Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Sugar Free New Year?

In 2009, for Lent (even though I'm not religious or Christian, but because it was a set, limited amount of time), I decided to not eat anything that had sugar added. Foods that I decided I would not eat include desserts, soda or other sweetened drinks (such as flavored syrups in drinks at Starbucks, since I was working there then), candy, and even sweetened foods or drinks that used artificial sweeteners (thinking that reducing intake of artificial sweeteners would help reduce my craving of sweet foods). I did not limit my intake of naturally sweet foods such as fruit.

I was surprised at how well it went, how little I actually craved sweets. I did have a few weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday where my drink of choice was an extra caramel sauce Caramel Macchiatto, and I did indulge whatever sweet craving I had. On the other hand, if I remember correctly, it only took a few days before I somewhat stopped having such frequent cravings for sweets. I'm not saying that I never wanted desserts or soda, but I am saying that those cravings were few, far between, and easily handled.

I'm thinking of doing this again, starting January 2nd. (I would start January 1st, but we'll be at a family Christmas get together, and there might be cookies that I'll want to eat. I know it's a lame excuse, but it's an excuse I can live with.) I've been eating a lot of cookies and such lately, unrelated to holidays, and I feel like it's hindering my attempts at eating healthier, which is hindering my attempts at weight loss. I don't mean to say that I want to stop eating sugar so I'll lose weight. I mean to say that I want to stop eating sugar for a time so that I can make it easier for myself to eat healthier which will hopefully make it easier to lose weight.

I don't know how long I'll want to keep it up, but I'm aiming for at least a month. I suppose I'll reevaluate as needed. I know I'll at least have to make an exception for Pi(e) Day, if I make it that long. I'm looking forward to drinking more water, eating fruit and not worrying about whether or not I should feel guilty about things I've eaten.

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