30-Day Challenge - Outcome

Tuesday, October 19th was the final day of my 30-Day Challenge.  My goal was no sugar and white flour for 30 days.  I did well with no sugar except for one small slip while on vacation.  I sincerely forgot and had an ice cream cone.  Yes, the ice cream had sugar and the cone did too.  Otherwise, no sugar at all. 

I didn't have much white flour but found that avoiding it all together was tricky.  So, I decided not to beat myself up about it.

On the up side, I did lose a total of 6 pounds and with very little exercise.  heh-heh, I think the exercise thing needs a 30-day challenge of its own. Anyway, it's a drop in the bucket so to speak, but still, 6 pounds just from the deletion of one food "staple" is significant. 

As a result of my Challenge, I don't seem to crave sugar with the same intensity.  I also feel better and have more energy.  That's a huge plus and probably my biggest goal of the Challenge.

My intention now is to limit sugar to special occasions.  These do not include end of the work day, weekends and pity parties.  I'm talking about birthdays, holidays, vacation and the like. 

In the end, it's all about choices and choosing the healthy ones.  I like that.

DAY 24 - 30-DAY CHALLENGE

Today is day 24 of the 30-day challenge - no sugar, no white flour, exercise and smaller portions. 

Okay, here's the deal.....I have not been faithful to the no white flour, exercise 4 times per week and posting bi-weekly. I have been somewhat faithful to the smaller portions.  But the good news is that I have managed to abstain from sugar and for that I am grateful.  Baby steps...

I have lost 5 pounds and gained one back, meaning....I really lost 4 pounds.  My only excuse is that this week we are on vacation and not eating totally as we would if it were another week:  )  However, there has been more exercise this week what with beach walking, town walking and dunes climbing.  I attribute this as the reason I only gained one pound back of the 5 lost. 

I guess I'm looking at it from the perspective of making small consistent improvements. That, and the benefits wrought so far;  I have reduced my sugar cravings considerably.  I am much more conscious of the food choices that I make.  I actually feel much better without the sugar. 

I am limiting white flour but find that sometimes, especially away from home, white flour is hard to avoid.  I have had it sparingly. I have had sugar free ice cream and sugar free cookies.  I am rethinking that stuff because it is still high in calorie and perpetrates the desire for sweets (although not nearly as bad as sugar does).  Plus, I don't think the artificial sweetners are all that great for you. 

Anyway, it's a start.  I am looking forward to my next challenge......meat and dairy free.  Seriously.

Day 8 - 30-Day Challenge - Small Successes

I’ feeling kind of confident cocky today. I have lost 2 ½ pounds since day 1 of the 30-day challenge! And this in spite of my digressions from the rules. Woot!

In reality, I know I should lay low on the bravado. I’ve had my weight fluctuate up to 4 pounds in a five day period according to how much salt I put on my, er, broccoli french fries, ahem.

All the same, a small success really helps in the motivation department. Plus, I notice the sugar cravings have decreased somewhat – one of the big goals of the challenge. So today is a good day. And it’s Monday!

Day 6 - 30-Day Challenge

I'm on day 6 of the "30-Day Challenge," which I'm thinking of changing to the 10-Day Challenge or better yet, the 6-Day Challenge.  Because I'm a whimp.

Really, the problem is that while I have done very well on the sugar - I've only had a few pieces of 100% whole wheat bread with trace amounts of sugar it it; and not terribly bad on the white flour, I went quite a bit off course yesterday.  Our were nephews visiting from up North so we ordered a variety of Thai food to share.  I had the brown rice - good choice...but also the noodles - white flour.  I also bought a sugar free pie and sugar free ice cream for dessert and of course the pie was made with white flour.  But it was a special occasion you see...

On the exercise front - not so good...only twice in the past 6 days.  I have to work on that. 

I suppose I need to rethink my desired outcomes for this challenge.  I want to be healthy, stabilize my blood sugar and get rid of those pesky sugar cravings, but I also want to lose weight.  It always comes back to the old, "calories in - calories out" mantra.  So, barring the occasional sugar free dessert or Thai dish, it is important to remember that these digressions must be VERY infrequent and in very small amounts. 

On a side note; I read this week about how Bill Clinton, after the last time he had a stent put in his heart, changed to a primarily plant-based diet with no dairy and very infrequent servings of fish.  He lost weight and said that his body has been repairing itself.  That really appeals to my inner vegetarian which has lurked beneath the surface of my life since I was very young.  I've toyed with it on and off.  In fact, last summer, Tim and I ate no meat at all for 3 months...a little expirement.  We did eat dairy but relied mostly on whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit.  And it was great - we felt good and liked the food.  Although we're not huge meat-eaters, we did end up gravitating back to meat.  I think about that alot, but it takes a lot of effort to completely change your diet and way of living.  We talk about it now and then but with busy lives, never make a commitment.  We shall see.

Anyway, regarding my 30-Day Challenge; I'ma keep at it.

Day 1 - 30-Day Challenge

This may be a little trickier than I thought.  I started my 30-Day Challenge today - no sugar and no white flour.  I'm also adding exercise, healthy whole foods and smaller portions to the mix.  Sounds simple enough, no?  No! 

I had my egg whites and my 100% whole wheat bread for breakfast and everthing was cool.  I was all, I can do this!!  But while I was eating my black-eyed pea soup for lunch and purusing the ingredients list on the bag, I discovered to my dismay that sugar is one of those ingredients.  Drats!  So, it appears if I am to avoid sugar in its unnatural form completely, I have to find bread that has no sugar or forgo bread completely.  A well intentioned friend at work mentioned Ezekiel Bread that is sold in the health food section of some supermarkets.  I have seen and tasted this bread and while it is not terrible, it will be a cold day in hell when I spend $5 on a loaf of bread. Not gonna do it...wouldn't be prudent, ha!  What to do, what to do...

I didn't exactly exercise, but I did work in the garden for an hour. Dinner was lefovers from the semi-lowfat eggplant parmesan that I made yesterday.   Feeling ecstatic that I didn't have to cook, I sat down to my meal.  Only that's when I realized that the breadcrumbs I used for the eggplant are made with white bread that more than likely has sugar as well.  Hrmph!  And yes, I ate it anyway...but I didn't enjoy it quite as much...

I may have to tweak this thing a bit.  I don't eat that much bread anyway so if I do have some here and there, is that cheating on my 30-day challenge? I don't know.  In the words of Scarlett O'Hara, I think about that tomorrow.