DAY 101

Today was a momentous day. Day 101. 100 days ago I decided to go 100 days no/low sugar. At the time I thought, "I can do anything for 100 days." I don't think I realized how long 100 days really is. :)

So, here are some Frequently Asked Questions that people asked me when they found out I was doing this:
#1: Why? (spoken in a 'why would anyone ever do that to themselves' tone of voice):
It all started when I was reading the book The Peacegiver by James Ferrell. It helped me to understand and look at the Atonement in a whole new way. I had been struggling to have self control when it came to sweets and I felt a great deal of shame that the Savior could do what he did, and I couldn't even control my appetite. So I decided to honor the Savior's offering by offering Him one of my greatest struggles. Which leads us to question #2..

#2: Has it been hard?
I had heard that the first two weeks would be the hardest, but because of my motivation as mentioned in answer #1, the first couple weeks weren't that tough. Day #8 was my first hard day, and I got through it pretty easy. Then came Day #13...and #17 and #18 and #19... The third and fourth week about killed me. I had lost the edge of my motivation by that point and I think it was around that time that I realized just how long 100 days really was. So, yes, it was hard for a while. But then once I got past those rough weeks, the cravings went away and it was easy to say no.

#3: Have you missed anything?
YES. Today I celebrated with Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and chocolate licorice. I am going to make chocolate chip applesauce cookies tomorrow, and I can't wait to have a huge ice cream cone. I chose to do this at the wrong time of year. I started two days after Valentine's Day, so I missed the left over Valentine's Candy, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, our fifth anniversary, MY BIRTHDAY, six birthday parties for family members, and several Enrichment & ward activities. Actually, I probably picked the perfect time of the year to do this! :)

#4: Will I do it again?
Yes. But I think I would make some changes. First, I would make it for a shorter time period. One month to 6 weeks would be more manageable for me. I need deadlines, and I need more instant gratification so 100 days was a little too long. I would also allow myself one-two 'vacation' days for those special occasions. The sugar free apple spice cake I had for my birthday was good, but I would have preferred chocolate!

#5: Have you lost any weight?
Yes! The grand total is 15 pounds!! Seeing the numbers on the scale go down was a big motivator.



I wanted to make this experience more than a test of endurance and denial. I wanted it to be a life style change. So here were my general rules that I will continue to follow beyond day 100 along with a few random thoughts.
1. Avoid added sugar: If the label on the side of the box read >8g of sugar, I didn't eat it. Fruits and stuff with natural sugar was fine. (I tried to have less than 40 g of added sugar per day).
2. Eat more protein for breakfast. I read somewhere that eating protein at breakfast helped curb the appetite for sugar. So I ate more eggs, ham, oatmeal, bacon, lunch meat, etc. Just whatever we had in the house.
3. Hunger between meals: I had to drink a full glass of water before letting myself eat anything. Then I would choose between fruits and pretzels or some other healthy snack. I made sure to always have healthy snacks on hand (and we emptied the cupboards of sugary stuff--just ask my family that visited --they had to provide their own treats :)
4. A chart: The chart was huge for me. I made a chart with 100 squares, and each day that I was successful, I colored in the square. Very motivating to see those boxes fill up! I told myself that if I ate sugar then I had to start all over again--very, very motivating 'cause I DID NOT want to start over again!!

Well that's all that I can think of for now. I might update this if I think of something else. I am going to take a few days off and enjoy stuff and try some new recipes that I've been waiting to try, then I'm going to start it all over again. Anyone with me? Say, starting June 1st? The month of June: No Sugar Challenge. What do you say? Let me know! I'd love a support group!