Twelve Day No Flour, No Sugar August Update

So..after my last blog post on trying to increase the good carbs and cut out the bad carbs for August (Be sure to check it out if you missed it!), I had to do the hard job of actually getting it done. I really wanted to do a week one update, but life happened, and here we are already nearing the end of Week Two. I said already, so that means it must be going well since time flies when we’re having fun and all that right? How about..no! Time flies because it’s finite, and life is just busy, but it has not been an easy month sticking to this plan. Obviously ,it started off much more complex, but I needed to further simplify it to ensure I cut out the things I believe need to be eliminated the most at this stage. To me, these things are flour and sugar. Now, you need to understand that I am going from daily eating bread/roti/Crix (Brand of Trinidad Crackers), along with a 20oz Coca Cola, and at least one snack (Regulars being a Kiss Cake (Local version of the American Twinkie) or a Kit Kat Crunch) after lunch to stem those sugar cravings. This was on a regular day. On a bad or extremely stressful day, I’d probably have more of those things, and when the guy that puts up with me knew I had one of those days or just because, I’d be surprised not with flowers, but with the Triple Chocolate Cake from Haagen-Dazs, because well...I’m a fat kid at heart, and food makes me happy. Also, the women (and men who are around these women) will understand this…during that special time of the month, cravings are extra strong..cravings for everything, and the best thing to do is just to give those cravings whatever they want so you don’t end up yelling at an innocent person, or curling up in bed or on the floor in tears for no logical reason. I mean how else do you deal with irrational hormones? I haven’t figured out any other way yet. Sooo…the beginning of August coincided with this period for me. So here, on top of it being a shock to my system, it was a shock to my hormones that I was not bending to their will. Whether because of my diet or some bug in the air, I’ve also for the last week been feeling so run down (literally like someone has been alternating beating me up and running me over with a truck kinda run down). When it rains, it pours right. I’ve been exhausted, grumpy, constantly hungry, lacking motivation, and not very happy. Suffice to say, I’ve been miserable.

I’m all about motivation, and putting a positive spin on things and I am sure in time (that time being next month when I reintroduce these things into my diet), I will not have my mood controlled by what I’m not allowed to eat. Hell I’m sure..well that’s a strong sentiment, more like based on what people say, it can be assumed that in time, my body will no longer crave sugar. While it’s not giving up hard drugs, or alcohol, the saying that “sugar is crack” should not be discounted, because the withdrawal symptoms are very real. I’ve also had headaches (I will do an entire post about my lifetime of headache/migraine experience soon), which I again cannot pinpoint as it could be the diet, PMS, life, or just the universe having fun with me.

I love myself some wine..I think of it as a staple in my house...so, I am missing our bonding sessions. :(

Okay, so now that I’ve fully emphasised my trial, here are some facts about what I’ve been eating. For breakfast, I had either oats, fruits, a smoothie, eggs, or some combination of those things. Lunch/dinner was some combination of salad, brown rice (only a cup..I measured!), beans, chicken, potato, soup (without noodles or dumplings which are my favourite ingredient, but alas not allowed as it’s made with that blackballed flour!), vegetables, and I think that’s about it so far. For snacks when I was hungry, I had fruits, rice cakes with peanut butter, nuts, or a pack of plaintain chips. All I have been drinking has been water, coconut water, and watermelon juice (I just blend the watermelon and tada – yummy juice with no added sugar). There has been no juice, no soda, no alcohol. Oh, but there's been lots of tea..lipton, green tea, and so on, with a pack of Stevia sometimes.

Confession 1 – I have been to the movies, and had fries which obviously are not a great choice, but my rationale was it wasn’t flour which is what I was vehemently avoiding. I also had popcorn because if I couldn’t have popcorn, I probably wasn’t even going to the movies. Oooh…and both of those times my lovely date, who amusingly enough is quite in support of my diet change bought a lovely large Coke, which I had to enviously look at without having even a sip. To be fair, he asked if it was okay if he could have it knowing it would torture me, and I agreed (if grudgingly) because me giving up all these things is my choice. It’s my journey, and while I appreciate all the support, I’m not going to deny someone else what they want to make me comfortable. Well..I wouldn’t deny him the Coke..if it was cake, that was a hell no…a girl only has so much self restraint after all.

Confession 2 – I had an impromptu Haagen Dazs run with my co-workers where they had ice-cream (cries a little thinking about it, and those cookies and cakes in the display), and I had the smallest Sorbet. I had this Sorbet because I was told it does not contain any added sugar, and thus allowed in August. It sounded a bit fishy, but I didn’t research it then and I haven’t up to now, because the deed is done. However, it’s okay if one of you chooses to enlighten me otherwise, because while a sorbet is tolerable, it does not give me the happy feeling ice-cream does, and I don’t plan on having it for the remainder of the month anyways. :D

Guess which one was mine!? 

Another, more tempting situation was when we had a work event, which was centred around each of the invited companies developing and serving a shot. So, there were at least seven different shots to try, plus it was held at a bar, so the alcohol was aplenty. Now remember..Sasha is avoiding sugar. Alcohol has sugar. Shots have alcohol. So, Sasha had water..all night long. Now, I’m not a big drinker, especially in recent times, but sometimes I do want a drink, and I like shots (who doesn’t like shots?). I fast a few times a year for weeks at a time, which includes not partaking of any alcohol and I’m always fine with it, because it’s my choice to abstain at that time and I’m doing it for a good reason, a religious reason. This time however, work was long and tough (month end and I’m an accountant so expected), so I wanted a drink. It’s also harder to resist the urge to just give in and justify it as alcohol is fruits, etc. and not give in to the offers, and comments from actual people insisting and saying..it’s just one drink. But, sugar is the enemy, so I took pictures and videos of everyone shotting while sipping on my water.

I can admit that I have a huge block towards eating things I don’t currently like, and I need to change that and learn to like it. I’m in no way saying that I’m going to eat bland, tasteless food. I’m from the Caribbean, where everything is seasoned, and I’m Indian, so everything is also spicy, so flavours will always be a necessity in my meals. But..I need to learn to combine those flavours with the things I currently don’t love (spinach, kale, other greenness, etc.).

A major question – have I lost weight? Two pounds I believe. The scale always fluctuates for me. Do I consider this significant? No, because my clothes fit the same way. I feel less bloated, but again, being female means you’re bloated and fat one day, and absy(ish) the next, so it’s too soon to tell. I don’t have a weight goal, but I have a body and fitness goal. I haven’t physically put on more weight than when I was fitter and in the gym regularly, but I do know that I am fatter in the tummy area. So my theory is that since muscles weigh more than fat, the little muscles I had turned into fat. Either way…I’m on this road to creating a better me, and just moving forward, however slowly. This diet was supposed to go hand in hand with daily cardio, which in reality has so far been weekly cardio. So, this also needs to be corrected, but at least weekly cardio (like climbing up a steep hill cardio which I’ll discuss in another post), is better than no cardio.

I’m practically at the halfway mark, and it should feel easier, as the end is in sight, but it really doesn’t because it’s still a daily struggle. Now I’m counting down to the end like I’m going to just start back eating everything I’ve avoided for this month, and that’s not the case. I don’t plan on having Coke everyday. I know from past experience that anytime I have Coke two days consecutively, I crave it so badly every single day and I’ll be an addict once more, so I still need to limit it to once a week or less. The same goes with flour, and everything else. The goal is to limit the unhealthy stuff, but still enjoy everything in moderation. It’s a process. It’ll change as it goes along, but I need to get through this month to allow my body (and my mind) to understand that I don’t need these things. I need to fuel my body with good, healthy things that will make me stronger, help me focus, make me feel better overall and just help me to become a better person.

Have you ever cut things out from your life cold turkey? How was that experience? How did you get through it? Let me know. I can clearly use the motivation. I will always believe we’re better together, and can reach further by pushing each other to do better.

Did I mention on Day 1 - August 1st, we had a family lime, and my mother chose to order pepper roti, which is one of my weaknesses! I drooled a little, and might have even teared up a bit, but I resisted... 

Have a lovely week darlings. This #fairytalekindagirl is off to make some lists, and affirmations to ensure even though the diet stays the same, the attitude is better.

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