To help me squash my insatiable sweet tooth, I've been following the guidelines set forth in the book, Potatoes, Not Prozac. I'm currently eating meals at regular intervals, with protein.  I'm also working on including more veggies and whole grains.  And I've slowly, but significantly cut back on the amount of sugar I've been consuming.  In essence, I'm putting more emphasis on eating whole foods.

So now the real question?  Has all this been worth the time, effort, and even money?  Have I been able to tame the beast that is my sweet tooth?

Absolutely, and

Slowly.

I'm not 100% off sugar, and, at this point, I don't know if I ever will be.  However!  I feel leaps and bounds better than I had been before beginning my quest to overcome the Sugar Monster (Cookie Monster's very evil twin???)

It has been worth it simply because, regardless of my sugar cravings, I'm now actually feeding my body nutritious foods. In the past, my diet consisted primarily of carbs, lots and lots of carbs, and many were processed and refined, with all the nutrients and fiber sucked out of them. It wasn't uncommon for me to eat scoops of fat free ice cream or a huge bowl of Honeycomb cereal for lunch! Vegetables received attention on occasion, but protein was almost unheard of in my diet!

I wasn't underfed; I was undernourished, and I believe this contributed to my intense, almost manic, sugar cravings.  I can imagine the cells of my body screaming, "Hey, we're dying here! Give us something to work with!"

I've since taken a more open minded view of protein and got to know and make friends with it.  Now you'll find me scouring the produce section for new vegetables to try or learning where the local farmer's markets are. Chicken, fish, cheese, and eggs are regulars at lunchtime. I enjoy cooking healthier meals and experimenting with different herbs and spices.  I've always enjoyed baking, but now I've noticed a burgeoning passion for cooking with healthier, fresher ingredients.  That excites me!

Calm. That's the word that is most prominent in my mind when I compare to how I am now to who I was in the past. The intense sugar highs and crashes, shakiness, and desperation have been weakening in the past few months, and I feel like I truly can conquer my sweet tooth.

Yes, it was, and is, definitely worth the effort. I can't say it has been easy all the time or even fun, but the more I make my diet changes a habit, the easier (and more enjoyable) it gets. And my sugar saga isn't over yet.  I'm curious to see how my sugar cravings pan out in the months to come.  I'm hoping they will grow dimmer and dimmer.

Photo credits: fdecomite, Idcross

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So, I've been making an effort to take the occasional walking break.  I took a 10-minute break at work to walk outside the building.  I used my lunch hour to walk through a nearby neighborhood.  My husband and I walked around the neighborhood where we live after dinner.

Now we all know that walking can be a great exercise, so let's just say that's a given and put that thought aside.

One of the great things I've found is these walks are incredibly refreshing.  They clear the cob webs from the mind and lift the spirits.  Yesterdat was the perfect day to be outside.  The sun was out, a few puffy clouds sat in the sky, a light breeze blew my hair (but not so much to mess it up!), and the temperature was not too hot nor too cold.  I thought to myself as I took my brief walk, "I would have missed all this beauty had I not made the effort to get out here."  And what a shame that would have been!

I'll let you in on something else, besides being refreshing, taking walks inspires!  The creative juices start flowing, especially when walking alone.  There's something about the sun and fresh air that jump starts thoughts and ideas!  The outdoors is much more inspiring than a dull, beige office, fluorescent lights, and a glaring computer screen.  My only suggestion when taking the solitary walk is you might want to consider toting along a small notepad and pen in case you have those moments of profoundness.

While I'm praising walks' many attributes, what I especially like about taking them is the fact that I don't return dripping with sweat.  Not the best look for the meeting with the executive staff I imagine (although it might make the meeting end a lot sooner)! I also don't have to change into gym clothes, let alone get myself to the gym.  I just make sure I'm wearing decent shoes, grab my sunglasses, and go.  Easy and very stress free.

I'd like to keep up my daily jaunts, at least when the weather is comfortable.  Now I admit I still like a good, cardio and strength session, complete with the icky sweat.  Those are fun in their own right.  But walks... they're therapeutic, a welcome respite during those dingy office hours.  And couldn't we all use a little more recess now and then?

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I'm on a personal quest of sorts. Three months ago I made the realization that I am a sugar addict and decided to commit to breaking my addiction.

Following Dr. Kathleen DesMaison's plan for sugar addiction, I started off including protein and a complex carb at breakfast. After creating my new breakfast habit, I moved on to step two, the food journal. I've been working on journaling what I eat and how I feel for about a month.

I used to think I didn’t need a food journal, that I had it all figured out in my head. I thought I knew what I ate and how I felt and what I needed to do. Not true! The food journal can be very eye-opening. I’ve learned things about myself that I otherwise would have ignored.

Some things I noticed from reviewing my food journal:

• I eat at the same times just about everyday.
• I snack or chew the same berry flavored gum in the afternoons if I'm at work.
• The most common feeling I record for the mornings: tired
• The most common feelings overall: happy, antsy, tired, not hungry
• Yeah, I see that I often eat when I'm not really hungry
• But I write "shaky" if I don't eat for more than 6 hours
• Eating sugar is associated with feelings of nervousness, elation, and then of feeling really really tired and irritable
• I eat way more chocolate than I thought!
• The more sweets I eat, the more I crave them.
• Recently, my diet has gradually shifted to include more protein at lunch and dinner, as well as veggies.
• With this change, I notice snacking in the afternoons has decreased.

This shift towards healthier foods makes me want to move on to the next step in beating my sugar addiction. Step 3 is eating regularly throughout the day, including adequate protein at each meal. I'm naturally drifting in this direction already, so I feel it's time to make it official! I'll explain more about step 3 in my next post...

Photo credit: ppreacher

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I've been on the first step, breakfast, since April 30th. I've been eating my protein and complex carbohydrate, and it's really helped hold me until lunchtime. I feel a lot steadier. I'm definitely not ready to go off all sugar yet, but simply eating a good breakfast just makes me feel a whole lot better and reduces cravings for sweets!

I feel ready to move on to the next step, which is keeping a food journal. Hmm, I've kept a food journal in the past but never stuck with it. Why all the fuss over it anyway? I'll tell you in the next post...

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The results:  I slept in more than getting up to exercise this past week.  I ate mini Twix and Milky Way candy bars during the afternoon slump at work, almost every single day.  And I absolutely had to have sweet bread the other day!  Don't why it was specifically sweet bread; all I know is nothing else would satisfy me! 

Not a pretty report card, but I want to learn from this past week and move on.  I have to acknowledge that I'm not perfect, I will slip up now and then, and it's OK!!  Otherwise, my perfectionist side will come out and scold me!  And Ms. Perfectionist is terribly critical!

Besides relaxing and getting caught up on things around the house this weekend, I want to make a plan for next week's workouts and meals.  I want to be better prepared so I can continue moving forward with my two overall health goals.  

I'll let you know what my plan is on Monday.  Until then, have a wonderful weekend!

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Well, so far I've been keeping this goal.

My breakfasts this past week consisted of:

• scrambled eggs (egg whites/egg yolk/finely chopped onions and peppers/low fat shredded cheese) and whole wheat toast (bread machine-made whole wheat bread/heart healthy butter spread)
• whole grain cereal (muesli-type cereal or my latest favorite!) and skim milk (with a bit of protein powder mixed in to boost protein content).

This has been a whole lot better for me than just grabbing a banana or drinking a chai tea latte!

I've noticed that I don't get hungry or feel a drop in my blood sugar come mid-morning. I eat at around 6:15 AM, and I can wait until 11:30 or noon before I start feeling hunger pangs. Coworkers' candy dishes don't tempt me. I don't feel the need to munch - at least not during the morning hours! Now I gotta work on the rest of the day!

But for now, I want to continue concentrating on eating healthy breakfast. I figure it's a good starting point! After all, is not breakfast the "most important meal of the day?"

Photo credit: stylesr1

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The report is there's nothing to report! I didn't notice any heart palpitations, but I didn't expect any anyway. I won't know the official report until my physician evaluates the heart tracings, though. If everything checks out OK, then at least I can have peace of mind.

I have to say the worst part about wearing the 24-hour Holter monitor was taking it off! Pulling the electrode stickers and tape off my chest was extremely unpleasant and literally felt like my skin was going to be ripped off along with the tape. I've got"battle scars," red marks showing the location of each sticker and section of tape that were fused to my chest.

In the end, I'm thankful my heart seems to be doing just fine, and I'm glad I went through with the Holter monitor - at least just to rule out any problems.   

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I feel like a character out of the Matrix, only I can't move in slow motion through the air, and I don't know Jiu-Jitsu. Also, I realized that if I make any attempt to straighten up or stretch, the super strength medical tape pulls on my skin, and man, that smarts!

So, why in the world am I attached to such a contraption? The reason is to rule out any problematic heart conditions. I started having heart palpitations last year. They felt like my heart did a "hiccup" followed by a strong beat or 2 before going back into its regular rhythm. The heart "hiccups" happened randomly, usually a couple times every other day or so.

Nothing hurt, I wasn't out of breath, and I wasn't having an anxiety attack. I don't have a history of heart problems or high blood pressure either. While that's all very reassuring, I was still was concerned! So after a few months I went to the doctor. (And of course my heart was behaving perfectly that day.)

I have my own opinions on why I started getting heart palpitations. I believe they were the result of too much stress on my body. When I started noticing heart palpitations, My work hours required me to switch from the day shift to nights in the span of a couple weeks. I wasn't sleeping or eating well. I also came down with a really bad virus that left me coughing for quite a while. I believe my body was simply dealing with too much, and the heart palpitations were a result of all the imbalances occurring.

Another reason I feel that too much stress was the cause is the heart palpitations decreased in frequency once my body returned to a regular schedule. I changed jobs a few months ago, and I now have "normal" hours. I'm eating and sleeping better. Plus, I'm exercising a lot more regularly.

Now my heart palpitations rarely occur - one time a month at the most. Still, I'm not opposed to checking things out further just to be on the safe side! I've also learned a valuable lesson: My body needs a routine! Some people can stay up all night, get little sleep, eat at irregular intervals, and function just fine. I am not one of those people! My body seems to have stuck with its preschool aged preference of needing a regular routine, so it's probably in my best interest to cater to it!

Well, I've been hooked up to the Holter monitor for a few hours now and no heart palpitations. Not sure if this is a good thing or not, but I'm going to go with "good." I honestly don't expect the heart palpitations to occur anyway ...but I'll go through with this just to make sure! (No needles involved, so no opposition on my part!)

I'll let you know how things turn out once the 24-hours are over!

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