The 'Towards a Sugar-Free Future' Challenge

hazeldreams

Morning all,

Apologies for not posting very often, I do read every day and I've been so impressed with your efforts to up the protein, that I joined in myself yesterday. I managed 63.5g of protein, which is apparently 91% of my recommended daily amount, and guess what....didn't even miss the chocolate! So another CFD in the bag for me (only 3 so far this month but 3 more than normal!)

Sending soothing thoughts to your swollen and sore ankle @Honey_Bear. Sounds like you do need to take it easy for a bit. Well done cookie for avoiding the brownies...they are a weakness of mine!

cookie02

Good morning!  Honey_Bear, thanks for your words of encouragement and all your support, I really appreciate it ⭐️. I am also very grateful for this thread, it continues to make a huge difference.  I have been increasing my protein and it helped me to get through yesterday sugar-free!  Today, I had an egg, toast and a mini cheese for breakfast and I haven't felt hungry at all.  I will be having lentils for lunch and I'm hoping that will keep me going this afternoon.  Sorry to hear that your foot and ankle are still hurting - I hope you manage to get some rest and that you will be feeling better soon.  Well done on managing the biscuits!  I know that I would use the ankle as an excuse to indulge so I've been really impressed by your self-restraint!  

Hazel, congratulations on achieving the three CFDs so far 🏅.   It all adds up!  It's good to see that this focus on protein is helping us.  

How is everyone?  

Honey_Bear

Thank for that Hazel, the ankle isn't as grim today because I've realised the two things that are making life painful are walking too much, and putting pressure on the ball of the foot.  I can hobble about quite a bit if I avoid those two things so I'm being parsimonious with my paces.  Annoying but I can live with it for a bit longer if it helps the ankle heal.  I'm not sure why I've got pain where the foot was supposed to be undamaged but I'm hoping to be able to ask a few questions next week at the Fracture Clinic, when I'm due to be discharged.  I was told it would be a year before things were back to as normal as they ever would be but it's all a bit odd.

I disgraced myself yesterday but I blame the raffle prize of a box of M@lte3ers I won on Saturday.  And I should have stopped for lunch at about 3pm because it's not as if I don't know I always get peckish for something sweet at 3.30. 

Any and all sugar-free days are a complete victory and any at this time of year when it's cold, wet, grey and windy are harder than the summer sunshine ones, so Kudos to you!  Doing this Challenge, even if it's only a day here and there, has made me so much more conscious of the sugar habit I'd developed of basically thinking I was being virtuous if I ever denied myself those impulses!  Three days is three days.  Well done.

Today I've been a lot more self-disciplined and would really struggle to eat the date bar I'm carrying around with me at the moment, so things have improved on that front.

The protein thing is working in terms of not getting sugar cravings if I eat some proper protein three times a day, but it's not helping with the leg problem which is annoying.  Maybe I need to learn to be a bit more patient all round.  Anyway, no sugar today so I feel good about that.

cookie02

Well done for yesterday, Honey_Bear!  I also managed another sugar-free day so I'm happy about that.  Today, I haven't been craving sugar but I have temptation in the house thanks to my family deciding that we need to test a lot of Christmas goodies.  I'm reminded of Jazee and the mince pie testing last year .   I'm hoping to get through the rest of the evening sugar-free but I'm not sure that there's any amount of protein that will save me this weekend! That will be entirely down to my love for sugar vs any kind of hunger.  I think it was Pollybear that said that this sugar/chocolate addiction doesn't really have much to do with feeling hungry and more to do with the fact that we just love sugar/chocolate.  That is definitely the case for me and I will be enjoying the test cookies and cakes this weekend... 

Hope you are feeling better today, Honey_Bear.  How is everyone?  I hope you've been successful with your goals this week.  Baby steps!  We're all improving and that's what counts .  

Honey_Bear

I was fine yesterday until Belovéd got home from the thing he's doing this week.  In his lunchbox were two chocolate things that someone else had baked because it was her birthday, and he very kindly thought to bring one home for me.  *sigh*  But at least I stopped at that one thing.

Congratulations on being good yesterday Cookie.  It's just hard at this time of year.  However, the good news is I'm pretty sure we're eating less than we would have done without this Challenge so let's just be happy about that, shall we?

Makingabobor2

Well done to all of you that have had good days. I think we are all struggling a bit at the moment. I suppose if it was easy for all of us, we wouldn't be on this thread in the first place.  Well, we are away for a few days, so you can imagine how my sugar free days are going....rubbish!  We have cakes from a lovely cake shop in the local town, chocolate (although it is 85% dark chocolate) and worst of all, yesterday we went round the local market and there was an Italian stall selling the most amazing almond flavoured cakes & biscuits. All I can say is its a good job we only have one day left. I will try and be extra good once DH is back at work and things are back to normal. 

Honey_Bear

Making, I'm entirely with you on that.  At least, as I've said before, we're now all much more aware than we used to be about eating sweet 'treats' rather than just guiltily eating them and feeling out of control and ashamed of it.  I'm now fully aware of what I'm doing and why, which I didn't know or understand 18 months ago.  I can foresee the danger points int he future and do soemthing about them which I couldn't before.

Friends arrived out of the blue yesterday to do me a favour, so I invited them in and made them coffee.  Two hours later they left.  What they didn't know was that I'd been on my feet all morning and badly needed to rest, which resulted in me being very over-tired later when I was pulling the evening meal together.  I had a m@gnum.  I absolutely know I get the sugar-munchies and indulge with chocolate when I'm over-tired, and I'm never going to complain about friends helping out but I'd resisted everything all day yesterday and was really proud of myself ... until 9.30.  That's pm, not am!

I have to admit almost every day I find the thought, 'I don't want to have to admit this on the Sugar thread.  I know, I'll just skip and skim over it.  No-one will ever know.'  And the next morning I always think, 'What's the point of doing this Challenge if I'm not willing to be honest?  I'll know, so the idea that 'No-one' will know isn't true, is it. 

The fact that you all contribute keeps me on the straight and narrow.  Thank you.

Honey_Bear

I'm not a fan of this particular newspaper but this article appeared today.  I think we've managed to work most of this out for ourselves, and found a slightly more effective way of limiting our intake in a way he clearly hasn't suggested - by cutting down gradually.  Dieting and denial just don't work on their own, something else has to be thrown into the mix to change things in the longer term and between us we've come up with a lot more suggestions than he has, I'm pleased to say, although there's nothing he's suggesting that's new to us. 

Late Friday afternoon and evening were a bit self-indulgent after a stressy afternoon.  I'd rather I'd left the M@lte3ers where they were on the shelf but at least I didn't finish them.  After dinner we opened a new box of Ch0c0c0 chocolates because Belovéd had a yearning for some soft-centered fruit ones - which fortunately for us I don't like much whoever makes them - and he'd more than 'earned' a treat this week.  And it was Friday, after all. 

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Pollybear

I read this article earlier and agreed with most of it.  Nice in a way to confirm it's an addiction even if that doesn't help me control it.  I never found the whole swap milk chocolate for dark worked for me.  I hate dark chocolate but that wouldn't stop me eating the whole bar even while pulling faces!  There's no one answer for everybody.

Some good and some bad days this week which have probably balanced each other out.  It's been a busy and messy week so hopefully things will calm down again soon.  Nothing wrong with me, just helping out family who are having problems.  I want to help but now I'm 70 I don't have so much stamina either mentally or physically.

cookie02

I hope you enjoyed your break, Making.  High Days and Holidays get you a free pass!  I find it tough getting back on the sugar-free wagon after holidays - and even after the weekend, sometimes!  Good luck for this week and just remember that all progress counts

Honey_Bear, you did really well with just the M@gnum but I share your frustration with making it all the way to 9.30pm before breaking.  I have a horrible feeling this may happen to me today as I've been sugar-free so far but I am very tempted to have something. 

Pollybear, as someone that would eat whole packets of biscuits that I don't particularly like, I understand how you would eat that dark chocolate anyway.  I don't think sugar addiction is the most rational thing (maybe that applies to addictions in general). I hope you have a calmer week ahead and that things improve for your family.  

This week, my goal is to try to at least get to Thursday evening sugar-free.  We've got the day off and will be meeting with friends on Friday.  I would love to stay sugar-free until Friday evening but there may be some kind of coffee and cake involved earlier in the day...

Hope all of you are having a great start to the week.  Good luck with your goals!