Ok....commitment time. Was going to put a label on it, 21 days, the length of Shape Up etc but not really sure about the time frame yet, not sure if I want a time frame. I am going to try & be focused & aware and if I consciously make a choice to consume outside the lines (that I have drawn below) so be it :-) I hope I at least give it a real college try and stay on track. I want to write down all my food & track my headaches, energy, sore achilles/calf muscle, etc...and see if I can pinpoint any food related links. I will feel really silly if I cut out something and say, my migraines disappear or my achilles feels rad...such an easy solution I never attempted before. Silly Lazy Goose of a Girl :-)
I am already quite proud of myself. I was going to begin this 'tomorrow' but instead started right away, passing on the red velvet cupcakes, banana bread cupcakes & ice cream cake at a birthday party this afternoon. That was harder than I thought, I found myself reaching for a cupcake (mini ones at that) but stopped myself. I am still thinking of those cupcakes, drats. Then I came home and had mid-afternoon coffee, with no sugar...surprisingly good.
No {cow} Dairy
Bring on the pecorino & chevre! I am also game for trying goat/sheep milk yogurt, I tried it a few years back and too musky. Maybe they have upgraded, I hope. I ate a LOT of soy yogurt when I was pseudo vegan and it was ok but tasted a bit fake. Not keen on replacing all dairy with soy this time around, made me feel heavy. Going to try and just cut out the cow dairy and not replace it in most cases if possible. I always wonder why people make a big effort to make Tofurky loaf at Thanksgiving instead of just making something else...so I'm going to try to change things up and not just replace one dairy with another. Goat cheese is a whole other ballpark tho, love that stuff easily:-) Last time I went off dairy I felt so much better (which makes one wonder why I started chowing down on it again? Habit & it tastes goooood). So we'll see this time around, I already eat way less dairy overall since I went on that vegan kick.
No {raw/white} Sugar
I am a raw or white sugar addict. Going to try and lay off that. Not going to restrict honey or maple syrup or molasses since I usually don't have a problem with those. if I start to drink honey from the container, then we might need to re-group. Not going off alcohol either. I usually only have a drink 1-2 times a month and I am not going to swear off a whiskey for the sake of it. I really only want to try and overhaul areas that I really feel I have no self-control over...SUGAR. Coffee with soy creamer today and NO sugar I thought would suck... surprisingly it didn't. If anything it was good, tasted more like coffee instead of warm sugar & cream with coffee essence. Going to try and pack healthy snacks for when I am working out but I am not going to limit my sugary fitness fuels (GU, Powerbar, etc) when running or riding.
Gluten 'Light'
I really have zero idea about gluten-free or gluten-full, this little experiment will hopefully help me with that. I don't disagree with grains but maybe that is because I was raised on the USDA food pyramid and Grains were hailed as 'good' when I was growing up. I have read (need to read more) that gluten can cause inflammation and lord knows I need to reduce my inflammation of my muscles. So we'll see. I thought laying off Gluten would be pseudo easy, until I looked at the ingredient list of my huge box of Special K (that I just recently bought after a 4 yr cereal hiatus) and it only has 4 ingredients, the 2nd of which is straight-up WHEAT GLUTEN. Boo. Maybe Special occasion Special K will be allowed :-) I do know I NEED to lighten up on the pasta, the past year has been pasta rich in our house and I can feel it. Hopefully it will be fun to find alternatives to white & whole wheat pastas, for me & the whole family. I really want to just experiment and try more varieties of food & flavors. Going vegan for a while really got me on the raw coconut train, nuts, dates, etc. I really hope to find even more foods to fill up my diet that are flavorful and good for me. AVOCADOS!
More Fridge, Less Pantry
A nutrition book I read once said not to eat anything that has a shelf life or can be stored in a pantry. That idea stuck with me but I gotta disagree. I love canned beans, tuna, etc... So not going to lay off on those things or even on healthy (gluten free) crackers, snacks...Just going to be much more aware of the choices I make.
Other highlights:
DRINK MORE (much more) WATER
Sleep Sleep Sleep Sleep MORE*
Cook & Bake & create more healthy, nutrient dense & tasty foods
*Sleep: I know that much of the reason I do not lose weight/lean out even with all the activity I do, is my lack of sleep. I sleep 5-6 hrs a night and usually that is interrupted. I need to make an effort to Go the F*ck to Sleep at a reasonable hour & try to rest my body more so it can recharge and refuel and spend more energy on burning calories. I have come to love my late evening ME time and I really need to find a way to allow myself that solitary time when it isn't midnight & beyond.
It is simply uncanny to me that I didnt even read this before sending you the email this morning about being accountable to each other. I am so much better at being accountable to others, rather than myself. But journaling is a pretty awesome tool. How in the world does one expect to remember what they ate two days ago that might be affecting something a little later. When I was loosing all that gross weight I packed around forever I literally wrote down everything that I ate and how I felt. I think its time to get back into that again, you have the right idea girl friend!
ReplyDeleteCutting sugar is an amazing thing. I remember when I very first cut it out my food tasted better. I had a deeper appreciation for the way things hit my palette, much like what you expereienced with your coffee. There are deeper flavors beyond sweet and sugary. Your taste buds are going to freak as they become accustomed to no sugar. Something as simple as an apple is going to be like candy!
I think the hardest part for anyone that decides they need to cut certain things out of their diet is the sudden realization that whatever "it" is is EVERYWHERE. Sugar alone comes in so many different forms and yucky grotesque names. Once its gone from the diet we DO feel so much better once our bodies begin to detox from the side effects of it. WE think clearer, our skin improves, our moods are constant, our energy levels go through the roof NATURALLY. The most frustrating is how easily it begins to sneak back. Your Special K is a prime example. What you worked so hard initially to take out sneaks back in little portions that just continue to build. Pretty soon before we know it we are back to where we were before and wondering why we feel so shitty! Yep, thats the way it happens! I have been on this journey a couple of times!
So here we go! I have my journal out. And started today as well. Water, water, water! WE can do this! <3 ya!