One month compete!

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!