Sugar Challenge Update

Well, it has been a solid two weeks that I've been working on this challenge, and I'm not any less frustrated at the foods that have added sugar! However, I have found that the longer I work toward avoiding sugar, the less I crave it, or the easier I find it to turn it down. But I am still consuming 80 to 100 grams of sugar (including natural) each day.

I really think that once June is over, I'm going to stop tracking sugar, only because it is hard to know what is "bad" versus "good". I know ice cream (which I turned down twice) is not good, neither are my favorites-jelly donut and butterfinger candy bars. But plain yogurt, dried fruit, seeds, bread, etc? Are we really doing our bodies a disservice by consuming these things? Sometimes I envision a life where I could grow everything myself, purchase local what I couldn't grow, keep all food natural, eat plenty of raw...And then I realize that I live in this world.

This world has me living in a climate with a very short growing season and with a budget that doesn't even allow me to purchase organic. This world includes a husband who would be perfectly happy if there were no veggies in our fridge. This world has me working instead of gardening, and has me living in an apartment where I couldn't garden even if I did have the time. This world also has weekends with the in-laws.

This past weekend was one of those. The mentality there is lots of food, lots of treats, no salads. I had my first soda in 2 weeks there because I got back from a long run and had no other quick liquid fuel than a coke. I did have a second soda last night, because I'm not good enough to finish a weekend healthy that started unhealthy. I ate a donut, I had pancakes & waffles with syrup. I tried strawberry fluff (which I had to stop eating because it was so sweet). I had candy. And it was no surprise then that my body started to feel sluggish and off kilter.

I do know that this was in part me succumbing to the elements of my food environment, but also had to do with my emotional state. I continue to work two jobs since they have not found a replacement for me to allow me to finish my promotion transition. While I still only put in 40 hours, the stress and trying to adjust to an earlier schedule is getting to me. I even wanted to skip all of my weekend workouts, after already being 3 miles behind for the week. I took such pride in the fact that I made all of my workouts through the first round of marathon training, and I just am not mentally there right now for this round. I did force myself out the door on Saturday with a "go as far as you want" mentality. I ended up doing 14 miles. I realized on the run that just going because I wanted was a better reset than laying on the couch. But I did take a rest day then on Sunday to give myself a chance to sleep in, and to allow my stomach to settle from the food the day before. Nothing worse than being on a run and needing a bathroom!

I know this had now turned into more of a regular/personal update than a sugar challenge update, but sometimes pursuing happiness means just getting it all out there. I have a long/busy/food filled week ahead of me, and I know that I just need to keep it scheduled, keep bad food portions small, and to just do my best in what I have in front of me.

In Pursuit,

Sarah

Sugar Challenge Days 1-3

So far I have completed 3 days of my sugar challenge.  You can see what I ate here, here, & here.
The goal is 20 grams of sugar (outside of natural sources). I have failed miserably. I've had some trouble and frustration figuring out what is "natural" sugar. Removing the sugars in a plain apple is easy, but when I see that a cup of plain nonfat yogurt has 12 grams of sugar--is that all natural? And why on earth do companies have to add sugar to dried fruit?? And how much did they add?? And does sugar in seeds count?

I know this is my own challenge and I can figure it out as I chose, but it is still frustrating to see my numbers so far off goal. Monday I had 85 grams of sugar, 52 of them not 'natural' (It was actually more, but I don't know how much sugar was in my margarita...). 86 grams Tuesday with 52 not natural. Wednesday was better, I had 89 total, but only 30 after taking whole food sugars out.

However, looking at my food diary, I'm really proud of the choices I've made. Monday was homemade Mexican, and I made sure to keep my 1 taco as healthy as possible. And I kept the chips to a minimum and also only had 1 margarita. Not only that, but I didn't have soda OR popcorn at the movie we went to. It helped that it was a matinee and I had just had lunch, but I was still proud. Tuesday I went out for dinner and even though I don't have the exact nutrition information, I chose an option with a ton of veggies and I again avoided soda and had tea instead (unsweetened, natch). Wednesday found me on a walk with my husband where he decided to stop for ice cream, then buy soda later. I was able to turn down both.

Part of this will power is a desire to make a solid attempt, but part of it is that if I really think-do I want this, the answer so far has been 'no'. And really, if I am going to enjoy something like a margarita, it should be because I really want it, not just because it is there.

We'll see how the rest of the week goes, but so far I am feeling great and am glad that I've cut out a bunch of my processed foods.

In Pursuit,

Sarah