What I've Learned

Today is Day 5. Before I began this journey I kept telling myself I would only have to make it through the first five days before things got easier. At least, that's what I've read. So far, today I feel a lot better. It's not even 9 AM, but I'm feeling optimistic. My head feels less foggy, I don't feel like crawling back into bed and sleeping the day away, and I don't have a headache. I'm very relieved to be feeling better because for about an hour last night I felt terrible. I had all the symptoms of low blood sugar so that's probably what it was. I think my glucose monitor is off because it kept giving me really high readings when I checked it, and I know that's not possible since I haven't had hardly any sugar at all this week, and I typically have LOW blood sugar. After I ate I felt a lot better, though.

I have learned some things while doing this, even though it's only been 5 days. I thought I would  put down what I have learned so far:

1. Sugar IS addictive. No matter how harmless it seems, having too much sugar can be really bad for you (and I'm willing to bet that almost everyone in America has too much sugar). Also, when you have as much sugar as I used to, the withdrawal from coming off of it is very real and hard.

2. I have a lot of "triggers". I mentioned this briefly on yesterday's post, but I'm amazed at how often something used to trigger me to think about or eat sugar. For example, when I see a basket, I'm immediately reminded of all the Easter candy we had at the house last week and I want to go grab a piece before I remember there isn't any left. Or when I'm eating something that I used to have Dr. Pepper with all the time, and when I reach for my drink, I'm momentarily surprised to see a water bottle and not a can of DP. And we won't talk about what happens when I see something delicious on TV.

3. My weight fluctuates day to day. I already kind of knew this, but I have realized this even more while doing this because I have been weighing myself everyday. I normally don't weigh myself more than once a week (and typically it's a lot less often than that), but I have been weighing myself everyday to see if giving up sugar makes all that much of a difference for me on the scale. Well, I stepped on this morning and I'd gained 0.2 lbs. I've still lost 1.4 lbs overall, though. I'm really not upset because I'm looking more for the long term effects of giving up sugar, and I do think it will help me get to a healthier weight in the long run.

Now that I have given up sugar, I am thinking about making some other changes to my diet. If anyone has any input on these, please let me know!

1. I want to stop eating after 8 PM. Eventually I would prefer 7 PM but right now with Josh's schedule that isn't always realistic.

2. I'm going to start paying a lot closer attention to food labels. I have already started doing this, and I'm appalled at what I've been finding. I thought my kids ate a healthy diet (and I know they get plenty of nutrition), but I didn't realize how much sugar was in the everyday things that they ate. They were getting way too much even though they hardly ever have candy, juice, cookies, or anything else with obvious sugar in it! Also, I am surprised to see that the popcorn we have been getting has 6g of trans fat per serving. And there are 2.5 servings in a bag! These are just a couple of examples of things I have been finding that need to be changed.

3. This relates to number 2, but I am going to try to really cut down on the amount of fat in our diets. I don't want our family having ANY trans fats. At all. As for other fats, I'm not sure what a healthy number is to aim for, so I need to do some research. We also need to cut back on our sodium.

4. I am thinking about doing some kind of cleanse. I feel like my body needs a way to "reset" itself after coming off of sugar. This may be a bad idea, though. I know a lot of cleanses involve juices and I don't drink juice anymore, but I also want something that is safe, healthy, and won't make me feel bad. Any suggestions on this would be great.

Well, this blog is long enough, and my over tired cranky son has had enough of me being on the computer. So that's all for now. I have a lot to get done today, anyway. (I feel like I say that everyday...)