Anyway. So I've tried giving up sweets before. I've even lasted a couple of weeks before giving in, maybe a little longer. I'd have to go back and read my posts and well... too lazy. But even though it was good for me, and helped with things like headaches and such, I never saw what I was really hoping for, which was progress on the scale. However this time? I've managed to lose 6 pounds in the last three weeks with little effort. All of a sudden I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight. BAM.
I'm not counting calories or denying myself anything. I've had my fair share of chips and guacamole. And bread and butter. And other random things that I probably should cut down on. Just goes to show that I was eating WAY too many sweets. I have had to straight up cheat moments throughout the month. The first I already mentioned, when we were celebrating Christopher matching to a sports fellowship. The second, well, after a not so fantastic morning with insignificant but annoying things going wrong, I managed to run out of gas. On the highway. With both girls in the car. AT LUNCH TIME. I'm pretty sure I don't have to say that didn't go over very well with them. The good news is AAA was awesome and got to me in 25 minutes or less, were super helpful and got us on our way. But after that adventure I needed a chocolate pick me up. So I split a chocolate chip cookie with Ryann. Totally worth it.
Now I also have been having some sort of cheat nights. My friend who is also going a month without sweets told me she had been sort of cheating and having this Chobani Greek yogurt, raspberry with dark chocolate chunks.
Usually I can't stand Greek yogurt by itself. Mixed in to some sort of recipe, sure, but on it's own it makes me want to gag a little. But I was desperate and raspberries and dark chocolate are two of my favorites so I decided to give it a go. The first time I tried I still couldn't stand it, just the slightly tart taste and the thicker texture, I can't do it. But I wasn't going to give up, so I stuck them in the freezer. When I went to eat one I had to let it thaw for a good 20+ minutes or so, before I could remotely get a spoon in, but I could handle eating it. And since then I'm getting a little more and more used to the taste.
So yeah, I guess I'm kind of having sweets. But I feel like the point of this little venture for me is to change my relationship with sweets, and that is happening. And I'm seeing a change in my body. And if eating some yogurt with a few chocolate chunks in it is what it takes, then that is what I'm going to do. Currently I'm extremely tempted to cheat and eat some little pretzel chocolate treats that Ryann made while she was staying at Grammy's, but I only have to make it five more days before I've finished out the month that I've committed to. I can do it, right? After that I'm not quite sure what my plan is, but I can't go back to eating junk whenever I want.
Running everyday has probably also contributed to my weight loss. I have ran every day in January so far, and even though my knees might be starting to protest a little, I WILL make it to the end of the month. I've covered 73 miles, and I hope that I can add 10 more to that total. Starting in February I think I need to exchange one day for a rest day or walking, another day for a strength workout (I still have yet to do any this year, fail) and add a little bit of strength to a shorter run day. I may weigh what I did when I got pregnant, but I definitely don't have near as much muscle.
How do you approach sweets? Do you eat some each day? Only on certain days? Whenever you want?
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5 comments:
13 months pp {currently 15 months} i finally got back to pre pregnancy weight, but it's definitely distributed differently ;0) i ran {ran/walked} a 10k the other weekend and it felt amazing to get back to running! i will run my first race {4.2 miles} in it's entirety and i'm so excited! running an entire race is huge for me. it's great to get back into it finally {after months of procrastination since having two littles 18 months apart is exhausting}. i haven't managed to toss out the sweets yet, maybe i need to make that a february goal. who knows ;0) i do however make a green smoothie everyday and it helps cut my sweets cravings a ton. great job on the running everyday and cutting the sweets. you are so inspiring, once you set your mind to something you just do it!
That yogurt looks amazing. I need to try. Congrats on the weightless!
After learning how to read labels and what is bad for your body (in my opinion), it was much easier for me to cut out the not needed sweets. Monday-Friday I eat a very clean diet except a Chobani fruit yogurt which has added sugar (cane sugar) and eat usually 1 piece of Dove chocolate per night. It's 'my thing'. On the weekends I do as well as I can with eating out, etc but still allow myself indulgences - why else work so hard? Ice cream, cookies, wine, etc. It's all about moderation. I just remember to tell myself, you already know what that tastes like. Leave it be. Then go chew some gum ;)
We try really hard to avoid sugar and processed foods. Even if you avoid sweet treats there's still hidden sugars in a lot of common foods. But that's our rule in our home....no sugar. Outside of the home we are a little more relaxed. An impromptu ice cream run, baking cookies at grandma's, celebrations etc. So my biggest tip is dont buy it. Eat well at home and if you treat yourself every once in a while then enjoy it. Food shouldn't come with guilt. Awesome job on the running!
Ash
Hi! I've actually been reading your blog for awhile now, when I was looking for pregnancy/fitness blogs. I'm 17 weeks along with my first, and am used to being very active, so all this breathlessness and fatigue has been quite an adjustment! I'm an American who's been living in France for 6 years, and their whole attitude on pregnancy and working out and breastfeeding is sooo different, so I've been depending on blogs from the states to reassure me I'm not as crazy as they seem to think, haha. I just love how honest you are, but you also manage to make everything sound possible, even though it's not always easy. Very motivating!
Anyway, I finally wanted to introduce myself and leave a comment! I was pretty paleo for most of 2013 (NOT easy in the land of bread an cheese, lol) then we went to visit my family in DC and I ate all the good stuff I miss over here. When we got back, we did the 21 day sugar detox for about 15 days. I think it was the switching to green apples and not-so-ripe bananas that somehow really helped things "click" and made me realize how much it's just the taste of something sweet that will set me off. Also, making things like tomato sauce and ketchup at home helps me avoid the hidden sugar.
Small adjustments rather than saying something like "no sugar ever!" always work better for me. Just a few simple rules that I vary every week (only green apples this week, next week a big batch of homemade pasta sauce with lots of veggies, or trying for three veggies a day and only one fruit after lunch). Then all of a sudden it's a month later and things seem to be so much easier!
Though now that I'm pregnant, things have definitely changed a bit, haha. No crazy sweet cravings thankfully, but soooo into salty it's kind of ridiculous. So again, just trying for little changes. Like, I did no soda in January to compensate for the extra bags of chips I ate with (almost) no guilt every week. And now, totally used to not drinking soda (seems so social anyway, like, everyone's getting coke, I guess I will too, don't want to be the weird girl drinking water), so will definitely keep that up for awhile.
Ummm, sorry this was kind of long! Future comments will be shorter, I promise. One sentence summary: little, manageable changes in what I eat seem to let me make bigger, maintainable changes in the long term.
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