Day 5 - Friday May 16th
It is definitely a fight with myself after I finish lunch each day. As I'm taking that last bite of lunch, my brain just goes to that craving for something sweet, and I know I want it. Even gum. SOMETHING sweet.
I have caught myself reaching for gum at least 4 times today, just as that substitute for something sweet, I think. If I keep having gum (or sugar-free jello, or diet coke, or other fake-sugary things), even as a place-filler for desserts, it's not going to help the problem. I'm starting to see why they say artificial sweeteners can be AS bad for you as real sugar - it satisfies that sugar craving, while not totally satisfying it, and makes you want to go back for more and more sweets. I really feel like I'm in the process of breaking that cycle now, though.
Progress!
My therapist told me it takes 90 days to break a habit. Having a little treat, even something tiny, after I eat lunch and dinner, is such a habit for me that I think my body knows what it wants before my brain even does! Breaking this habit is going to be tough, that's for sure - since sometimes, or often times, that one little sweet for dessert perpetuates the need for more sweets! For now, I'm sticking with it, and desserts will be had with much less frequency.
Sigh.
9:00pm
I made fro yo! Without ANY sugar or sweetener. Nothing. And it was DELICIOUS! My first sugar-free dessert was a total success.
Since it was eyeballed, I don't have an exact recipe. But more or less, here's what I did:
3/4 frozen banana
3-4 frozen strawberries
~1/3c nonfat greek yogurt
~1 Tbsp almond butter (the kind that is just made with raw almonds)
Put in Cuisinart. Mix. Voila!
(This is the only pic I got before I ate all of it. YUM. I know the color looks weirdly pinkish brown but that's the lighting... it's really just pink!)
I may try the same thing with greek yogurt, banana, a larger quantity of almond butter, and some cocoa powder for a chocolate peanut butter kind of thing!
Day 6 - Saturday May 17th
I feel like I'm starting to break the dessert habit. Over at A's house today, I had dinner, and didn't feel the need to scrounge around his kitchen looking for something for dessert. So that was nice! Even though I said I'd allow myself dessert on the weekends, the opportunity didn't come up today, and I didn't feel like I needed it! PROGRESS.
I also made a delicious brunch after a long run:
Avo Egg, Sweet Potato/Bell Pepper Hash, Fruit Salad with Part-Skim Ricotta, Vegetarian Refried Beans
Day 7 - Sunday May 18th
Today was a good day. My choir had a concert, and it went well! My mom, sister, brother, and family friend came for lunch, and we went to LYFE kitchen, which I wrote about previously here!
They went to CREAM (another favorite) to get some gluten-free treats... and amazingly, I just stuck with my abstinence from sugar plan, and didn't have anything. No arguing with myself about it. It's really nice to not have to deal with that whole dialogue, honestly - it's much easier to just say no to the sugar.
As I have to figure out how, after these two sugar-free weeks, I'm going to do things, I've discovered this week that I might need some solid rules for myself that I can follow, that are not up for compromise. It will make it much less exhausting for me to say, for instance, I can have dessert twice per week - one dessert, not multiple sugary/snacky items - rather than debating with myself for whatever amount of time about whether that dessert I want fits in my plan or not. I'm coming up with some rules that are mine, not part of some diet that someone else devised, but just mine that I can follow, that will work for me. After this, I think that's what I'm going to need!
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