I am writing this for my own sake to look back on, but I also decided to make it public because I was searching for something similar to this a couple weeks ago when I tried to plan out my week without sugar. I decided to do a week without sugar for a couple of reasons: I have never done anything like this before and thought it would be a good challenge and because I ate way.too.many cookies in the month of December. I had never done an extended diet, cleanse or work out regimen and wanted to prove to myself that I could do something healthy for myself. I tried to research different meal ideas that I could eat for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack and Drinks and pre grocery shop as much as possible.
My goal was simply to not consume anything that has sugar or some form of sugar (anything ending in -ose) or a sugar substitute in the ingredients panel of foods. If the food naturally contained sugar (like fruits) then it was ok. I also inadvertently gave up breads and pastas for the week too.
-----
Monday: This is my first day of no sugar and I had to work. I was craving sugar and felt a little crazy that I couldn't have it. Everywhere I looked I wanted to eat whatever it was. I thought I didn't eat that much sugar but Monday was a huge wake up call. I also had small pep talks with myself about how it is ok to be hungry, and that I have plenty of back up fuel in my body to sustain myself.
Tuesday: I was also craving breads or candies but I also felt like I was crashing too. I worked and had to cut bread for a sample (!) and make cinnamon swirl pancakes and just casually wanted to stop myself form popping a bite in my mouth. I didn't realize how much 'trying something' was part of my reflexes.
Wednesday: Today was okay. I was hungry but sustained myself during the day and was pretty proud. I didn't have the crash feeling like Monday and Tuesday. I did have to go grocery shopping, and even though I normally love grocery shopping, that was one of the hardest things I had to do all week. I found myself almost reflexly adding things to my cart that a. I didn't need and b. sounded good (cinnamon rolls, flavored yogurts, chewy granola bars). Everything went back on the shelf except for the granola bars, those I bought for Scott... and for when I am done with this whole thing. I also bought some popcorn to help fill the void between snack and a meal.
Thursday: I didn't plan dinner and had to try and figure out something for Scott and I on the fly. We also had to make a last minute run to Lowes before they closed and that was the only hour we got to spend together. So as Scott is ordering something from Sonic, I am trying frantically to search their nutritional information for anything without sugar (or a sugar substitute) and came up with a Jr. Breakfast wrap and French Fries. I ate about half of both and realized how stupid I was and that both of those really did have sugar without listing them... I should have been smarter. I instantly got a stomach ache and was so frustrated with myself but then decided to be nicer to myself and say 'this is your first week ever doing something like this, its ok'.
Friday: I had a big breakfast and was stumped for dinner again. This time I was alone for dinner and really really wanted something warm but was too lazy to make it. It is right around 20 degrees outside and I just wanted to eat something without looking at a label. A friend came over, and we brainstormed dinner ideas and when she left, I made a potato soup type of meal. I mashed up potatoes and mixed with a bit of vegetable broth, butter, garlic, steamed broccoli, rotisserie chicken and some cheese. It was actually good. I also ate a banana and some apple sauce. Today, I also started dreaming about what my first food with sugar was going to be... chocolate chip cookies? Bagel? Mmmm....
Saturday and Sunday: Scott was around for these days and they weren't nearly as bad. I did go to the grocery store and buy ingredients to make cookies for Monday but I had some good dinners planned. On Saturday, we ate curry with left over rice from earlier in the week and Sunday I made Chicken Tortilla Soup. We also did go to a friends house to watch the football game on Sunday and I brought this sauce (which is so good by the way) and ate it with some tortilla ships, hummus and vegetables.
-----
Some meal ideas I had on hand were...
Breakfast ideas:
Oatmeal with fresh fruits (raspberries, bananas, blackberries) and/or applesauce and cinnamon (the photo above)
Greek yogurt with fresh fruits
Egg scramble with zucchini, sweet potato or white potato + Ezekial Bread
Lunch ideas:
Rotisserie chicken
Tuna
Salad (I just haven't been into salads lately-- I have to change that)
Really, I just ate breakfast late so I kind of just snacked for lunch
Snack ideas:
Carrots and hummus (I ate a lot of this!)
Banana
Apple
Popcorn
Drink ideas:
Chai tea with splash of milk
Peppermint tea
Green tea with or without lemon
La Croix
Dinner ideas:
Mexican Stir Fry (butternut squash or sweet potato, corn, black beans, rotisserie chicken) with lime-cilantro brown rice, some cheese and avocado over chopped spinach and some salsa. I served Scott's in a burrito
Potato 'Soup': mashed potato with garlic, salt and pepper, vegetable broth, steamed broccoli, rotisserie chicken and cheese
Meatball Sandwiches: I made a homemade red sauce and cooked some meatballs from Trader Joes in the sauce. Then I served Scott's on ciabatta bread with fresh mozzarella and served mine over zucchini noodles with mozzarella.
Chicken Tortilla Soup: I will have to post about this recipe soon because it is so good and easy to make.
Curry: with vegetables, and rice noodles.
*I realize that there are so many other things to eat then what I put, these are just foods I naturally gravitate toward and usually have on hand so I made a list of what I could find in my home
-----
All in all, I think I did pretty good. I had some slip ups like Sonic on Wednesday and some spices that I learned had sugar in them that I used once or twice. I realize this round wasn't perfect but it wasn't meant to be- it was meant to be a learning exercise in discipline and educating myself about what foods I bring in my home and I learned a lot.
I learned that it is so easy, almost too easy, to reach for something with added sugar rather than a whole food when eating. I also learned that planning for success is key- which is a goal of mine for this year: I would like to do more meal planning. I did also learn that my body, in some way, has become dependent on sugar and that is a bit scary to me. I hope to complete one of these weeks every six months to try and restart and actually listen to my body a bit more. It is interesting what your body tells you when you don't give in right away to what it is asking.
My first thing with added sugar after... my chia tea lattes that I just love in the mornings. I use the 'Spiced Chai' tea bag from Trader Joes and brew that with hot water. Then, I discard the tea bag and add a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of milk. Seriously soo good.
0 friendly notes:
Post a Comment