From Cupcake Afficianado to Sugar Free...Week 1

Day 4 of Going Sugar Free...Body - achy.  Mind - fuzzy.  Hands - shaking.  Heart - full of sadness at a life without sugar. 

Wrong. 

Now, granted it's only been 4 days and it hasn't exactly been easy but so far, I have not punched anyone in order to procure cookies, cupcakes or candy.

So, why would I do this to myself?  It started with reading this article in the New York Times earlier this year.  It pretty much blew my mind.  I mean, I knew that sugar was bad...but it hadn't occurred to me 1) just how bad sugar potentially could be (I say potentially only because I think there's a lot of research to be done yet) and 2) I just assumed that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie.

Turns out, they're not.  A calorie of sugar is not metabolized by your body the same way that a calorie of any other food is.   Moreover, there's a lot of compelling evidence that our current obesity crisis (as well as increased cancer rates) could be traced back to our dramatically increased consumption of sugar. 

And, what blew me away even more was...your body doesn't metabolize 'good' sugars (i.e. fruits) any differently than 'bad' sugars (i.e. candy).  I've always been a fan of putting dried figs, cranberries and raisins in my salads...when I looked at the sugars, I realized that all three have just as much sugar as M&M's...and my body doesn't know the difference...other than that there are added nutritional benefits from fruits and dried fruits. 

Add all of this to the fact that I know I'm at greater risk for gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes because of the insulin resistance associated with PCOS...and it wasn't a hard leap to make that maybe I need to look to cut out all sugars from my diet. 

So, here's the plan:

1.) This is an experiment...I've committed to trying it for 8 weeks during what is likely the most sugar-ridden time of the year.
2.) I'm going to do my best...but I'm not going to beat myself up if I slip.
3.) Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...all bets are off.  :)
4.) I'm not going cold turkey.  I've found a plan online that has you ease into a sugar free diet...primarily by replacing the sugars with fats.  Which, yes, I know - sounds counter-intuitive.  But most of the hype we've been fed about fat has been debunked recently.  Your body needs fat.  
5.) After the eight weeks are up, I'll decide how I want to proceed going forward.  Ideally, I'd like to maintain a 'mostly' sugar-free lifestyle where I still have 1 serving of fruit a day (likely a cup of berries in my morning smoothie) and the very occasional treat.
6.) I realize this is a pretty intense change...and the idea of it makes some people uncomfortable.  My attempt here is to just see how I feel by making the change.

So, what am I eating?  Here's a couple of sample meals.

Breakfast: whole wheat toast with small pat of butter, Havarti cheese and 1/2 an avocado
Lunch: Spinach salad with hard boiled eggs and a little bit of bacon
Dinner: Grilled chicken and roasted broccoli
Snacks: Cheese!  Nuts! Also - celery with no sugar added almond butter

Honestly, I think I'm eating less than what I normally do.  The biggest difference I've noticed is that I'm normally STARVED when I get home from work...I can rarely wait until dinner without having some type of snack.  That has not been the case this week.

Again, it's only been a short time.   The hardest part has been giving up my morning shake and countering my mid-afternoon energy slump. 

If you're interested in the topic, I highly suggest watching this video.

Sugar Free Sarah...Signing Out!