Challenges

Yesterday turned out to be a bit of a tough day.
For starters, I've had 90c in my bank account since Saturday due to a plethora of bills, poor planning and my birthday party. This has meant that I've been living on leftover soup, generous meals from friends and eggs since last week. I haven't been able to buy any fresh produce and am craving my usual 3 servings of greens like crazy! The good news is, today is pay day, so I'll be able to get back on track tonight and do a big shop.
In addition to my financial woes, I heard some dire news last night about my Mums health. There needs to be further tests etc. this week. But things seem to be coming to a head a bit and I know the next few weeks are only going to get harder to deal with. My Mum lives up in QLD, so if her health deterioates I'm really unsure about what may happen. But I'm trying not to jump the gun and take things as they come.

In regards to my food, a few sugary treats snuck in, and I definitely over did the pasta for dinner because I was so ravenous by the time I got to eating.

What I Ate:

Breakfast- Two egss wrapped in two pieces of mountain bread with hot sauce.
Snack 1- 1/2 cup greek yoghurt & a banana
Lunch- Vegetable & Barley Soup with 4 rice cakes
Snack 2- 1/2 cup cottage cheese with tuna on 4 vita wheats
Snack 3- 2 Rice cakes with peanut butter and berries
Dinner- Veggie bolognese w fettucnini (too much fettucini)
The bad-Small handful of lollies, chocolate biscuit and maltesar bunny.

My aim for today is to avoid those sugar tid bits and do a big grocery shop. I'm going out with a friend for dinner to my favourite Mexican place, but I won't be drinking and will be avoiding my usual go to dishes like fried potatoes.. quesedillas. I also missed training today due to sleeping in, but with the upcoming four day weekend, I'm sure I'll be able to make up for it.

Bye Bye Sugar!

Yesterday I took the first deep plunge into a sugar (fructose) free lifestyle, and gees louise, I’m pretty excited about it.

I started looking into a sugar free lifestyle about a month or two ago when someone linked me some information about David Gillepsies Sweet Poison books, which I subsequently purchased in quick succession. I was intrigued and the more I read the more everything made sense to me- my constant feeling of being out of control with food, fluctuating weight and my intense energy dips that usually occur after lunch or so- all of it could be explained my the amount of sugar in my diet, what was (is) essentially an addiction.

The more I learnt about the effects of fructose (loss of appetite control, weight gain, type 2 diabetes, POCS, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, gout, depression and anxiety, dementia, fatty liver disease, kidney disease and tooth decay- to name just a few gems attributed to fructose consumption) and the history behind the low fat diet, the clearer it became that my nutrition required an intense overhaul. I needed to cut fructose, cut the low fat, overly processed foods and start eating a cleaner, more savoury diet.

Since February of this year, I've lost roughly 20kgs through a calorie controlled eating program.

I'm very much an advocate for the program (as readers of this blog would surely be aware), however as my weight plateaued around 4 months ago, I can now attribute this to an increase in sugar and reliance on sugar kicks in my diet (my own doing, the program is very much balanced and low in sugar). 

At one point, I was eating almost 7 servings of fruit per day. Fruit before a workout, fruit with breakfast and then morning tea, apples after lunch, a pear when I got home before dinner and then inevitably strawberries or baked apple after dinner. I relied constantly on fruit to give me energy at work and keep me kicking into the evening. I also added honey to most of these snacks for a little extra sweetness- because of course, honey is the healthy substitute for sugar (wrong- honey is 40% Fructose). Throw in a few teaspoons of sugar in my multiple cups of tea, a few bits of dark chocolate, and my sugar consumptions would have been through the roof- well and truly over the recommended 6 teaspoons per day. 

I felt completely out of control and was probably in denial- as I tried to cut down on my fruit consumption (it was clearly way too much), I found my cravings for the more sinister forms of sugar intensified- I plowed through lollies and the like from the communal office sugar jar, would often end up picking up chocolate after work and would even buy 1 or 2 chocolate bars at the petrol station, telling myself I'd save them before scoffing them on the way home. My excess fruit intake had driven my sugar dependency through the roof- I’ve always considered myself a savoury girl (hot chips and potato chips were my original vices) and I can honestly say I've never been this reliant on sweet things in my entire life. 

Admitting you have an addiction is difficult- especially when the substance you’re addicted too is so prevalent and accepted in our society. Especially a society that promotes everything in “moderation”, which I’m beginning to think may not be the right way about it- sugar is highly addictive, a few slips here and there can cause you to spiral out of control, even when you’re just eating “good” sugars. Equally hard, yet important, is not allowing yourself to believe that you’re being deprived of anything. If anything, I’m bestowing myself with a healthy, lethargy-free, enriched lifestyle. I’ve also taken to thinking of sugar as “Slow Killing Arsenic”, whenever I’m tempted to sneak a taste.

The past few weeks I've been spending a lot of free time reading about sugar. Sarah Wilson’s eBook release last week was the clincher- the very next day I started cutting sugar out of my diet. 

I went cold turkey yesterday, after a few days of cutting out refined sugars gradually. I've stopped eating fruits for a few weeks to completely purge my system before reintroducing them (though in very small amounts). 

Today was day 2, first day back at work after the long weekend and it was hard! I was fine up until lunch, and then my daily cravings kicked in. I feel fidgety, nauseous and like my stomachs in knots. It’s as though I’m full and ravenous at the same time, which is a bizarre and a very uncomfortable feeling. 

My best piece of advice so far would be to do your research. I’ve been inadvertently preparing myself for this for weeks now. I fully understand what fructose can do to me, and I definitely know the alternatives if I don’t curb my habits now. I’ve prepared multiple lists of fructose free snacks and know many alternatives to tweak meals that would otherwise require sugar laden ingredients. I've designed kicking sugar to work for me. I know cold turkey is the best approach for me.

I’m not freaking out, and I’m trying not to make a big deal about it (although this blog might be a bit indulgent), I’m just quietly and calmly cutting out sugar.

For the most part, I’m very excited to defeat my addiction and to start reaping the benefits- I've never met sugar-free Erin before. I hope she's nice.