Oh my. Where to begin? Christmas is over, and that's depressing, but I have to admit it's nice to be done with the craziness and non-stop go go go and be back on a schedule. I had a wonderful Christmas, and got quite possibly the sweetest, most thoughtful gift anyone has ever gotten, ever. Or maybe I'm biased. Either way, I hope to post a picture of it soon.
The New Year is here. My sisters and I and our families had a mini party, playing games and grubbing on a pretty dang good feast. We knew we had to make it good, since it would be the last junk food for most of us for a long time. We had a blast, until Macy got one of her migraines around 11:30 and we had to hightail it out of there before her feast came back up. Bill and I rang in the New Year together with Ryan Seacrest and Kesha.
I've sort of given up on New Year's resolutions because if there's one thing I am, it's honest to myself. And me, myself and I all know that I am notorious for making grand announcements about making changes, and believing 100% that I will make them, and then not doing a single thing to make it happen, but expecting it to happen somehow on its own. I've accepted it, you should too. But this year I decided, very spontaneously, to make the grandest, most unattainable resolution of them all: No sugar for a year.
I KNOW, RIGHT??? Totally ridiculous. But I am bound and determined. I have toyed with the idea of going off sugar for a while now, and the new year seemed like the perfect time. It is going to be, arguably, the hardest thing I will ever do, and although I have resolved to go an entire year, I am taking it each day at a time and really just hoping to go as far as I can with it. I plan on documenting my journey here on my blog, with the hopes that by putting this out there, I will feel more accountable and more pressured to stick with it. I'm going to be brutally honest, detailing all of the highs and lows, slip ups, cravings, challenges and successes.
But first, a few things you should know. 1) I am totally, without a doubt, convinced that I am addicted to sugar. I don't mean mentally, I mean physically. (It's real, look it up.) So this is me, trying to quit, trying to detox myself and break free of my addiction. 2) When I say "no sugar" I obviously don't mean no sugar whatsoever because if you start reading labels on things, you'll see that's virtually impossible. EVERYTHING has sugar. And if it doesn't, it most likely has something in it that will turn to sugar in your body. I'm not worrying about that kind of sugar, at least not right now, because I'm realistic and let's face it, I would starve to death. Nor am I swearing off natural sugars, like fruit and stuff. I'm talking the kind of sugar you think of when you think of sugar, like desserts, my beloved sugar cereal, sugar pop, candy, etc. This is hard enough for me, trust me. When I feel like I have that under control, I am going to attempt to cut out processed, white flour stuff. We'll see how that goes. So, I hope you'll be here to cheer me on because, believe me, I will NEED it.
Today was Day 3 of no sugar. It has already been difficult, but so far I have managed to stay strong, a lot due to the fact that I announced it on Facebook, a strategy that proved inspired. But also because I would hate myself for failing three days into it.
Day 1 was a breeze. I was so pumped, so motivated, nothing was going to bring me down. I did, however, bring home a bunch of cupcakes from our New Year's Eve party, and they were screaming at me from their platter on the counter. Plus, we still have Christmas candy here, not the leftover kind that nobody wants, but some of the really good kind that I love. I know what you're thinking, "Get that crap out of your house." But I have another weakness, and that's that I absolutely cannot throw perfectly good stuff (food) away. Plus, it's my kids' candy. And I took a long time making the little fondant snowflakes on top of the cupcakes, so I cant' throw all that work in the garbage. Don't worry, my kids are taking care of it all, and soon it will all be out of my house.
Day 2 was a little harder. Not during the day, cause it was Fast Sunday, but at night, that's always the hardest. Especially because we often sit and watch Food Network at night, which is the dumbest thing you can do. I compensated by eating other junk food that I like, the non-sugary kind, like chips. I know, not the smartest thing, but it's the ONLY thing that is going to get me through this first little while, and I'm okay with that. I think when the cravings aren't so strong I'll be able to just say no.
Day 3 (today) was, well, crappy, but I'm pretty sure it's because of my non-sugar indulgence just before bed the night before. Chips and dip right before bed--not so smart. I woke up with a headache and heartburn that was so bad I was completely sick to my stomach and stayed in bed all day. I did get up to eat something so I could take some Advil, and those wretched cupcakes were literally jumping off the counter at me. But...I prevailed!! It took iron will, but I did not have one, and that, my friend, is the most monumental feat I have accomplished in pretty much forever. You seriously have no idea. But I do. Here's why: 1) Because they were cupcakes. 2) We had no other food in the house, which would, in the past, have been all the justification I needed to eat them for lunch. 3) When I don't feel good, my diet is always the first thing to go out the window. I don't care about being healthy, I just want to eat whatever is going to make me feel good. For those reasons, I'm a freaking rock star for abstaining.
So that's my first three days without sugar. Besides feeling lousy today, I haven't noticed so much of a change in the way I feel, other than my self-esteem, which is awesome. I think as soon as I stop substituting greasy, fatty food for sugar I will noticed a big difference. And I'm already trying to do that, especially after the Revenge of the Chips and Dip today.
So, cross your fingers that I can keep this up. So far so good. I will conquer you, sugar, I will.
No comments:
Post a Comment