We're back!

Sorry for the unusually long absence! Well, the month is over. Here is what I have to say, I am in love with you chocolate!! Ok, seriously, I did learn a few good things in March.
1. there is sugar in many more foods than I realize and I need to be aware of that.
2. Many of my "healthy snacks" really aren't so healthy, or else I would have been able to eat them last month! Therefore, I will continue to only eat raw, natural things for snacks. Worked for a month!
3. Agave is not perfect either. The answer is to avoid too much of any sweetener, but at least try to make it as natural as possible.
4. Complete sugara deprivation is an immune system stressor, and is also impossible in this society.
5. Moderation in all things! We already knew that, but I think we could have been a little more moderate with sugar before. I need my Dove to keep me happy, but I need my healthy food to keep me thin. A healthy balance is the solution!

Thanks for your support, all you millions of fans!!

My Super Healthy Friend's Response to Agave

Deb:
Response to your question "is agave worse for you". I think it can be if you go over board with it. I do not believe that it is worse for you if that is the only form of sugar you are using in moderation. If you are weeding out processed and fake sugar, you are weeding out tons of processed foods that have this hidden sugar. So your overall sugar intake is decreasing. Agave syrup is higher in fructose (usually 70-80%) then table sugar/sucrose and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) (about 50/50 glucose/fructose). I know foods higher in fructose are said to be linked to obesity and liver damage. Sorry, I am not buying it when it comes to Agave. The amount of fructose people get from eating foods w HFCS in it has got to be more than someone eating the way you or I do. Fructose is sweeter than glucose and other sugars, so you don't need to use as much. Plus agave is more expensive, so unless you are rich, you are like me, you don't make a lot of sweets or baked goods and use it in moderation. And it would seem that naturally the nutritional quality of your food will increase with having this sugar-selective diet and the amount of calorie-dense foods will decrease bc you will be eating more 'real' food (which would help fight obesity tremendously).

11days left!

We're on the tail end! While I am grateful for this experience, and hoping to have maybe lost a pound or 2 in the end, I have really been getting excited about being done! I went shopping yesterday and everywhere I went was a Godiva chocolate tower and a Mrs fields cookies. Killer! I have been learning a lot (like agave really is bad for you too! what the heck!) and I have found that I can survive just fine without nightly desserts. I'm getting ready to eat it sparingly though. I do have something to tell you, and I hope you will not loose respect for me, but the decision is final and there is no changing my mind. This weekend Paul and I are staying at a bed and breakfast in Denver for our anniversary. This B&B offers free hot chocolate after skiing the slopes and free nightly desserts. I am here to tell you, I am not passing this up. I have always had a fantasy of sitting in front of the fire at a cabin sipping cocoa after a long day of skiing. I have to embrace this, it's my first ski trip hello! It's not complete without the hot chocolate. Plus, the "free dessert" was probably included in my room fee, so I need to utilize that. However, I swear not to have sugar at any of the restaurants I go to, and I won't buy dessert at the dinner theater, k! Any objections to my plan? I won't change my mind, but I'll hear you out.

Road Block

We have learned a lot thus far on this journey, haven't we....I caved. I ate a desert that contained chocolate chips. Nothing else bad, but still. I literally felt like I needed it. As I crammed the chocolate down my throat, I felt relief. I felt the way you feel when you are extremely thirsty and gulp down water, or when you have been holding your pee forever and finally get to squat on the john. My body is under the control of sugar, obviously! Moments after I ate it, I had a sore tummy. I had forgotten how annoying my daily tummy aches were, and this reminder brought to my attention the fact that since I got off sweets, my tummy aches were diminishing.

So, sugar is bad. This we know. However, we have been doing more research and I fear that perhaps our alternatives; honey and agave, are not much better. Should we then conclude to use moderation in all things? Are raw sugar and cane juice the best options when we need a sweetener? Do we move to removing processed foods and worry less about sugar intake? Thoughts?

Day...What is it?

I feel like I'm loosing track here. The other day I was so proud that I was doing so well on my sugar fast, until I looked at the calendar and realized that it had been only a week and a half! Today is day 14, so we're about half-way there. I really am ok for the most part; it's the chocolate that taunts me the most. I'm also realizing that social events are always surrounded by sugar! I'm trying to make plans with a friend, and we've already exhausted the desssert and coffee shop options because both interfere with my no-suar rule. Interesting that those are the first 2 things we'd go for. I'm going to another friend's house friday night (yes, I am just oh so popular) and I found myself stumped when I realized we can't pair our girls' night with some nice chocolatey fondue. I'll be happier when it's much nicer out and I can take my Shape magazine advice and make my friends outings involve a hike or a walk in the park, then maybe a stop at Whole Foods for a bowl of fresh berries. Where is my friend Brady when I need her!? (we were great at this. Although, we usually still ended with dessert ;). In the meantime, I will learn to sever the dessert expectation that always pairs a gathering. Can you even imagine a baby shower without cake!? Just a suggestion.

Sick problem

As for me, I'm actually doing ok with the cravings. They hit at night, but aren't awful. I've noticed I am downing the fruits far more so than usual--which is a lot. However, I have been sick for the past three days, and you wouldn't believe how often I have wanted sugar! I have a sore throat, and what always makes a sore throat better? Ice cream and Popsicles of course! Not to mention, chocolate is the ultimate comfort food, and I keep getting this notion that all I need is a piece of my dark chocolate orange bar to make me better. HELLO! Sugar suppresses the immune system for 72 hours (according to my oh-so-holistic chiropractor) and yet I have associated sugary foods with sickness remedies. I'm sure I am not alone in this. What does everyone need for an upset stomach? Well Sprite of course. Carbonation may help, but sugar makes worse. Not a good compromise. So I have been loading up on peppermint tea with lemon and honey and all fruit smoothies. Both sooth the throat just as well as ice cream, but actually make you healthier. Crazy concept. Regardless, I have been struggling with the, "But I'm sick and I deserve it!" argument. I'm proud to say I have stood strong. Won't say I have been completely healthy in every other way, but we're just talking about sugar right now. The rest is my business.

What are your must-haves when you're sick? A little sugary goodness, eh? Come on, be honest here.

Day 10
I want sugar!!!! I want ice cream!!! I want flan! I am telling you, even when I eat a big meal, I feel like I am not satisfied because I haven't had sugar. It is so rough! But, I don't feel tempted to cheat. I totally feel like I've got this. I am moving tomorrow so I am starting fresh with groceries. I will be staying with some family members who have food, but once I am in my own place, I am going to get all the good stuff. Natural sauces, dressings, everything that sneaks sugar and corn syrup in as a #1 or 2 ingredient will no longer be in my kitchen.

One easy thing to remove in addition to sweets, (remember, 90% of our nastiness intake comes from something other than desserts) is to watch drinks. When you buy frozen juice, get the stuff that has no added sweetener. Or when you buy a drink from the gas station, or juice in bottles at the grocery store. Keep away from the sugar and corn syrup. It tastes much better without it anyway. Use honey or agave in your tea, and for heavens sakes, stay away from all soda!

Woops!

I have something to confess. I was at someone's house today and I ate some of their trail mix. Only after I had finished my second bite did I notice....I had eaten 2 whole chocolate chips! I can assure you it was an honest mistake and I will not falter again. Whew, now that that is off my chest I would like to brag that I did make it to bed without my chocolate agave ice cream. Sugar or no, I am trying to get over my daily dessert reliance.

I have learned how wonderful it is to have supporters. For the enrichment activity (which now must be called relief society meeting) the dessert is cake. I asked my mother what we should do and I expected her to say something like "oh we can fudge this once" and she actually said, "we will just bring our own!" Hooray for determination and good support. Imagine how easy this would be if the whole world were trying to be health conscience? ahhh wishful thinking. I was actually thinking the other day of how lovely it would be if our health paradigm changed in such a way that the regular health question would not be, "which doctor do you go to?" but rather "which gym do you go to?" It could happen. But for now, we will just wory about our sugar intake. One step at a time.

p.s. I tell you about how the gluten-free sugar-free take turns out. Oh boy.

Day 6

Still holding strong! This sugar fast is not easy, but it is very rewarding. A lot of people have been treating me like I'm some extremist, like those people who don't eat fruit unless it fell from the tree on its own-we don't want to murder an apple, after all. But I don't feel like an extremist. People say moderation in all things. I say, moderation in all GOOD things, in all necessary things. Processed icky sugar is not good for us, nor is it necessary. People argue that we need sugar and it is not good for our bodies to cut it out. I agree. Where is Mr. Atkin in this discussion? Oh yes, he's not allowed. Because we do eat good carbs, we do eat fruit and natural sugars. We just stay away from the poison.

I have had an easier time than I expected turning down yummy desserts and sugar. I drank an Indian tea on Sat, and the restaurant had no honey. So, as much as I adore that tea sweetened, I drank it sweetless. Surprisingly, it didn't bother me. When rice pudding dessert came, I was tempted. Rationalization is our truest enemy in this quest for good health. "It is just one time," "I deserve it," "It's not like once will hurt." BAAAA. Ignore that voice! Once you have controlled your cravings, rather than let them control you, you will be in a position to reward yourself from time to time, should you choose. We are not at that point yet. We are still battling for control.

We are changing our mindset, rewiring our brain, and mastering our body. Once we have don't this, through this sugar fast, we will think differently. We will want to find ways to make fresh fruit deserts and agave sweetened ice cream. We will be able to eat birthday cake at someone's party-should we choose-and it won't suck us into a downward spiral into sugar addiction. We must stop the sugar dependency if we ever hope to truly attain good health. We can do it!!

Taking control

I have realized that what I really love about this sugar fast is how aware I have become and how empowered I feel. I have never been interested in strict diets because I hate to feel restricted and deprived. But by only giving up this one thing, I find it easier to give up other junk. I have been a healthy eater for a while, but I have always felt that I barely fall short of where I would really like to be. This past week, I'm exactly where I want to be. Because I so readily pass up the cookie isle at the grocery store, I can more easily pass up the chips (the ones that "only have 6 grams of fat instead of 12"--chips are chips). I was offered cookies by a fellow scrapbooker and 2 rounds of girlscouts today and when I told all of them that I was on a sugar fast, I didn't feel left-out but rather bold and strong. It feels good to say no with confidence to something that is bad for me. Some people have said, "oh you poor thing" or "that really sucks," and it only encourages me more, because I realize that to me it doesn't suck and I don't feel like I'm making a huge sacrifice (plus I bought agave sweetened chocolate ice cream today, so I'm totally saved). It feels like I'm finally doing what my body has always wanted me to do. Give it up for good health!!

Day 2/3

I'm surviving. I'm more than surviving. All these talks of withdrawals seem to be a bit exaggerated. Don't get me wrong, candy and ice cream sound great, but I'm not like dying to have them. I think there are three reasons for this.

1. It's only day 3.
2. As Janette pointed out, I have technically only cut out 10% of my sugar intake (the portion that is attributed to actual sweets such as candy and ice cream.)
3. I understand the benefits of not having sugar, one again, as my expert sister pointed out, and it makes it very easy to feel good about staying away from it.

In any case, I am very pleased with how I feel thus far. I tried this a few months ago, only for a few weeks (holidays hit), and I really did notice a difference. I am thin, but I have always had a tiny little pooch that I couldn't get rid of. All the crunches in the world didn't make a dent. A few weeks off sugar, however, and I dropped those last few pounds and had a really flat stomach. I know this is about health, not weight, but the point is that my body was healthier and thus didn't hang on to excess nastiness.

My next goal will be to remove sugar completely. This will be accomplished by staying a way from processed and artificial foods altogether. It requires planning and spending more money, so as soon as I am settled in my new house and JD in his new job, it will be much more feasible. I can't wait. BBQ sauce, ketchup, dressings, many things have crap. We can learn to identify them by memorizing the crazy names Janette told us about, and really get stricter about our nastiness intake. For now, I feel good about this step to stay away from blatant sugar. One step at a time.

If you are new to the blog, and are debating joining our sugar free mission, DO IT. It doesn't matter if we are a few days into it, you can follow along whenever you are ready and post what day/step you are at as you go. If you have started this quest with us, please let us know how it is going for you!

Newfound Courage

So I was reading an article in a health magazine about sugar, and I am even more thrilled to be rid of sugar. Turns out, not only does sugar suppress your immune system, harm nearly every organ in your body, and make you gain weight, it causes a ton of other terrible things! It causes depression, anxiety (which we both have mo), heart disease, dimensia, and Alzheimers (there is no "T" in that word for those of you who say "altimers." That drives the English major in me crazy! FYI). And here's the big one, accelerated aging! Ah! Who wants that? So this sugar ban is for both our health and beauty. Two things that cannot be sacrificed for a chocolate chip cookie.

So here's the other interesting thing, sweets like candy and pastries alone comprise 10% of our sugar intake. Holy cow! So you could go off dessert and still consume way too much sugar. This is why in the past 20 years, the average person has gone from eating 20lbs of sugar/year to 156 lbs! No wonder Americans are so unhealthy. This is only one of the awful substances in our foods.

Lastly, we have to look for all the words in the ingredients lists that mean sugar. They are mainly: glucose, fructose, dextrose, corn syrup, and cane sugar. The most common artificial sweeteners are: aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame and sucralose. Here's the crazy thing, these 0 calorie substitutes have proved to disrupt the body in such a way that they actually cause weight gain! Along with ADD, hypoglycemia, and cancer. No biggie. Do you know that my gum and mints even have aspertame? Better just get to brushing more times a day!

So there you have it. I am a vessel of knowledge today. And most importantly, I feel much more motivated and excited about kicking the sugar out of my life. Eventually I will have to have some chocolate and birthday cake, but it will be most always with organic sugar or else a very rare treat. My 2 permanent goals for this month plan is that I will get out of the habit of eating sugar and I will get sugar out of my regular foods that I consume all day.

I'm with you sista!

So, breakfast: organic blueberry oatmeal with no sugar. Lunch: herbed chicken and veggies. Snacks: organic apple and peanut butter, sugar free applesauce, cinnamon cottage cheese, and baby bell cheese (hypo-glycemic, I have to snack a lot). I'm feeling great and telling my patients I can get through this just fine. I come home to make my healthy spinach, strawberry and bbq chicken salad; there is sugar in bbq sauce. I decide to make my own--there is sugar in organic ketchup. I throw the not so good concoction away. All my organic salad dressings--sugar. I decide to make my own honey dijon, but I have used all my honey on the wasted bbq sauce. After getting permission from Mo (blame her!) I had a little kc masterpiece bbq on my chicken and some honey mustard dressing. Was I satisfied? Big fat no. As soon as my plate was clear, I went to the pantry without thinking about it and had magical thoughts of chocolate going through my mind. I'm proud to say that I am sitting here sipping my agave-sweetened desert tea and have not touched the chocolate. But my point is, I know how you feel Mo. Day two, and I already feel deprived.

So, here's the plan. First of all, I have realized that most of the sugar addiction is simply a habbit, not always a craving. I eat, I want a sweet. That's been my routine. Even if I'm full and not craving sugar, I have trained myself that I get a small treat after dinner, and I need to break that habbit.

Here is the step I am going to take to help this plan. I am going to gather all the foods in my house that contain sugar and hide them for the month (most of it is organic sugar, so I'm not so sure I want to throw it away just yet). You too Mo. Get it out of sight and out of mind. Tell everyone what you are doing so they will keep the sugar away from you. Brady lives in fresh produce paradise, so she probably doesn't have to avoid it like us. Lucky.

QUESTION: how do we satisfy the chocolate craving?! Even my cocoa roast almonds have aspertame. We have cocoa powder and natural (non-sugar) sweeteners. Any advice?

Day 1 Report

Ok. I am officially sugar free, and have been for 24 hours. Do you know what that means? Let me just tell you. Yesterday was my birthday. No birthday cake, dessert, or sweets for this girl! I know, I know, sounds completely tragic. But surprisingly? It wasn't that bad. In fact, by the time I went to bed, I thought to myself,"Ya know, I just might get through this without withdrawals or anything. I may skip all that stuff and go straight to the point of not craving it anymore."

Lest ye feel I am a complete fool, listen up. I woke up and re-evaluated my hypothesis. The truth is, this is going to suck. I know it. I know it because I really really want to munch on gummies to make this work day go by quicker, and I really really want to go home and eat ice cream while I watch a movie after a long, busy reporter's day.

Alas, I will do neither of these things. Instead, I shall go home, eat my fish and rice (to top off a day of a protein shake and homemade chili) and drown my sorrows in a, er, a bowl of sugar free cereal. There.

Hopefully some of you are not poor, destitute, scrawny grad students like me. Should this be the case, you may drown your ever mounting sorrows associated with the absence of sugar in a bowl of delicious (yet costly) agave sweetened coconut ice cream, as Janette mentioned, found in most grocery stores near you.

No More Self Induced Pain! It's Just Silly!

I believe in being healthy. I believe in eating right. I believe that life is precious, that my body is a temple, that I only get one and that what I eat has a direct result on my health and my quality of life. Knowing all this, I STILL eat ice cream a few times a week. I still scope out jelly beans and peanut butter cups. I still eat eat chocolate when I am sad, and want to chew on Starbursts when I'm bored. If it wasn't for my gluten allergy, I would no doubt fill my eating hours with cookies as well.

I don't feel like I eat sweets more than other foods, nor do I feel that I eat sweets in large amounts. But even so, I have tummy aches a lot, I feel nauseous frequently, and I feel heavy and bloated far to often. I feel tired and blah.

The time has come to stop making excuses, to stop rationalizing that I don't eat sweets to often and to stop acting like, "It's not a big deal, I deserve it." I deserve to be healthy! I deserve to feel refreshed and strong, and so do you!

I have made the decision to remove processed and artificial sugars from my diet. No sugar, no corn syrup, and certainly no artificial sweeteners. I will report back frequently and let you all know what changes I am noticing. I extend the challenge to all of you to do the same. It won't be easy, but we can do it. We must stop eating eating poison, no matter how hard! Janette and I would love to hear what results you are noticing, or not noticing, and we would especially love to share delicious and healthy recipes for those of us who suffer from the sweet tooth.

Sure, there are plenty of other fattening, processed foods that we can do with out, but one step at a time. And this is one BIG step.