30-Day Sugar Free Mentality

Yesterday I started on a 30-day sugar free challenge, which is not as extreme as it sounds (I initially thought that it was going to be!). As I am studying it and putting it into practice; I am learning that my current diet is not far off from this, and it's just a matter of eliminating a few non-useful items, getting rid of processed foods, and temporarily taking away a couple of my regular foods (to be added back in after 30-days). This journey for me is for a health reason (nothing's wrong; I just want to be at my best!). Also I want to gain a better understanding about eating sugar free in order to share with others.


After watching the 60-minutes special from April 1, 2012, "Is Sugar Toxic?" it became clear to me that this was something I wanted to understand better. Sugar in the diet (whether apparent or hidden) may be a contributing factor to heart disease and type 2 diabetes. My personal question for myself is, how much will going sugar free affect me? If it's a strong effect, to me that means that there is too much hidden sugar in the diet. Not a dietitian, but this just seems logical to me!


Originally the plan was to start this journey after my trip to Puerto Rico this week, but procrastination is a failure disease, so yesterday was the day! The reason I am blogging this, is because it will keep me accountable while away. My plan is not to obsessive about being sugar-free while, but to be conscious.

Knowing that my good friend, Stefanie, is also doing the sugar-free challenge (and is 2 weeks in and feeling great!), it's incentive to keep on track. Always good to have a support system!

Day one went great. Already a lesson was learned! It was a busy day; I had about 45-minutes in the middle of the day to grab lunch. Popping into The Fresh Market, where my go-to grab-and-go is a panini or sushi, I knew today that wouldn't be an option. There is a delicious salad there that is spinach, berries, feta and walnuts with an all natural balsamic vinegar. Perfect. Usually when I go in there, I have rationalized that the panini is a better choice because, it's a dollar less and it has more calories which can be split into a meal and a snack. I have always viewed the salad as expensive, but yesterday when I got to the register, I thought, "wait..this is only $7." Ha! What a rationalization prior!


Now it's not like I never order salad, or that I eat a panini everyday, but this made me think about little choices and little rationalizations that maybe I make everyday. One to ponder. The salad was delicious, and I felt good eating it. Part of it was that I had picked it with a purpose, rather than a random choice on a random day, based on what looked good.

View 3 recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, sugar free on my food blog!

In health & prosperity,
Monica