Adios Sugar!

It is strange when I look back over the past two years and think about my weight loss/gain cycle. I was so excited when I first started losing in March 2008. I was working with a fitness coach friend...he just gave me advice about diet and exercise - but it was very good advice, and just what I needed. You see, I have lost hundreds of pounds over the years. Alas, I always gained it back. But that last time I thought I had really "figured it all out." I was not following some new fangled diet plan, or drinking just shakes, or taking any kind of pill...I was just eating healthy, avoiding sugar, and making better choices. I thought I had the weight loss struggle beat. I was going all the way!

So what shoved me off the path of healthy eating and into a food frenzy that lasted a year?? Would you believe it was a donut? It was. I truly think it was the catalyst that started a vicious cycle of eating carbs and more carbs. My uncle had just died, I was sick of watching everything I put in my mouth, and I was taking my son away for the weekend to celebrate his Adoption Anniversary.I decided to take the weekend "off" from healthy eating. I felt I needed a break.

That year we went to a hotel that had breakfast included. As part of their breakfast, they offered these bakery donuts. I ended up eating one that had white filling, glazed, with icing on top. It was delicious. It also sent me on a sugar binge. I can remember how good it tasted, and how after I ate it, I wanted another. The bakery was onsite, and my son wanted to visit it later that day. So did I! We bought some cookies, some of those donuts, and the downward spiral deepened. I just could not get back on track after that weekend. It was always...."oh I'll just wait one more day....we are having a party at work this afternoon..why start now?" And then .."Oh it is my birthday next week, I know I will want a piece of cake...I can't cut out sugar now." Also, the relief that comes from eating without worrying about calories...not having to watch every single thing you put in your mouth. I thought about food less, actually, and it was bliss not to have to step on that scale every day.

However, that came with a big price. My "weekend vacation" from healthy eating stretched into a week, then two, then a month, then months, and then a year. You know how easily time flies. I am not a horrendous eater. I don't consider myself a binge eater necessarily. I just don't always make the healthiest choices. And for me, anything that is refined carbs, especially sugar, seems to go directly to fat. In all honesty, many people have said to me that they don't think I eat that much. Some of my friends actually eat more than I do, and are normal sizes. I can lose weight, and quite easily it seems, if I just eat only fruits, veggies, and lean meats/proteins. My problem after that weekend is that I loved the freedom of not planning/shopping/cooking just to eat healthy. I wouldn't always want to take the time to make a healthy lunch, when I could just bring leftovers from dinner the night before. And maybe dinner the night before was lasagna, or Mac and Cheese, or something not especially weight loss inducing. Suddenly, here I was, one year later, having gained it all back.

So,this past Monday I vowed off sugar again. Yesterday at work someone brought in donuts from a bakery. They looked so fresh and delicious! However, I can say truly that I did not want one. Once I am off of sugar and refined carbs for a few days, those cravings are gone. I knew if I ate it, the donut would derail me again and start that horrible cycle. I think my donut days may be over folks, if I truly want to be healthy. And that is a trade that is worth making.