Let’s check in on week eight of refined sugar & me in 2017! I’m down another pound from last week, making that nine pounds total in eight weeks. (Insert happy dance here…) It’s been a pretty good week overall, but…
When last we checked in with our intrepid heroine…
Last week I told you of my intention to have half a piece of cheesecake using a gift certificate at Cheesecake Factory, after seven weeks dessert-less: Again, my long-term goal here is to be able to enjoy a smaller good dessert maybe once a month, rather than to fill up regularly on empty and less splurge-worthy sugary calories. So, funny story. I ate less than half my lunch and then about half a piece of cheesecake. The waiter accidentally threw away my lunch leftovers rather than boxing them up, so… he brought over a SECOND free piece of cheesecake to make up for it.
Come ON, Cheesecake Factory. Not helping, lol. This was on Valentine’s Day, though, so I brought everything home and the kids happily split the whole piece for a special dessert. But let me tell you something strange: I didn’t want that other half a piece. As I was eating my cheesecake at the restaurant, I didn’t even really want it — it didn’t taste as good as I remembered, I think because my taste buds have changed after consciously limiting sugar for a while? But that stupid half a piece of cheesecake sat in my refrigerator for several days before I could bring myself to throw it out, and I still feel slightly guilty about it.
The Clean Plate Club
So I was thinking about that silly cheesecake and about the ways in which our childhood experiences influence our eating patterns as adults. When I was a kid, we didn’t have a lot of money to be tossing away perfectly good food — and then of course we were to think of the starving children on the other side of the world and always be sure to clean our plates. (On one memorable occasion I sat at the table for two solid hours staring at a cold & congealing plate of scrambled eggs that for some reason I didn’t want to eat that day, but I wasn’t going to be allowed to leave the table until I did!)
There is of course a world of difference between the ungrateful dinner-skipping snack-wanting kids we were then and the really-don’t-need-that-cheesecake adult I am today, but the underlying guilt about wasting perfectly good food remains. While it’s good to be conscious about what we’re wasting and how to make use of what we have, I’m just going to keep telling myself that it’s OK to let.the.cheesecake.go.
🙂
So, that’s me this week
How are you doing on your own healthier eating plan so far — and what have you found that helps you stay on track?
Earlier installments:
- Week One: The Experiment Begins
- Week Two: Let’s Check In, And Questions Answered
- Week Three: By Any Other Name (+ a printable list of common names for sugar on ingredient lists)
- Week Four: The Pitfalls of Dining Out
- Week Five: Getting Moving
- Week Six: On Sugar and Calories
- Week Seven: Fraught with Freebies
Or, you can follow the whole Refined Sugar and Me series here.
Lisa
Tuesday 21st of February 2017
My husband's family is ALWAYS pushing 2nds & 3rds & they take offense & think you don't like it if you don't eat more. When we first started dating I was trying to eat healthier they thought I had an eating disorder bc I wasn't overeating & lost 5 lbs in 2 months (I wasn't doing it for weight loss, just overall health). Now 2 years after having my daughter & gaining & loosing 86 lbs because of preeclampsia, I'm down past my pre pregnancy weight & I'm getting the same accusations every time I see them. I'm about 5 feet & around 108-110lbs. I eat & drink in front of them (or when I can & not chasing after a toddler). His family are all over weight, over eaters, & eat bad. They think all juice is healthy & even gave coke in a bottle to my nephew when he was1! I see my husband struggling with portion control & when to stop eating because of this. Not to mention they think it's funny to tease me about giving food & drink to my daughter who can't have a lot of fructose or any HFCS because she has GI issues.
My husband has been doing the keto diet & has lost 50lbs in 8 months. I'm so proud of him & we're trying to work on portion control when he does eat sugar & carbs.
Just want to say congratulations to everyone & keep it up. It's a hard road, but anyway you choose & are making progress keep up the great work!
rachel
Saturday 25th of February 2017
Oh wow -- that's so hard when you don't have the support from family. Kudos to your husband!
Christian
Tuesday 21st of February 2017
I think one can train their body to do a lot of things... for example, to eat less or more, either way... perhaps with a period of pushing/powering through the causal effect(s), and then finding that the body will eventually adapt.
I think the "clean plate" maxim was mentioned in one of the Amazon Prime docs I watched recently, either "Food Matters" or "Eating"... I feel guilty leaving food on plate just because of the waste and the state of poverty/hunger in the world, but I don't have a weight problem, so that's not a factor. I find these documentaries fascinating... and yes, they are surely partisan in nature, but still very interesting and informative.
As far as sugar goes, I firmly believe that manufacturers should halve the amount of added sugar to products across the board, but that will never sell in this market... it took some time to get here, and it will probably take some time to reverse it. In the meantime, I've been getting creative with this... like taking Zico chocolate coconut water and mixing it 50:50 with water, or taking that Noosa yogurt and mixing it 50:50 with unflavored greek yogurt. In short, I'm finding ways of halving the added sugar... :)
Maggie
Tuesday 21st of February 2017
My husband has eating issues from his childhood too. Recently we were eating breakfast and he gave me a second helping that I didn't want ( he pushes seconds a lot to me and the kids) and I asked him "why is overeating and stuffing yourself when you don't want to better than wasting food?". I think he really hadn't thought of it that way before and hasn't done it since.
Mandy
Monday 20th of February 2017
Good for you! It's nice that it's working for you and you feel better, and don't seem to miss the sugar. I don't have the willpower to give up anything I like, but, I am trying to only eat what I love in small amounts if it's not too healthy, and being aware of what I eat that makes me feel bad. I'm kind of amazed at some of the healthy things that make me feel bad and the not too healthy stuff that doesn't bother me at all! I also was brought up not to waste, so, I'm careful about what I'm not sure of and just pass it up. I've lost 7 lbs. since the 1st of January, but, not sure how long it will last.
rachel
Tuesday 21st of February 2017
7 lbs is fantastic! I missed the sugar like crazy when I started, but now, unbelievably, I do not. :)