The 'Towards a Sugar-Free Future' Challenge

hazeldreams

Honey_Bear said:

 

Hazel Dreams I think you're right about not having your lunch at your desk.  We used to have a lot of French and Italian scientists staying here for a few weeks at a time while they were working at local marine science labs and they were all absolutely appalled by the fact that it was normal in the UK to a) eat sandwiches for lunch, and b) that English people eat at their desks.  I used to do that at work and I think it was, on reflection, not a good choice because I never really switched off from work at all.  Ironically I worked for several years in a hospital where there was a very good, affordable staff and visitors restaurant but I eshewed it because I was too lazy to get up off my butt and walk to it.  Given my time there again I would do as one of my favourite colleagues did every day - go for a walk after eating a proper lunch.  On rainy days she walked around the massive hospital and knew it better than anyone else as a result!  If you can filll up on fruit and do a bit of yoga as well as changing your desk lunch habit I hope you see and feel really quick results. 

So here are today's wins;

- I ate lunch in the staff room (I did look at my phone but I became conscious of it and put it away)
- I went for a walk around the shops straight after I ate my lunch.
- I got in more veg into my meals today than yesterday
- I had just one decal coffee all day and loads of herbal teas and water
- I did an hour of body balance at the gym and feel super relaxed and calm after it

Today's not so gone wells...
- the racer bar set off my cravings and on the walk round the shops I bought 2 chocolate bars and scoffed both of them. My thought pattern was something like... "you'll regret not buying choc when you're back at your desk....you've ruined today having that racer bar anyway" In addition, someone today said I didn't need to lose weight and you have to have something in your life, especially as I'm not drinking. This was just another green light excuse for me to over indulge.
- after my healthy tea tonight, I had another racer bar. My thought patten was very much..."well you've ruined it now anyway, start again tomorrow"

I'll never give up trying, but my god it's draining to constantly do the thing that you don't want to do. And to add to this I'm really, really worrying about my health and the effect that the levels of sugar that I'm consuming are having on it. 

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day.

Night all!

Hazel x

cookie02

Well, what a difference timing makes... I typed this morning but didn't get a chance to finish and post.  Yesterday, I was sugar-free and I started today with good intentions but I ended the day with two slices of cake.  Yes, Honey_Bear, I thoroughly enjoyed them, as well as my crazy Sunday sugar 😉.  This means that I won't hit my sugar-free goal for this week but I hope to still make it sugar-free through the next couple of days,  

Hazeldreams, I agree with Honey_Bear, eating away from your desk makes a difference and I've also found that it reminds me to move a bit more.  

Honey_Bear, 'it's not as bad as it used to be' is a good mantra to have and a great reminder of all the progress we're making thanks to this challenge!  I think I can apply it to today's cake slices as they were much, much smaller than what I'd have eaten before.  

Pollybear, well done for being so restrained yesterday and today (and for knowing what will set you off with the sugar).  

cookie02

Today was going so well until I found myself face-to-face with chocolate this evening and I caved immediately.  It was only a small amount of chocolate (the size of a square of D@airy Mi!k) but I was a bit disappointed about it.  I did enjoy it though!

How is everyone getting on this week?  

hazeldreams

Morning all,

This week has all been about the 'learns' for me!

I've learned;

- just how ingrained this sugar addiction/habit is but also just how much I want to kick it once and for all!
- how the inflammation from the sugar is highly likely to be causing inflammation in my body which is why I keep getting aches and pains everywhere. I'm also beginning to think that the recent increase in allergies I'm experiencing is linked to it too (I have a persistent tickly cough that just will not go)
- that my trigger times are at around 9am and 1pm. I've made a plan to drink a ton of water at these times and distract myself by listening to a podcast/audiobook until the craving passes.

I'll report back later with how I got on!

Have a lovely day all,

Hazel x

Honey_Bear

That's most unlike you Cookie!  You're normally so disciplined during the week.  It must have been a particularly tempting piece of chocolate but I am nonetheless really impressed that you stopped at one.  That's not something I can manage most of the time, so well done.

Hazel Dreams I find that if the cravings are really strong that sometimes I need substitutes that satisfy my need for something sweet but don't contravene the 'added sugar' rule.  My go to substitutions are:

- peanut butter toast with a pinch of salt, or

- date and cocoa bars from L!d1 but I also believe there are identical but slightly more expensive ones from n@k3d that are very good, or

- 2 dried figs.

They work for me but you might find something else works better for you. 

When the cravings are really strong because sugar is as much a habit as possibly an addiction, will power alone just doesn't cut it for me.  I don't think I could have given up booze if I hadn't found a drink that satisfied my need for something slightly sour to go with my evening meal which was when I found the habit and urge most difficult to counteract.

Surprisingly I made it through yesterday without giving in but it's no thanks to me.  We're out of biscuits and Belovéd had been out in the afternoon and came home a bit shattered, so when I asked if he could go and raid the chocolate tin, which I can't reach, he said he was too tired to stand up.  That was the end of that!  So, my first sugar free day although I had both figs and a date bar easily to hand so they got me through.  I'm not entitled to feel a bit chuffed with myself but I absolutely do!

hazeldreams

Well done Honey_Bear, you should feel chuffed with yourself! I'd have got a chair and stood on that to reach the chocolate tin!

I'm so pleased to report a no chocolate day!!!! First one in forever! 

I know what worked too, which is even better! 

1. I wrote out on a post-it, the effect that sugar has on my body and stuck it on my laptop. I wrote "the sugar is causing the pains and the cough" (I've developed allergy as I've got older and I swear its the inflammation from sugar and other poor dietary habits) and I kept looking at it every time I got a craving
2. I took thermos flasks of hot water into my office so I didn't need to get up from my desk to make a hot drink. This stopped me looking for something to go with my drink. I drink a lot of herbal tea so I didn't need to bother with milk etc. It also meant I only had one decaf coffee yesterday! Every time I thought about chocolate I just made another hot drink. It really worked!
3. OH has (under my instruction) re-hidden the chocolate so I'll never find it. Fingers crossed that'll stay that way!
4. I had a freezer meal for tea which felt like a treat. There may have been added sugar in this (I didn't look) but I've decided for now, I just need to break the chocolate habit. Once I've cracked this, I'll move onto all added sugar being cut.

Thanks everyone for this thread and your help and kind words. I feel like I'm making progress for the first time in years!

Hazel x

Honey_Bear

hazeldreams said:

Well done Honey_Bear, you should feel chuffed with yourself! I'd have got a chair and stood on that to reach the chocolate tin!

I'm so pleased to report a no chocolate day!!!! First one in forever! 

I know what worked too, which is even better!

Woooooohooooooo!  Massively well done on the No Chocolate Day Hazel!  The first one is absolutely the hardest because you don't think you can do it.  After that I wouldn't go so far as to say it's easy but at least you know it can be done and that makes a lot of difference.  Lack of confidence stops us from achieving our full potential far much more than lack of ability.  You've absolutely got this. 

Working out what triggers you into eating sugary things and chocolate is incredibly helpful because it means you've now got something to build on, and the more strategies you have in your armoury the easier the future will be.  I can see great things for you on this journey. 

On a personal level I'm just really, really pleased for you as well.

As for the chair business to reach the chocolate - right now I can't because I've got a broken ankle and my lower right leg is still in plaster following surgery about six weeks ago (exactly six weeks ago this coming Sunday, actually).  I'm supposed to keep it elevated above hip height most of the time, so standing up isn't on my recommended list of activities right now.  I can, given enough time and by clinging on to various bits of furniture get upright and to the chocolate tin if I really, really want to but I think it's stupid to risk toppling over and I'm not even sure there's any of the chocolate I really want left in it so it could be a wasted effort as well.  I fell over using a Zimmer-type frame and felt so unsafe using crutches I haven't touched them since I got home from the Minor Injuries Unit the day I broke my ankle.  Without the plaster I could probably use both but the weight of the plaster is enough to destablize me and that can lead to a fall which is the last thing I want, or even worse - putting weight on the broken ankle.  So, I've found another way to resist chocolate but I'll skip it next time given a choice - break your ankle!

So, today has been another sugar and chocolate free day so far but I have every intention of having a m@gnum tonight.  It's Friday and (almost) two days sugar-free this week until then is a lot better than I've been doing for the past couple of months.  That'll do for me this week.

This weekend we have an old friend coming to stay who's doing a 'Tour de Moor' bike race so food will be planned and eaten around his preferences.  I don't like the dessert I know both chaps want - home grown rhubarb and pear crumble - I like growing them and I've eaten a ton of pears this year but rhubarb is just *yuk*.  Belovéd loves it and crumble is our guest's favourite which means more m@gnums for me - yay!

cookie02

Good morning!  Congratulations on the No Chocolate Day, Hazel! 🏅 Honey_Bear, it's so true that the first day is the hardest, I remember that well.  After that, I think it is getting the first day back after a prolonged lapse (like what happened to me earlier this year when I had several weeks where I just couldn't seem to make it!).  

Hazel, that idea about the post-it note is a really good one, thank you.  It reminded me of a tip that Honey_Bear posted about some research that said suggested putting a small mirror (eg like those compact stick-on ones) on your cupboards or wherever the temptation lies.  Apparently, there was some kind of experiment that showed that this made people think more about whether they actually wanted to eat.  I have a tiny sticker in the kitchen (it's not a mirror as that would end badly!) and it does act as a reminder to me to think about whether I really want to go ahead with eating the cake/biscuit/chocolate.  I might try putting a post-it note on my laptop or near my desk during the week.  

Honey_Bear said:

So, today has been another sugar and chocolate free day so far but I have every intention of having a m@gnum tonight.  It's Friday and (almost) two days sugar-free this week until then is a lot better than I've been doing for the past couple of months.  That'll do for me this week.

Well done, Honey_Bear and I hope you enjoyed your m@gnum! 🏅 

Sugar-wise, this week, I managed two days (Monday and *Friday*!) vs my goal of 4.75.  I'm not sure what my triggers were but I'm happy that I didn't lose my sugary mind so, while I had sugar, it was in small amounts.  

Honey_Bear said:

That's most unlike you Cookie!  You're normally so disciplined during the week.  It must have been a particularly tempting piece of chocolate but I am nonetheless really impressed that you stopped at one.  That's not something I can manage most of the time, so well done.

Thank you, Honey_Bear!  This was a slightly funny moment as we were having family dinner and the chocolates were being passed around.  Normally, my family skips me (at my request) so temptation doesn't head my way.  This time, all of us forgot and I'd taken the chocolate and had it halfway to my mouth before we all remembered 😂 .  I can't claim this as another one of my 'accidental sugar' incidents as I definitely realised and actively chose to go ahead and eat it (and it was great 😋).  

I had a chocolate bar yesterday which is fine as it's the weekend.  I wasn't in a sugary mood though and I skipped dessert last night.  Today, we're heading out shortly and will be having lunch locally.  Right now, the sugar gremlins are quiet but it is the weekend so I'll have dessert if there's anything I like the look of.  We'll be back home for dinner and my aunt will be joining us and staying until tomorrow as we are on her way to the hospital where she's due too have a check-up on her knee.  One of us will be taking her in the morning so I've already got healthy snacks planned as I'd like to stay sugar-free tomorrow.  

Have a great day, everyone! 

hazeldreams

Morning all,

Thanks for all the encouragement! I'm pleased to say I did another chocolate-free day off the back of the first too!

The last few days haven't been as good but I'm just really chuffed I'm off the starting blocks!

Have a good Monday everyone!

Hazel x

Honey_Bear

Massively well done Hazel on achieving a second day - you've cracked this now, you know you really can do this, the first one wasn't a fluke and that bodes well for the future.  The first step on any journey is the one that takes the courage because we're all always a little hesitant when it comes to self-discipline:  'I don't want to give up this (guilty) pleasure,' 'I'm not sure I can do this so I'd rather not try so I don't have to rack up a fail' and so on - all the excuses we give ourselves.  You know you can do this for sure, and we're all here to cheer you on.  Good to have you with us.

It doesn't sound as though your weekend was excessive Cookie, even if last week wasn't completely smooth sailing.  We all get weeks (in my case months it seems sometimes) but that's why we're here.  If it were easy it wouldn't be a Challenge.  As long as we enjoy the indulgences if we're going to slip up, and overall we're eating less sugar than we used to I reckon it's all good. 

Let's not forget going out with friends is a High Day regardless of the day of the week - I don't ever want to be the killjoy that implicitly puts my friends and relatives to shame by being faintly saintly by denying myself a pleasure when we're with them.  If I don't want a dessert I won't have one but it won't be because I don't think I should and tell everyone that I'm being a martyr to the cause. 

I asked Belovéd for the chocolate tin on Saturday, pretty sure it was devoid of milk chocolate which I was right about, so I decided to try the L!dl Fair Trade 70% plain, which I really bought not to eat but to make brownies with.  They do say if you want to cut down on chocolate you should go for 70% minimum and you'll find you eat far less and for the first time ever in my case - it was true!  I had about one third of the bar, so 65g and I stopped because I'd had enough.  That's a first!  I'm absolutely delighted.  The trouble is, I know I still prefer the milk chocolate and the salted caramel one from L!dl in particular but I know that if I have that in the house I'll indulge so it's a good thing I can't get to the shops at the moment to restock.  Anyway, I've found a new way of limiting myself and I'm very relieved about that.

The weekend was pretty abstemious for me so I'm hoping today won't be too hard getting back into the swing of things. 

Belovéd and I have just taken a lateral flow test *yuk* as we both have a sore throat and cough and I so desparately want to keep the Fracture Clinic appointment on Wednesday but know it would be unfair to everyone if we went in there with C19.  At 27 minutes it's clear, so I'm mightily relieved.  I can't wait to get back on my feet again. 

How you doing Polly Bear?