Stomach Ache

I am still on the no sugar boat. But, I'm having some disturbing trouble now. My stomach has been aching the last few days and I have had some really nasty smelling gas. Yeah. Gross. I did some research and apparently pretty much any symptom is normal with sugar withdrawal. I'm still on board, and I'm still motivated, but I am so curious why on earth my stomach is hurting. I'm literally wondering if maybe there are little bacterias that used to feed off of sugar and now they are dying because they have nothing to eat. Haha. Mrs. Frizzle would know.

Day one

I have officially gone more than 24 hours with no sugar. It's hard! I am so surprised how many times I thought (dreamed) about having some chocolate. I'm guessing that before I never realized how much it crossed my mind without taking that thought into account and just diving right into my stash.

Sugar

I've been thinking about trying to live without sugar for a year.

It would be something that on paper I literally CAN do.

So why not? Why not try to do something that would be difficult for me that is not going to cost a weekly membership (money) or any large amount of extra time (both of which I am constantly running low on), but would most likely be so rewarding to my health?

Thoughts have come into my head that are discouraging me from it- like, can I REALLY live without chocolate? Or, can I really stop eating so many granola bars? (< but they're healthy!)

I tried to get outside of my head and look large scale....

Yes.

I don't NEED sugar. I don't NEED chocolate.

I am addicted. When I am in a stressful situation I look to food for a relief. The other day I locked the kids in the van. Once I got them out, in bed for naps, and had a moment to take a breath, I realized I had eaten half a bar of chocolate during that whole ordeal. Like half of one of those huge bars that you buy for your family to share for a week.

I started looking into a plan today. I think I'm convincing myself that I should do it, but I want to have some boundaries lined up. I know sugar wears multiple masks, but I feel uneducated on what is actually ok. Do I cut out fruit juice? Even from my juicer? Do I cut out honey? What do I do when I'm invited to someone's house for dinner that is making spaghetti?

So here are some things I would like to start researching:

• What are the affects of sucrose, fructose, and glucose on my body? 
• Would using a glucometer be helpful in determining what foods are ok for my body? (I'm thinking specifically with fruit). 
• What about alcohol? Kombucha? 
• How could I include our boys in this, and would it at all be harmful to them to eliminate any of these sweeteners? 

Minimalist

I had this AHA! moment a few days back that’s been impacting for a while now.

I broke down the other day and messaged some friends for some emotional support. I’ve been feeling so frustrated with not having time for all my priorities. Like important priorities! Steffen, Waylon, Charles, health, making nutritious meals, friendships, finances, housekeeping… you know. I was thankful to my trusty friends that all pretty much said this: you can’t do it all.

I hate hearing that. But it’s true.

Fast forward a few days.

I was listening to The Minimalists podcast and they had a question come in about priorities. One of the guys said that so many people say they have all these priorities but yet their lives don’t reflect it.

Woah!

I looked at my own list and was hit in the face. I have been saying for the last three years that health is my priority, but really, is it? How is it obvious that it’s my priority? Am I actually limiting and controlling food that goes in my mouth? Am I making time to exercise? Am I removing things from my life that are inhibiting me from reaching my health goals?

I sat down and journaled a little bit and created two lists: 1) what I say my priorities are, and 2) what the recent past reveals my priorities are.  I am mostly proud of what my priorities are, especially since I truly think most days reflect a huge effort of time to prioritize my boys and my husband. But after making those lists, I realized that I definitely don’t make health a priority, and social media is taking up space where time for exercise or meal prep could be.

So, action plan:

• Maybe wake up an hour before the boys and do a quick work out three times a week?
• Minimize social media browsing to one time slot per day, like maybe just before bed or something.
• Remember my mantra:  “Every day I have the choice to prioritize my health by controlling what goes in my mouth.”