*nom nom nom nom....
That's the sound of me munching on my last meal of the processed kind. After buying groceries tonight, I moseyed on over to my favorite fastfood place that I will greatly miss: Chic-Fil-A. I am convinced they know me by name AND menu selection. But they will soon forget me for another regular, predictable customer. Maybe I should swing through the drive-thru to say "HI" but not order anything. Would that be weird?
Ok, so the easy part is over. I have some groceries. I say "some" because I am sure there is plenty that I failed to purchase, but I also already had some of the required foods in my freezer (chicken, fish, veggies). So, here's what I bought for under $80:
(Some fruits, veggies, salad greens, cheeses, nuts, lentils and black beans, shrimp, lunch meat, and mustards. P.S. did you know pineapples come with instructions? Who knew!)
This small purchase took me several hours to buy and I have NO IDEA how many meals these will last. I used the shopping list I mentioned yesterday, but for the first time in probably EVER, I read labels. I was "that" girl at the grocery store. And you know what? It felt empowering... a little. I am still learning how to read those persnickety things too. However, it was so depressing to discover that sugar was a top ingredient in just about everything! One thing the grocery list didn't mention were things to buy to spice up the fruits, veggies, and meats. That's why I got mustards. There is no sugar in most mustards. Be sure to read the labels. Dijon and Spicy Brown are safe. So, we'll see how many dishes I can make with my new yellow BFF. :)
I didn't have time to develop 30 days of meals, but I have managed to get tomorrow's meals in order. Laying out 30 days worth of meals in one night might be a little bit too optimistic, especially since Pioneer Woman is not my name (have you seen what that woman can cook?!). Tomorrow I will work on building more meals. But, here's what's on tomorrow menu:
B: (I'm not a big breakfast eater but need to become one) - apple / coffee (no cream or sugar)
L: salad greens w/ almonds, cranberries, and lemon juice / water
S: raw carrots / water
D: grilled chicken (with maybe a hint of mustard cooked into/onto it), sauteed onions, mushrooms / salad greens w/ balsamic vinegar dressing / water
If I can only plan all of these things out and pack my lunches for work the night before, I just might actually be successful at this. I just wish the food would cook itself. *sigh...
I am still trying to find a good resource for recipes. I have a bunch of food now but have no idea what to do with it all. Have you happened to stumble upon any good ones you'd like to share? Body For Life has some good ones that I will need to modify occasionally by removing grains, but for the most part seem great. I am open to suggestions so please feel free to share what you've found! And feel free to share how your journey is going. I would love to hear that you too have begun the sugar-free journey!
Tomorrow's the big day! I should get some sleep so I can be strong to fight the devilish cravings...
Final tasty treat...(drool...)
I am taking a break from studying for my Nutrition test tomorrow to share with you the "plan" I plan to follow (pun intended). Well, truth be told... I haven't technically started studying. I've printed of the PPT slides and keep getting distracted with sugar research. I can pull an all-nighter, right? No. No I can't.
The more I have determined to change my life for 30 days, I am reminded of a principle that I find so powerful: writing down your goals, writing down your vision. I mentioned it in my post Tulsa "Birthday" Run and I will mention it again, and again, and again. In a way, it's like an outline for an essay. It's like blueprints for a tree house. It's like the recipe for Granny's punkin' bread. And it's kinda like those New Year's Resolutions that never come true. :) All of these things start with a plan; a road map of how to get from here to there. Some folks like to use a vision board; a modern version of this that might be familiar to you would be Pintrest. The concept is rather similar: writing down or pinning down thoughts, goals, images of what you want to accomplish in your life and where you want it to go. But, that's just the first step. That's just Act 1, Scene 1. The rest of the success story involves action steps; movement toward accomplishing that goal.
Step 1- WRITE with fervor. Step 2- ACT with courage. Step 3- REPEAT with diligence. (I am copyrighting that slogan. ;) )
My Plan: I feel content with following Dr. Scott Olson's 30-day sugar free plan that I referenced yesterday. He has a small free booklet that you can download that briefly covers the basis of the plan, which is to avoid foods with a high or medium glycemic index and consume those that have a low glycemic index or are below the glycemic index. So basically, avoid sugar, grains, starchy vegetables or high glycemic index fruits and drinks with calories in them. You can enjoy most veggies, most fruits, most proteins. Ok, so what do I go shopping for??? Here's the list (green list is good, red list is bad):
(Click image to enlarge.)
Ok, so I get the right foods in my pantry and fridge, but then what? This is where I cry out to Rachel Ray for help!!! *sigh.... And I guess this is also where I will learn to become a cook out of necessity since Chic-Fil-A can no longer come to my delicious rescue. If you already have been born with the Good Cook gene, you are several leaps ahead of me (can I come over for dinner?). But if you have not, join me on the journey of learning by trial and error, or trial and fire. My goal for this portion of the adventure is to write down 30 days of meals (breakfasts, lunches & dinners) and prepare my meals in advance a few days at a time. I have no idea if that is practical, but it seems to make sense in my head. I will tackle this task tomorrow so if you have any recipe suggestions, I would love to hear them. I may pull some recipes from the South Beach diet and modify if necessary. I also might pull some recipes from Body For Life. Whatever I choose, I will share with you.
So, there you have it. The plan is written. Tomorrow I will finish my Nutrition 6-chapter test and then shop for food. I will clean out my cupboards (and give to John 3:16 Mission's food pantry) and then develop a month's worth of recipes. Seems simple enough, right? Well, we will see tomorrow. :)
The irony that is occurring right now is slightly overwhelming. As I am researching more about how to live sans sugar for 30 days, I am eating a delicious piece of my sister's double-decker birthday cookie cake while A&E's Intervention is playing on the tele in the background. I imagine watching the next episode and seeing, "Many of Americans struggle with addiction. This is one story: Alison, addicted to sugar. Alison thinks she is in a documentary about addiction. She does not know she will soon face an Intervention." I am Alison, and I struggle with a severe addition to sugar.
What a concept: sugar as an addiction. It is SO true though. Have you ever thought about it? The similarities of the addiction and the substance that causes the addiction are uncanny when comparing sugar to any other drug. Now, I may get some flack for that comment, but I will retort with a polite, "Do some research. Sugar kills." :) It is interesting that much is talked about and is considered controversial about drugs and alcohol. Please don't get me wrong... I am aware that the addictions to those things are incredibly serious and cause much turmoil in one's life. But, it seems that the urgency to talk about the health issues that sugar causes is not there. Often though, the side effects of sugar are not immediately seen and may not immediately harm someone, so maybe that's why. But under the dermis, sugar is working its evil magic inside your body. Are you educated on its effects? Let's educate ourselves together, shall we?
I Googled "sugar free diet" and stumbled upon this fella's website: http://olsonnd.com/30-sugar-free-days/ Dr. Scott Olson nails it with this statement, "Whenever you eat sugar and foods that act like sugar, you are taking steps towards those diseases [heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and so many diseases] in the same way a smoker takes a step towards lung cancer with every puff." Wow! I fully admit that I have so much to learn, and I hope that if you are following this blog that you will be enlightened to the health problems that sugar causes and the benefits that can result if you, too, choose to remove sugar from your diet. 30 days. That's just the start.
So, as I embark on this 30-day journey void of processed sugars, I have been fantasizing what my last sugary treat will be (I do realize how pathetic it is to fantasize about food...). Will I settle with a delectable Starbucks drink? What about a slice (or two?) from the Cheesecake Factory? Or perhaps a special request of my mom's cherry pie? I just might select all of the above. :) Whatever I select, I know it will taste more than delicious. And it will be the last sugary thing I will consume.
Thursday, September 29th is my Day 1. When is your day 1?
-WIth One L
I actually never thought I would EVER say this or come to this conclusion, but I think it's time sugar and I end our 20+ year relationship. You might be thinking, "Who is sugar?" Well, ask again. But this time, ask, "What is sugar?" and I will respond with, "Shoog-er. noun. Addicting sweetness that makes life taste better."
(<--- the love of my life, sugar)
I have been experiencing some health issues over the last several years. I won't bother going into detail but let's just say that no doctor that I have seen in the past 5-6 years (or more) has been able to figure out the problem and therefore offer a working solution. I have had multiple tests run, blood drawn, and medicine prescribed but it continues to remain an anomaly. And somehow that doesn't surprise me... But what I am now realizing is that no doctor has ever... EVER... mentioned that my diet and nutrition could play a role in these issues. So, I am going to do an experiment on myself. Kids, don't try this at home. No, wait... DO try this at home. Show your parents who's boss and follow my lead.
I am going to remove processed sugar from my diet. *gasp!* There. I said it. If you know me at all, you know how big of a deal this is. I am a sweets junky, to the max. I love me some good sweet tea. I could eat cake and cookies and ice cream until the sun goes down or until all of my teeth fall out! So this is going to be quite a challenge, and a painful and emotional one at that. Now, I don't have a working plan just yet. But I do know a few things:
- I have a TON of research to do.
- I will likely cry.... a lot.
- I will blog about this journey, including the good, the bad, and the ugly.
- I will do this for at least 30 days, but preferably forever.
- I will track my health before, during, and after.
- I will track what I eat and what I avoid, and hopefully will be able to educate my readers on the information I learn.
- I am open to questions or comments from you as I work through this.
- I will use this as my class presentation in my Nutrition course this semester.
- I might even actually, possibly, maybe learn to cook.
I want to start ASAP, and will probably launch this sugar-free lifestyle on Thursday, September 29th, one month before my 31st birthday. I don't know how this will go but I do know that I have quite a mountain to climb. But I also know that there will be such a reward on the other side of this mountain.
I attempted to select a few foods at Wal-Mart tonight to help jump-start this journey and, well, I cried. True story. I felt overwhelmed with all of the choices, most of which were not what I could eat (but what do I expect, if I'm shopping at Wal-Mart?). So, over the next few days I must do some reading and find some good recipes and shopping suggestions. So if you have anything to share, please do. :)
This is quite a big step for me, so I am feeling a little nervous about the whole situation. But, stay tuned as I make an attempt to live a much healthier life and hopefully naturally cure myself when the doctors were not able to do so.
-With One L
