Lenten Sugar Free Challenge-Week Three

The Challenges
So the third week of Lent…the sugar free challenge was more challenging and I can’t even use the stomach bug as a reason.  It started with a work trip and ended with a retirement party. 
Last Friday I was in the airport for my day job.  I was tired, I don’t sleep well the first night in hotels and I was only there for one night, I had a big event that day, and I had already had my gluten free Lenten travel staple for lunch—brown rice sushi.  I was in the airport, I was hungry and tired and didn’t find any options that were sugar free, gluten free and meat free that sounded good.  In a moment of total weakness…I had fruity snacks.  Not proud of it, not making excuses for it.  Fruity snacks.  http://welchsfruitsnacks.com/products/
On Thursday we had a retirement party for someone at work.  Miss B came up to my desk and told me that she ordered me a special treat.  She ordered me a red velvet gluten free cupcake.  Sigh.  I ate it…and it was amazing.  http://sprinkles.com/cupcakes/flavors/gluten-free-red-velvet-cupcakes

But other than that…there were no slip ups.
What I have learned
I didn’t know that I would learn so much in this process by giving up sugar for Lent.  I thought I would challenge myself and probably not be able to do it.  I have done much Better than I thought I would but the whole blessing of Lent is to teach you something.
Here is what I have learned.  I feel a lot better when I don’t eat sugar.  Deep in my heart I know it is not good for me, it’s really bad for people with autoimmune disorders and causes inflammation.  I have always known that but sugar tastes so darn good.  The additional benefit of this is that I am down about 5 lbs. 
I have learned that for me, I really need to cut sugar out of my diet as much as possible.  I need to treat sugar the way I treat gluten…avoid it at all costs and I won’t feel horrible.
My plan is to go through Easter and enjoy the day and all of the treats it has to offer, go to our amazing tropical resort vacation and eat what I want (gluten free of course) and then when we return back to the mainland, restrict as much sugar as I can.
So there it is.  I said I would be honest about this process.  Two slip ups.  One was worth it, one was just based on exhaustion and traveling.
Enjoy the Best food!
Patty
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The Sugar Free Lenten Challenge-Day 12


Well today is all kinds of mentionable days…it’s another snow day (seriously…like number 10,000 this winter), St. Patty’s day (yes, I am Irish) and also Day 12 of my Sugar Free Lenten Challenge.  It’s going Good…really Good…except…
Well about 10 days ago the Sweet Boy brought home the stomach bug.  It has run rampant in the lower hall of his school for about three weeks.  Apparently there are either different strains of this bugger or it takes different forms in different people.  Either way, I think that Jack may have had two different strains of this thing over four days.  I will spare you the details.
Well, on Friday I woke up not feeling well.  Queasy, pukey, blah.  I soldiered on and went to work.  As my morning progressed STILL NOT BETTER.  I cheated and reached for the only type of ginger ale in the office fridge…the kind with sugar.  For the next two days I proceeded to cheat…sort of… is it cheating when you have a full blown stomach bug and the only thing that you can have is ginger ale and Gatorade?   I mean if you are going to cheat…wouldn’t you just go for a big cheat and eat a gluten free or regular cupcake? When I bought more ginger ale, I did choose the kind without sugar.  That should absolve my sins….hopefully.
So without the episode of the stomach bug, which has also hit Running Daddy….hard, I would say my Lenten Sugar Free challenge is going Good.  I am having little cravings for sugar, well and for any food for that matter over the last couple of days.  I will even stay strong and hold off until Easter weekend on the gluten free Girl Scout Cookies my friend Nurse M is getting me all the way from North Carolina.  That one will be hard…I have not had a Girl Scout Cookie in FIVE YEARS.  https://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/meet_the_cookies.asp

Chocolate Chip Shortbread
Despite the score of Stomach Bug 3…Team Good Better Best 0 I am determined that this will be the Best Sugar Free Challenge yet. 
Enjoy the Best Food,
Patty
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The Sugar Free Lenten Challenge-Day 3


So I mentioned in my last post that I was giving up sugar, the bad stuff…the white stuff, for Lent.  So here I am three days in and it’s going…fine.  Dare I even say Better?  Really Better!
I have embarked on this sugar free journey before, with mixed success.  I always feel Better when I am sugar free but usually the first 48 hours are really difficult.  But.Not.This.Time.  I have gone sugar free for New Year’s, the middle of the year, because I have been feeling gross but never for Lent before.  Some how, some way my Sugar Free Lenten journey is going Better than when I tried it in the past.  Not sure if it is because this time I have a higher purpose and goal but it could be.
The only little “cheat” I had was that I had to drink regular Gatorade for a medical treatment that I had on Thursday.  Believe me if you are going to “cheat” with sugar…would anyone really pick Gatorade?  I think NOT!
I will keep you posted on my sugar free progress.  So far it is going Better…let’s see if I can make this the Best sugar free experiment ever!
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A Confession, a challenge and a potential movement


The Confession
I have a confession, I think I am a sugar addict.  While I eat in the Good Better Best style every day and make our dinners in Good Better Best, I am not going to lie to you…I follow that healthy dinner with candy or a gluten free ice cream treat almost every night.  There…I said it and it’s time to do something about it.
I know that white sugar is really bad for me.  It’s really bad for all of us but especially bad for me due to my autoimmune diseases.  I know that sugar causes inflammation and anything that causes inflammation is a challenge for people fighting autoimmune diseases.
The Challenge
So this year for Lent, I am giving up white sugar.  I am not giving up honey or things like stevia, I am giving up the processed white stuff, he ingredient that makes things taste so yummy, but is also doing so my damage to my body.  I am also not going to replace white sugar for artificial sweetener, to me that just defeats the the purpose.  For  the record, I am not giving up wine and while I do know that wine contains sugar, it’s not the same as the white stuff and I think giving up wine and sugar is just setting myself up for failure.
The Potential Movement
Betsy Karetnick, former host of Morning Living on the Martha Stewart channel and writer of http://iamnotarestaurant.com/ and I were chatting on Facebook last week about sugar and how all calories are not created equal.  I mentioned to her that I was giving up white sugar for Lent and she suggested that we try to start
, along the lines of Meatless Mondays.  So today I went a whole day without white sugar.  I just had some raspberry tea with honey for dessert and it was pre
Let’s see if I can go forty days without sugar, which will also happen during my birthday and I will keep you posted on my progress.  I promise to be honest.
Enjoy the Best Food.
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