The Fifth Day

I am dragging a little bit today but it is because it's Thursday and raining. I find now that once I actually get out of bed and get moving my energy level seems to respond more quickly than it did before. Perhaps it's because I'm trying to eat something first thing in the morning. Perhaps it's the lack of sugar. Who knows?

This morning I woke in the usual way. I ate a banana at about quarter to seven. At 8:45 I made myself a parfait with nonfat plain Greek yogurt (which I am remembering that I LOVE), unsweetened strawberries that had been mushed up a bit, and a really great granola I found: Nature's Path Sunflower Agave Plus Granola.



This was one of the most delicious things I could think of to eat. One of the things I do miss about quitting sugar are the excellent parfaits from Starbucks. This was a good approximation of one without all the unnecessary crap.

At 10:30 I had a snack of a Honey Crisp apple, lowfat string cheese, and 7 reduced fat Triscuits.

For lunch (12:30) I had the Tamale Pie by Amy's. I put a bit of salsa on it and it was fantastic. It'd be even better with some chunks of avocado and a little sour cream!

Anyway, I am still plugging along. Actually, I would say I am doing better than merely plugging along. This week I would say that I am totally owning it!

Day 4

Day 4.

I never thought I'd make it to day 4 without a mishap but it's true, and here I am to talk about it. The weird thing is I totally have more energy without sugar. I never would have believed it before I started. My commitment to go without sugar is only getting stronger.

This morning when I woke I had a banana pretty much right away. I have just finished a book called Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates: Simple Lifestyle Choices for Permanent Weight Loss by Jill Fleming, MS, RD. One of her analogies was that our bodies are like a campfire. When you wake up you want to feed the fire gently, at first, with kindling. That gets your metabolism started and then you can feed it little by little all day long, enjoying the steady fire (vs., say, the huge roaring out-of-control fire). Once I got to work I had some strawberries with a bit of nonfat plain Greek yogurt. That was probably about 8:30 a.m. At 10:30 a.m. I had some egg whites and lowfat cheddar over a piece of Ezekiel bread. I topped it with some tomatillo salsa and it held me until after 1 p.m. when I was able to get lunch.

For lunch today I had Cedarlane's Burrito Grande with Salsa Roja. I topped it with a bit of yogurt because I didn't have sour cream here at work. It was amazing! I felt sated until now (4 p.m.) when I'm just starting to get the growlies. I think I'll have the Peanut Butter Cookie LARABAR (ingredients: dates, peanuts, salt) and a lowfat string cheese.

Anyway, I have to cut this short for now. I want to write down some more thoughts after reading the previously mentioned book but I'll have to do that later tonight. Ciao!

Day 3 Afternoon

OMG!

I have energy!

It's almost 4 pm and I'm not dragging my butt through the work day!

I just had a snack since lunch at 12:30(ish) and it tasted pretty good. I'm sure my taste buds will change more once I've been off sugar longer but this, I have to say, was pretty awesome. And it's raw.



LARABAR, Cashew Cookie flavor. Ingredients? Dates, cashews. That's it. THAT'S. IT. Incredible!

It has 210 calories but they're good calories.

Forget McDonald's...I'm lovin' it (being sugar free, that is).

Day 3

Day 3 is off to a roarin' start. I felt so awake and good this morning even despite not getting good rest last night. I haven't had shakiness or sweating since yesterday so hopefully that means I am over the hump.

For breakfast this morning I had a bit (about 3/4 cup) of nonfat Greek yogurt. About a half hour later I had a breakfast burrito made by Phil's Fresh Foods. Yup, it's a Facebook link but it looks like they've changed their name to EVOL and don't have the flavor I had this morning. Oh well. This burrito was nomtastic with some Trader Joe's organic tomatillo salsa (no sugar!) and I was sated until about 10:30 a.m.

Snack was delicious as well! I had the recommended serving size of 7 reduced fat Triscuits, a Frigo light string cheese, and a fruit leather from Trader Joe's called "Fiberful"!



This baby has Nutrition Facts to die for. 60 calories, no fat, 5 mg sodium, 14 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 8 g sugars, 1 g protein. The ingredients are Dried Fruits From Fresh Pulp (apple, boysenberry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, plum, blackcurrant, cherry), Psyllium Husk, Flaxseed Meal, Soy Protein, Fibre Sweet Fibre (Inulin), Ascorbic Acid.

I had to research inulin as I didn't know if it contained sugar. You know, some of these things are tricky! It seems harmless and I am really glad about that because this fruit leather was deeeeeeeeeelicious! I can't wait to try the apricot one tomorrow.

Anyway, this snack was definitely filling and kept me fueled until about 12:30 when it was (is) time for lunch.

Lunch is a can of Trader Joe's (haha, guess where I shopped last night) Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup, 1/2 cup of brown rice, and 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs left from last night. Oh, and a Diet Pepsi. ;-)

I've been reading a lot about Clean Eating lately. In a magazine I got (called, hey!, Clean Eating) there was a quote:

Does this food contribute to my health and wellness?

I thought this was an especially pointed question to ask myself before putting something in my mouth.

Well, that's all I've got so far today. I have to say that my energy definitely seems to be up in the past day or so!