Healthy treats for the win! .... and then Sweet temptations took over....

Christmas has kicked my jelly-filled, cream-puffed, sugar-plumbed butt. 

I started off in a most delightful way, making healthy fun snacks with my kids when Oma and Opa came over for a visit: 

 Snowman made with bananas, apple hat, grape, pretzels, and mini choc chip eyes/buttons

Baby Penguins!!! Made with Giant Olives, small olives, carrots, and cream cheese. I don't know why both my parents have such silly expressions...know we know why I'm such a goof-ball! It's in my genes. I can't help it :) 

We went on a trip (HessFest!2014) to a rental property with my husband's immediate family (17 people in all!) and I held strong and wasn't tempted by the Torte Napoleon, Apple Pie, and christmas cookies. But then... then the Trader Joe's Peppermint Oreo's (Jo-Jo's) made their debut and I crumbled like a stale sugar cookie. I was helpless against them. I probably ate 10...and then I just had to taste that apple pie. Then I just really wanted to taste those chocolate covered raisins. 

On Christmas Day, delicious chocolates filled our stockings, and we stuffed our faces with traditional German cookies (Thanks Julie!!!) and sweet potato pie (thanks Mom!). I think one good thing I did was to say to myself that on Christmas Day I would let myself have sweets, so I didn't feel like I was falling off the bandwagon. But MAN, it's hard to get back up. I feel like my sugar cravings were non-existent until after I had a few Jo-Jo's at HessFest. Then it all came back and I just HAD to eat more. It was really interesting to observe my own cravings 

So, now, Christmas is over, and my body feels really achy, tired, and slow. I have a new resolve to eat healthy foods and avoid sweets and added sugars. I love eating healthy fruits, veggies, whole grain bread, beans, lean meats, nuts, etc. I feel SO good when I eat REAL food and avoid processed, sugary, refined stuff. It's just a matter of remembering that when confronted with Jo-Jo's! 

Day 16!

http://eveschaub.com/no-sugar-recipes/

I wonder if maybe the Whey Protein, Protein bars and Propel that I consume have too much added sweeteners? I watched Eve Schaub's presentation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TDjqDRt6vE) and she talked about how stuff like Sucralose has the same effect on the body once consumed, so she suggests just using Glucose instead of other sweeteners. When the body has too much Fructose without enough fiber, it turns into fat stored in the liver. ewwww.

I have a box of Truvia (Stevia) that I use in my tea. I'm not planning on using it for baking or anything, but I wanted to research it, so I looked it up here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
And it looks like Stevia is primarily glucose, so I don't need to go buy more glucose :) Maybe after I finish this box I'll try powdered glucose and see what happens!

It's been 16 days off of sweets/added sugar! Still going strong! I never really have cravings, fruit has started tasting REALLY sweet ( I just had an orange and it tasted like candy!), but I haven't really noticed any other direct effects. I don't have as big of an appetite lately, but not sure if that's due to my stomach flu bug I had over the weekend.

Day 10 Sugar free!

So, guess what. I bought some Costco muffins "for the kids".  And I haven't eaten hardly any (3/4 of one), but THEY ARE TEMPTING ME LIKE CRAZY!!!! Until I had those in my house I had NO cravings. It's like my body is still addicted even though my mind is made up that I KNOW I don't want to put sugar in my body. And the muffins aren't even that good....anyway. Maybe I should give them away or toss them in the trash. I don't mind if the kids eat them, but having them around is hard. I get scared that I will start having strong cravings if I give in to little 1/4 pieces of muffins. But I don't want to be a weirdo who can't be around sweets. I just need a little mantra to remind myself that I really truly don't want to put sugar in me. How about "Sugar makes me hurt, sugar makes me sad" haha - maybe that will work :)

Kristi shared with me this book/blog and I'm excited to read more:

http://eveschaub.com/category/a-year-of-no-sugar/

Want tooth decay, liver fat, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, to have a sugar addiction or become obese? EAT SUGAR!

10 Disturbing Reasons why Sugar is BAD

Ugh! After reading this article, I never want to eat sugar again.  Here are the 10 reasons:

1. Sugar contains a lot of calories, with no essential nutrients. It also causes tooth decay by feeding the harmful bacteria in the mouth.

2. For people who are inactive and eat a Western diet, large amounts of fructose from added sugars get turned into fat in the liver.

3. Excess fructose gets turned into fat, which can lodge in the liver and cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

4. When people eat a lot of sugar, it can cause resistance to the hormone insulin, which can contribute to many diseases.

5. Because of the harmful effects of sugar on the function of insulin, it is a leading driver of type II diabetes.

6. There is considerable evidence that sugar, due to its harmful effects on metabolism, can contribute to cancer.

7. Fructose doesn’t cause satiety in the brain or lower the hunger hormone ghrelin nearly as much as glucose.

8. Because sugar causes a large release of dopamine in the brain, it can cause addiction in a lot of people.

9. Because of the effects of sugar on hormones and the brain, sugar dramatically increases the risk of becoming overweight or obese.

10. The evidence is mounting that sugar, NOT fat, may be one of the leading drivers of heart disease via the harmful effects of fructose on metabolism

My biggest reasons for not eating sugar are because I want to have more energy, have healthy teeth, not get headaches and body aches as often, and be able to drop any extra fat so my back doesn't hurt so much.

Today is Day #2 and I don't feel like I have any sugar cravings. Yesterday I didn't either! Maybe because I have a cold and don't feel good anyway, or maybe because I'm still motivated by this "Sugar Free Year" plan, but I'm glad that it's been easy the first couple days. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am not going to eat any pie, icecream, cookies, anything like that! My plan is to eat lots of the good stuff: Salad, lean meat, a whole wheat roll, veggies, sweet potatoes, etc. I don't need sugar and I don't want sugar. It makes me feel achy and gross!

"The power of Food has a primal place in our homes that binds us to the best bits of life" - Jamie Oliver, TED.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver?language=en#t-26031

It's not just about me, its about teaching my kids to be healthy too. I don't want them to be sugar addicts, and they will follow my example!

New Beginnings

Yesterday was my 30th Birthday!

I got to lay around on the couch and in bed all day because I felt sick with a bad sore throat and head cold. My kids were sick too (Elora had a fever, and the boys both have had coughs for a few days). So we all snuggled up with blankets and hours of Netflix.

People were so nice, calling to wish me happy birthday, singing to me, and of course, bringing over treats! Sean made a delicious breakfast with bacon, eggs, raspberries, and HUGE cinnamon rolls with thick frosting! It was so yummy. Then I ate chocolate cake, chocolate candies, M&M's, soda pop (diet, but still...) and felt so gross I didn't want to even eat dinner. Of course I realized by the end of the day that I really hadn't done myself any favors by eating so much sugar when I was sick! I know that sugar makes my body hurt - I feel inflamed and achy, I get grumpy and have a shorter temper, and I feel like it reverses any good eating habits I have (which I have really been working hard on lately).

SO! I decided that today, the first day of my 30th year of life, I'm going to commit to treating myself to a healthier year by not consuming sugar.  When I say that, I have to define my rules because lots of things have natural sugars in them.

NO:
- sweets (cookies, icecream, candy, cake, pie, etc.)
- adding sugar or honey to my tea or coffee (I bought Stevia packets)
- no baking with sugar, which makes it hard to bake anything, which means, just don't bake! If the kids want treats, we'll buy one treat at the store.
- buying sweets to keep at home. if there are left-overs, give or throw away. It's better for me to not have the temptation around!
- things like graham crackers, yogurt, dried fruit, fruit juice. They all have tons of added sugar.

YES:
- natural fruit
- stevia

I don't need it! It makes me feel bad! I know this is going to be VERY hard for me because I am totally addicted to sugar. It will get easier as I go along and I will lose the cravings. Here are my reasons to do this:

1. I want to feel better (not achy, tired, headachy, happier, etc.)
2. I want to be able to lose my extra padding. Right now at 5'7" I am 142 lbs and about 26% body fat. I exercise usually one hour, 5x/wk, and drink over 60 oz. water/day. I feel like eating so much sugar keeps my fat rolls sticking to my muscles. Ewww!
3. I need to help my back heal, and doing the two above things will help me for sure!

Put it into action:
1. Always have yummy fresh fruit on hand, and follow my healthy meal plan (eat lots of good protein, veggies, moderate amount of whole grain, healthy fats, etc.) When I get the urge, I can have a Propel or Tea with Stevia, or fresh fruit!
2. Don't buy sugar at the grocery store. It's bad for the kids, it's bad for Sean, it's bad for everyone.
3. If people bring over treats,  DON'T taste it! the kids can have some, but don't keep left-overs. Throw them away!
4. If you go to a party where there are treats, DON'T eat them! You don't need it, it makes you feel bad. If people try to convince you, or try to make you feel bad, just tell them, "Sugar makes me hurt!" and they'll understand. Don't worry about hurting people's feelings, worry about not hurting your body!
5. Every day, read or watch a movie about the negative effects of sugar. I need daily reminders about why I chose to live this way for a whole year.

OK! This is going to be good. It will be hard, but I REALLY want this and it's a good year to do something good for myself. I've been through a lot the past two years and I need this boost of healthiness.