Posts from — May 2010

It’s been two weeks since I began the No Sugar Experiment.  I was so intrigued and inspired after reading Josie’s recap of her week without added/refined sugar that I decided to try it myself!

I did a little research about sugar before starting.  Interestingly, a lot of this research kept leading me back to some very familiar phrases – food addiction, overeating, compulsive eating and binge eating.  I won’t get into all the science behind it, but the evidence was repeatedly presented that refined sugar causes food cravings, wreaks havoc with your body creating unstable blood sugar levels and messes with your head.  Literally.   The  brain has to deal with the false messages that sugar puts out and in turn, sends your body into overload trying to regulate the chemical highs and lows that sugar created.

After reading up, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own overeating experiences.  I nicely classify it as that, however, my experience does include more of the classic characteristics of food addiction, compulsive eating and binge eating.  I have had these issues for as long as I can remember, even from childhood.  Being on this weight loss journey for the past 2+ years, I have encountered some backslides into this behavior.  I have always brought myself back out of it, but it still remains a daily struggle.

The most recent backslide was the weekend of little daughter’s First Holy Communion. It all started with the cake.  Hmmm….
I felt out of control that weekend.  All the old habits came back in a flash and in full force.  You can read my thoughts on it from the post – The Dark Side. 

It was a rude awakening that there could be more to the reasons why I am driven to eat certain foods.  I have known that there may be emotional reasons attached to it, but I hadn’t thought that a specific food or ingredient could contribute to it.  In doing the research, it seemed that sugar was a BIG factor.  In fact, as part of the involved recovery process for overeaters, compulsive/binge eaters and food addicts, the elimination of refined sugar was a common thread.  In addition, flour was often discouraged, so I decided to ditch that, too!  Why not go all out, right?!

My results were nothing short of amazing this past two weeks, both physically and mentally.  I’ll detail everything for you tomorrow! (Sorry for the cliff-hanger!)

Enjoy your Memorial Day, all!!

Do you have issues with sugar?  Does it set off cravings for you?

Hey everyone!  How’s your weekend so far? 

I made it through yesterday’s BBQ/in-law’s birthday celebration without overindulgence and it felt great!  I posted on Facebook that my healthy eating goal for the weekend (and this BBQ in particular) was to honor my hunger.  I really strived to keep checking in with myself to gauge exactly how I was feeling and what I wanted to eat that would make me feel good.  I’ve been paying a lot more attention to how my body reacts when I eat certain foods and staying away from sugar has really made a huge difference!  More to come about that tomorrow!

Okay, so ya ready for some food porn?  Here we go…..

The starters…

Veggie tray with light ranch (don’t be fooled…it gets worse )…

Red, white and blue tortilla chips with guacamummus…

Pepperoni stromboli and grilled veggie stromboli…

Mom’s deviled eggs…

Gram’s proscuitto and cheese stuffed baby peppers…

The grillin’…

Tower o’ Burgers…

Dogs…

Grilled buffalo chicken tenders (*I marinated these in Frank’s hot sauce overnight, grilled them, then tossed with more hot sauce – a hit!)…

The sides…

Creamy Potato Salad (made by my SIL- thanks, Linny!)…

Mixed green salad with peppers and cranberries (thanks, Margie!)…

Gram’s tortellini salad…

My grilled veggie tray with marinated mozzarella balls and kalamata olives…

And you know this family likes some dessert!

My SIL’s chocolate mousse cake (thanks, H!)…

and her pound cake with buttercream frosting (that’s a candle in the cake, not some bizarre-o decoration!)…

My mom’s non-denominational apple cake  …

My MIL’s chocolate mousse pie…

Italian cookies…

My niece, Gina’s chocolate peanut butter fudge …

My niece, Nikki’s beautiful fruit tray…

Whew, I think that’s it

My party plates…

(x2 on the chips!)

Not too shabby, right?!  Now, I just have to stay away from the leftovers…

Have a great day, everyone!

Are you going to any BBQ’s this weekend?  Are you worried about staying on track or will you have a “planned indulgence”?

Is it really Memorial Day weekend?!  It just doesn’t seem right.  I’m blocking it from my mind because Memorial Day weekend means it’s getting close to having to wear this…

Eeek.  Is there a beach for the blind?  If so, that’s where I am vacationing this summer.  And all my bathing suits are black and forever will be.  Blind people don’t care.  If they knew, they would feel sorry for me because they know I am in mourning.  Wearing a bathing suit will do that to you.

Anywhooo, it was run day, today!  I fueled up with a fruit and nut snack…

Plus some press…

I met up with my running buddy and we set out on the paved trail that I frequent.  It was H.O.T.  Like hell.  It was 84 degrees this morning and we felt every bit of it.  We decided on the 5:1 interval again and a few times I had to check my GYMBOSS to make sure it was still working  (it was!) because the 5 minute runs seemed like an eternity.  In hell.  But, we pushed on.  The heat really got to us, so we finished up at 4 miles, walking the last interval.  Still proud we got out there!

When I got home, the thought of eating was not appealing.  Hello, can I bottle that???  I knew that I should refuel after a run like that with a decent breakfast, but my stomach was not having it.  So, I got a shower and did some work until I felt ready for an early lunch.

Burger and “fries”….

I nuked up a Trader Joe’s Grilled Chicken Burger (these are growing on me now) and served it on an Ezekiel hamburger bun with cheese, lettuce and salsa…

Along with leftover roasted potatoes and carrot sticks…

I was pretty full after that.  Ezekiel buns are so hearty and filling.  They are my favorite!

I picked on a few almonds for an afternoon snack, but I wasn’t hungry.  I decided to stop before I made myself hungry.

And at dinner time, I was!  I morphed some leftover grilled eggplant into a  Three Cheese Eggplant Bake.  Basically, it was like an eggplant parm!  I layered the eggplant in a baking dish with ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese along with marinara sauce.  I baked it at 350 degrees until it was cheesy goodness…

Served with a simple green salad to round out the meal…

Later, my appetite came back around so I had more watermelon water ice for a sweet ending…

Happy Friday, everyone!

Are you comfortable in a bathing suit?  Do you wear colors, solids or your basic “going to a funeral at the beach” black?