The Sugar Ban

Last week I talked about repositioning after vacation, and for me that included being extra diligent about my workouts for the week even though I was all “blahhhhhh I’m still full from everything I ate in Atlanta and can’t moooooooove,” and it also included laying off sugar for a week.  It was the perfect time for me to take on the challenge–I was burnt out from eating so much on my little vacation and one of my November goals was to cut back on sugar.

I didn’t really know what to expect going into a week of no sugar but I thought for sure that it would get ugly.  I’ve been known to be a fan of sugar and I thought it would be pretty tough.  A testament to my willpower.  An exercise in self-control.

Really, it wasn’t that big of a deal.

I mean, I didn’t LOVE it.  I had my moments of thinking “it would be awesome to eat a piece of chocolate right now” and I had one night where I really wanted needed to drink some wine (which I resisted) but all in all, it wasn’t that bad at all to go without it.  The hardest thing for me was actually not laying off dessert-y type stuff and alcohol, it was laying off Chobani Greek yogurt.  I often have a Chobani Greek yogurt with fruit on the bottom for a mid-morning snack, but they have between 15-20 grams of sugar apiece, so no Chobani for me during sugar free week.

Quit tempting me with your 19 grams of sugar, you yogurty asshole.

To clarify, I banned all refined added sugars.  I allowed fructose (naturally occurring sugar in fruit) and lactose (naturally occurring sugar in dairy) but I eschewed all added sugars.

Here are my notes from the ban:

• Green monsters aren’t bad.  I didn’t note any crazy energy surge or a difference in my skin/hair/nails (which other people note as benefits to drinking green monsters) but I ended up making one for breakfast every morning and I liked the idea of getting an extra vegetable serving in every day.
• I got all of my sweetness from fruit.  I’m a big fruit eater and I already appreciated the sweetness of fruit, but I focused on making all of my snacks fruit and I think I ate even more fruit than usual as a result.
• In avoiding sugar, I noticed that I was a LOT less carb dependent.
• I had a lot of vegetables with my meals and since I wasn’t getting calories from sugar I used a bit more butter and good fat oil than usual, and I was plenty satisfied.
• I broke the ban on Saturday, first with a cup of chocolate milk after a marathon workout and then a few hours later with a Blue Bird cupcake.  Normally I would want about 9 more cupcakes after the first one, but one was plenty.

After five days of no sugar I lost six pounds.  Yes, SIX pounds.  I had weighed in a little heavier than normal at the beginning of the week because of my Atlanta trip, but with the sugar ban I lost those vacation pounds (which I know were mostly water weight) and an additional one or two that brought me down from what’s been my “stuck” weight since MARCH.  That’s really something worth noting because I’ve had the hardest time breaking that plateau.

I also noticed that once I was off the ban, I just didn’t feel the need to eat as MUCH food as I usually do.  Since I watch what I eat and I watch my portions, I generally stick to good amounts, but I’m not usually satisfied with the amount I get.  Even if I don’t have more, I always want more. This weekend though, I was kind of okay with just eating to fuel and repair from my workouts and when I went out to eat with friends, I only ate half my meal because I just got full faster.

I think I might try to eschew sugar on the weekdays for awhile, just to see what other benefits I reap.  Of course, I’m going to Seattle and Portland  Wednesday-Monday, so there will not be a sugar ban in effect on the trip, then Thanksgiving is immediately after that, then my aunt and uncle are coming to visit and I’m sure we’ll be eating out a lot. I’m going to NEED another sugar ban after all that.

No sugar for five days.  It’s doable.  Almost painless.  Who would have thought?

Working It Out: Repositioning After a Vacation

I like Atlanta in November.

I like the city, I like the culture, I like the changing leaves on the trees,  and I like the music scene.  I like it all. But I mostly like the food.

From Ria's Blue Bird

And I ate those pancakes.

From the Atlanta Cupcake Factory

There’s a lot of delicious food to be eaten in Atlanta and those photos are just a sampling.  In the three days we spent in Atlanta, we ate all kinds of goodies, including fresh pasta, pumpkin pancakes, big ol’ burritos, midnight diner grub, and those lovely cupcakes.  There may have also been a Cracker Barrel stop on the drive up and a (ugh) Chili’s stop on the drive back down.

By the time I got home last night, I felt weiiiiiiiiiiiggggghhhhhed down.  I am NOT used to eating so heavy for so many days in a row.  I was a bit nervous when I got on the scale this morning to check the effects of the weekend, and luckily it wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d braced myself for, but I definitely feel like I need a break from all of the hardcore fooding I did this weekend.  Since one of my November goals was to cut back on sugar, I’m starting my Atlanta-food detox by doing a one week sugar ban, inspired by Your Nutritionista’s recent sugar-eschewing challenge.

I’m going to Seattle and Portland next week, then I’m going to eat the fuck out of Thanksgiving dinner, so I’m not going to pretend like I’m going to pull off the full 21-day sugar ban that YN and Body-FM are challenging.  A week-long sugar ban will be a good start for me to reposition myself after my recent trip and to prepare for the upcoming fooding that’s going to happen; I figure if I can cut back a bit on sugar now, I’ll be a lot more careful in the coming weeks.   One week is completely do-able.  It’s on.

This is Day One of the sugar ban.  I had a well-done egg and a whole wheat English muffin for breakfast and for lunch I’m sipping on my very first Green Monster:

Grrrr.

The verdict on the Green Monster: not bad.  Not bad at all.  I can’t say I LOVE it, but I definitely don’t hate it.  I’m going to try to make these for breakfast all week and see if I reap the energy and skin-clearing benefits that other bloggers brag about.  My GM contained:

2 big handfuls of baby spinach

1 tbsp flaxseed

1/2 tbsp wheat germ

5 frozen strawberries

1 banana

1 cup of organic fat free milk.

I did like how it bubbled after being blended, as promised. I love interactive food.  I think I might try to make the next one with an overripe frozen banana for some more (natural) sweetness.  I have a freezer full of them!

I’m also back to the gym after two days off.  I went spinning on Friday morning before we drove out to Atlanta, but Saturday and Sunday were pretty void of movement, since we were too busy eating.  Body Pump and Next Level, here I come!

I’m back on the wagon!

Working It Out: Goals for November

I’ve been productive this week.  I voted. I consolidated my student loans (uh, why did I think going to graduate school would be a fruitful venture?)  I’m caught up on the majority of my work, I made a delicious salad for lunch, and my workouts are planned for the week.  Now…

Time for November goals!

Source

First, a quick look at October.  In October my goals were to eat smaller meals more frequently, to do Core Fusion 3 times a week, to start Next Level training, to be more punctual, and to be less self-deprecating.  I did so-so on the smaller meals thing; on the days I had to myself I did very well with it, but on days when I went out to eat with people, I didn’t do so well.  50% on that.  I started out really well with Core Fusion, but I HATED doing DVD workouts instead of being at the gym and I decided my time was better spent doing things I enjoy doing.  I was AWESOME at Next Level. I went to every planned session and I’m making more Next Level a new goal for November!  I was much better at being punctual (and I did a lot of waiting around for people) and I think I also did a better job at being less self-deprecating.  The circumstances were right. So I guess I’d give myself a B on October, since I gave up on Core Fusion and was wishy-washy about my eating smaller meals, but did well at everything else.

Now it’s time to set goals for November:

Goal #1:  Do Next Level twice a week, minimum: The trainer told me start out doing Next Level on Wednesdays only, but in the last two weeks I’ve been doing it at least twice and I’ve found that it’s doable for me and I’m seeing results.  The times for Next Level are limited and I still want to get my spinning and Body Pumping in, so I can’t go every day, but I can certainly go at least twice a week.  I’m going to shoot for three when I can and it helps that there’s a Next Level challenge for November and the person who goes to the most sessions gets a prize!

Goal #2: Get back in the kitchen.  Over the summer I was on a big whole foods, organic, clean eating kick.  It really is the best way to eat and I still try to put a lot of focus on eating clean, but I’ve found that lately I’ve been relying on convenience foods more often than I’d like.  I need a little less Amy’s and a little more real food. Luckily, Project Tasteless has been helping me get my cooking chops back in shape.

Goal #3: Cut down on sugar Yes, I spin for cupcakes and I found a sweet compromise for my froyo habit, but I do fear that I’ve been taking in a bit too much sugar lately, even if I have been balancing it with exercise.  Since I started Body Pump and Next Level training, my arms, which have always been a huge problem area for me, have completely transformed.  It’s amazing.  I can’t say the same for my belly.  I want to flatten it out and I know that in order to do that I need some more cardio and less of the sweet stuff.  I think I’ll do a 5 day sugar ban (starting next week, since I’m going out of town this weekend) to shake my system up.

Goal #4: Master real push-ups Oh man, this will be tough.  I have SUCH a hard time with push-ups. Body Pump and NL are definitely helping me build my arm and core strength, but I still drop to my knees for push-ups or I do weak little half push-ups in plank position.  I want to be able to do five real strong push-ups by the end of the month.  Since I’m doing a lot of traveling this month, I’m going to have to get some home workouts in, which will be the perfect opportunity to practice my push-ups.

So that’s that.  November is one of my favorite months of the year and Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, plus I have two fun trips planned (Atlanta this weekend, Seattle and Portland in three weeks), and my favorite aunt is coming to visit at the end of the month.  Stoked.

Totally stoked.