Day 71 — Not There Yet…

It’s been a while since I posted, I guess avoiding sugar wasn’t top of mind. Not that I wasn’t still avoiding it, I was. I just wasn’t thinking that much about it. It was actually starting to feel natural. Normal. Like I was one of “those people” who just didn’t eat a lot of sugar or processed sweets.

And then this week hit me. Really hard, like a knockout punch right between the eyes. Cravings that I haven’t had in two months suddenly made themselves heard. First, Girl Scout cookies (Tagalongs, my favorite) showed up in the office kitchen. When I saw them my mouth literally watered. Then someone opened the package and I got a whiff of that manufactured cookie product with sugar-laden peanut butter-ish filling and chocolate-like coating. Fat, sugar, processed in a factory. Logically disgusting, olfactorily divine. I had to walk away.

Today a well-meaning and kind-hearted soul brought in chocolates to share. Good, high quality chocolates. Now found in three different locations in our office. I looked at them and just sighed. Because I know exactly how they taste. Really, really good. And I also know that if I have “just one,” by the end of the day I’ll find myself buried in a pile of candy wrappers filled with regret and self-loathing. I’m ignoring them.

So I’m not there yet. I may be able to say no thank you to all of these things, but I still want them. Badly. Which means I have a lot more work to do.

Day 60 — Two Months?!

I am more than slightly amazed that I’ve been on this path of removing processed sugar and sweets from my diet for TWO MONTHS! 61 days ago I could not go a whole day without eating candy, cookies, cake, pastries or doughnuts…and usually had more than one of those every day. Every. Single. Day.

Today I casually said to my BF that I’d “pretty much quit eating all that stuff a couple of months ago.” I hadn’t said anything about it before, mostly because I just didn’t want the pressure of someone else paying attention to what I was eating. Even though I know it would be meant in the best possible way–he’d only be trying to help–I just didn’t want anyone saying “are you sure you should have that?” Or even thinking it.

So, when we started talking about doughnuts, I said that I didn’t have any of the 3.5 dozen that showed up in our office kitchen last week. They didn’t look that great. And I’ve pretty much given up sweets other than the things I make anyway. This felt like a BIG dramatic confession to me. His response? “Oh, yeah, that stuff’s pretty bad for you anyway…” Then he went on to something else, it was clearly not a big deal or major revelation to him.

Lesson learned? Nobody else is paying much attention to what I’m eating (or doing) most of the time anyway, so stop being so self-conscious.

Day 59 — The …ugh… in Doughnut

Today someone told me that the first thing boxers cut out of their diet is doughnuts. Even before fast food, alcohol, or other sweets.

Of course it does make sense–doughnuts are nothing but processed sugar and flour, plus lots of fat. They really have no redeeming nutritional value. Still this little fact surprised me. Think of all the foods that someone who is doing major physical training would or could eliminate from their diet, and the very first one is the doughnut. I guess at least a fast food hamburger has protein, and the fries at least originated as potatoes. Even cookies may have some nutritional value, depending on what kind. But doughnuts? Absolutely none.

I also think that doughnuts have a very addictive quality, at least for me. They’re always referred to as “doughnuts” in plural for a reason! After I had one or or some of a doughnut, I always craved more. I would take just half, then come back for the other half. Then another piece, another doughnut, just one more bite. They’re such a lethal combination of sweet and fat, once those cravings are triggered in my body it’s really hard to stop them. Even people I know who eat in a fairly healthy manner, who rarely overindulge in sweets, seem to have a hard time stopping with doughnuts.

Doughnuts are truly a “you can’t have just one, so it’s better to have none” food for me. And a lot of other people. Even boxers.

Day 55 — What Exactly Is Cheating?

As I go along on this quest to eliminate processed sugar and sweets from my diet, day after day I have to ask myself whether I’m cheating. When I have a controlled serving of a good restaurant’s dessert (made in-house) on vacation, is that cheating? If I make a dessert at home, and use little to no sugar, is that cheating? If I have a small serving of something that historically has not triggered a sugar binge, is that cheating?

Today’s question…is a small piece of angel food cake with lots of fresh berries cheating? I debated myself on this one for a bit, but ultimately I decided to give myself that permission. It’s not something that I crave, it’s not very sweet, and the cake is so light it’s really just a vehicle for the berries. And (this was the deciding factor for me), it’s the only dessert that I know my friend who doesn’t eat sweets eats!

So far I have given myself permission to enjoy these things, and will do so as long as it doesn’t take me off the track of my ultimate goal. At the end of the day I didn’t set out to deprive myself of things I enjoy, I set out to conquer my sugar addiction. To stop eating candy and sweets in an out-of-control way that was negative to my life, health and psyche.

On the other hand, when 3.5 dozen donuts showed up in our office kitchen Friday for National Donut Day, I passed. I knew I couldn’t handle it. If I had one, I would have two. Or three. And then start in on something else over the weekend. It was best to have none because I knew I couldn’t have just one.

Day 53 — Recipe: Banana Strawberry “Sorbet”

Lots of people have discovered the frozen banana trick that creates a wonderful substitute for ice cream. It’s become so popular, that now there’s a special machine to make this frozen banana “ice cream.”

So this weekend I tried something new, a strawberry/banana “sorbet.” It is quite tasty, a little icy like sorbet usually is, but perfectly sweet and refreshing on a hot summer day.

 

Strawberry/Banana “Sorbet”

1 cup fresh strawberries

1 banana

1/4 cup soy milk (or any milk you like)

2 Tablespoons honey

Prepare mix: Puree the strawberries and banana in a food processor or blender. Add soy milk and honey and blend thoroughly. Chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Freeze into sorbet: Blend in an ice cream maker (we have a Cuisinart), following the instructions. Because there is no cream and sugar, it only took about 5 minutes for this to freeze up. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t lock up your ice cream maker.

You can eat a dish of it immediately, it’s soft and creamy. Any leftovers can be frozen in single-serve containers. It will freeze very solid, so take a serving out of the freezer about 10 minutes before you want to eat it. Or toss it in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it quickly.