Six weeks without sweets- Week 4

[mrswaz]

Good morning everyone. Today we can celebrate the fact that we are over the hump. We have made it to the halfway mark, and the rest is supposed to get easier, and give us plenty of time to figure out how to successfully incorporate sweets in our normal life.

I had a very nice PM the other day (thank you! ;) ) and got to thinking- What's your motivation? Why are you giving up sweets? Maybe by reviewing our intial motivators we can get re-geared back up to finish out the challenge.

I'll go first, my initial goal was to jump start some kind of weight loss. I want to start watching my diet and incorporate an exercise routine, but I know all that is for naught if I am sustaining on sugar. That is where the detox idea originally came from. Now I would just have to say feeling better. I can't believe how not tired I have been the last few weeks- and the only thing different is the lack of sugar. I really like the fact that I am not relying on coffee to keep me going and make it to the end of the day. I think I'm less irritable as well, and I'm sure that makes my kids happier. :)

[boisewinesnob]

Checking in :cool:

Still doing well. I had a planned cheat last night at supper club. I would've skipped dessert altogether, but it was just DH and I and the hosts. I told her I'd just have a little bit.
I had one half of a biscotti and about 1/3 of a ramekin of some kind of chocolate mint souffle. It's funny....it all tasted REALLY sweet! Back to regular no-sweets now :)

Good topic re motivation, Erika. I need to lose weight and I've noticed that when I've done these challenges in the past I not only eat less sweets (obviously), but I eat less in general. Sweets especially leads me to overeating, so for me it's best to avoid those foods which can set me off.

Also, one thing I'd like to do differently than I did before is what I do after 6 weeks. Last time I thought "oh, I'll only have them once a week, or for special events" or whatever. Ha!
This time I think I might do it permanently. I mean, it will have to be a REALLY SPECIAL circumstance for me to eat sweets. I just know myself too well :)

[lisas3575]

Thanks for starting us again this week, Erika. :)

It's been my plan to go without sweets for 4 weeks, so this is my final week. Things have gone surprisingly well, easier than I ever thought it would be. Some days have been hard, but overall it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. My whole life I've had a huge sweet tooth. Christmas is especially gluttonous, since there's sweets everywhere.

Goal: was to detox as much as possible, and try to reform my habits to not automatically reach for that sweet thing all the time. I'm not there 100%, but it's getting better. I'd like to reintroduce sweets as an ocassional treat, not a food group. :rolleyes: I'm still working out my definition of occasional. I'd also like to be more mindful when I'm eating: savoring it, and if it's not that good, making the decision to toss it instead of finish it.

Results: Like Erika, I've found I've had a ton more energy. To the point of not sleeping very good. I wake up several times a night. I'm sure I'll settle back into a rythym once my body gets used to it. I'm snacking much less-- on everything. Afternoons are still my hard time, but last week seemed easier. I was really happy yesterday, too, when I ordered my SF latte (my once a week treat) and I really didn't enjoy it that much. I would have rather had tea. :)

I've appreciated all the support here, and you guys rock. :cool:

[LaraW]

Well, I sort of fell off the wagon last week. So, I'm getting back on. :) I really have met my goal of cutting out the sweet snacks that I was noshing on when I was not hungry; just eating things because they were there for the taking. It helps to not have Christmas cookies, etc around anymore. Of course, there are Girl Scout Cookies on order ;) They will probably go the way of Girl Scout Cookies from years past and live in the downstairs freezer, only to be brought up on special occasions. I should check and see if there are any left from last year. :o

It sounds like everyone is doing well and gaining energy! My next piece of this goal is to get exercise back into my routine. I was going to go to the gym this AM (I swear!) and our electricity went out in the night, so my alarm did not wake me up at 5:00 like planned. I have to work tomorrow and Weds, so Thurs will be my next day to try.

Lara

[srahndennis]

Hi, all! Still no sweets for me. Tomorrow will make a full four weeks without sweets. I've heard it takes 30 days to establish a new habbit. I'm not sure that's the case here. It's still pretty tough sometimes.

I joined WW a couple of months before the holidays. I was losing slowly, but steadily until Thanksgiving. Then I gave myself "permission" to enjoy the holidays. My goal was to maintain throughout the season. I ended up gaining a few pounds back so thougth this would help me re-focus. Same for the exercise challenge. I'm losing again, so it's working!

Now, to stay at it!

[mrswaz]

Well, with the sugar craving demons gone, I'm having the bored/comfort cravings. DH is going to be out of town for the remainder of this challenge- and now the challenge really begins for me. Last night was very difficult for me. The kdis were in bed by 8:30, and I had the rest of the night to myself. I did find a new tea that I am really enjoying, but it A) didn't give me something to do and B) didn't give me the illusion of comfort (something chocolate cake would do- I'm certain!).

One day at a time I guess. Has anyone heard from Katharine? I hope her Very Boring Diet is going okay.

[CompassRose]

:) Thank you... I am revising the VBD again, since I think I have done something very dumb which I'd've spotted in a second if it were someone else (eating starvation level, silly me, then wondering why I wasn't losing).

Still not losing, still going along without sweets, except one spectacular bustout last Saturday night, which was A.'s last night home. We had a Cheese Tray, and artichoke/asiago spread, and red pepper spread, and Caramel Crunch Cake, and I had an Easter Creme Egg that day too. Very bad, and very good.

Now, of course, it is all too easy to stick to plan, as there's no one here but me. I gave away everything evil to a friend on Sunday.

How's everyone else doing?

Katharine

[mrswaz]

Katharine- I am very jealous of your creme egg. (There's a reason I wanted to do this challenge well before Easter this time around!) I'm very glad you recognized your situation- let us know how we can support you while you are alone.

Last night was boring. I was considering making fried bananas, but then I knew I would have to pour them over ice cream, and I couldn't make them without at least a smidge of brown sugar, so instead I ate a banana. Definitely not the gratification I was looking for. *sigh*

I'm contemplating allowing myself a few added things the last two weeks. I'm thinking I might allow myself to have the sweetened dried fruit, fruited yogurt, and things like that- my granola and fruit for breakfast. Still no treats, but starting to re-introduce things that I will normally eat anyway. Thoughts on that anyone?

[boisewinesnob]

Erika,
what you might try is to see what your cravings are like after you have those foods. Are they worse? The same? One thing I've really paid attention to this time is which things will set me up to overeat the rest of the day.

[mrswaz]

Thank you- I hadn't thought of that. I will have to think clearly about this before jumping in and going crazy. It is going to take some work to figure out any specific trigger isn't it? I know I will allow myself granola for breakfast, but maybe if I used Silk instead of Milk it would be more satisfying- thus making me less likely to nosh later on.

Does everyone else have things they can identify as a craving trigger? Maybe that would help me figure those out. I've never thought about my eating habits in that way before.

[srahndennis]

I have to admit - I cheated this weekend. :eek: First sweet in almost five weeks. It was wonderful but made me a little sick to my stomach. Serves me right, huh? Anyway, back on track for the last week. How's everyone else doing?