I'm not there yet, but I'm getting there!

Well, yesterday marked the start of week 4 of the I Quit Sugar Program, which means I am nearly half way through the 8 weeks.  Over the last few weeks I have never had so much support and encouragement from people who are interested in my quitting sugar.  Whether this be because they can't wait to see me fail so they can laugh and say "well there you go with your smug attitude about giving up sugar, it's not that easy after all", or whether they are actually are interested in how I'm doing I will never know, but either way I have had a lot of people ask how it's going and a lot of people following me on my journey.  This is all great as it has helped me to be accountable.  To be honest though there have been many moments in the last few weeks where I have cursed this blog - blogging is hard work!  It's probably the hardest thing about quitting sugar (and that's saying something!), it's a big commitment, but like I say it's keeping me accountable, and so are all the people who are asking how it's going (whether this is for support or other reasons), so will keep it up. So let's answer the question then, how is it all going at the start of week 4.

You know those things that flash up on your Facebook or Instagram or something that say things like "It's not a short term diet, it's a long term lifestyle change", up to four weeks ago I used literally look at those and think are you for real.  Throughout my adult life I have tried heaps of diets in my ever lasting quest to loose weight and look amazing (I'm a female it's what we do, we are always striving to be something we aren't, don't deny it you know it's true!).  Anyways, I always looked at these things after I had spent three whole days eating nothing but plain rice cakes and lettuce and still not fitting into a pair of skinny jeans without a big muffin top hanging over the top and thought "are you for real, this is not a lifestyle change, this is torture, if I can't fit into my skinny jeans by Friday I'm giving up on this rubbish".  Generally Friday would role around and with that the diet would be forgotten about because let's be honest it was awful and I was starving and sure I didn't loose 5 kilos in 5 days like the magazine promised so I was gonna quit.

The other day though one of those little quotey things that annoy me so much popped up and I thought, ya I get it I finally get it, I finally think this could be something that I can just see as normal. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I will never eat ice cream or chocolate or drink another cider again, that's just plain ridiculous.  I do however think that I can maintain, for the majority of my life, the mantra of "Just Eating Real Food (JERF)" and only eating "naughty" foods on special occasions (which may sometimes end up being a Tuesday because work was rotten and someone made me cry and I just have the worst life in the world so I deserve a chocolate, and sometimes it will be my birthday where I'm sure sugar doesn't count so I can have an ice cream).  One thing I have realised in the last few weeks is how easy it really is to just eat "real" food, and how you can make really tasty food without adding any sugar into it, and overall this is what I aspire that by the end of the program I will be able to continue with.

Before I gave up sugar I read some stories about people who said when they quit sugar it felt like the "fog" just left their heads, and I thought, well I'm not crazy I have no fog in my head, just intelligent thoughts all the time!  Well it turns out I know exactly what they mean, because the fog has left my head, I feel like I can actually think clearer than I have for a long time and things don't seem to be as much effort as they usually are.  I get to 3pm at work and I don't feel like I hit a brick wall, I can keep going.  My legs feel lighter (they don't look lighter they just have a bit more energy).  I have never been well known for my ability to rationalise, but I feel that I can rationalise ever so slightly better than usual which is probably a bonus and I'm sure people may appreciate this given I usually have a tendency to just speak and act with rationalising first!  And my digestive system, which I did promise I would try to limit conversations about, is feeling so much better.  Overall I feel good.

Don't get me wrong though, it's definitely not been all plain sailing.  At the end of the day, it's only been 3 weeks.  I still crave sweet food on occasion.  I have sat at morning teas at work, or out with friends who are eating ice cream, or even just sitting at home with the dog on my own, and had moments where I have had to literally use my new ability to rationalise better to help convince myself to keep going and not give in to the sugar.  I have dreamt about eating chocolate more than I ever have in my life.  I have gone out to dinner and looked at the menu and seen what I would like to eat, and then had a closer look and seen what I can actually eat (note this is never the same thing).  I have finished work on a Friday and really really really really wanted a cider (which is my big post working week treat), and just had to say no (FYI Cider has between 3 and 6 teaspoons per bottle bloody hell no wonder I could never loose weight!).

I have to remind myself that I have just started on this journey.  I have had 31 years of creating a habit of having so much sugar in my diet, and only 22 days where I have been trying to break this habit.  It's early days, and I will persist.  For anyone out there who is think it is hard, I won't lie, it is, but it is also worth it, if for nothing else then just to say you are not addicted, you can do it.  If you're thinking about it already, give it a go, even if just for a week.

And now for my new mantra: