I did very little running in November. Actually I only did two runs and if I'm lucky, I'll top the month off with 3 runs if I do one this week. However, I have been trying to work on something else this month.
Every year it seems that I have the same “intention” to
cut back on the sugar. I’ll be the first
to admit that I never pass up a bag of Sour Patch Kids, Sugar Cookies, or a
Cupcake. However, I go in with good
intentions but the end result is always the same. I don’t do anything
differently.
My GOAL ( Yes, I
am finally calling it a goal instead of an “intention” because I feel like it
is something I am going to chart my progress on), is to go seven days straight
without any of the following: Cookies, Candy, Cakes, Cupcakes, whoopee pies,
fudge, pie, and donuts. The donuts should be easy because I’m not a fan of
donuts anyway but I feel like it should be included! I don’t have the strength
to cut out Frappes yet though. Baby
steps!
I told my mom of my plan during one of our runs and she
said it sounds good and something that she should be doing too, but she won’t
start it until after the New Year. She said if she started it now that she
would just be setting herself up for failure. There are just too many
temptations coming up with the holidays and all. I completely agree and during the Holidays I
usually do cut myself some slack and let myself have ALL the holiday goodies
because ya know, It’s only once a year when you get to have them ( Christmas
Cookies and the holiday flavored Ghiradelli chocolates (my favorite are the
peppermint bark and the egg nog). But on
the other hand I do feel like this is the perfect time to start cutting back.
Why wait?
So, I admit for the month of November I did not do too well. I let myself have Ice cream cake for my sister's birthday (does that really count since the cake was made of ice cream and ice cream wasn't on my list?), had a Hershey Kiss from a co-worker, and some other sweet treats at work. I was really good over Thanksgiving as I did not have any pie, pumpkin roll, or any other dessert. I think I was able to go from this past Sunday to Saturday without any sweets! However, On Sunday of just this week I blew it because my sister offered me some Sour Patch Kids while on a road trip when we were stuck in traffic! I will not succumb to this peer pressure any more!
So I was only able to go one streak of 7 days with out any sweets this month. I'll try it again next month and see if I can do better.
As I am
writing this I am thinking maybe I should make my goal to go only five days and
then I have the weekends to have a treat. But that sounds weak, doesn’t it? -M
Do you think you could go seven days? Do you have a sweet strategy for the
Holidays?
We are linking up with the gals from TOTR.
This would definitely be a hard challenge for me, especially during the holidays1
ReplyDeleteI know, this is probably the wrong time of year to start this!
DeleteWhen I did the Whole30 I went 30 days without sugar and it was hard! Now I try to bake my own treats so i can control what goes in them, but I usually have a little bit of dark chocolate every night. I feel like when I have a little bit of something when Im in the mood, then I don't crave it or go crazy later. Good luck with your goal! Im sure you can do a full week if thats what you want to do, but I also think its good to cut yourself some slack and indulge once in awhile.
ReplyDeleteI think not having candy in my desk at work will help!
DeleteI don't have sweet goals or anything like that. Everything in moderation. I'm pretty good about not overdoing it.
ReplyDeleteThat is good that you can control your sweet tooth...lol
DeleteI think 7 days would be hard. I can't do the all or nothing thing... it just sets me up for failure. After 7 days, I'd over eat on a treat and might as well have had a little something every few days. I just make sure it's "worth it." Like, a Hershey's kiss wouldn't be worth it for me. You can have those (or any candy) any time. Some special baked good or holiday treat would be and since I have sweets regularly I don't feel like I have to eat 5 of them. Just my 2 cents :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, a Hershey kiss is definitely NOT worth it but after teaching school all day I gave into one! At least it was dark chocolate!
DeleteHere's the thing: deprivation never works. Often you just end up bingeing on whatever you've been depriving yourself of.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I do think decreasing your sugar consumption is a worthy goal. And sugar can be super sneaky, too -- in things like salad dressings, ketchups, breads, for God's sake!
Start with small, measurable goals that set you up for success. Maybe one sweet a day. Maybe finding something lower in sugar. Think about what you can add in, not take out.
As you may have come to realize, healthy eating is a passion of mine. :) But yes, I indulged on Thanksgiving -- but didn't stuff myself.
Actually, I find that the longer I go without something, the less I crave it!
DeleteNope. Never. Life's to short to deny oneself. But that doesn't mean overdoing it and eating everything in sight.
ReplyDeleteIt's my reward for running so if I don't run...I try not to reward myself.
I used that logic too!
DeleteWhile not entirely perfect, I think you did a great job of cutting back and that's a great start. It's a tough season to attempt sugar-free as you know. This weekend we're getting together with extended family to celebrate "all December birthdays" one of which is mine. I indulge on those kind of days but not on regular days like today.
ReplyDeleteI know I will not ever be "sugar free", so cutting out a few things is a good start!
DeleteWhy do you want to cut sweets? I have the hardest time giving up Frappuccinos, but I do ask for them without whip cream... it makes me feel like I'm making a lighter choice.
ReplyDeleteIf I had the will, I would give up eating out for lunch, but my brain and heart can't handle it.
I know that I eat way too much sugar (as in candy) and at my age that can't be healthy!
DeleteI always have a hard time with sweets over the holidays! What I'm going to try to do this year is not eat sweets mindlessly. If it's something special, or homemade or especially delicious, I'll let myself indulge. But we have so many sweets around the office at this time of year and they're often not anything special anyway. I'm going to try to avoid eating things just because they're there. We'll see how it goes. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYes, I feel the same way. I will mindlessly eat because they are there. I need to hold out for the "special" treats!
DeleteI have chocolate almost every day, but it's small portions, and after 1 Ghirardelli square, I'm good. Sometimes I'll swap out the cookies and processed sugar for fruit, with natural sugars. Fruit can still be sweet, but it's not the overly processed stuff.
ReplyDeleteO gosh I can't just stop at one Ghirardelli square. You have better control than I do!
DeleteI was doing really well reducing my sugar intake until about 2 weeks ago. With my birthday, hubs birthday and Thanksgiving it was darn near impossible. I have realized that I feel much better when I eat less of it.
ReplyDeleteYea this is a tricky time of year to reduce sugar!
DeleteA couple months ago, I set a goal to drink only plain water and NO obvious sugar for Monday-Friday. I made it! It really wasn't that tough because I knew I only had to do it for five days. It did make me realize how much stuff has blatant sugar (candy, cookies, etc.)and how much I crave it when it's readily available. I still have sugar, but am more mindful of how frequent and how much.
ReplyDeleteThat's the key, having it readily available. If it's not there, I don't think about it.
DeleteI have such a sweet tooth, the thought of removing all sweets from my diet seems impossible. I have taken some baby steps though. I no longer put sugar in my coffee, which is great because I drink two to three cups a day!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great step and i'm sure all that sugar adds up!
DeleteNope. I do not think I could go 7 days. I like my sugar too much. lol
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to you, though. I think it's great that you made it one 7-day stretch in Nov.
I guess one is better than none!
DeleteI guess I could go 7 days but it would suck... and I don't WANT to go 7 days!
ReplyDeleteWhat treat is your biggest downfall?
DeleteI'm hungry just reading this with your lists of sweets. Don't laugh, but I don't think I've ever tried Sour Patch Kids. Candy doesn't tempt me nearly as much as cookies and cake.
ReplyDeleteI love the original sour patch kids but I was tempted to try the Tropical flavored ones this weekend and they aren't worth the calories!
DeleteI had 4 whoopie pies to work off - cough.... cough.... haha!!!
ReplyDeleteSO WORTH IT!!!
Oh, did you not share those?...hehe
DeleteGenerally I have a small sweet every night. Most of the time that's enough to make me happy without setting off a sugar binge. I don't do well with trying to cut sugar out entirely.
ReplyDeleteYou have good will power!
DeleteWhat a great goal to just cut back. I think it will help with the cravings. I try to let myself follow my cravings on the weekend and not have extra sweets during the week... unless it's a special occasion.
ReplyDeleteI think I need to go that route too!
DeleteI may actually consider doing the 5 days during the week and then "treats" only on weekends. Chips are my downfall too so I never buy them!
ReplyDeleteWow, a whole month? That is impressive!
ReplyDeleteI never set eating goals because I know I'd fail. I have zero self control when it comes to eating. I go with an "everything in moderation" deal. I try to limit sodas and candy or sweets and if I have one one day I go the next day without. Stuff like that works best for me. Good luck with your month of sugar limiting!
ReplyDeleteI declared myself sugar free this year. It didn't pan out so well. Buuuuuuut!!! It made me very cognizant of what kind of sugar I was eating and how much. So even though I do eat sweets, it's nowhere near the volume or garbage of what I was eating before. GOOD LUCK!!! You can do it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you do it because just one day is hard to to. :-)
ReplyDelete