Sunday, March 10, 2013

No Sugar Update: Day 10

It's been ten days without sugar.  The first week was REALLY tough; I wanted to quit every day!

I was so cranky and feeling so sorry for myself whenever I couldn't have a treat.  My poor family had to put up with me being a grouch for a while.  Around day four, my husband joked about pinning me down and pouring some sugar down my throat!

After a week went by, it seemed like I turned a corner and avoiding sugar has been easier since then.  I'm not craving it as much or as intensely.  I miss treats, and I still want something sweet four or five times a day.  But, I'm not feeling irritable or cranky anymore.

It has been an eye-opener to find out how my body and my mind has been so reliant on sugar.  For example, I will eat dinner and feel full but my brain will send out signals that I'm still "hungry" because my body is craving something sweet.  I also still find myself yearning for chai or chocolate when things get stressful.

However, there have been benefits too, and that has kept me going.

One change I didn't expect is that I'm less tired.  Before the challenge, I'd eat a meal and then feel like taking a nap about twenty minutes later.  Not anymore.

Also, food has more flavor since I quit eating sugar.  Some processed foods that I enjoyed before, like chicken nuggets, don't taste good to me now.  I can detect the additives that aren't natural.  It's really weird.  Other foods that were just o.k. before are now delicious!  Fruit is so much sweeter than I'd ever realized.  Tonight I made a fruit smoothie and added unsweetened chocolate.  Wow!  What a treat that was.  (The kids didn't think so though.)

Another awesome result is that my too-tight pants aren't so tight anymore.  I have known for a while that I needed to make some changes to my eating habits because all my jeans were getting uncomfortable.  But, I had been ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away without any effort on my part.  HA!!  Other days, I'd feel like there was no solution to my pants shrinking and I'd just have to live with my body expanding.

So, here's the crazy thing, in just three days of no sugar I could tell a difference.  I tried on my too small pants and found out they were wearable!  I now have three pairs of pants that I can wear again.  (They were actually on their way to the "donate" pile because I was giving up on ever fitting into them again.)

Seeing physical improvement has been the biggest motivator to keep going with my No Sugar for 30 Days challenge.  I am so happy to be taking charge of myself.  (Apathy was a miserable place to be!)  Although self-discipline is not fun, it sure has it's rewards when you keep going for a while.

I'll be checking in again on Day 20.

I'd love to hear from you.  What changes are you making in your life?



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