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