The Good, the bad and the ugly

Days 14-18

The Good-  I have made it past the half way point. One major triumph this weekend was that I went to the movies and didn’t even think twice nor did I feel deprived of my favorite movie theater treat. For years now I never go to the movies without a box of milk duds, Popcorn and a soda. The combo of the three is always the best. However, this time I was seated for the movie before I even thought about it. I think I enjoyed the movie a little more without it. Just because I was able to stay focused. It was a huge win for me!

The Bad- Despite a successful night at the movies, I had a rough Monday. I was really feeling stressed and a bit overwhelmed and over loaded. I just have a lot going on right now in all the various aspects of my life and it all came together at once on what was a crazy Monday. Even writing about all of these emotions stirs up anxiety. When I feel like this, the urge to take solace in chocolate is great. I found myself snacking on things that are not sugary, but still not desirable. I almost think that calorie wise I would have been better off just having a bar of dark chocolate to nibble on throughout the day. I have read that sugar does change the chemistry in your brain and can make you feel happy for a short period of time. However the down side to this is that often one will experience a crash, which can lead to mood swings and further cravings. In conclusion, sugar is not a good self medication. I have heard that exercise induces the same chemical changes. It can reduce and even alleviate stress. I think that perhaps I need more exercise.

The Ugly- Well the bad Monday ended in Chinese Takeout. I was couscous of what I ordered. I know that Chinese food can contain a lot of sugar. I enjoyed the company of my family and we enjoyed take out over a few laughs and good conversation. This really helped my mood. At the end of our dinner we all read each other our fortunes and ate our fortune cookies. After I ate my cookie, my 9 year old, hoping to eat my cookie for me asked if I ate mine. I said yes and he informed me that there is sugar in the cookies. No way! But he showed me the wrapper and sure enough…Sugar the 5^th ingredient! The ugly truth is that I messed up and didn’t even know it! The whole day was spent craving chocolate and I did not give in, but a fortune cookie. That is just not fair. Well I am playing the ignorant card. In my book it doesn’t stop me from finishing. Next time I will check labels better.

Lucky number 6

Days 12 & 13

I am getting used to the challenge. It hasn't been too hard over the last couple of days. I have been making better food choices. It seems like it is easier to listen to my body and feed it what it needs. I haven't had any cravings for bad foods at all. And the best part is that I have lost 6lbs since I stared the challenge. There's some motivation.
17 days to go.

Nada Nada Limonada

Day 11

It all seems to be getting better. In fact it was a crazy, busy, stress filled day. Despite all of this all I wanted today  was to go to my room and close the door for a few moments of peace and solitude. This is a huge step from finding comfort in sweet things. The only tempting part of the day was when I came home from the store to find that my kids had made lemon-aid. I was very thirsty and it was a beautiful day. That ice filled pitcher of sweet lemon-aid was tempting. I drank a cold glass of water instead. Later in the evening my husband assured the me that this would not be a temptation tomorrow. With out even knowing how tempting it was to me. He asked the boys to not make lemon-aid unless they had been asked. He told them that he would appreciate it if they would not drink sugary drinks unless there was a special occasion. To this I privately gave a grin. Things are changing in my home.

19 days to go

Sweet Rewards

Day 10


It started with rain. Again. So to distract myself from my thoughts I decided to do something productive. And since I can't garden, what is left to do in the spring than clean. So that's what I did. It worked. Not a thought of sugar the whole time. I actually cleaned so much that it was hard to stop. But when I did I craved a reward. I thought to myself  "It's kind of sad to work so hard and not sit down to something sweet".
 Wow. I am so addicted to sugar. Really a reward?  And the sad part is that I felt jipped the whole night. So how shall I fix this mindset? I am not sure. Maybe next time I relax to a favorite book or a TV show. I don't watch TV a lot so that may be a good treat. I know that if the weather is warm a walk to the park with my kids would be the ultimate reward.  I guess I am moving forward with hopes for a great new beginning.
I am one third of the way there. I hope I can get myself in control over the next two thirds.
10 days down 20 to go.

Rain, rain go away

Day 9
Today started out good. I took my kids to the dentist. While I was there I knew that it was going to be a good day. 2 hours later on the way home, I was jonesing for a chocolate chip cookie. You see it was raining all day and to cope with gloomy weather, I usually bake. This explains the 10 - 15 lbs I put on during winter and shed in the summer. So I was dying to bake treats most of the day.
After taking a moment in the early evening to get my head straight. I realized that I may be an emotional eater. When the weather is gloomy I feel yucky. So I uplift my self with sweets. When the weather is warm I feel great and I eat plenty of fruits and veggies, In fact in the summer we eat raw foods a lot. I love to figure out why I do the things I do. I hope that this new knowledge will help me through tomorrow. The weather man says it's supposed to rain.
By the way, I didn't give in.
9 days down, 21 to go

Three Day Weekend

Days 6-8
Our family took a well deserved three day trip. We vacationed with my parents and siblings and all of their children for three days. Talk about tempting. What road trip isn't complete without a gas station treat. And when my family gets together it usually includes ice cream.
Seeing that the trip was over mothers day, I convinced myself that mothers day would be a free for all and it wouldn't count. The first day of the trip came and went with nothing more that the reminder of this challenge as I wanted so badly to taste my son's lemonade concoction. The one that he swooned over.  Day two was filled with temptations  from the candy that sat in front of me half of the day to the ice cream at night after a long hot day. I did not take the bait. However I may have splurged when I took a swig of Gatorade. But this I justify because I had become dehydrated in the sun. I didn't even think of the sugar in it until hours later.
Day three of my trip. Mothers day. This was my splurge day. But did I? Hardly. I couldn't do it. My family met for brunch that morning. Everyone brought something to share. Well, my brother made a carmely, gooy French toast casserole. The recipe he said is a traditional mothers day recipe passed down from his wife's beloved late mother. Really she was a fabulous lady. I felt so much pressure to eat a piece after getting the back story. However, I decided not to, but took a bite of my son's. It was good. Every one was raving. But, I think that because I have gone a week with out, it was too sugary for me. That was a nice feeling.
So to assess my challenge over the weekend. I would have to say that I did Ok. I am proud of myself for not giving up completely on Mothers Day. I wish I wouldn't have drank the Gatorade, but it was unintentional. I certainly could have lived without tasting the casserole. But for still being in the beginning stages of the challenge, and for being surrounded with sweets for three days, I think I did good. I am still here and going strong.
Here's to the next 22 days.

Sweet Tooth

Day 5
I spent the first half of the day at the dentist. I have not had a cavity since I was in high school. Today I got the crud drilled out of two of my teeth. You would think that after spending the morning in a dentist chair I would never touch the sweet stuff again. Right? Wrong. In fact after I was done all I wanted was a treat. It must have been the inner child in me wanting something to soothe her tortured soul. I remember endless dentist and doctor appointments from my childhood that ended in sugar laced bliss. As a result of the morning's event my day was spent longing for a treat. Any treat. I just needed something to make myself feel better. However, I did not sedate myself with sugar. Probably because my mouth was numb most of the day, which made eating even the softest of foods impossible. But I did it today. I made it through another day.
5 days down 25 to go.

No Cookie for Me

Day 4
Without all the sugar what is a girl to do? Shop! It has been a long time since I have been on a shopping spree. We are talking years. The boys clothes were starting to look tattered and there is only so much that you can pass down from boy to boy before it's time to get something new.  So I spent the afternoon bargain hunting at my local mall.  Temptation loomed around every corner.  I typically reward myself for getting great deals with one of those yummy cookies that every mall seems to sell.  I passed by two different cookie shops during the extravaganza.  Each one tempted me with their wonderful aroma and display of fresh baked cookies.  I was very good and instead of buying a cookie I bought a wonderful scented body spray.  I'm pretty proud myself.

4 days down and 26 to go.

Sugar Rush

Day 3
It all started great. No thoughts of sugar. A little tired. Not cranky like yesterday. No more ravenous snacking. I drank my water. However, my son needed to take an ice cream topping to scouts. I found a jar of homemade hot fudge in the fridge for him. Not sure if it was still good I did the smell test. Nothing. No smell at all. Well I had to be sure it was safe to eat, so I performed a more thorough inspection. I did the taste test. Yep it was fine. It tasted so good. I then heated it up and got it ready for him. I still needed to check that the consistency was right. So I asked one of my boys to taste it. He said he couldn't tell if it was good and asked "what am I checking for". Well if you want something done right you should do it yourself. So after stirring it all up with a spoon, I pulled out the spoon and licked it clean. In case you were wondering it was definitely safe to consume. After my little slip up I ended up with a headache. That killed any desire to go back for more.
I say it was a good day. Only because I had no intentions of indulging and will not be going back for more.
3 days down 27 to go.

To be Free

Day 2
Today was a day of amazing learning. I really had no idea how much I would think about sugary treats. Honestly, the temptation was not bad. I never felt as if I may die without a treat, However, I thought about having something sweet on numerous occasions. My saving grace is my determination to be free from mindlessly thinking about sweets. I am surprised by how much of my day was spent thinking about them and this challenge.
I experienced symptoms of withdrawal today. I spent much of the day fatigued with a headache. I was a little cranky today as well. I know that all of these things are normal and that if I can make it through the week they will probably be gone. I also found my self snacking quite a bit today. On non sugary things of course. I think that I will try to reduce that tomorrow by drinking more water when I feel like I need a snack.
I hope that tomorrow is a better day. If so I know that I can win the Freedom I seek.

May Day

Day 1
Maybe I should say "mayday". I may end up in distress after a few days. However, today was not too bad. This may be due to the fact that for religious reasons I fast on the first Sunday of the month. Which makes it easy for me to avoid sugar. Only because I am avoiding food all together.
 I did have thoughts today about baking up an amazing desert. And I had to give away the last half of the chocolate bar I had been snacking on all week. It was slightly painful. But I know that in order to keep with the challenge I will have to get rid of all temptations. I am not sure what to do with the big bag of chocolate chips I bought a few weeks ago from Costco. I can't just throw them away. After all I love to bake and make goodies. I love to give them away to friends and neighbors, who are always happy to receive them. I think I will have to have my husband hide them from me.
What does my husband think of all of this? Well he has a great sense of humour and thinks that it is funny that I even got to this point. He finds humour in my addiction to sugar. I think his point of view comes from the fact that he himself does not care for sugar. Something that I wish I could achieve.
What about my kids? Well they are actually on board. They have all been sick off and on lately and know that eating sugar can make your immune system not as productive as  it could be. They are surprisingly begging to eat healthier. Luckily I know how to cook yummy healthy foods.
One day down, twenty nine to go!