the day I ate a granola bar and lived to tell about it

Well..it's true. I caved. I ate a granola bar. Truth is, I don't feel bad about it. This is a great feeling! No extreme feelings running through my mind of failure. I'm reminded that I'm human. I ate one, not the whole box (not that I could these days). I want to continue to focus on what I have done well, not the one granola bar. For the past nine days I have drank more water than ever, had more energy than ever, eaten lean meats and lots of veggies. I've convincingly encouraged my husband to join in the challenge and made healthier meals for Will. And only eaten out once! These are much more powerful than a single granola bar (a low sugar one at that!). And, no, I'm not starting back over at day 1 like the plan says to do. That would only encourage my black and white thinking. No, thank you. I'll just start back over now. Not tomorrow, not next Monday, not next month. Now. And I won't feel bad about it.

In the past nine days I've passed up homemade rolls, fries, candy...I can do this long term and still enjoy an occasional sweet. I will finish out the 21-day sugar cleanse with the goal of sticking with it.  I'll also not expect perfection and that is ok with me.

Until later,

Michelle

Day 5: The Day I Learned I Could Live Without Butter

So, the other day I discovered coconut oil popped popcorn. That was glorious. Today, I cooked some beets. I planned beets for my evening sweet treat. Yes, I know, I'm not normal :) Other reasons I'm not so normal:

My favorite pizza is pepperoni and sauerkraut
I love hot buttered beets
I love when my fingers smell like garlic after cooking with garlic

Ok...back to the beets. So, I usually put a massive conservative amount of butter and salt on hot beets. It's lovely and decadent. Well, butter isn't on the list right now so I had to think outside of the box. So I drizzled a small amount of coconut oil over the beets, sprinkled some Murray River Sea Salt from Oleaceae (http://www.oleaceaeoliveoil.com/) and VOILA!! It was perfection. 

Food was pretty much the same today.  I'm going to start planning for next week. 

Cleanse: Day 4

Long day. Just settling in so this will be short and swee---er, savory. Another successful day despite the deliciousness of a dinner prepared by my mother-in-law. To her credit, she didn't understand the intensity of the cleanse as many initially do not. Steak, veggies, her homemade (and famous) rolls, cinnamon rolls made from the same dough, baked potatoes....and then Jason's brother made baked BBQ beans and homemade potato salad that looked to die for!! I had steak and veggies and felt really good about it! Success!!!

Food today was a lot of leftovers...quinoa, , grilled veggies, roasted corn, roasted chicken, coconut oil popped popcorn (a big time favorite!), and the trusty seeds and nuts. God is totally walking beside me on this journey as I don't feel totally denied of all things yummy.

That's all today! Later!

Sugar Cleanse: Day 3

Day three and still going strong. Had to stop at the grocery store tonight and was pretty tempted but didn't give in. The more I see sweets the more I realize how addictive sugar has been to me. I've been watching "Super Size Me" over the past few days to keep me motivated and it really works. Have you watched that documentary. It's pretty terrible to see what happens to Morgan Spurlock as he eats McDonald's for three square meals a day. Yuck. And to think about how many times we've stopped there for a quick bite to eat. And the sweet tea. That's a whole different story. 

Today. I woke up in such a great mood. Felt well-rested and energized and didn't get anymore sleep than normal. That was such a great feeling! Have kind of a headache right now, first one I've had actually. Other than that and a bit of crankiness the first two days I  haven't really had many negative side effects. Yay!!

The Food

Meal 1: avocado and tomato (keep in mind when I write that I had an avocado it's not a whole one...my stomach couldn't handle that much)
Meal 2: scrambled eggs with grilled peppers and onions 
Meal 3: 2oz pork chip, 1/4 cup corn, sweet potato
Snacks between meals: mixed nuts/seeds, coconut-oil popped popcorn

It was a good day. I'm pretty proud of myself!! 

...more tomorrow...

Sugar Cleanse: Day (YAWN!) 2

Well, if you can tell by the title, I'm tired. I'm not tired if the plan, just probably my body missing its usual caffeine and sugar intake. Normal cycle: tired, eat sugar/drink caffeine, sugar high, sugar crash, tired, rinse and repeat. Now: tired, keep busy, tired, tired, tired. I didn't yell at anyone today, though, so that's good!

I've caught myself planning for the first sugar-laden treat in which I'll indulge upon the completion of this cleanse. That is dangerous!! And probably why this isn't a 3 or 5 day cleanse. That would be way too easy and the "need" for sugar wouldn't be out of my system in that amount of time. This is a good plan. Sucks, but it's good.

Two things on my mind...a baby shower coming up that I think will include treats from The Sweet Tooth. Lord, BE WITH ME!! That will be hard. But...if I can remember this...The Sweet Tooth isn't going anywhere! I'll be fine. I can have a cupcake one day. But those days will have to be special days. And not the special days that are made up just so I can have a reason to eat a cupcake. Like the "I'll bring dessert to the work party" day or the "99 cents til closing" special day :) They are so good. So good. Chocolate Salted Caramel be still my heart. Actually, be still my heart if I keep eating so much dang sugar!! Moving on.....thing two is my looming 12-hour workday tomorrow. Tiredness+teenagers=....we will soon find out!

Now back to today...The Food

Meal 1: omelet with mushrooms and tomatoes
Meal 2: mixed nuts (cashews, almonds) and seeds (sunflower)
Meal 3: avocado and tomato south lime juice, celery & natural peanut butter
Meal 4: roast chicken
Meal 5: grilled pork chop and corn on the cob
Snack: popcorn popped in coconut oil

+ lots of water and my multivitamin

Good day!! Biggest surprise: the popcorn. First of all, I'm to limit corn/carrots/sweet potatoes but I can have them. As I was researching foods low in sugar, I happened upon popcorn. That surprised me. I assumed it was the same sugar-content as corn but I was wrong. One ear of corn has about 5 or 6 grams of sugar. One cup of popcorn has .07 grams of sugar. So I indulged and it was out-of-this-world good. Plus!!! Coconut oil is tremendous...a super food. I have many uses for coconut oil: it's my face wash and moisturizer and my deodorant to name a few. Some people eat a spoonful a day by itself. I'm not there yet. Yet.

That's my day. Going to wake up early to pack all my goodies for tomorrow.

Later!

Sugar Cleanse: Day 1

Well...I'm not sure I could say I expected day one to go like this. I laughed, I cried, I yelled. Wish I was kidding. This is truly a detox and it sucks!! But...BUT...it's worth it. If I've been consuming something, anything, that when I go without it I feel like life is over (sarcasm...mostly) then it's time to make a change. The only spot for that kind of need needs to be reserved for Jesus. At one point in the day Will put me in timeout and I GLADLY accepted.

 The Food

 Meal 1: scrambled egg with sautéed onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes
 Meal 2: quinoa, tomatoes, steamed kale, black beans, garbanzo beans
 Meal 3: 1/2 avocado, tomatoes, lime juice, salt
 Meal 4: roasted chicken, carrots, onions

 Throughout the day: almonds and cashews

Best tasting: close one but the roast chicken always wins!

Most surprising: kale. I've never had it but it's SO tasty. Gonna find new ways to incorporate it this week.

Saving grace: cashews. Feels/tastes unhealthy which was welcomed today!

Biggest challenge: missing milk and juice. I don't think milk in and if itself is bad for you but it does contain a lot of naturally-occurring sugars so it's out for now. I am going to limit myself to one unsweetened tea a day. It kind of sickening how much sugar I must have been consuming. Yikes!! Anytime I struggle I'll think abut that.

 More tomorrow...