******BEFORE STARTING ANY DIET OR EXERCISE PROGRAM, ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR OR PERSONAL TRAINER!! I’M SERIOUS!!!!!!*******

If you read my Facebook page yesterday you know that my personal trainer has laid down the gauntlet. The challenge: To go the next 10 days avoiding all processed sugar and all alcohol. So why the challenge? To be honest, I’ve gained six pounds and now weigh 146lbs! My snacking, laziness, and lack of enthusiasm over the last few moths has finally caught up to me. The weight that took so long for me to lose came back with a vengeance. Six pounds may not sound like a lot, but it’s very upsetting and eye-opening to me. My trainer understands my goals, knows my limitations, and is aware of my struggles. So she challenged me! I fully accept the challenge. After all, I used to be a vegetarian. How hard can this be? Eeeessshhhh!

Now, the alcohol is going to be easy peasy to avoid. It’s the sugar that has me worried. I can eat fruits, veggies, lean meats, just a basic “clean” diet. But when you start to read labels it really hits you how much processed, added sugar we actually consume in a day. A ton!!!! When I sat down and went through what I usually eat during the day, a majority of my meals and snacks are all processed crap. Yuck! So, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the internet looking for alternatives for dressings, sauces, etc. Again, very eye-opening. I’m going grocery shopping tonight for the week and I’m fully prepared to be shocked and amazed. This is going to be interesting.

I started my morning a bit hungry. I enjoyed a banana before I left for work. Once at work,  I had my coffee with fat-free non-dairy creamer (no added sugar)  and headed down in the cafeteria. I looked around trying to decide what would be the safest thing for me to eat. Donuts, pastries, and French toast stared me in the face, but I’m determined to make the “no processed sugar” thing work. I chose two eggs over easy and a small glob of hash browns. It may not have been the smartest choice I could have made, but I wasn’t really as prepared as I should have been. But at least there was no processed sugar, just a bit more oil than what I would have liked. Oh, well. I have the rest of the day to make it right.

Lunch wasn’t really that challenging. I usually eat a salad of some sort for lunch so my only issue was what to put on it instead of the usual thick dressings I pour on. I thought about Dijon mustard but decided against it after looking up the nutritional value. There is .17gms of sugar in Dijon. That doesn’t sound like very much but, again, I’m determined to do this right.  A “clean” eating co-worker of mine suggested salsa instead of dressing. Splendid idea! No added sugar, it’s all natural, and gives an added zip. Unfortunately, there was no salsa to be found in the cafeteria. So instead, I settled with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Again, no added sugar. Hooray!

After work I went grocery shopping. Looking at the labels of the items I used to buy was shocking! SUGAR! IN EVERYTHING!!! I never really paid attention to the sugar content in the meal bars, juices, and frozen meals I was consuming. I know it seems like a no brainer, but we have been tricked into thinking that because something is packaged as “low-calorie” or “diet” means that it’s actually good for you. Guess what? IT’S NOT! So I made my mental notes and I picked out some gorgeous fruits and veggies, some lean chicken (pre-cut and packaged) and some all-natural condiments like almond butter and salsa. I’m set for the rest of the week!

It was actually quite nice shopping. Picking out fruits and veggies brought me back to my vegetarian days. It was like meeting an old friend. A bit melodramatic maybe, it’s just grocery shopping after all, but it felt natural and I enjoyed it. This challenge may not be as hard as I thought.

Liz