Wednesday, July 25, 2012

If Sugar is the Devil... Then I was Surely Headed to Hell

I am pretty sure this is what the devil looks like!
It’s been a long time since I blogged... last year when I was training for the Augusta Half Ironman I wanted to share the ups and downs, but there were so many, I lost control of time.  This year, I am determined to keep more control,  fit in as many workouts as I can and share some of the successes and challenges.  If I did have time to write last year, I might have complained here and there about the weight gain.  Yep.  I gained a few pounds while swimming, biking and running.  And it wasn’t muscle.  Unless muscle settles in your rear end!

How??  Well, I recognize one thing I didn’t do last year was focus on my diet.  I worked on my nutrition while I was biking and running, but never focused on the rest of the day.  Once upon a time I thought if I was  working my tail off,  I’d be able to indulge.  I know I am not alone because you’ve seen  those shirts -- I run for wine/beer/chocolate...  But for me, that theory just isn’t working well.

So with the recommendation from a Facebook friend who amazingly transformed herself - I’ve started to do some serious reading.  And guess what?  Sugar is the devil.  This isn’t news to me.  Not at all.  I’ve been told I need to cut sugar and carbs several times -- and the thought alone made me quiver.  I’d almost get angry at the thought of it!  But last week, something clicked.  Call it an Aha! moment.  And the thought of not pushing myself to be as healthy as I can reasonably be depresses me.  Why would I not at least try?

I hesitated to write about this, because I am just starting this journey.  And it is going to be done in baby steps.  Not sure how far I will get, but already I am starting to feel better by making different choices.  I still ate a Little Debbie Zebra Cake the other night -- definitely the devil’s spawn!  And there will be wine and coffee in my present and future, but maybe fewer mojitos and more glasses of herbal tea.  

Even though I don’t carbo load on bagels and pasta daily, or eat cookies and cake every day -- I consume far more sugar than I realized.  Fat free milk has 12g of sugar per glass - the same as a serving of fat free Fig Newtons!  And a serving of Zebra Cakes - 32g!  I only had one and I wondered how they fit 16g of sugar into two bites!  Basically, from everything I have read, you should aim for less than 5g of sugar per serving. (And probably stick to one serving!) That Zebra Cake just wasn’t worth it.

Have you cut sugar from your diet and seen results?  What’s your motivation?  Like I said, I am taking baby steps.  I have a lot of devilish behaviors, and some I actually need to correct!


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