Friday 19 July 2013

Week One of Quitting Sugar

I've just completed Week One!

It was tough and challenging, but I did not give in to the evil craving monsters that are still living inside me, and I'm very proud of that (well, not to the same extent that I used to anyway).

What I like the most about Sarah's program is that you can ease your way into it. She doesn't believe in the cold turkey approach, which meant that when I did stuff up during the week and ate half a packet of dates after dinner one day, or had some cheesecake at a restaurant with friends, I didn't feel that paralysing shame and guilt that would usually wrap itself around me after eating sugar. I just allowed myself to enjoy it. Oh, what a feeling.

I still have a very long way to go... It was scary to see how quickly I demolished those dates when I felt the sugar on my tongue. There was that element of obsessive eating that I am trying so hard to get rid of that is still very much alive inside of me. I had to throw out the rest of the packet to stop me eating all 400 grams! (That would be equivalent to nearly a whole days caloric intake not to mention the truck load of sugar). But, it's early days. And I needed to see how strong these addictive behaviors still are for me so I am better equipped to deal with them in weeks 2 and 3, when we go 100% no sugar.

As this week was all about curbing the sugar monsters, I allowed myself to eat other food (occasionally) that I wouldn't usually let myself. So, when I felt the craving hit, I might have a piece of peanut butter on toast, salty nuts or corn chips and dip. I told myself this week that as long as I was staying away from sugar, it was ok.

You see the thing is, if you took away my sugar addiction, I eat pretty well (kind of ironic, isn't it?)
I avoid grains and dairy, as they make me bloated. I will eat protein (usually fish or chicken) with tonnes of fresh veggies and some good fats like avocado, olive or coconut oil for lunch and dinner, with eggs for brekkie. (These principals are all key elements to Sarah's program too, which is probably why I loved it so much). This is why I never really understood my addiction? My whole family is obsessed with health and wellbeing and I have been well-educated about what I should and shouldn't eat - I guess sugar addiction is stronger than all of that. So while this week wasn't a totally healthy week, if I've avoided the compulsive trips to the supermarket, I'm happy. Small steps!

This is what Week One looked like:

Brekkie  
2 Egg Muffins and green tea
(like a mini omellette with some veggies and turkey that you bake in a muffin tray)

Or

Poached Egg on gluten free toast and green tea

Lunch
Chicken/Turkey and veggies with avocado/olives/oil

Or

Lentil soup with crusty gluten free bread

Dinner
Chicken/Tofu with steamed/stir fried veggies

Snacks
Swapped between servings of: Soy Latte's, Carrot & Celery with Hommus, Brazil Nuts, tuna in spring water. (And my occasional unhealthy substitute of corn chips, peanut butter on toast, salted cashews - they all have to go next week!)

My Acceptable Slip Ups
Pitted Dates (they have soooo much sugar!)
Cheese cake
Honey in tea


So where to now?

My goal for week two is to eliminate those salty fatty snacks (corn chips, salty nuts etc) and drink more herbal tea instead (without honey this week). When the sugar cravings hit, and my God did they hit hard this week, I will try and go for a walk, drink some tea, or write. I will keep updating my progress each week.

Another of my goals is to get back to my weight as of 2 years ago, 58kg. I am currently almost hitting 70 on the scales (I am 160cm). I am thinking about posting some before pictures in the hope it might spur me on to make a difference, but I am incredibly nervous about putting my flabby stomach out there for the world to see. We'll see how that one goes.

I'm also going to book in with a naturopath to get some herbal supplements to help with the cravings. They are so intense sometimes they nearly bring me to tears, and I'm really scared that I will give in to them sooner or later.

While losing weight is incredibly important to me, particularly as it wasn't that long ago I was prancing around in my bikinis in Brazil feeling happy and confident, that is secondary to ridding myself of sugar for good. Although, I'm sure they will work hand in hand over the next 8 weeks.


Thanks for sharing this journey with me. Here's to week two!  

4 comments:

  1. Way to go!!! One week down. You can do this again next week! And the next (except maybe not the dates lol).

    I was EXACTLY the same as you. Pretty healthy diet in general. Eggs for breakfast, no wheat, lots of superfoods (chia, flax, almonds), sugar-free treats (made with too much dried fruit though, now I realize) and protien/veg meals with little or no carb. BUT then I could polish off half a block of chocolate, or 3 pieces of cake, or a massive serve of icecream. Felt like such a waste being healthy to then 'wreck it'. So that's why I needed to do the detox. I have NO self-control!

    Here's my weight loss tip. You will lose weight rapidly at the start (if you don't get them dates out again haha) but then it will slowly stop. To make sure you don't put all the weight back ON (ahem, yes, I did... a bit..) don't go TOO nuts on the fat content to combate those massive cravings in Weeks 3-5 where you can't even have Stevia. And don't go TOO nuts after Week 6 when you're allowed to add a bit of sweetness back in. During Week 3-5, I was eating about 300-500g of natural yogurt A DAY (with no sweetener, just some cinnamon) as a 'dessert' or just to get my head through the day. Bad idea. And when I discovered coconut butter (far too easy, far too tasty, no sweetener needed!) I made all sorts of 'chocolate' with it and ate it all pretty much myself. It was sugar free, right? Bad idea.

    So I'm disappointed in that regard, BUT I still went 8 weeks without refined sugar and had to say NO to many, many cakes and slices while we were out with friends, so that's a lot of calories saved, yay! And I've learnt my lesson about too much 'good' fat.

    Sorry for rambling but I figured you might be interested. :)

    Hannah

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  2. Thanks Hannah!
    This is not a ramble at all, this is gold! It's so good to be able to think ahead to what I may be facing next... Especially from someone like yourself who has already conquered the detox! I was a bit nervous about eating all that fat, so I will heed your advice to slow it down to avoid going over the top. It's funny how we can eat with such good intentions to be good to our bodies, but then throw it all away with a block of chocolate! Do you feel like those days are behind you? Have you actually kicked the habit?

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    1. The day after I finished the detox, I had sugar for breakfast (brioche toast) lunch & after dinner. Ate all the things I'd been 'saving'. And you know what? I didn't enjoy any of it (except the Ego Magnun lol). I found it boring and lacking in taste. All the stuff I was eating on the detox, and the 'sweet' stuff in Sarah's book was so much yummier! So I'm just going to stay eating as I did on the detox! With the allowance of ONE cheat meal on the weekend, providing I exercise the next day. I had some 'coconut rough' chocolate this week and thought the one I made from coconut butter was actually better.

      Here I was thinking I was 'missing out' while on the detox but I was actually eating way yummier stuff the whole time!

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    2. I read about the coconut rough on your blog... Can't wait to try that as a special treat in week 6!!
      How brilliant that those sugary foods are now boring for your taste-buds. Sarah Wilson's recipes really are awesome!

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