So, it's now been a couple weeks since I made the decision to cut refined sugar and flour out of my diet. I haven't been perfect, but I've been fairly good. There's been a few things that get me and a very occasional thing that I've decided to let go (ie: I used ketchup in a steak marinade the other night.)
- A couple of days without sugar and refined flour is all it takes to start feeling better and stop having cravings. After those first few days, I rarely feel hunger that isn't physical (as opposed to snacky/emotional hunger).
- A lot of things you wouldn't expect contain sugar: canned tomato soup, crackers, flavoured canned tuna, etc.
- I'm reading alot of labels. Not just the nutritional information, but the ingredients too.
- Honey may be an unrefined sugar, but I find any larger amount still affects me similarly to refined sugar. A little bit in a loaf of bread doesn't cause me problems, but a peanut butter and honey sandwich does. Same goes for maple syrup.
- Crackers are hard to pass up, particularly when I feed them to my kids fairly often. Very few of them are made without sugar or refined flour. I'm playing with some recipes to make my own crackers with whole grain flour. I'm also trying to feed them to my kids less often, since they aren't the best choice for them either.
- Whenever I have slipped and had said crackers, I get hit with the sugar cravings again for the next day or two.
- Salsa does indeed taste great on eggs instead of ketchup. Having it in the house has also reminded me that it's yummy as a topping on potatoes or a substitute for salad dressing.
- It's pretty easy to make 100% whole wheat bread, and my husband accepts it, no problem. I'm now playing with different recipes and altering some that call for all purpose flour.
- When you aren't eating sugar, fruit tastes really sweet and really delicious.
My initial goal was to be 100% sugar free for 1 month. So far, I'm not making good on that goal, as it seems every couple days a little something sneaks in. Having said that, the primary reason for this was to become more aware of my sugar intake and the hidden culprits. I've done very well in achieving that. I've also learned how much better I feel when it isn't a big part of my diet. I don't see myself ever re-incorporating it as a major component of what I am eating.
It sounds like you are doing great. 100% of the time to be sugar free is a pretty lofty goal. It's funny that you mentioned that crackers set off cravings. I have that same problem. (I used to be highly addicted to Goldfish crackers!) Once I got off refined carbs, that time of the month was so much better too. That was a nice side effect.
ReplyDeleteI definitely am going this way as well. It is difficult.. but I have lost weight, and felt better when I am doing this exclusively.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Deb - sounds like you hit your "sweet spot", lol!
ReplyDeleteI agree that once you stop eating sugar the cravings drastically reduce in just a few days. I really liked how I felt on the South Beach Diet, and plan on going right back to it once this baby is born!