Little Choice

My friends, I have been nearly sugar free for about 5 and a half days--since Sunday morning.

By "nearly" sugar free I mean that I've been following a pretty strict eating plan until dinner, and then eating with my family. During the day I've been having:

• Breakfast: Smoothie made of protein powder, skim milk, flaxseed, fresh fruit, and ice
• Morning snack: chocolate soy milk and lowfat cottage cheese
• Lunch: salad with chicken and other veggies (cucumber, carrot, mushrooms, bell peppers) and an oil-based (not creamy) dressing
• Afternoon snack: handful of raw nuts, either walnuts or almonds
• Drinks: regular tea or water

And that's it! For dinner we've had pasta or last night was steak and asparagus. Monday night Keith made some spicy chicken wraps with lettuce and whole wheat tortillas. Tonight we're having turkey burgers on whole wheat buns with a side of sweet potato fries.

I'm not sure how long this will continue. Why am I doing it? Because I'm tired of feeling tired and without energy, and without control over my cravings. I know that I eat refined sugar all the time and that it needs to stop.

I've been saying this for a long time, and for some reason I actually did something about it on Sunday. I'm not really sure why it was different. Maybe it was the fact that we went out for pizza on Saturday night, and I inadvertently drank so much Coke that I felt ill? Or maybe it's the fact that Eleanor now points to my can/bottle/glass and says, "Coke!" and wants to drink what Mommy's drinking, instead of her milk or water.

On the other hand, I have tried to eat better before and failed. Will this time be any different? One difference that might work in my favorite is, oddly enough, that it is so strict. Never before have I tried to cut out refined sugar; I've just said that I won't drink pop (but I'll still eat Oreos), or tried to reduce my overall calorie consumption.

I felt miserable for the first few days. I didn't feel deprived; I've rarely been physically hungry. But I had headaches and felt more tired and achy than ever. I'm doing better today, but I still don't feel great. Where is the boundless energy and enthusiasm that is supposed to come with quitting sugar?!? I'm waiting!

I need some kind of reinforcement to convince me to keep eating like this. I hope to stick with it for at least another week, and hopefully by then I'll start feeling the positive effects instead of just the negative effects of sugar withdrawal.

I've said so many times that I wanted to eat healthier—just be a healthier person in general. We'll see if I'm ready to take that plunge or not!