Weigh in Wednesday: Sugar Shack

Well, I realize it isn't wednesday but better late than never right?  So over the last few weeks I have bounced around a little on weight.  Up a smidge, stayed the same and then I lost a bit.  Over all I have lost 9.7 pounds but I have to say I feel tons better and I am trying to just keep at it and make little changes here and there to see what works best.  

So this week I am really working on tracking all my food points and activity points.  I need to write it down as my memory is slowly being taken from me!  So sad.  I'm also trying to get better at tracking points when I cook something.  It seems pretty easy when I'm just eating 'a la carte' during the day but when it comes to a meal, it seems harder.  I always get messed up at dinner time.

Anyway, I've had a lot of people asking about the no sugar thing.  I got a great list of tips from one of my favorite sites, The Lazy Organizer, they are listed below.  It was right on the money as far as how to do it and once you make it thru a week, it gets so much easier.  I still have days where I want a treat but after you have so many days under your belt it seems like such a waste to ruin it with a little treat.  Plus, once you get the sweet taste off of you palette, things you didn't realize were sweet, taste sweet!

Here is her article:

I know steering clear of sugar is a difficult thing for most people. If you are really serious about going cold turkey I want to tell you how to do it. First I’ll tell you how and then I’ll tell you why.

1.  Have a REASON to do it and then DECIDE to do it. Really. Stop saying you’re going to start tomorrow. Start right now!

2.  Stop eating sugary foods, soda, juice, everything. Cut it all out of your diet and get it all out of your house.

3.  Tell your family what you’re doing and ask them to please not bring any sweets into the house or to eat them in front of you. When we went to a Chinese buffet my family moved to a different table to eat their desserts!

4.  The first week will be difficult. All you will think about is dessert. All you can do is just suffer through it.

5.  To make it through the first week, make a meal plan. That way you will know what you are going to eat for every meal.

6.  Don’t skip meals or you will get overly hungry and vulnerable to falling off the wagon.

7. Next, buy every kind of snack food that you could possibly want that’s not sweet. Chips, crackers, nuts, popcorn etc. You’re not trying to eat healthy the first week. You’re just not eating sugar. If you have other snacks available then it won’t be such a hardship.

8.  Buy lots of fruit. I know it’s sweet and it has lots of sugar in it but it’s good for you and for some reason I can eat all the fruit I want and it doesn’t make me crave sugar. It just doesn’t. Buy a box of strawberries and tell your family that this is dessert. They might complain at first but they will secretly like it and get used to it. I go to Sam’s club and buy watermelons, cantaloupe, bananas, boxes of kiwi, strawberries and plums. So, fruit juice, no. Fruit, yes.

9. If someone offers you a brownie say, “No, thank you.” A soda, “no”. A candy bar; “no”. A jelly bean, “NO!!!” “But thanks for asking”.

10. The second week will be easier. You will have that sweet taste out of your mouth and you will stop craving sugar.

11. You will start yearning for healthier foods. You will stop thinking about eating junk food. If you do eat junk food, it won’t taste as good to you. Go with the flow. If you want to eat salad for three meals a day, do it.

12. Don’t start eating sugar again. Remember how hard it was this time? It will be even harder the next time you try to stop. When you tell your brain you are going to stop eating sugar again it will say, “Ya, I’ve heard this before. I’ll believe it when I see it.” And then you will have visions of sugar plums dancing in your head until you give in and eat one. What is a sugar plum anyway? They sure sound tasty.

I found this about sugar addictions. I haven’t read her book and I don’t know about her methods but I thought her website was interesting reading.

Stop eating sugar for all the obvious reasons. It rots your teeth, it’s bad for you, it will make you fat, etc., etc.. Here is a reason you might not have known about because I sure didn’t. I only found out from my own experience. Once you stop eating sugar your food cravings will stop. Seriously, you will eat less of everything. Even foods that I normally love, I have to force myself to eat. I don’t think about food like I used to. Sometimes I even forget to eat or I have to make myself stop and prepare something to eat when I’m busying doing something. Does this sound depressing? It’s not. It’s liberating. When you’re not eating all the time or thinking about food you are freed for so many other things in life. Ok. This is getting too preachy for me, especially since I’ve eaten a plate full of brownies in the last two days! But all is not lost. I’m still on the wagon. I just plucked a couple sugar plums from an overhanging tree that came a little too close. I’ll do better to steer my wagon away from the sugar plum trees in the future.

One thing each person has to do for themselves is decide where to draw the line.  Almost every packaged food has either sugar or some form of sugar in it.  These sugars often appear on food ingredient lists as: glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, sucrose (white sugar), corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, honey, malt syrup, fruit-juice concentrate and cane sugar.  If you don't want to make your own cereal, catsup and whatnot you have to decide what your own rules are.  Over all less sugar is best so keep that in mind.  My rule is 5g or less.  That lets me eat things like Cheerios, certain high fiber breads & crackers, mayo etc.  

Another decision you have to make is regarding sugar substitutes.  I've used splenda and it is ok for certain things but it is also not very good for you.  I try to use it in small doses but I am still looking for a better answer.

Anyway, that's it.  It is so worth it!  Good luck!