can't find something to eat! It's days like today, when my only easy lunch options are carrot sticks with hummus and a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon, peanut butter and coconut flakes. Those foods give me calories but are not what I had in mind for lunch. When my meals don't satisfy me then I start looking for something I shouldn't have...normally something with wheat, white flour, sugar and other processed junk.
But I didn't eat them! Woo-hoo! Instead, I got some more carrots out and sat down to watch some re-runs of The Office. That show seriously was so much better with Steve Carrell. Watched The Deposition today - when Jan tries to sue the company and brings Michael in for questioning. I laughed out loud at least four times. Laughing definitely gets your mind off food!
So I chalk today up to a big victory. This go around with sugar-free I just have so much more knowledge. I love that I know why I wanted those pancakes:
1) I needed something to eat
2) I haven't been doing a great job of putting variety into my diet or creating great tasty dishes for myself. This is when I start looking for sugary type stuff.
Hopefully I can find some time over the next week to prepare myself some food. Tomorrow I am starting on my 20 staple meals!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Meal Planning
So I've been trying to wrap my head around meal planning for quite some time. I know I have to do it and I know it'll make my life easier, but for some reason the night before I head to the store I am am staring at a pad of paper wondering what the heck I'm going to buy!
I've spent the past week or two looking online, buying eBooks, and compiling all these lists of ideas and tips for meal planning. It is intimidating to say the least. I have learned that I do better working in stages. A few posts back I talked about how I was going to go through all of my recipes and root through ones I liked, categorize them by who can eat them in our house, and make a long list. Even that is too much for me. I seriously take the term "baby steps" to a new level for a 32 year old.
I recently saw something online that resonated with me. A GREAT blog is Wellness Mama. Seriously, I love this site. So many great recipes and I really dig a lot of her food philosophies. I went there today to try and figure out some good ideas for baby meals and her most recent post was this. Seven meal planning basics. Definitely give it a quick glance. She talks about having a template for each week and I want to try this. Here's my first crack at it:
1 stir fry
2 slow cooker
1 soup
1-2 different cuisine (Mexican, Indian, etc)
1-2 meals that can be prepped ahead and thrown in the oven
The Wellness Mama also suggests having 20 meals that are staples in your household. If you have 20 then you can plan on cooking 5 a week so that your family enjoys one every month. The other two nights you can try something new or eat left-overs. This is what I was looking for when I started going through my old recipes, but I like this idea of having a number to strive for. I'm going to spend the next 4-5 weeks trying to create this list of 20.
I've spent the past week or two looking online, buying eBooks, and compiling all these lists of ideas and tips for meal planning. It is intimidating to say the least. I have learned that I do better working in stages. A few posts back I talked about how I was going to go through all of my recipes and root through ones I liked, categorize them by who can eat them in our house, and make a long list. Even that is too much for me. I seriously take the term "baby steps" to a new level for a 32 year old.
I recently saw something online that resonated with me. A GREAT blog is Wellness Mama. Seriously, I love this site. So many great recipes and I really dig a lot of her food philosophies. I went there today to try and figure out some good ideas for baby meals and her most recent post was this. Seven meal planning basics. Definitely give it a quick glance. She talks about having a template for each week and I want to try this. Here's my first crack at it:
1 stir fry
2 slow cooker
1 soup
1-2 different cuisine (Mexican, Indian, etc)
1-2 meals that can be prepped ahead and thrown in the oven
The Wellness Mama also suggests having 20 meals that are staples in your household. If you have 20 then you can plan on cooking 5 a week so that your family enjoys one every month. The other two nights you can try something new or eat left-overs. This is what I was looking for when I started going through my old recipes, but I like this idea of having a number to strive for. I'm going to spend the next 4-5 weeks trying to create this list of 20.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Sweet Vegetables and Recipe: Carrot Fritters
Last year, I completed an online program from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and became a certified Health Coach. Pursing a career as a health coach is one of the dreams I had mentioned in the post last night. I learned so much from that program and this year I plan on listening to a lot of the classes again and sharing some really useful knowledge regarding nutrition. There was a lot of information on cravings and how they are actually a totally normal physical reaction that you can't avoid. A craving is simply your body's way of telling you that something is missing. So a sweet craving isn't necessarily some evil ploy meant to keep you out of your skinny jeans, it means there's something going on physiologically. Sometimes it means you've got too much salt in your system (sweet and salty tend to balance each other out), but other times you may just need something sweet! Of course, your body is probably not telling you it needs a double chocolate fudge brownie. I tend to believe that our body's signals are quite primal and I doubt the cavemen were scarfing down brownies in between hunts. However, there are a lot of naturally sweet foods out there. Fruit is the obvious one but since I'm not eating fructose right now (sugar is sugar and right now I need a true break from it) I turn to sweet vegetables instead.
Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and onions are my favorite. When cooked the carbs in these vegetables break down into really sweet treats. Add some butter/coconut oil and some cinnamon and you practically have a dessert. Any time I've gone sugar free I make sure I stock up on these foods. I usually roast about 3 sweet potatoes per week to have on hand when I'm really having a craving. And I caramelize onions all the time to add to my greens, eggs or most dinner dishes I make.
Something I found this go around is a recipe for carrot fritters. It's from the blog Delicieux which I haven't had much of a chance to check out yet. A great side that is super easy to make. My Little Peanut loved them! I used oat flour but I bet almond or brown rice flour would also work great.
Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and onions are my favorite. When cooked the carbs in these vegetables break down into really sweet treats. Add some butter/coconut oil and some cinnamon and you practically have a dessert. Any time I've gone sugar free I make sure I stock up on these foods. I usually roast about 3 sweet potatoes per week to have on hand when I'm really having a craving. And I caramelize onions all the time to add to my greens, eggs or most dinner dishes I make.
Something I found this go around is a recipe for carrot fritters. It's from the blog Delicieux which I haven't had much of a chance to check out yet. A great side that is super easy to make. My Little Peanut loved them! I used oat flour but I bet almond or brown rice flour would also work great.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Oh The Places You'll Go!
I've been reading my son Dr. Seuss's Oh The Places You'll Go and I think I've loved it more than he has. He's only 2 1/2 so he's more into counting the balloons on the pictures and hearing new words like "slump" for the first time, but I hope that it's a book he'll read again and again as he grows up. I am actually getting pretty inspired by the verses. I feel like I have fallen into one of those fore mentioned slumps at times and have been one of those "people just waiting." It's tough not to think about all the things I could be doing if I wasn't at home with two small children. But just that sentence alone is what Dr. Seuss is saying. I'm just "waiting for my kids to gain some more independence", "waiting for my husband to finish his night school so he's home more go help", "waiting to get some more free time" before I start moving my mountain.
But then I remind myself of what I'm doing now. Writing this blog, living sugar-free, and constantly educating myself on food and nutrition for my family. This year is the start of something even greater than what I have now, and I have A LOT. I'm slowly chipping away towards some pretty big dreams I have. And my kids are my inspiration. Because you can read them book after book about going after their dreams but the biggest motivator of all will be seeing their Mommy achieve hers.
So another day down sugar-free and for the first time I can think about sweets without feeling like I NEED one. Tomorrow starts a pretty long week for me with little help with my kids and more days without my husband home. I'm going to take it one day at a time and remind myself that sugar, wheat and processed foods are not my real friends who can get me through a rough time.
But then I remind myself of what I'm doing now. Writing this blog, living sugar-free, and constantly educating myself on food and nutrition for my family. This year is the start of something even greater than what I have now, and I have A LOT. I'm slowly chipping away towards some pretty big dreams I have. And my kids are my inspiration. Because you can read them book after book about going after their dreams but the biggest motivator of all will be seeing their Mommy achieve hers.
So another day down sugar-free and for the first time I can think about sweets without feeling like I NEED one. Tomorrow starts a pretty long week for me with little help with my kids and more days without my husband home. I'm going to take it one day at a time and remind myself that sugar, wheat and processed foods are not my real friends who can get me through a rough time.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Pot Roast
Brrrrr, it's actually feeling like winter down here in the South! Although it's not really that cold. If you can go outside with your 2 1/2 year old and neither of you is wearing a hat or gloves and you can't see your breath then it's not cold! But I do like the crispness of the air. This is our third winter living in Charlotte and we haven't experienced much of a winter season. It's nice for a change, although I'm not tired of my beautiful, sunny and 70 degree days yet!
One of the reasons I enjoy a winter day is there are so many wonderful recipes made with heavy, stick-to-your-ribs, warm you right up foods. Like this pot roast recipe I made the other day that is super simple and absolutely delicious. I'm never in the mood for this when it's T-shirt weather so I took advantage of what Mother Nature had to offer me and pulled out the slow-cooker.
This is from a blog called Kalyn's Kitchen. She's got a ton of great recipes posted. Taste this roast
and you'll be searching her site for more great ideas! (If you don't have beef broth, use chicken broth instead. I actually think mine came out better with chicken because I used a low-sodium brand and it didn't taste as salty. Most beef broths are loaded with sodium.)
Tomorrow is my mom's last day visiting us. It's going to be a tough week or so at home so I'm hoping to keep my cravings and emotional eating in check. Hopefully knowing in advance that this will be difficult will help me stay the course!
Tomorrow is my mom's last day visiting us. It's going to be a tough week or so at home so I'm hoping to keep my cravings and emotional eating in check. Hopefully knowing in advance that this will be difficult will help me stay the course!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Three Weeks Down
The first time I went sugar-free was for three weeks and it felt like an eternity! This was a drastic change from how I had been eating before, and my cooking skills back then were sub-par at best. I spent the entire three weeks eating roasted zucchini and eggplant with grilled chicken for breakfast (I couldn't stomach oatmeal without honey!), salads for lunch, and usually some sort of meat with a vegetable and rice for dinner. That was it. So when the three weeks were up (a chiropractor had told me to go 3 weeks and then slowly start adding some things into my diet to see how it went) I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I tasted some blue cheese and dried cranberries! I think I lasted maybe four days eating pretty much the same food with a few add ins, and then BAM, back to my old ways. While my mind and heart were ecstatic to eat sandwiches, chips and desserts again, my body wasn't too thrilled. My digestive tract probably felt like it was going through some sort of torture protocol led by Jack Bauer.
There was so much I didn't understand back then. I had no idea there were so many foods that I COULD eat that would provide my palette with a variety of flavors and tastes. I didn't know how to say quinoa let alone cook a dish with it. Turmeric sounded more like a cleaning agent than a spice. I had no idea how much of an emotional connection I had to food. And I certainly had never heard of sugar addiction or would have believed it was a true, physiological reaction in some peoples' bodies.
So on this 21st day of my sugar-free year I took some time to reflect on how much I have learned since May of 2009. I have so many more tools this go around and feel really confident that I can accomplish this goal. Only ten more days with this really strict diet. Then bring on the fruit and dairy!
There was so much I didn't understand back then. I had no idea there were so many foods that I COULD eat that would provide my palette with a variety of flavors and tastes. I didn't know how to say quinoa let alone cook a dish with it. Turmeric sounded more like a cleaning agent than a spice. I had no idea how much of an emotional connection I had to food. And I certainly had never heard of sugar addiction or would have believed it was a true, physiological reaction in some peoples' bodies.
So on this 21st day of my sugar-free year I took some time to reflect on how much I have learned since May of 2009. I have so many more tools this go around and feel really confident that I can accomplish this goal. Only ten more days with this really strict diet. Then bring on the fruit and dairy!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Too Many Screens!
I woke up this morning craving pancakes. Uh-oh. The diet is already starting to feel old and I'm only three weeks in! And I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything I want to do:
* Cooking meals
* Cooking my kids' meals
* Organizing my recipes
* Creating a weekly (maybe monthly) menu plan
* Look for and try all the sugar-free recipes I find on Pinterest and the zillions of blogs and facebook pages I get notifications for
* Writing this blog
* Getting some "meat" into this blog (i.e. ingredient profiles, cooking tips, benefits of a whole foods diet)
* Read a book
* Clean up the 6 month old stains on my rugs
* Do laundry enough so I don't run out of underwear again
* Get the kids outside in between nap and food schedules
* Shower before my hair gets so greasy it can stand straight up
* Brush my teeth at least every other day
Time, time, time. Great intro to a Bengals song, but also what I find myself desperately needing these days. Back when I had my son I recognized that I was watching too much TV during the day. I always had it on in the background and it distracted me from getting tasks done in an orderly fashion. It also made it tougher to pay attention to my little baby. Amazing how they don't annoy you as much when you finally concede your time and give 100% of your attention to them and not to the Real Housewives. Now with the two of them I have noticed that it's not the TV screen, it's the computer screen that is sucking up precious minutes (OK, hours!) of my day.
Email, Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, news websites. A person can spend an entire day on the internet. Every time I open up my computer and go to my Pinterest page to look up old recipes for meal planning I end up pinning 10 more recipes, reading all the notifications I get on Facebook from other healthy mamas and pinning those recipes, and before I know it I haven't gotten one meal planned and have even more stuff on my pages to confuse me. It takes way too much time to plan. And every time I hear my email notification go off I rush to check it. Yes, it is super important to see that my Toys R Us Rewards points are available (which I never use!).
This sugar-free diet has made time even more important. So I'm going to try to take the same strategy I do with my phone. I turn my text alert off so that the only time I see text messages are when I walk by my phone or need to use it. I admit that I do still check it for texts but I don't let the texts interrupt something I am doing. I'm going to keep all the applications closed during the day. I wish I could just shut it off completely, but my son likes to listen to the music we have on iTunes. I'll open up the internet at night when the kids are in bed. People do try to get a hold of me on email sometimes so I'll check that on my phone maybe twice a day. I'm curious to see how much time this buys me. And I just realized I'm going to have to get organized with my meals cause I'll have to open it for recipes when I cook dinner. Ugh! This is going to be tough, but if I can go a year without sugar I can clearly go a day without the internet, right?!?
* Cooking meals
* Cooking my kids' meals
* Organizing my recipes
* Creating a weekly (maybe monthly) menu plan
* Look for and try all the sugar-free recipes I find on Pinterest and the zillions of blogs and facebook pages I get notifications for
* Writing this blog
* Getting some "meat" into this blog (i.e. ingredient profiles, cooking tips, benefits of a whole foods diet)
* Read a book
* Clean up the 6 month old stains on my rugs
* Do laundry enough so I don't run out of underwear again
* Get the kids outside in between nap and food schedules
* Shower before my hair gets so greasy it can stand straight up
* Brush my teeth at least every other day
Time, time, time. Great intro to a Bengals song, but also what I find myself desperately needing these days. Back when I had my son I recognized that I was watching too much TV during the day. I always had it on in the background and it distracted me from getting tasks done in an orderly fashion. It also made it tougher to pay attention to my little baby. Amazing how they don't annoy you as much when you finally concede your time and give 100% of your attention to them and not to the Real Housewives. Now with the two of them I have noticed that it's not the TV screen, it's the computer screen that is sucking up precious minutes (OK, hours!) of my day.
Email, Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, news websites. A person can spend an entire day on the internet. Every time I open up my computer and go to my Pinterest page to look up old recipes for meal planning I end up pinning 10 more recipes, reading all the notifications I get on Facebook from other healthy mamas and pinning those recipes, and before I know it I haven't gotten one meal planned and have even more stuff on my pages to confuse me. It takes way too much time to plan. And every time I hear my email notification go off I rush to check it. Yes, it is super important to see that my Toys R Us Rewards points are available (which I never use!).
This sugar-free diet has made time even more important. So I'm going to try to take the same strategy I do with my phone. I turn my text alert off so that the only time I see text messages are when I walk by my phone or need to use it. I admit that I do still check it for texts but I don't let the texts interrupt something I am doing. I'm going to keep all the applications closed during the day. I wish I could just shut it off completely, but my son likes to listen to the music we have on iTunes. I'll open up the internet at night when the kids are in bed. People do try to get a hold of me on email sometimes so I'll check that on my phone maybe twice a day. I'm curious to see how much time this buys me. And I just realized I'm going to have to get organized with my meals cause I'll have to open it for recipes when I cook dinner. Ugh! This is going to be tough, but if I can go a year without sugar I can clearly go a day without the internet, right?!?
Friday, January 18, 2013
Fatigue!
I have been absolutely exhausted allllllll week. I'd like to blame it on sugar withdrawal but I can't. I'm sure it doesn't help, like I've said before, it usually takes me about 3-4 weeks to notice a difference in my energy levels. But no, I think I have another reason for this inability to keep my eyes open or my body off the couch whenever I get a chance. Actually, two reasons:
The Music Man and my Little Peanut. My two angels. Weighing in at 33 pounds and 17 pounds, these two pack one heck of a punch. I can only hope that my sugar-free diet will boost my ability to get through a day, although I am being realistic about the whole thing. I don't think I'll ever have the energy I used to with this diet. Not until both kids are using a toilet, feeding themselves, dressing themselves, bathing themselves, driving themselves, and living by themselves. So about twenty years! But they are my inspiration because when I am sugar-free I have a much clearer mind, loads more patience, and enough energy to at least stumble through a day. All essential to being a good mommy.
But this week was tough and next week will be even tougher. The hubs leaves again for another week-long business trip and my mom is only here through the middle of the week. I'm a little nervous about this coming week because I know I'm going to be stressed and tired and not motivated to do a lot of cooking. And I'll be feeling lonely which is when I turn to food. Hopefully knowing this in advance will help me get through. I have been craving a lot of fruit lately. I told myself I would go through January without it in hopes that my sugar cravings could withstand a serving or two of fructose every day. I was thinking of bending on that rule, but with the way I am craving it lately I think I was smart to make myself go a full month. Don't think my body can handle that yet.
Now time to do some menu planning. I did not get through all of my old recipes today, I only sifted through one folder. I think organizing all of my shopping, cooking and planning is going to take a lot longer than I originally thought. I somehow keep forgetting how much time my two little ones eat up!
The Music Man and my Little Peanut. My two angels. Weighing in at 33 pounds and 17 pounds, these two pack one heck of a punch. I can only hope that my sugar-free diet will boost my ability to get through a day, although I am being realistic about the whole thing. I don't think I'll ever have the energy I used to with this diet. Not until both kids are using a toilet, feeding themselves, dressing themselves, bathing themselves, driving themselves, and living by themselves. So about twenty years! But they are my inspiration because when I am sugar-free I have a much clearer mind, loads more patience, and enough energy to at least stumble through a day. All essential to being a good mommy.
But this week was tough and next week will be even tougher. The hubs leaves again for another week-long business trip and my mom is only here through the middle of the week. I'm a little nervous about this coming week because I know I'm going to be stressed and tired and not motivated to do a lot of cooking. And I'll be feeling lonely which is when I turn to food. Hopefully knowing this in advance will help me get through. I have been craving a lot of fruit lately. I told myself I would go through January without it in hopes that my sugar cravings could withstand a serving or two of fructose every day. I was thinking of bending on that rule, but with the way I am craving it lately I think I was smart to make myself go a full month. Don't think my body can handle that yet.
Now time to do some menu planning. I did not get through all of my old recipes today, I only sifted through one folder. I think organizing all of my shopping, cooking and planning is going to take a lot longer than I originally thought. I somehow keep forgetting how much time my two little ones eat up!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Fish on a Budget
When I started eating more quality food I noticed that a lot more of our money was going towards the grocery bill. It's an unfortunate thing, but the reality is that healthier food costs more than pre-packaged, processed "food" (most of the time). However, if you plan ahead, look for bargains, and make some changes to our lifestyle the cost doesn't have to have such a huge impact on your wallet.
Fish can be really beneficial to your diet. Protein, omega 3s, Vitamin D, and calcium are just a few of the nutritional components found in most fish. Not all fish are created equal, and I plan on writing about farm raised vs. wild, mercury, and other contamination issues in the future. And surprise, surprise, the best quality fish is also the most expensive. One of the ways I get fish onto my plate without forking over a small fortune is canned fish. Canned tuna and salmon can be added to salads and pasta dishes to add a punch of protein.
This afternoon I was trying to think of a quick lunch option for my mom and I and remembered this recipe for a tuna and chickpea salad. I didn't have all of the ingredients...including the tuna! So instead I used sardines. Yes, you read correctly, sardines! Sardines are a food that have somehow gotten this reputation for being disgusting but when you ask most people if they have even tried them, they usually say no. I had never had sardines before today. I had ordered them from a place I buy my salmon and they have been making a pretty comfortable home for themselves in my kitchen cabinet. Sardines are jam-PACKED with healthy stuff - 50% of your vitamin D for the day, 20% of your calcium. Excellent source of omega-3s. And honestly, I thought they tasted pretty good. Would I scoop a whole tin out with a fork and shovel it into my mouth? Probably not. But I happily replaced the tuna with them in the salad above. I scooped the bean and sardine mix onto a pile of leafy greens, drizzled some olive oil on it (I didn't have pesto either, so it needed something to help combine the flavors) and enjoyed my lunch!
I plan on incorporating fish into my weekly diet as much as I can. And canned fish will be a building block to a lot of my meals. More recipes to come!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The best laid plans...
Well I had all these plans this week to organize my recipes, get on a meal planning schedule, and to start blogging more about nutrition and strategies for eating a whole foods diet. That's on top of organizing my guest room, little peanut's nursery, steam-cleaning all of my carpets, and cooking delicious sugar-free food. While I have accomplished some of this (not much...), today I hit a major snag. And the reason for this:
My baby girl BIT me last night. As in, bit me while nursing. Yeah, bit me there. And drew blood. Now I am spending time icing myself between feedings, searching the internet for ways to treat a cut while still trying to nurse, and running back and forth to the baby store getting different creams and ointments to help me out. I have had so many obstacles while trying to nurse - reflux, oversupply, fast let-down, thrush, plummeting milk supply, and now this. I am trying so, so hard to get to her one year birthday (a long four months away!) and every time I think I'll get there a new issue arises.
Hopefully tomorrow there will be some healing and I can get back on track with this week's agenda. I really want to start putting some more information in this blog, instead of merely writing a running diary of my day. I think a more reasonable goal is to start doing that in February, maybe even March. Motherhood has taught me that even the best laid plans can be derailed in the blink of an eye. Or the split second it takes to chomp some new teeth down on my boob!
My baby girl BIT me last night. As in, bit me while nursing. Yeah, bit me there. And drew blood. Now I am spending time icing myself between feedings, searching the internet for ways to treat a cut while still trying to nurse, and running back and forth to the baby store getting different creams and ointments to help me out. I have had so many obstacles while trying to nurse - reflux, oversupply, fast let-down, thrush, plummeting milk supply, and now this. I am trying so, so hard to get to her one year birthday (a long four months away!) and every time I think I'll get there a new issue arises.
Hopefully tomorrow there will be some healing and I can get back on track with this week's agenda. I really want to start putting some more information in this blog, instead of merely writing a running diary of my day. I think a more reasonable goal is to start doing that in February, maybe even March. Motherhood has taught me that even the best laid plans can be derailed in the blink of an eye. Or the split second it takes to chomp some new teeth down on my boob!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Day 15! And Recipe for Chicken Curry (Slow Cooker)
Well I'm halfway through the first month and I can say the physical withdrawal symptoms are getting a little better. No more killer headaches, just a dull one now and again. My irritability seems to be dwindling, thank goodness! I'm still a little hungry but it's getting more manageable. My energy is still low but I am sleeping more soundly at night. So I am pretty on track with what I would expect. I think come February I'll be reaping some of the benefits of no sugar - more energy, stable appetite, and loss of most cravings.
I haven't had a chance to write much or do a lot with my recipe organization. My mom's in town so I am trying to organize my house a bit. I have about two truckloads of baby clothes tucked in every room upstairs. We are saving all of the clothes for our siblings who will hopefully some day have babies, but trying to find a place for them and keeping them all organized is quite a task. I'm thinking of sending out a ticking clock email to them saying they only have a couple of more years or else we're donating everything!
I know my task this week was to go to through my old recipes, but instead I tried a new recipe last night that was successful. Simple, crock pot chicken recipe. The staple of stay-at-home moms everywhere! This one had ginger and curry in it for a new flavor. I paired it with peas and rice.
The blog this recipe is from is called Life With 4 Boys. Can't even imagine four kids! The hubs and I are feeling quite satisfied with two, although I guess you never know.
Here's the recipe: Chicken Curry Slow-Cooker Recipe
Both kids are down for a nap and instead of organizing clothes or working on my recipes I am putting my feet up on the couch and relaxing!
I haven't had a chance to write much or do a lot with my recipe organization. My mom's in town so I am trying to organize my house a bit. I have about two truckloads of baby clothes tucked in every room upstairs. We are saving all of the clothes for our siblings who will hopefully some day have babies, but trying to find a place for them and keeping them all organized is quite a task. I'm thinking of sending out a ticking clock email to them saying they only have a couple of more years or else we're donating everything!
I know my task this week was to go to through my old recipes, but instead I tried a new recipe last night that was successful. Simple, crock pot chicken recipe. The staple of stay-at-home moms everywhere! This one had ginger and curry in it for a new flavor. I paired it with peas and rice.
The blog this recipe is from is called Life With 4 Boys. Can't even imagine four kids! The hubs and I are feeling quite satisfied with two, although I guess you never know.
Here's the recipe: Chicken Curry Slow-Cooker Recipe
Both kids are down for a nap and instead of organizing clothes or working on my recipes I am putting my feet up on the couch and relaxing!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Getting organized!
When you don't eat sugar, gluten, dairy or fruit, you essentially have to do all of your own cooking. I try to follow a whole foods diet anyway, void of most processed foods, so I'm used to being in the kitchen. But as much as I love cooking and eating fresh food, it's a LOT of time in the kitchen. And when you're now making ALL of your food, plus food for your toddler, plus food for your baby, plus extra food for a hungry husband...well you can end up talking to your cutting knives cause their only things you've been around for days. And I don't always have the time for that. And when you don't cook, or don't have fresh food on hand at all times, then you end up eating the same lentil chili three days in a row with the same quinoa you've been eating all week and your palette gets really bored and starts to want something it can't have.
I've been working on trying to organize my time over the past few years, but it is difficult. The minute my son got to an age where I felt somewhat in control of my life (control is a loose term), I got pregnant. And with pregnancy came that blessed first trimester where you can barely get off the couch, let alone take care of a toddler and keep the house together and get three square meals on the table. Then the sickness went away, but I just got big. And my back ached, and my legs would swell if I didn't get off them. Then I had a newborn. Enough said.
So now my daughter is 8 months and I have somewhat of a schedule going but I really don't have a lot of time. I need to figure out a way to shop for groceries (within a reasonable budget), cook all my of food, and somehow not live in the kitchen. An intimidating task to say the least. But with all the mommy bloggers out there I have found a lot of tips and planning techniques to try.
There are tools for budgeting, weekly and monthly planning, freeze-ahead meals, etc. Actually, the amount of information out there is also really intimidating. So I am taking a very deliberate step by step approach to it all. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will my culinary organizational system.
This week I plan to go through all of my recipes and pick out the ones I know are successes with myself and the family. I am the queen of making a recipe that goes over well, and then letting that recipe drown in my Pinterest sea of boards. I tried to organize my boards to have topics like "Beef" or "Vegetarian Dishes" but I somehow managed to make that chaotic and not easy to browse through. I am not an organized person by nature (you couldn't see my bedroom floor in high school or college).
I am going to start old school this week, and then eventually figure out a way to generate a new-age system. I'm going to make a concrete list of all the recipes I know work well, and then I'll put them into three lists:
* Food everyone can eat
* Food only I can eat (more like, food only I LIKE)
* Food I can't eat
The "Food I can't eat" are dishes I serve when we have company staying with us. Or something I know my husband really enjoys and can eat the leftovers for a few days without complaining.
My mom's in town this week helping me with the kids so I am optimistic I can tackle this goal. I'm curious to see just how many dishes I've forgotten about!
I've been working on trying to organize my time over the past few years, but it is difficult. The minute my son got to an age where I felt somewhat in control of my life (control is a loose term), I got pregnant. And with pregnancy came that blessed first trimester where you can barely get off the couch, let alone take care of a toddler and keep the house together and get three square meals on the table. Then the sickness went away, but I just got big. And my back ached, and my legs would swell if I didn't get off them. Then I had a newborn. Enough said.
So now my daughter is 8 months and I have somewhat of a schedule going but I really don't have a lot of time. I need to figure out a way to shop for groceries (within a reasonable budget), cook all my of food, and somehow not live in the kitchen. An intimidating task to say the least. But with all the mommy bloggers out there I have found a lot of tips and planning techniques to try.
There are tools for budgeting, weekly and monthly planning, freeze-ahead meals, etc. Actually, the amount of information out there is also really intimidating. So I am taking a very deliberate step by step approach to it all. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will my culinary organizational system.
This week I plan to go through all of my recipes and pick out the ones I know are successes with myself and the family. I am the queen of making a recipe that goes over well, and then letting that recipe drown in my Pinterest sea of boards. I tried to organize my boards to have topics like "Beef" or "Vegetarian Dishes" but I somehow managed to make that chaotic and not easy to browse through. I am not an organized person by nature (you couldn't see my bedroom floor in high school or college).
I am going to start old school this week, and then eventually figure out a way to generate a new-age system. I'm going to make a concrete list of all the recipes I know work well, and then I'll put them into three lists:
* Food everyone can eat
* Food only I can eat (more like, food only I LIKE)
* Food I can't eat
The "Food I can't eat" are dishes I serve when we have company staying with us. Or something I know my husband really enjoys and can eat the leftovers for a few days without complaining.
My mom's in town this week helping me with the kids so I am optimistic I can tackle this goal. I'm curious to see just how many dishes I've forgotten about!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Not every dish is a winner...
So the lentil chili didn't go over well last night with my husband. I had a feeling it wouldn't, and it wasn't because of the non-meat thing (although that never helps). I've noticed he doesn't care for dishes that are really jam-packed with lentils. This chili is essentially just spoonfuls of lentils that are seasoned with chili spices. I paired it with quinoa that I flavored with some sauteed mushrooms and garlic. Everything was sort of a soft texture and the two dishes didn't gel too well. I think I'm better off having it as a side dish, paired with some home made corn bread (if I ever decide I can handle corn) and some other protein. So I froze up a few portions for myself and will snack on the rest this weekend. I paired it with eggs today for breakfast.
Cooking is all about trial and error. And when you are cooking for a family, there's even more variables to account for. I am incredibly fortunate in that my husband will pretty much eat anything. As I've gone on this healthy food journey he's always been so supportive. He always says, "I'll eat anything you put in front of me. Just make sure I have some meat." I very rarely stray from that, and on the occasion that I put a meatless dish in front of him, he usually eats it anyway without too much griping.
The toughest person to feed in my house is without question my 2 1/2 year old son. Tough doesn't even begin to describe it. I plan to devote some of this blog to feeding kids healthy foods but right now I don't feel too confident in my abilities. I know every toddler is tough, but my oh my, little man is a challenge. More on that later.
A quick post today because it's been a long week full of withdrawal symptoms. I will hit the two week mark this Monday so hopefully more energized and calm days are coming soon!
Cooking is all about trial and error. And when you are cooking for a family, there's even more variables to account for. I am incredibly fortunate in that my husband will pretty much eat anything. As I've gone on this healthy food journey he's always been so supportive. He always says, "I'll eat anything you put in front of me. Just make sure I have some meat." I very rarely stray from that, and on the occasion that I put a meatless dish in front of him, he usually eats it anyway without too much griping.
The toughest person to feed in my house is without question my 2 1/2 year old son. Tough doesn't even begin to describe it. I plan to devote some of this blog to feeding kids healthy foods but right now I don't feel too confident in my abilities. I know every toddler is tough, but my oh my, little man is a challenge. More on that later.
A quick post today because it's been a long week full of withdrawal symptoms. I will hit the two week mark this Monday so hopefully more energized and calm days are coming soon!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Recipe: Easy Crockpot Lentil Chili
So many people ask me how I find the time to cook so often. I understand that not everyone is a stay at home mom with constant access to his or her kitchen. However, for those of you that are stay at home moms, you know that even though we are "home" it doesn't mean we have unlimited time and two free hands to always put together a meal every day with no hassle!
Enter the crock pot. The kitchen tool that is always hyped up by mothers all across the world, and with good reason! But how many people own a crock pot that collects a lot of dust? I bet a lot of you do, mine used to before I started eating a mostly whole foods diet. And a myth about the crock pot is that you merely have to dump food into it and it makes you a meal. Yes, you can describe it that way, but it gives people new to the kitchen the false sense that it magically just prepares a meal with literally NO effort. Like any meal, even a crock pot meal requires a little planning. And a little preparation. What the crock pot takes away is the actual cooking of the meal. And for this, I love it!
Right now I've got something cooking away in the crock pot. This one took me about 20-25 minutes from start to finish to assemble and get in there. I dropped my son at preschool, came home and put my daughter down for a nap and used the first 30 of that 90 minutes of freedom to get dinner cooking away and pots cleaned up. Most of the time was spent cutting up some vegetables. I may start doing that at night to make assembly even quicker. Here's what I'm smelling right now as I type this:
Recipe is from the blog Jeanette's Healthy Living. She calls it her Easy Crockpot Lentil Chili. I haven't tasted it yet so I'll report how it goes tomorrow. The hubs will probably not be thrilled because it's vegetarian but sometimes I can sneak in an occasional meatless meal without too much complaining from him.
Enter the crock pot. The kitchen tool that is always hyped up by mothers all across the world, and with good reason! But how many people own a crock pot that collects a lot of dust? I bet a lot of you do, mine used to before I started eating a mostly whole foods diet. And a myth about the crock pot is that you merely have to dump food into it and it makes you a meal. Yes, you can describe it that way, but it gives people new to the kitchen the false sense that it magically just prepares a meal with literally NO effort. Like any meal, even a crock pot meal requires a little planning. And a little preparation. What the crock pot takes away is the actual cooking of the meal. And for this, I love it!
Right now I've got something cooking away in the crock pot. This one took me about 20-25 minutes from start to finish to assemble and get in there. I dropped my son at preschool, came home and put my daughter down for a nap and used the first 30 of that 90 minutes of freedom to get dinner cooking away and pots cleaned up. Most of the time was spent cutting up some vegetables. I may start doing that at night to make assembly even quicker. Here's what I'm smelling right now as I type this:
Recipe is from the blog Jeanette's Healthy Living. She calls it her Easy Crockpot Lentil Chili. I haven't tasted it yet so I'll report how it goes tomorrow. The hubs will probably not be thrilled because it's vegetarian but sometimes I can sneak in an occasional meatless meal without too much complaining from him.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
First Challenge: Physical Withdrawal Symptoms
Holy schnikes, it's been quite a day.
I realize this blog is all over the place. I've actually had a dream for quite some time to create a blog that is devoted to a whole foods approach to living. It will have tons of information about food and its relationship to your overall health, delicious recipes paired with beautiful pictures and helpful cooking tips, and planning tools and ingredient lists to help anyone in any stage of his/her life begin to eat better foods. So many plans that require some organization and research. This is what I hope this blog will become some day. But for now, it's mostly a diary of what I'm going through with my sugar-free challenge.
So something I know I haven't really gone into are the actual withdrawal symptoms people experience when they quit sugar. Every body is different and we all have different sensitivity levels to sugar so it will vary person to person. And the length of time it takes for your body to recover from the withdrawal varies as well. For most, it's not a fun process:
Headache
Fatigue
Acne
Congestion
Anxiety
Mood Swings
Impatience
Depression
Indigestion
Increased Hunger
PMS type mood stuff times 10
Sounds like fun, right? But trust me, the end result is so worth it.
This is my third real attempt to live sugar-free. The first time I did it I was seeing a chiropractor and taking a lot of supplements that I had never heard of before. I remember the first four days being really challenging, the next seven showing some improvement, and feeling better than I EVER have before around Day 14. I don't know how much of an impact the supplements had on me.
The second time I did OK for the first day or two, then by day 3 the full-blown withdrawal hit and I felt bad for about a week or so. I think it took me about three to four weeks to lose the dull headache for good and feel more energized.
This time around I actually felt pretty good the first 5-6 days, then started feeling some cravings and it appears the "fun" part of the withdrawal is hitting me later, around day 8. And what, you may ask, do I actually feel like?
CRAP!
Yesterday I had a killer, killer headache. But that was nothing compared to today. The headache has been replaced with irritibility. I am so cranky and ticked off at everything right now. And I am tired. So very, very tired. Now every time I have tried to do this it's been a little more challenging. The first time I did it I was childless, working a cushy job, could nap whenever I wanted to, and got great sleep at night. The second time I tried I had a 6 month old baby. Big difference. But I could crash during his naps. And he had been sleeping well at night for about 2 months so I was fairly rested when I started.
This go around...I now have two little ones sucking the life out of me. I get maybe 50 minutes a day to myself, and my precious baby girl still wakes up screaming around 3:30 at night every few nights. Needless to say, this is not the zen atmosphere one might need to handle these first few weeks. All the books I read said you should make sure your life isn't too stressful before you go sugar-free. The first two to four weeks are extremely taxing on your body and you shouldn't have too much else going on. This is why I have pushed it off until now (the last 7 months have been draining to say the least). I knew if I followed the books guidance I wouldn't be starting this challenge until 2030 so I decided to take my chances and take a stab at it now.
I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing this so that I can be a better mom in the future with more energy, a calmer demeanor, and better overall health. Hopefully my kids will understand this as I curse the buttons on their stupid onesies and roll my eyes at their every request. Not winning any mommy awards today!
I realize this blog is all over the place. I've actually had a dream for quite some time to create a blog that is devoted to a whole foods approach to living. It will have tons of information about food and its relationship to your overall health, delicious recipes paired with beautiful pictures and helpful cooking tips, and planning tools and ingredient lists to help anyone in any stage of his/her life begin to eat better foods. So many plans that require some organization and research. This is what I hope this blog will become some day. But for now, it's mostly a diary of what I'm going through with my sugar-free challenge.
So something I know I haven't really gone into are the actual withdrawal symptoms people experience when they quit sugar. Every body is different and we all have different sensitivity levels to sugar so it will vary person to person. And the length of time it takes for your body to recover from the withdrawal varies as well. For most, it's not a fun process:
Headache
Fatigue
Acne
Congestion
Anxiety
Mood Swings
Impatience
Depression
Indigestion
Increased Hunger
PMS type mood stuff times 10
Sounds like fun, right? But trust me, the end result is so worth it.
This is my third real attempt to live sugar-free. The first time I did it I was seeing a chiropractor and taking a lot of supplements that I had never heard of before. I remember the first four days being really challenging, the next seven showing some improvement, and feeling better than I EVER have before around Day 14. I don't know how much of an impact the supplements had on me.
The second time I did OK for the first day or two, then by day 3 the full-blown withdrawal hit and I felt bad for about a week or so. I think it took me about three to four weeks to lose the dull headache for good and feel more energized.
This time around I actually felt pretty good the first 5-6 days, then started feeling some cravings and it appears the "fun" part of the withdrawal is hitting me later, around day 8. And what, you may ask, do I actually feel like?
CRAP!
Yesterday I had a killer, killer headache. But that was nothing compared to today. The headache has been replaced with irritibility. I am so cranky and ticked off at everything right now. And I am tired. So very, very tired. Now every time I have tried to do this it's been a little more challenging. The first time I did it I was childless, working a cushy job, could nap whenever I wanted to, and got great sleep at night. The second time I tried I had a 6 month old baby. Big difference. But I could crash during his naps. And he had been sleeping well at night for about 2 months so I was fairly rested when I started.
This go around...I now have two little ones sucking the life out of me. I get maybe 50 minutes a day to myself, and my precious baby girl still wakes up screaming around 3:30 at night every few nights. Needless to say, this is not the zen atmosphere one might need to handle these first few weeks. All the books I read said you should make sure your life isn't too stressful before you go sugar-free. The first two to four weeks are extremely taxing on your body and you shouldn't have too much else going on. This is why I have pushed it off until now (the last 7 months have been draining to say the least). I knew if I followed the books guidance I wouldn't be starting this challenge until 2030 so I decided to take my chances and take a stab at it now.
I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing this so that I can be a better mom in the future with more energy, a calmer demeanor, and better overall health. Hopefully my kids will understand this as I curse the buttons on their stupid onesies and roll my eyes at their every request. Not winning any mommy awards today!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Withdrawal Headache...
Headache.
The most massive headache I can remember.
Been going on for hours.
Here's hoping tomorrow goes better.
The most massive headache I can remember.
Been going on for hours.
Here's hoping tomorrow goes better.
Recipe: Curried Lentil and Rice Casserole
This is a dish I discovered a couple of months ago and I've made it at least 5 times already. I LOVE it! Sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free....flavor FULL. It's jam-packed with really nutritious stuff: lentils, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and so much more. And it's crazy easy to make. The only downfall is that it does spend about 2 1/2 hours in the oven so you have to make sure you're going to be home. I'm thinking of trying it out in the slow-cooker some day, we'll see how that goes.
This is from a blog called The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen. A great blog with lots of recipes, tips and a wealth of information on food and health. She posted this recipe along with information on what new moms need to eat to help with their recovery and nursing. Definitely worth a read for anyone expecting or with little ones!
Here's the recipe: Curried Lentil and Rice Casserole
So I had a bowl of this for lunch and am currently nursing a pretty decent headache. Day 8 and the withdrawal symptoms are still pretty strong. Mostly headaches but I'm also really tired. Although fatigue will be tougher to gauge whether I'm it's from sugar or my two little balls of energy this go around!
This is from a blog called The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen. A great blog with lots of recipes, tips and a wealth of information on food and health. She posted this recipe along with information on what new moms need to eat to help with their recovery and nursing. Definitely worth a read for anyone expecting or with little ones!
Here's the recipe: Curried Lentil and Rice Casserole
So I had a bowl of this for lunch and am currently nursing a pretty decent headache. Day 8 and the withdrawal symptoms are still pretty strong. Mostly headaches but I'm also really tired. Although fatigue will be tougher to gauge whether I'm it's from sugar or my two little balls of energy this go around!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Getting through a long day
You know it's going to be a long week when three separate times during a Monday you are convinced it is a Wednesday. I got a much needed break from my daily grind over the holidays and this is my first 5 day week at home with both kiddos and although the day was relatively crisis-free...it was loooooong!
I found myself craving some different tastes today. One huge issue with eating no sugar, wheat, dairy or fruit is that unless you have the time to look up recipes, cook new things, or go shopping for new ingredients to experiment with, it does have the potential to get a little old. One of my many goals in being successful this time around is to make sure I get some variety in my diet. I need to keep my palette interested! However, with two little kids I knew it would be difficult to dive right into that so I told myself just to stay with the tried and true in the beginning when I know my motivation is high. I plan to branch a bit in the coming months, hopefully with more energy from not eating sugar!
But today I was feeling a little bored with my lunch item - the leftover chicken slow-cooker dish I posted earlier. It was the third time I had it in the past four days. Luckily my little peanut was eating avocado and had a bunch left-over so I could snack on that. And I had to dive into my celery sticks and hummus during nap time while I watched mindless television. Yes, I know this was something I was trying NOT to do during nap, but it's a tough habit to break. I have to be happy that I at least snacked with a sugar-free item.
I think tomorrow is going to be another long day. I forgot my supplement yet again (at 3:00 I am usually a zombie on the couch waiting for my peanut to wake me up from her short, short nap). So that is going on the litany of other to-dos I have taped to my kitchen cabinets. And I've got to drink more water. I think knowing ahead of time that I'm going to have a tough day isn't so bad. It's usually when something catches me off guard, like a stressful conversation with someone or an afternoon filled with temper tantrums, that I unknowingly start shoveling sugar-filled carb-like food into my mouth.
I'll share another tasty recipe tomorrow!
I found myself craving some different tastes today. One huge issue with eating no sugar, wheat, dairy or fruit is that unless you have the time to look up recipes, cook new things, or go shopping for new ingredients to experiment with, it does have the potential to get a little old. One of my many goals in being successful this time around is to make sure I get some variety in my diet. I need to keep my palette interested! However, with two little kids I knew it would be difficult to dive right into that so I told myself just to stay with the tried and true in the beginning when I know my motivation is high. I plan to branch a bit in the coming months, hopefully with more energy from not eating sugar!
But today I was feeling a little bored with my lunch item - the leftover chicken slow-cooker dish I posted earlier. It was the third time I had it in the past four days. Luckily my little peanut was eating avocado and had a bunch left-over so I could snack on that. And I had to dive into my celery sticks and hummus during nap time while I watched mindless television. Yes, I know this was something I was trying NOT to do during nap, but it's a tough habit to break. I have to be happy that I at least snacked with a sugar-free item.
I think tomorrow is going to be another long day. I forgot my supplement yet again (at 3:00 I am usually a zombie on the couch waiting for my peanut to wake me up from her short, short nap). So that is going on the litany of other to-dos I have taped to my kitchen cabinets. And I've got to drink more water. I think knowing ahead of time that I'm going to have a tough day isn't so bad. It's usually when something catches me off guard, like a stressful conversation with someone or an afternoon filled with temper tantrums, that I unknowingly start shoveling sugar-filled carb-like food into my mouth.
I'll share another tasty recipe tomorrow!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Here Come The Cravings!
Tonight is probably the first time that I am really craving something sweet at the end of the day. Or just craving food in general I guess. I'm almost done with my first week and normally the novelty would be wearing off and I'd have to buckle down and dig real deep to get through this two second week. I'm already happy I decided to do the blog, because it's giving me a lot more motivation. I can rely mostly on "willpower" still and can just sit through my craving as I sit on the couch and work on some projects while the Hubs has "Tombstone" blaring in the background.
This will be my first full 5-day week home with the kids since starting. I'll probably get a little more stressed than these past couple of weeks with the holiday break and I'm sure I'll be reaching for food more often. Have to remember to hydrate, take my supplement (forgot both days this weekend!), and find some sugar-free snacks to munch on.
This will be my first full 5-day week home with the kids since starting. I'll probably get a little more stressed than these past couple of weeks with the holiday break and I'm sure I'll be reaching for food more often. Have to remember to hydrate, take my supplement (forgot both days this weekend!), and find some sugar-free snacks to munch on.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Recipe: Slow Cooker Rosemary Chicken
Here's another sugar-free meal that is easy to make. A lot of people tell me they don't have time to cook and are always looking for ways to have nutritious meals during a busy work week. This goes right in the slow cooker and is a pretty quick one to make. To make it even quicker, make the sauce, slice the onion, and trim your chicken the night before. Then in the morning you can quickly dice up your potato (I'm sure there are ways to pre-cut potatoes so that they don't start to oxidize, but I haven't looked into that yet) and put it together in about 5 minutes.
The hubs liked it, but it wasn't a home run for him. I got one of his typical, "it tastes fine" responses. When I pressed him a little more, he said the flavor was a little different for him. I think it was the rosemary. Rosemary is a really strong herb so if you're not a huge fan you have to watch how much you use. I used 6 sprigs (the recipe calls for 4, but I love a strong herby flavor) so next time I will tone it down. Also, this recipe calls for cheese (which I did not use) and I think that will probably help cut down the rosemary flavor.
I got this recipe from a blog called Sweet Peas and Pumpkins. The potatoes and green beans make this a really good balanced meal all in one pot:
http://blogs.familyeducation.com/blogs/sweet-pea-chef/slow-cooker-rosemary-chicken
Day 5 is going well. I'm actually pretty pleased with my lack of headaches this time around. I had read that each time you try to detox it will get easier and easier since I'm eating healthier than I did three years ago when I first did this. One problem I have is making sure I eat often enough. It's easier to ward off cravings when you never let yourself starve. But with two kids that have two schedules it's tough to have my meals at the right time. We just got back from the park with the kids, where they enjoyed a picnic lunch while my stomach growled. I need to find some more portable snack ideas to take with us in the future.
The hubs liked it, but it wasn't a home run for him. I got one of his typical, "it tastes fine" responses. When I pressed him a little more, he said the flavor was a little different for him. I think it was the rosemary. Rosemary is a really strong herb so if you're not a huge fan you have to watch how much you use. I used 6 sprigs (the recipe calls for 4, but I love a strong herby flavor) so next time I will tone it down. Also, this recipe calls for cheese (which I did not use) and I think that will probably help cut down the rosemary flavor.
I got this recipe from a blog called Sweet Peas and Pumpkins. The potatoes and green beans make this a really good balanced meal all in one pot:
http://blogs.familyeducation.com/blogs/sweet-pea-chef/slow-cooker-rosemary-chicken
Day 5 is going well. I'm actually pretty pleased with my lack of headaches this time around. I had read that each time you try to detox it will get easier and easier since I'm eating healthier than I did three years ago when I first did this. One problem I have is making sure I eat often enough. It's easier to ward off cravings when you never let yourself starve. But with two kids that have two schedules it's tough to have my meals at the right time. We just got back from the park with the kids, where they enjoyed a picnic lunch while my stomach growled. I need to find some more portable snack ideas to take with us in the future.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Water, Water, Water!
Day 4 and now my body is starting to notice something is up. These past few months I've been eating pretty unhealthy. Lots of holiday cookies, chips, and foods full of oils that aren't good for me. My body has been used to these low-nutrient, high-calorie foods and now I am filling it with more nutrient dense, but lower calorie foods and it's a little confused.
Whenever I try to eat a little healthier I run into this problem of feeling as though I am starving between meals (for the first few weeks). Now that I'm a little more educated, I know that this is just my blood sugar levels getting my body all confused. If I look at what I ate, I know that logically I shouldn't be hungry. But sometimes it's difficult to get through these periods.
Taking the supplement L-glutamine helps. I tend to have the most difficult time feeling satiated from late morning to early evening. Right now I am allowing myself to have two lunches. One around 11:30 or so and then another small meal a few hours later. Not necessarily a meal, but a decent sized snack. Some options are:
Hard-boiled egg
Nuts (mostly almonds, walnuts, cashews)
Small bowl of brown rice with butter
Celery and carrot sticks (sometime with hummus that I know has quality ingredients)
Couple of pieces of left-over meat. Usually chicken.
But the number one thing I do throughout the day to help ward off the headaches and stomach pains is drink a LOT of water.
Drinking water should be a daily habit of everyone. I am lucky to have grown up in a household where water was the primary beverage. Eating nutritious foods is great, but without water your body can't absorb the nutrients it needs. It helps bring oxygen to your brain so you can think clearer. It helps keep your joints healthy and lubricated - they need moisture to operate properly. The list goes on and on.
Water also fills you up. So if you're feeling hungry and know it's not time for a meal yet, or you can't get to a meal, drink water!
Whenever I try to eat a little healthier I run into this problem of feeling as though I am starving between meals (for the first few weeks). Now that I'm a little more educated, I know that this is just my blood sugar levels getting my body all confused. If I look at what I ate, I know that logically I shouldn't be hungry. But sometimes it's difficult to get through these periods.
Taking the supplement L-glutamine helps. I tend to have the most difficult time feeling satiated from late morning to early evening. Right now I am allowing myself to have two lunches. One around 11:30 or so and then another small meal a few hours later. Not necessarily a meal, but a decent sized snack. Some options are:
Hard-boiled egg
Nuts (mostly almonds, walnuts, cashews)
Small bowl of brown rice with butter
Celery and carrot sticks (sometime with hummus that I know has quality ingredients)
Couple of pieces of left-over meat. Usually chicken.
But the number one thing I do throughout the day to help ward off the headaches and stomach pains is drink a LOT of water.
Drinking water should be a daily habit of everyone. I am lucky to have grown up in a household where water was the primary beverage. Eating nutritious foods is great, but without water your body can't absorb the nutrients it needs. It helps bring oxygen to your brain so you can think clearer. It helps keep your joints healthy and lubricated - they need moisture to operate properly. The list goes on and on.
Water also fills you up. So if you're feeling hungry and know it's not time for a meal yet, or you can't get to a meal, drink water!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Sugar-Free Dinner Ideas
Something that almost everyone says asks me when I tell them I'm not eating sugar (or wheat or dairy, etc) is, "What DO you eat??" There is actually a LOT of food I can eat! Most real food is on my diet. What is real food? That is for another post, stay tuned. The dilemmas arise because I have to cook a lot of my food and I know a lot of people, myself included, struggle with getting organized in the kitchen. I have spent the past few years perfecting my meal planning skills and it's still a work in progress! Something I want to eventually address with this blog is what I do to keep my pantry and refrigerator stocked, and how I go about planning my weekly meals. But for now, I'd love to share something I made for dinner tonight. It got the approval of my husband so it must be somewhat tasty to the masses!
This is from a blog called "Multiply Delicious." She's actually based right here in Charlotte. It's for Tuna Bacon Cakes. I paired these with some kale that I sautéed with garlic and red onion as well as some previously cooked brown rice. She suggests throwing these cakes onto a salad which I'm sure would be delicious. I'll do that for a lunch. The hubs isn't into salads for dinner...yet!
http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2012/08/tuna-bacon-cakes/
I'm looking forward to sharing more recipes I try with everyone! Even if you don't want to go as extreme as me, I'm sure we all could use a little more home cooking and some variety to our normal repertoire.
This is from a blog called "Multiply Delicious." She's actually based right here in Charlotte. It's for Tuna Bacon Cakes. I paired these with some kale that I sautéed with garlic and red onion as well as some previously cooked brown rice. She suggests throwing these cakes onto a salad which I'm sure would be delicious. I'll do that for a lunch. The hubs isn't into salads for dinner...yet!
http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2012/08/tuna-bacon-cakes/
I'm looking forward to sharing more recipes I try with everyone! Even if you don't want to go as extreme as me, I'm sure we all could use a little more home cooking and some variety to our normal repertoire.
Mid-Afternoon Munchies
Well I am at Day 3 and still doing good as far as withdrawal. Little headache last night but I'm getting used to those dealing with my little rug rats all day! In all my reading and talking to others, it seems that everyone has certain times of day that are usually the toughest for them to cope with food choices. Most of us start out great in the morning and can usually get through the lunch hour. My two areas of difficulty are mid-afternoon and after dinner. Usually I can manage after dinner because I know I am only a few short hours away from sleep and that I don't really need any more food to get through my day. But after lunch, especially when my kids go down for their afternoon naps....I want to munch!
I take a supplement, L-Glutamine. It is supposed to help stabilize your blood sugar so I take it every day around 3. Hopefully I'll only need it for the first month or so. It really does help. I'm also trying my best to get out of the habit of sitting in front of the TV (usually in front of some brain-zapping show like the Real Housewives!) and packing away the food.
One thing sugar does to me is gives me a false sense of hunger. I will eat a huge meal and then feel legitimately hungry just an hour or so later. It makes no logical sense why I would be hungry, but my stomach is growling, I feel faint and then feel better when I eat something more. When your body is as impacted by sugar as mine is, even the smallest amount can get your blood sugar levels all screwy. And when your levels are constantly going up and down, it's tough for your body to know what to do. The first time I went off sugar a few years ago I was blown away by actually feeling "full" after a meal and not needing to eat for 4 hours. I realized that I had no recent memory of ever feeling satiated in a way that made me feel good. In the past I had only felt full by feeling stuffed, which was more of a sick feeling. That's when I realized that all of these years struggling to have "will power" was more than just me having a strong mind. I was also trying to fight an actual physical reaction to a food, and that is difficult!
I stopped beating myself up and realized that my body was just different in how it processed sugar compared to some. I can tell when I talk to people that they don't always believe me. But I'm trying not to concern myself too much with how others think (much easier said than done!). The two books that really opened up my mind to this are:
Overcoming Sugar Addiction by Karly Randolph
Lick the Sugar Habit by Nancy Appleton
These two books blew my mind. And if anyone also thinks they may have an actual sugar addiction they are worth a look.
Thanks for all of comments so far! And thank you to people that have tried to comment but are having problems. I'm still trying to figure out this blog stuff, I am not the most technologically savvy person. Yet another project to keep me away from the sweets!
I take a supplement, L-Glutamine. It is supposed to help stabilize your blood sugar so I take it every day around 3. Hopefully I'll only need it for the first month or so. It really does help. I'm also trying my best to get out of the habit of sitting in front of the TV (usually in front of some brain-zapping show like the Real Housewives!) and packing away the food.
One thing sugar does to me is gives me a false sense of hunger. I will eat a huge meal and then feel legitimately hungry just an hour or so later. It makes no logical sense why I would be hungry, but my stomach is growling, I feel faint and then feel better when I eat something more. When your body is as impacted by sugar as mine is, even the smallest amount can get your blood sugar levels all screwy. And when your levels are constantly going up and down, it's tough for your body to know what to do. The first time I went off sugar a few years ago I was blown away by actually feeling "full" after a meal and not needing to eat for 4 hours. I realized that I had no recent memory of ever feeling satiated in a way that made me feel good. In the past I had only felt full by feeling stuffed, which was more of a sick feeling. That's when I realized that all of these years struggling to have "will power" was more than just me having a strong mind. I was also trying to fight an actual physical reaction to a food, and that is difficult!
I stopped beating myself up and realized that my body was just different in how it processed sugar compared to some. I can tell when I talk to people that they don't always believe me. But I'm trying not to concern myself too much with how others think (much easier said than done!). The two books that really opened up my mind to this are:
Overcoming Sugar Addiction by Karly Randolph
Lick the Sugar Habit by Nancy Appleton
These two books blew my mind. And if anyone also thinks they may have an actual sugar addiction they are worth a look.
Thanks for all of comments so far! And thank you to people that have tried to comment but are having problems. I'm still trying to figure out this blog stuff, I am not the most technologically savvy person. Yet another project to keep me away from the sweets!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Day 1 Complete!
Day 1 is always easy. You're motivated and usually don't feel any of the withdrawal symptoms (those come soon though!). But it's still a day worth noting and I am excited to be back on the sugar-free wagon. This month will probably be one of the toughest. Even though I think sugar and wheat do the most harm to me, I am also not going to eat any dairy or fruit this month. The sugar in fruit, fructose, doesn't do me too much harm but I find that when I am initially trying to knock the sugar out of my system I have to get rid of ALL sugar. Same with dairy, I can usually eat this in limited amounts but the lactose throws me off kilter when I'm starting out.
So the month of January will be a bit limiting with my diet. Good thing my motivation will be at its highest!
So the month of January will be a bit limiting with my diet. Good thing my motivation will be at its highest!
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