I haven't been eating sugar for the past 11 weeks, except for some skittles in Disneyland. I know, I know, let it go already, right? Well something snapped this week and I had some candy. I bought this huge bag of candy for my piano students and 4 months ago, I would have eaten the whole bag already. Even Dan can't keep his hands out of it! It's not one of those gross mix kinds with hard bubble gum, smarties, and gross suckers, it's the good kind with skittles, starbursts, sour straws, laffy taffy...yeah...YUM.
It all started when I was out running errands longer than expected. I was pushing 4 hours between my meals and the max is 3 hours. I did something that seemed logical- I ate a jolly rancher- the logic being at least I would have something slowly delivering some sugar to my system that would take approximately 7 minutes to eat, therefore preventing me from eating massive amounts of laffy taffy's in the same 7 minute time frame.
This just set my whole week up for disaster! When I got home I kept thinking about the candy. I knew eating candy was not on my program but I just kept thinking about it. I have felt like a crazy person all week because of that one jolly rancher. The next day I ate another piece of candy (just 1!) and the next day it was another jolly rancher. Not only was it a jolly rancher, but then I wanted a little taste of real food so I found myself taking a bite of Dan's dinner (he's so nice to share!)
It kind of turned into an ugly cycle this week. I am actually not distraught about it and realize I am only human and at some point everyone has those moments on a diet when they just snap and give in to temptation. Luckily My snapping resulted in approximately 3 jolly ranchers, 1 bite of mac & Cheese, 1 bite of a crepe, 2 french fries, and 1 starburst. Done. It's out. Confessional.
My coach said the best thing though- perspective!!! DUH. In the long term perspective it's ok. I wasn't perfect but I am still working on making changes to my habits and in my life and these things aren't going to derail me from that. The other thing I thought was funny was she said, On what other program would those things even be considered a cheat? She's so right!
I used to keep a giant bag of jolly ranchers in the car with me and in between every lesson I would have a jolly ranchers. After discovering I was eating 5-10 jolly ranchers a day I realized I shouldn't keep a huge bag of them with me to drug me while driving in heavy traffic or calming me down after a frustrating lesson.
I've come a long way. I successfully kept sugar and candy out of my diet yesterday and can confidently say I was 100% on my program for the first time in a few days. It felt empowering!!! Did I find myself looking for my fix? YES. Did I give in? NO. Would you like to know what I did instead?
This article talks about beating the sugar monster and is short and sweet. It tells you 9 reasons people become hooked on sugar and how sugar stimulates your appetite! Who knew? See, it's not all your fault, the sugar made you do it! But here are some things I did to help me.
1. I made some fruity herbal tea and enjoyed every last sip. By the time it was gone I was calm again and was able to ignore my pretend hunger signals.
2. Gum. sure, I might have TMJ after this medifast thing, but I love the new dessert gums, they are AWESOME!
3. I got moving. I kept my mind occupied and kept myself busy all day yesterday. Yesterday was a particularly stressful day because we had major decisions to make about what to do with Dan's school and so it was extra important that I was busy all day.
4. I discovered my old stash of sugar free lifesavers. Yeah yeah, artificial sugars...not so good in my mind BUT once in awhile I think it's a lesser evil. (Still debatable....)
5. I kept myself fueled BEFORE feeling ravenous. I ate every 2.5-3 hours to keep my blood sugar happy and to keep my cravings at bay.
6. Simple idea- I made a goal for 1 day. Just one day I decided to quit cheating myself. Today I will make the very same goal. It's easier one day at a time.
7. I made a VERY delicious dinner that I was craving and it felt like it's own treat.
8. Balance your diet with protein, fats, and WHOLE FOODS. I understand that there are a lot of sugar free solutions out there like jello, my aforementioned lifesavers, etc. but I really think those are for emergencies only and a balanced, whole foods diet will do more for keeping your body happy on the inside than any substitute that might just be causing more cravings in the long run.
So about that dinner....
I made honey dijon salmon from my little "cooking for 2" magazine. I adjusted the recipe a titch because I can't have honey, I used a little Agave nectar instead, but for all of you out there, the honey is awesome! I adjusted the whole recipe for me a bit to stay on my program but here it is in it's true form
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| Photo from Taste of Home magazine |
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 1/4 teaspoons butter, melted
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Dash white pepper
2 Salmon fillets (4 oz each)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (if you're into that)
1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, butter and worcestershire sauce until smooth. Stir in honey, mustard, and pepper.
Place each salmon fillet on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Drizzle with honey mixture and sprinkle with walnuts. Place asparagus around salmon. fold foil around salmon and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. If you don't have a bbq grill, you can bake in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes.
Calories: 437 Fat: 26g (can be lower by using light butter) Carbs: 25G (can be a little less w/o honey & walnuts) Protein: 28g
This was amazing! Even with my little tweaks. Salmon is such a wonderful source of omega's and good fats and will keep you full and satisfied. Since Asparagus is an amazing spring time treat indulge! This recipe is perfect for 2 people. If you shop at Winco, they sell bags of frozen wild Alaskan salmon portions that are individually frozen and packaged for roughly $4/lb so making this recipe is a snap and affordable. Salmon can get pricey so this recipe is great for you and a spouse because the portions are only 4oz so it won't cost that much to make.
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