Sugarbusters - Week 2

Done!

My two-week sugar fast should really be retitled and called two weeks of madness. Tyler and my kids kept asking when it would be over. And frankly, I am a little relieved to have it over. I have really missed my ice cream and chocolate.

This past week I gave in to my cereal with 7 and 8 grams of sugar. I also hosted book club at my house and didn't want to be a rude hostess, so I indulged in one cookie, with CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

Friday night was date night and we ended up at Chuck-a-Rama. When Tyler first suggested it, I said no way. There was no way I was going to be able to walk out of there without dessert. But I did. I discovered a sugar-free chocolate chip cookie which didn't taste too badly. The sugar-free vanilla pudding was not as great. 

Yesterday Ash and Kiersten made my all-time favorite, chocolate chips cookies and I couldn't resist. Only one though.

This no sugar diet has had it ups and downs and has been a real eye opener. The biggest thing I've learned is how easy it is to eat things with sugar and how hard it is to eat healthier alternatives. AND that it's okay to have a treat. But just one and not four or five helpings. Sugar has invaded everything. I really have to plan what I'm going to eat and have stuff handy for when I get snacky.

I can see myself doing this again, just not right away.

Sugarbusters - Week 1

The rules for last week:

(Monday through Friday, weekends were optional which I chose to do)

• no soda, diet soda, energy drinks, sweetened fruit juices/ drinks

• no sweets, candy, or desserts

• no added sugar (in coffee/tea, or on cereal, etc.)

• no cereal or oatmeal with more than 6 grams sugar per serving

• no sweetened milk, milk products, or yogurt

So how did I do?

Not too bad.

Monday: It was hard. After lunch I really was craving something sweet. The apples I've been drying really helped and I made some popcorn. Later in the week when I went grocery shopping, I bought some mixed nuts. Those have been a life saver.

Wednesday: I broke. I needed milk for my Grape Nuts. At 12 grams of sugar per serving, milk is a huge hidden sugar food. Who knew? And you know, Grape Nuts are pretty nasty without a sprinkling of sugar on them. Again, when I went shopping I bought some Silk almond milk with 0 grams of sugar. It was surprisingly good and definitely a keeper.

Friday: I again faltered on the cereal. I had one of my favorites, Cinnamon Pecan Special K with 7 grams of sugar, but this time with almond milk. So I figured I may have eaten more sugar in my cereal but I saved by having no sugar in my milk. AND, it tasted way better than the Grape Nuts breakfast.

That night I had 2 of Papa Murphy's cinnamon wheels with 10 grams of sugar each. Oh, they were sure good and sweet.

A huge bag of my favorite peanut M&Ms have been sitting in the pantry, OPENED, all week and I haven't snitched even one. In fact I haven't had anything chocolate all week which has got to be some kind of personal record for me.

Saturday: I bottled apple jelly and I had to try it out on some rolls.

Sunday: We had a birthday party, and again, I had to try out my dessert to make sure it was going to taste okay since I've never made it before. At the party I allowed myself one dessert which I never do. I will usually take several and eat them all.

I may not have eliminated sugar entirely last week, but I sure made a great start. I'm on to a new week.

Kiersten held out for three days and then caved when we got home Wednesday night and her dad had made ginger snaps. But she's on board again for this week.

My cravings have definitely diminished and I don't find it as hard to turn the sweets away. I've been drinking a lot more water and I haven't had any little headaches this week which I'm pretty sure was attributed to all the sugar I was consuming. I've been a lot more conscientious about how much sugar is in the food I'm eating, and I'm sure my kids think I'm some kind of a sugar Nazi and can't wait for all this to be over. Sunday dinner at our house always includes Koolaid. I'm not even sure how this little tradition started. So yesterday I had the Koolaid maker use 25% less sugar and no one could tell a difference.

I strongly believe in moderation in all things, even sugar. After this week is over I don't plan on being as stringent, but I do hope to keep the sweet stuff in check and start using less sugar in my recipes.

Sugar-free for two weeks

The other day I visited my sister Katie in her office at Rhodes Bread where she works in the human resource department. I was there to celebrate her birthday with my mom and sisters.

Isn't she just darling!

While I was waiting for everyone to show I noticed that the employees had the option of signing up to go sugar free for two weeks. I thought that was not for me. No soda, cookies, cakes, candy, sweetened juices, or anything with more than 6 grams of sugar, etc.

But I did think about for the next couple of days and even asked my family if anyone might be interested in doing it with me. Kiersten approached me one morning and said she would try it.

Tonight at dinner we started looking at what we were having for dinner and the sugar in each thing. Pretty soon it turned into a science experiment that Kiersten is going to do for the science fair. BONUS!

So starting Monday Kiersten and I are going to start our little experiment. This should be interesting to see if I feel any different, if I lose a little weight, if I have the will power to stick with it.