"Oh, wow, so you've completely quit sugar?"
Yes, for five months now.
"I don't have much sugar"
[Cue lengthy and often frustrating discussion about their diet, which is usually high in artificial sweeteners, low fat sweetened options, and fruit.]
"I shouldn't eat this [double chocolate cookie ice cream thingy laced with caramel] in front of you then... So sorry"
Actually, I really have no desire to eat it, or anything sweet really. And I know that if I did, I would have such a paralysing headache for days afterwards that it wouldn't be worth it. So it's fine, you can eat it in front of me. I promise I won't snatch it out of your hand and gobble it up.
"But what about NATURAL sugars, they must be ok? Surely you can have honey / agave / bananas?"
No. Sugar is just sugar. Natural sugar does have some benefits, but no, I haven't replaced sugar with honey. I really really have quit sugar.
"But you MUST have SOME sugar??"
Well, now that I have a couple of pieces of fresh fruit a day, I average about 3 or 4 teaspoons of sugar a day.
"Oh that's ok, that's quite a lot. I don't have sugar in coffee..."
Well, when you consider that when I first quit I shaved 12 teaspoons of sugar off my school lunch by not having a low fat yoghurt (7tsp) and a juice carton (5tsp), actually 4 teaspoons all day is very low.
"Ooh, it must take loads of willpower!"
I have precisely no willpower. I never have, and never will. If I want something, I have to have it eventually, and if I can't have it straight away, I will quietly obsess, dream, yearn, and ache for it until I finally give in and have it. So diets requiring willpower fundamentally don't work for me, if anyone. I believe that if we could say, righto, from now on I am only going to eat small portions of super healthy food, we probably wouldn't be the middle of an obesity epidemic, in my humble opinion!
But quitting sugar wasn't about willpower. After the first five days when I was clucking like any other addict, and had the mega hangover headache from hell, then suddenly it was fine. Easy in fact. And if ever there was a day when I thought "I'd like that... Oh I can't" there are plenty other things, not diety things but actual nice food that you would want, that you can have instead. A cheese plate instead of dessert, or a latte, or a glass of red wine. Not too shabby.
"Well, if you're managing to stick to it, fair play to you. Do you think you will do it forever?"
To be honest, yes. I just wish I had known about this 15 years ago. It would have fixed everything. Do I think I will ever go back to eating loads of sugar? No, absolutely not for the same reason as I never envisage going back to smoking cigarettes, or living in student houseshares.
Life is better without it.
Monday, 28 July 2014
Thursday, 26 June 2014
Recalibratiing
I've been thinking again (sorry) since my last post, the mega post. Perhaps the missing link is recalibration. So, I have taken a few days off, and spent some very valuable and enjoyable time doing things that healthy happy people seem to find time to do, namely exercising, focusing on food, and talking to friends.
The main thing I have done is swim. Miles and miles and miles. It cleanses the head whilst cleansing the body, it makes me challenge myself and feel how my body works, and I can do it, far more than I would ever imagine.
The other thing I have been doing a lot of is tinkering around with sourdough, and I know have 2 viable starters, a lovely bowl of sponge bubbling away under a cloth in the garden, and 2 loaves ready to bake. It has been an interesting process, requiring endless patience and care, openmindedness and dedication. It is a tremendously therapeutic process.
Therapy. It's peculiar how in a world so obsessed with therapy, there seems to be so very little of it. Small therapies such as keeping yeast alive, and baking, swimming and thinking are so incredibly soothing and powerfully recalibrating. We should all do it, much much more often.
Being out of work for a few days has also given me a bit of long overdue clarity. Time to write down what it is that's wrong, what needs to change, and most importantly what I like and want to keep doing. The phrase that keeps coming to mind is about making a difference, and my area of interest is still so firmly emotional health and well being, or lack thereof.
And then, while I'm thinking about what kind of thing I would really love to do, an opportunity to do just that presents itself. Not an open door yet, per se, but certainly a shiny letterbox to be peeked through. And peek I will.
It's a shame I'm not religious. No, I say shame, that's the wrong word. I mean religious people would have lots to say about these kinds of epiphany. As a person who knows she stands on a big rock within a vast blue sky, it makes me very conscious that sometimes, you have to stop, consult the map, figure out where you're trying to get to, maybe have a bit of lunch, take a deep breath, and see where it takes you.
The main thing I have done is swim. Miles and miles and miles. It cleanses the head whilst cleansing the body, it makes me challenge myself and feel how my body works, and I can do it, far more than I would ever imagine.
The other thing I have been doing a lot of is tinkering around with sourdough, and I know have 2 viable starters, a lovely bowl of sponge bubbling away under a cloth in the garden, and 2 loaves ready to bake. It has been an interesting process, requiring endless patience and care, openmindedness and dedication. It is a tremendously therapeutic process.
Therapy. It's peculiar how in a world so obsessed with therapy, there seems to be so very little of it. Small therapies such as keeping yeast alive, and baking, swimming and thinking are so incredibly soothing and powerfully recalibrating. We should all do it, much much more often.
Being out of work for a few days has also given me a bit of long overdue clarity. Time to write down what it is that's wrong, what needs to change, and most importantly what I like and want to keep doing. The phrase that keeps coming to mind is about making a difference, and my area of interest is still so firmly emotional health and well being, or lack thereof.
And then, while I'm thinking about what kind of thing I would really love to do, an opportunity to do just that presents itself. Not an open door yet, per se, but certainly a shiny letterbox to be peeked through. And peek I will.
It's a shame I'm not religious. No, I say shame, that's the wrong word. I mean religious people would have lots to say about these kinds of epiphany. As a person who knows she stands on a big rock within a vast blue sky, it makes me very conscious that sometimes, you have to stop, consult the map, figure out where you're trying to get to, maybe have a bit of lunch, take a deep breath, and see where it takes you.
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Figuring a lot of stuff out.
I haven't written for ages. I hadn't realised it was quite that long. I haven't defected, I have just been busy trying to figure some stuff out.
In a way it would be easier to explain all this in a sort of spider diagram than as a written account, because it all links together really, but hey ho, I'll do my best.
I'm still sugar free, for over 4 months now. I am now eating 2 or 3 portions of fresh fruit a day, usually berries or grapefruit. My body seems to have got over its readjustment problems though and now I have no sugar headaches but neither am I struggling to manage how much sweet stuff I need or want.
I am still struggling with lunch. I teach at a vegetarian school, and for someone like me who predominantly fuels on protein, I find I have to rely very heavily on cheese. Now, don't get me wrong - I love cheese. Perhaps a little too much - but it is annoying to have to have it when you don't want it and then stop yourself from having it when you do. But not for much longer. 4 weeks and counting.
The problem with the cheese is that it naturally increases the fat intake. Now, I appreciate that the IQS programme does purport swapping sugars for fats so that you can get off the sugar without feeling denied or not satiated, but it doesn't fit right with me to be eating cheese more than say once every day or two. A bit of cheese as a mainstay, and occasional full on cheese treat seems more realistic, although I have to confess that this logic does stem from 10 years dabbling with "normal" diets where low fat is the way forwards.
I am hoping that once I leave the vege school, and can have a tuna salad, chicken, or a boiled egg, and therefore don't have to reach for the cheese quite so frequently, it can slip back into the role it used to play, much like chocolate, wine and chippy chips - a nice treat every now and then, to be enjoyed for its flavours but not for its nutrition.
See, that spider diagram thing is happening again. I am now trying to write about wine and chocolate at the same time. I'll come back to both.
Then there is the issue of bread... eating bread doesn't seem to make sense in the context of sugar free, but I do like bread, and my husband certainly does (Mr Baker - must be genetic!), plus I don't want this to be about denial and restriction. Instead it must be a diet of abundant nutrition. To which end I generally buy multigrain wholemeal, although I was slightly unhinged when I realised a forgotten loaf left in the cupboard had not developed any mould in 2 weeks. That can't be right!
Sarah Wilson suggests sourdough, as it is better for the digestive system than the shop bought ones with the fast acting yeasts. I set about trying to start my own sourdough starter, but 3 weeks in, I have a jar of flour and water goop which whilst emitting a few yeasty belches, is not the frothing doubling-in-a-day wonder yeast that Hugh Fernley Whittingstall manages to produce. I had a go at baking a loaf, in spite of the seeming lack of action, and whilst it certainly looked the part, it was so solid it could be marketed as a green alternative to concrete. I am still nurturing the yeasty beastie, so will keep you posted.
I am surprised to say that I don't really miss chocolate. I thought I would, but actually it hasn't featured much on my radar. I haven't eaten any chocolate, and I have been around it. it seems that the reprogramming has had the effect I hoped for, that being that it has dropped out of my conscious. On the couple of occasions that I have fancied chocolate, I have either had a spoonful of cocoa in some Greek yogurt, or have mixed a teaspoon of cocoa with a teaspoon of coconut oil. The coconut oil works really well - the darkness of the cocoa is preserved, and the oil makes for quite a convincing smooth chocolate. Any more than a teaspoon and you would be scunnered, because it is so very rich, and the coconut oil quashes your hunger completely so there's no woofing down a whole bar, like frequently happened in the past if I was left unsupervised with a big bar of Dairy Milk.
And now to wine. This a source of concern. I don't want to sound like one of those women who I encountered at that fateful slimming club, who were desperately trying to negotiate a diet that would make them lose weight whilst still being full all the time, and drinking a bottle of wine a day, but I confess I was relieved when Sarah's book said that a bit of red wine a few days a week is ok on the plan. The issue arises though when a combination of factors all combine in that glass.
There is the "I deserve a treat" factor - and in a world without Tobelerones and ice-creams, the treat of wine is somewhat amplified, as it is a treat that is allowed. Then there is the "crap day at work" factor, which would perhaps lead most of us to have more days on than less. The "sunny summer evenings" factor fits very snugly with the "social yes-man" factor - I love a good drink and laugh with friends, but it is easy with wine to rack up quite a few glasses over a long evening. In the past I would have opted for a fruity cider over ice, about 1/3 as strong, and just simply lasts longer. And finally the "empty calories" factor - sugar aside, even a few glasses a week does contain a lot of calories, and calories that don't bring anything useful with them.
Weirdly, and loosely related, I now longer get hangovers.
I'm not sure how to play it. stress wise, I do think that leaving my crazy job will help, although then I will have more sunny summer evenings through the school holiday, so mustn't get complacent. Ultimately, there is a balance to be struck between enjoyed a few glasses but finding treats elsewhere, and remembering the mantra to eat dense, and a bit like the fruit, and the cheese, only have it at levels that mean you identify the novelty and the special occasion. Sarah manages to have a couple of glasses most days with dinner, but I think I am going to try a couple of weeks off, then maybe a glass or two once or twice a week.
In the first IQS book, there wasn't much instruction on exercise, aside from "do some you like". The new book has a whole section on Ayurveda. I am so clearly a Vata - flighty, stressy, enthusiastic and lively, and prefer calm sports such as yoga and swimming. In fact the only Vata characteristics I don't have are being tall and thin! I drive myself mad with pressure to go to the gym and use the machines for a hour. Often when I go, I do actually enjoy it and find the hour whizzes by, but more often than not, I talk myself out of going. I feel quite rejuvenated figuring this out, and have taken myself back to the swimming pool. The funny thing is, my husband is a perfect Kapha, basically the opposite from me. He is grounded and solid, enjoys stamina activities like long walks and could sleep for England. Sarah writes that a Vata and a Kapha can balance each other out, with Kapha bringing Vata back down to earth, and Vata giving Kapha a boost of energy. Opposites do attract!
This leads me to the crunch really, the weight issue. I had hoped for weight loss, but apart from a couple of kilos in the first week or two I haven't lost much at all. I have lost centimetres, but not enough to drop a dress size and get back in my pile of mañana clothes.
I keep thinking it has to happen sooner or later, because I do not snack, I do not eat sugar or sweets, I have never really been a crisp person, and I don't drink pop, so the magic must therefore be in the balance of increasing exercise and decreasing unneeded calories. I hope so.
Its strange because I don't feel like I am on a diet, so perhaps it isn't wrong not actually to be losing weight. I had envisaged a slow recalibrating rather than a dramatic 3 lb a week drop, but it would be reassuring to see it going in the right direction. I am hoping that the combination of reducing empty calories, continuing to enjoy exercise, swapping salty fatty proteins for leaner choices when I don't have to be vege at school, and hopefully getting this long awaited sourdough off the ground will all help.
So that's it - that's what I have been thinking about for the last 6 weeks. I promise I wont leave it so long next time.
* I should just clarify that you can go sugar free and be veggie / vegan, and that I'm sure it's a perfectly healthy option for many, but it just doesn't work for me. It's a bit like diesel vs unleaded - merits to both but make use you use the right one for your engine!
In a way it would be easier to explain all this in a sort of spider diagram than as a written account, because it all links together really, but hey ho, I'll do my best.
I'm still sugar free, for over 4 months now. I am now eating 2 or 3 portions of fresh fruit a day, usually berries or grapefruit. My body seems to have got over its readjustment problems though and now I have no sugar headaches but neither am I struggling to manage how much sweet stuff I need or want.
I am still struggling with lunch. I teach at a vegetarian school, and for someone like me who predominantly fuels on protein, I find I have to rely very heavily on cheese. Now, don't get me wrong - I love cheese. Perhaps a little too much - but it is annoying to have to have it when you don't want it and then stop yourself from having it when you do. But not for much longer. 4 weeks and counting.
The problem with the cheese is that it naturally increases the fat intake. Now, I appreciate that the IQS programme does purport swapping sugars for fats so that you can get off the sugar without feeling denied or not satiated, but it doesn't fit right with me to be eating cheese more than say once every day or two. A bit of cheese as a mainstay, and occasional full on cheese treat seems more realistic, although I have to confess that this logic does stem from 10 years dabbling with "normal" diets where low fat is the way forwards.
I am hoping that once I leave the vege school, and can have a tuna salad, chicken, or a boiled egg, and therefore don't have to reach for the cheese quite so frequently, it can slip back into the role it used to play, much like chocolate, wine and chippy chips - a nice treat every now and then, to be enjoyed for its flavours but not for its nutrition.
See, that spider diagram thing is happening again. I am now trying to write about wine and chocolate at the same time. I'll come back to both.
Then there is the issue of bread... eating bread doesn't seem to make sense in the context of sugar free, but I do like bread, and my husband certainly does (Mr Baker - must be genetic!), plus I don't want this to be about denial and restriction. Instead it must be a diet of abundant nutrition. To which end I generally buy multigrain wholemeal, although I was slightly unhinged when I realised a forgotten loaf left in the cupboard had not developed any mould in 2 weeks. That can't be right!
Sarah Wilson suggests sourdough, as it is better for the digestive system than the shop bought ones with the fast acting yeasts. I set about trying to start my own sourdough starter, but 3 weeks in, I have a jar of flour and water goop which whilst emitting a few yeasty belches, is not the frothing doubling-in-a-day wonder yeast that Hugh Fernley Whittingstall manages to produce. I had a go at baking a loaf, in spite of the seeming lack of action, and whilst it certainly looked the part, it was so solid it could be marketed as a green alternative to concrete. I am still nurturing the yeasty beastie, so will keep you posted.
I am surprised to say that I don't really miss chocolate. I thought I would, but actually it hasn't featured much on my radar. I haven't eaten any chocolate, and I have been around it. it seems that the reprogramming has had the effect I hoped for, that being that it has dropped out of my conscious. On the couple of occasions that I have fancied chocolate, I have either had a spoonful of cocoa in some Greek yogurt, or have mixed a teaspoon of cocoa with a teaspoon of coconut oil. The coconut oil works really well - the darkness of the cocoa is preserved, and the oil makes for quite a convincing smooth chocolate. Any more than a teaspoon and you would be scunnered, because it is so very rich, and the coconut oil quashes your hunger completely so there's no woofing down a whole bar, like frequently happened in the past if I was left unsupervised with a big bar of Dairy Milk.
And now to wine. This a source of concern. I don't want to sound like one of those women who I encountered at that fateful slimming club, who were desperately trying to negotiate a diet that would make them lose weight whilst still being full all the time, and drinking a bottle of wine a day, but I confess I was relieved when Sarah's book said that a bit of red wine a few days a week is ok on the plan. The issue arises though when a combination of factors all combine in that glass.
There is the "I deserve a treat" factor - and in a world without Tobelerones and ice-creams, the treat of wine is somewhat amplified, as it is a treat that is allowed. Then there is the "crap day at work" factor, which would perhaps lead most of us to have more days on than less. The "sunny summer evenings" factor fits very snugly with the "social yes-man" factor - I love a good drink and laugh with friends, but it is easy with wine to rack up quite a few glasses over a long evening. In the past I would have opted for a fruity cider over ice, about 1/3 as strong, and just simply lasts longer. And finally the "empty calories" factor - sugar aside, even a few glasses a week does contain a lot of calories, and calories that don't bring anything useful with them.
Weirdly, and loosely related, I now longer get hangovers.
I'm not sure how to play it. stress wise, I do think that leaving my crazy job will help, although then I will have more sunny summer evenings through the school holiday, so mustn't get complacent. Ultimately, there is a balance to be struck between enjoyed a few glasses but finding treats elsewhere, and remembering the mantra to eat dense, and a bit like the fruit, and the cheese, only have it at levels that mean you identify the novelty and the special occasion. Sarah manages to have a couple of glasses most days with dinner, but I think I am going to try a couple of weeks off, then maybe a glass or two once or twice a week.
In the first IQS book, there wasn't much instruction on exercise, aside from "do some you like". The new book has a whole section on Ayurveda. I am so clearly a Vata - flighty, stressy, enthusiastic and lively, and prefer calm sports such as yoga and swimming. In fact the only Vata characteristics I don't have are being tall and thin! I drive myself mad with pressure to go to the gym and use the machines for a hour. Often when I go, I do actually enjoy it and find the hour whizzes by, but more often than not, I talk myself out of going. I feel quite rejuvenated figuring this out, and have taken myself back to the swimming pool. The funny thing is, my husband is a perfect Kapha, basically the opposite from me. He is grounded and solid, enjoys stamina activities like long walks and could sleep for England. Sarah writes that a Vata and a Kapha can balance each other out, with Kapha bringing Vata back down to earth, and Vata giving Kapha a boost of energy. Opposites do attract!
This leads me to the crunch really, the weight issue. I had hoped for weight loss, but apart from a couple of kilos in the first week or two I haven't lost much at all. I have lost centimetres, but not enough to drop a dress size and get back in my pile of mañana clothes.
I keep thinking it has to happen sooner or later, because I do not snack, I do not eat sugar or sweets, I have never really been a crisp person, and I don't drink pop, so the magic must therefore be in the balance of increasing exercise and decreasing unneeded calories. I hope so.
Its strange because I don't feel like I am on a diet, so perhaps it isn't wrong not actually to be losing weight. I had envisaged a slow recalibrating rather than a dramatic 3 lb a week drop, but it would be reassuring to see it going in the right direction. I am hoping that the combination of reducing empty calories, continuing to enjoy exercise, swapping salty fatty proteins for leaner choices when I don't have to be vege at school, and hopefully getting this long awaited sourdough off the ground will all help.
So that's it - that's what I have been thinking about for the last 6 weeks. I promise I wont leave it so long next time.
* I should just clarify that you can go sugar free and be veggie / vegan, and that I'm sure it's a perfectly healthy option for many, but it just doesn't work for me. It's a bit like diesel vs unleaded - merits to both but make use you use the right one for your engine!
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Happy no diet day!
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/why-diets-are-ridiculous-9324288.html
Interesting reading.
No surprises really, for anyone who has seriel-dieted, especially the concept of putting the whole lot back on on five years!
I'm not losing weight, at least I don't think so, but I do have a far healthier relationship with food than I have had in years, well ever really. I don't have to consciously say no, I just have no desire to say yes.
Interesting reading.
No surprises really, for anyone who has seriel-dieted, especially the concept of putting the whole lot back on on five years!
I'm not losing weight, at least I don't think so, but I do have a far healthier relationship with food than I have had in years, well ever really. I don't have to consciously say no, I just have no desire to say yes.
Saturday, 26 April 2014
Headache part 2
I've been reflecting on the headache, and like every good student, went back to the book for a bit of reassurance.
Chapter 7 is about lapses, and how to cope with them. Now, my lapse was not unconscious - I did know what I was doing - but somehow was also unconscious, in so much as I didn't suffer cravings or fail as such. Basically I had a horrible sore throat and needed some cough mixture.
I felt ok last night. Yes it was sweet, but not torturously so, and although I didn't sleep very well, that could be attributed to a variety of other things, namely Mother Nature, snoring husband, and very heavy rain. And the sore throat, of course.
But today, oh my word, the headache! Like a hangover, but not quite so all-over body, just head.
It has also made me take stock of how I feel in general, and identify a few cons as well as pros. To be honest, for the last couple of weeks I have felt exhausted. It has been Easter holidays though, and it's back to school on Monday, so my two weeks of revivers is almost up. We have also had quite a lot of social stuff, including a wedding and quite a few nights out, so there has been a good slug of booze drunk. And I'm obviously sickening for something, so maybe that's why I'm shattered.
Still, it interested me that when I felt sugar-hanging today, Sarah's book yet again offered a weirdly psychically on point response.
Today I woke up all about eggs, but no spinach scrambled beauty on granary was going to cut it. No, no, I needed a fried egg bap. Oh yes.
Then a bit of running around, fuelled by an oatmeal and sunflower cookie, them home for a couple of large cherry and cinnamon herbal teas, then a lunch of sardines, salad, and buttered granary toast, followed by a lovely chai and a piece of my slant on raspberry ripple, seed laden and dotted with red rasps.
So, what does the guru say? Contemplate, hydrate, and eat right - protein, minimal carbs and no caffeine. Which is odd, because this is what I had done without instruction. Good, eh?
The exhaustion interests me, the more I read about it. Figures for how long it takes to come off sugar seem to range from 2 weeks to 4 months. I genuinely felt I'd kicked it in the first couple of weeks, and craving wise, I have, but perhaps the cellular clear out takes longer. Maybe I'm still detoxing.
It surprised me, although perhaps it shouldn't have, that so often my experiences married so closely with the book. I have followed it to the letter, which I realise in reading other people 's blogs, not everyone else does, e.g. Sugar free recipes that include honey, or sugar free sodas laced with chemical sweeteners. It is comforting to realise that the slumps and struggles I have incurred are normal and to be expected. It does raise a few questions though :
- really, how long will it take to really get off sugar? I mean, no tiredness or anything. It's been 8 weeks and I thought I was out of the woods, but perhaps I'm not quite there yet. Craving wise, yes, but physical "comedown" still in progress.
- what about times where sugar just cannot be avoided, like the cough mixture? Do I just have to make the choice to deal with the hangover? Or is there another option?
- am I eating the right balance of fats, proteins and carbs to eventually (however slowly) lose weigh and stay at the natural weight for me. The book is very "go for good fats" but I worry that this may not have the desired effect.
Another piece of advice from the book was not to get complacent. I realise I haven't read the book for a couple of weeks.
So challenge for this week is to read the book more closely, and use it as the manual it is intended to be, keep an eye on the tiredness, and what I've eaten to help explain it, and keep reading up on the balance.
Chapter 7 is about lapses, and how to cope with them. Now, my lapse was not unconscious - I did know what I was doing - but somehow was also unconscious, in so much as I didn't suffer cravings or fail as such. Basically I had a horrible sore throat and needed some cough mixture.
I felt ok last night. Yes it was sweet, but not torturously so, and although I didn't sleep very well, that could be attributed to a variety of other things, namely Mother Nature, snoring husband, and very heavy rain. And the sore throat, of course.
But today, oh my word, the headache! Like a hangover, but not quite so all-over body, just head.
It has also made me take stock of how I feel in general, and identify a few cons as well as pros. To be honest, for the last couple of weeks I have felt exhausted. It has been Easter holidays though, and it's back to school on Monday, so my two weeks of revivers is almost up. We have also had quite a lot of social stuff, including a wedding and quite a few nights out, so there has been a good slug of booze drunk. And I'm obviously sickening for something, so maybe that's why I'm shattered.
Still, it interested me that when I felt sugar-hanging today, Sarah's book yet again offered a weirdly psychically on point response.
Today I woke up all about eggs, but no spinach scrambled beauty on granary was going to cut it. No, no, I needed a fried egg bap. Oh yes.
Then a bit of running around, fuelled by an oatmeal and sunflower cookie, them home for a couple of large cherry and cinnamon herbal teas, then a lunch of sardines, salad, and buttered granary toast, followed by a lovely chai and a piece of my slant on raspberry ripple, seed laden and dotted with red rasps.
So, what does the guru say? Contemplate, hydrate, and eat right - protein, minimal carbs and no caffeine. Which is odd, because this is what I had done without instruction. Good, eh?
The exhaustion interests me, the more I read about it. Figures for how long it takes to come off sugar seem to range from 2 weeks to 4 months. I genuinely felt I'd kicked it in the first couple of weeks, and craving wise, I have, but perhaps the cellular clear out takes longer. Maybe I'm still detoxing.
It surprised me, although perhaps it shouldn't have, that so often my experiences married so closely with the book. I have followed it to the letter, which I realise in reading other people 's blogs, not everyone else does, e.g. Sugar free recipes that include honey, or sugar free sodas laced with chemical sweeteners. It is comforting to realise that the slumps and struggles I have incurred are normal and to be expected. It does raise a few questions though :
- really, how long will it take to really get off sugar? I mean, no tiredness or anything. It's been 8 weeks and I thought I was out of the woods, but perhaps I'm not quite there yet. Craving wise, yes, but physical "comedown" still in progress.
- what about times where sugar just cannot be avoided, like the cough mixture? Do I just have to make the choice to deal with the hangover? Or is there another option?
- am I eating the right balance of fats, proteins and carbs to eventually (however slowly) lose weigh and stay at the natural weight for me. The book is very "go for good fats" but I worry that this may not have the desired effect.
Another piece of advice from the book was not to get complacent. I realise I haven't read the book for a couple of weeks.
So challenge for this week is to read the book more closely, and use it as the manual it is intended to be, keep an eye on the tiredness, and what I've eaten to help explain it, and keep reading up on the balance.
What is with this horrendous headache?
Oh that's right... Yesterday I had 6 teaspoons of cough mixture.
Oh my god!
Oh my god!
Thursday, 24 April 2014
As if I forgot about Easter!!
I was aware of Easter as being a bit of a challenge to overcome, but actually it came and went without drama.
We were at a wedding on Easter Sunday, so that did sort of detract from the usual routine, but even then, there was no major hoop jumping to be had. I had mentioned to the bride that I was sugar free, and the menu was fairly compatible anyway, with a goats cheese and red onion tarte, and roast lamb (gravy was a special sugar free one, and in a jug - nice touch). The only part I couldn't have was the rum and raisin cheesecake, and a tiny taste of my husbands made me squirm - it was soooo sweet, basically just cream cheese and sugar! The alternative was a fresh fruit salad, which I could perhaps have chanced, but it had bananas and melon in, and weirdly, was dusted with icing sugar, so instead I took solace in my wine. The evening buffet was what can only be described as a tower of cheese (they had a many tiered cheese truckle wedding cake!) with bread, and also bacon and sausage cobs, so sugar free all the way.
It was only yesterday that I realised that Easter had completely passed me by - no egg, no chocolate of any description, no kicking and screaming. It's a strange, slightly flat little victory, because it wasn't hard and I didn't realise I was doing it. It just goes to show it's worked, and is working.
We were at a wedding on Easter Sunday, so that did sort of detract from the usual routine, but even then, there was no major hoop jumping to be had. I had mentioned to the bride that I was sugar free, and the menu was fairly compatible anyway, with a goats cheese and red onion tarte, and roast lamb (gravy was a special sugar free one, and in a jug - nice touch). The only part I couldn't have was the rum and raisin cheesecake, and a tiny taste of my husbands made me squirm - it was soooo sweet, basically just cream cheese and sugar! The alternative was a fresh fruit salad, which I could perhaps have chanced, but it had bananas and melon in, and weirdly, was dusted with icing sugar, so instead I took solace in my wine. The evening buffet was what can only be described as a tower of cheese (they had a many tiered cheese truckle wedding cake!) with bread, and also bacon and sausage cobs, so sugar free all the way.
It was only yesterday that I realised that Easter had completely passed me by - no egg, no chocolate of any description, no kicking and screaming. It's a strange, slightly flat little victory, because it wasn't hard and I didn't realise I was doing it. It just goes to show it's worked, and is working.
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