Committed: On December 1st, I was back to living sugar and flour free. Throughout December, I abstained from LOTS of holiday treats including ones sitting in gift baskets in my house.
Pulled In: On December 20th, I decided to have a bowl of peppermint stick ice cream with hot fudge and so began my week of sugar and flour.
The 21st – I ate homemade chocolate covered toffee.
The 22nd – I ate Hershey Kisses.
The 23rd – I ate crackers, chocolate covered toffee and peanut butter blossoms that I made with my daughter.
The 24th – I had crackers, Fritos, sugar cookies and a tiny slice of my Aunt’s chocolate peppermint cake.
The 25th – I had two slices of coffee cake, peppermint ice cream with hot fudge, and some dark chocolate.
The 26th – I declared myself done and then ate peppermint stick ice cream with hot fudge.
The 27th – I ate chocolate covered toffee, three pieces of dark chocolate, and four After Eights.
Vitality: Now, while I didn’t gorge, I did consistently eat sugar once I began. On the 25th, I woke up with a bit of a cold. Today is the 28th, and I still don’t feel well. When I don’t feel great, I tend to eat more to make myself feel better. This doesn’t work, but it is a habit I have not broken yet. Perhaps if I had not eaten the sugar, I would have been able to stave off the cold, or if I had not gotten the cold perhaps I would not have felt it necessary to continue to eat so much sugar once the holiday was over.
Weight: Today I am three pounds heavier than I was last week. When I wasn’t living flour and sugar free, I didn’t weigh myself once a week. When you use the weight on the scale as only one measure of your health, then I find it can be a useful tool. Seeing the three pounds versus just knowing my pants are tighter made it easier to recommit to living flour and sugar free today.
Question: If I ate sugar and flour for a week straight, can I really say I am beginning my 12th week of living sugar and flour free?
I believe I can. Habits take a while to become automatic. For me, December is the hardest time of the year to abstain from sugar, and I ate significantly less than in past years. I am also ending earlier. I don’t usually stop the food party until January. Today I chose to celebrate the win of eating less sugar and flour this holiday season!