eat less sugar

I did the weekly grocery shopping by myself last night. It was not a success. I piled stuff in my cart like I’d won a supermarket shopping spree. I was ravenous, so I ignored my resolution not to keep sweets in the house. Not only did I end up with light ice cream for dinner, some of those ‘warm delights’ microwavable cookies and brownies, but I even bought a pack of hot dogs and buns. I felt okay last night, but I woke up this morning dehydrated, nauseous and with a hangover headache. I guess it was all that salt and sugar sucking water into my stomach from the surrounding tissues trying to digest my “treats.” I didn’t die; I just spent about an hour wishing I would.

Afterwards, the ice cream, cookies, brownies, and hotdogs went straight into the trash before I could change my mind. That’s $25 gone that I could have spent on something I wanted. Ditto the morning.

Next time I feel the need to binge, I’m going to look at this entry!

I’ve been thinking about all the crap we eat, and how sick everyone is getting…and it’s just not worth it! Moderation is the key—-Have a teaspoon of honey instead of that pile of cookies. Your body will love you, and you’ll add years to your life :)

I have a terrible sweet tooth, which adds hundreds of calories to my diet each day. That extra fuel seems to be the major source of my excess body fat. When I get my dessert and sugary snack consumption down to a level that I can burn it off with exercise my unwanted flab should disappear. It will take months, not days, for this to happen so I’ll just have to stick it out.

So far, I’ve found that eating at least two servings/day of protein really helps with the cravings. So does eating regular meals rather than just snacking all day as I often do. Unfortunately, if I have any candy, ice cream, cookies, etc., it gets eaten before and instead of anything else. If it’s already prepared I’ll munch on sugar loaded junk food until I’m full. So, no more easy ‘treats’ at home for me. I’m going to try sweets that need some prep work, like those individual sized Warm Delights that you have to cook first. I’m also trying to substitute strawberries with sugar and milk for higher calorie desserts. Even if it’s not 100% successful, it’s better than consuming an entire carton of ice cream by myself.

Man, it’s hard to change life long habits.

There was an ice cream cake. And brownies.
I love ice cream cake and brownies.

I had to leave the house for a while so I wouldn’t indulge. I did, however, prevail.

All the things we’ve been taught about how evil sugar is just weren’t enough to stop me from eating inhuman amounts of it. THEN I read the skin care article (blah blah blah smoking and sun and skin cancer), where the stupid expert guy HAD to tell us that sugar makes you puffy. I’ve been fighting puffiness for a long time. I hate that I’m so frequently puffy. But did they have to tell me this right when Hershey’s came up with cherry cordial kisses? I ate a whole bad in one night. I’m puffy now. Blah.

I do much better here when I plan ahead. I need to go shopping today, and stock up on all the good, healthy foods that I know will satisfy me so I can avoid the hunger and food ennui that will drive me to the sugar standbys.

I’ve noticed a few things:

sugar free hershey’s tastes better than regular hershey’s.

sugar free jelly beans are icky.

I still eat sugar, but it’s not a large part of my regular diet. If I’m having something sweet, like chocolate or sweet tea, it’s a separate treat. I sit down and enjoy it. When it’s “part of” the meal (pancakes the other morning, syrup has between 12-32 grams of sugar per serving depending on brand), I take in it into account of my overall sugar intake for the day. I also just use a lot less than I used to. You really don’t have to soak pancakes for them to taste good. :)

I love to drink tea, but it’s not the same without sugar. And none of that fake sugar stuff!—It’ll kill you quicker than the real thing!

I really am feeling better without all that sugar. The first two weeks were the hardest.

I did really well the last four days. I’m feeling very good about the food choices I’ve been making. Yay for me!