I wanted to provide you all with an update with my 10 days of no - TopicsExpress

I wanted to provide you all with an update with my 10 days of no added sugar, a.k.a. Fed Up Challenge. I am starting Day 8 today. I wanted to let you know that I plan to keep this up past the 10 days. Why? I feel great! This has gone better than I could ever imagine. Well, in some ways. First, the challenges. Challenge 1: eating out. That becomes extremely difficult because you dont know whats added to the food. I ate at a salad bar yesterday. The trick is to stay away from the dressings and choose only items that are in their natural state (lettuce, tomato, broccoli, cucumber, egg, etc, seeds/nuts, etc.). Challenge 2: eating around others. People have a hard time grasping why you cant eat their homemade food, even when it seems like they are serving up something healthy. The key here is to respectfully stand your ground and explain why you are not able to eat it. Bring your own food choices so that you dont have to rely on others. Challenge 3: running errands. If you get hungry regularly, it can be a challenge if you are out and about and then hunger hits. I planned ahead and brought fruit with me. Challenge 4: the need to read labels. Its interesting because this got easier. I know now that the more natural I eat, the less I have to worry about reading a label. If you stay away from the center of the grocery store, the easier it gets. The perimeter has more of the natural foods (but you still have to pay attention if you are getting into things like dairy and baked goods). Challenge 5: The initial feeling of deprivation when you first start the challenge. I felt like I was craving something for the first few days. This did periodically happen over the last couple days as well, but that is because the weekend is a trigger for me to eat poorly. The ADVANTAGES: My blood sugar seems more balanced. I am not getting to the point of headaches when my body says I am hungry. I can eat more calories without worrying as much about gaining weight. Yes, I still cant consume 3000 calories a day and expect to maintain my weight, BUT I found that I had to worry about my weight more when I ate packaged goods because I would notice a gain even at a less-than-2000 calorie a day diet (even with regular exercise). I feel better! My energy is really good and overall, I just feel pretty balanced. I feel less bloated. My pocketbook is saving. I have made two grocery store trips since I started this challenge and have spent less. It turns out that a lot of the packaged goods are expensive. Mentally, I feel sharper. I also feel good about the choices I am making. I feel more connected to my food because I am cooking. And the food tastes so good!!! Do I plan to never eat a cookie or a slice of cake or some packaged snack again? No. That would be unrealistic. However, I plan to keep this mindset as an ongoing part of my lifestyle. As I mentioned before, I dont want to be on a diet. I want a lifestyle that I can continue in a realistic manner that will keep me as healthy as possible (ideally until I die). This is not about perfection, but is about a consciousness and deliberation that I think that I have personally been lacking in the past, but that I began moving toward early last year (2014). This is not something that I think has an end point (like most diets do). I dont want to return to the lifestyle that led to weight gain and feeling crappy. It kind of seems counter-intuitive. Well, onto Day 8. Excited for a nice, peaceful day at home. I hope all of you have a fantastic day!