Monday, February 22, 2010

Sugar Free: Day 7--Off the Wagon

My last day of the first week without refined sugar was a whirlwind. I ran a coaching clinic in West Virginia, so I was gone most of the day and didn't really remember to consume food, let alone food with sugar in it. This same clinic last year attracted exactly 12 girls, so you can imagine my surprise to discover 84 ready, willing rugby players in the Shell Building at WVU. I was overwhelmed! What a great problem to have! But it didn't give me much time to gorge myself.

Long after the event was over, I had all sorts of thinking to do about what had transpired, what it meant, how I might whittle that group down to the 23 I can take along to the Midwest tournament. So I didn't do any snacking. Corey and I just took Miles on a snow hike to see Mt. Snowmore down the hill, I ate supper, and was in bed by 8pm.


One of our neighbors got crafty with the shovel. Wish I had thought of it!

So that brought me to Monday, the first day of a new week. I had two choices: go for two weeks just to see if I could do it OR (and I think this was the harder choice, actually) go back to eating whatever I wanted, but try to do it mindfully and with control. For instance, I took Miles to the grocery store today. There was nearly a Fried Green Tomatoes, Kathy-Bates, Tawanda!!!!! moment in the parking lot. Such an event would normally drive me to eat an entire candy bar, what with having to walk Miles many blocks in the pouring rain since some jagoff took my parking spot.

But I didn't eat an entire candy bar. I bought one, then ate just one square when I got home. I didn't even ask the cashier if I could hold it immediately after it got scanned. I think that's progress. Mindfulness! Control!

The next big challenge for me will come on Wednesday. I am going to a literary event in the evening. I will be missing bedtime for the first time in my son's life. There will be a dessert table. If I were completely abstaining from sugar, this would be ok. I'd have a piece of cheese and get on with my life. But what will I do now? Can I make it just eating one piece of dessert at said event? Will the thought of my precious baby sobbing himself to sleep in his room, while Corey maniacally plays video games downstairs, drive me into a sugar coma?

I think I might have the sort of personality where, with junk food anyway, it's all or nothing. Either I eat the entire bag of Doritos in one sitting or I don't eat Doritos at all. One of each kind of dessert or just a slice of cheese. This is what I would like to work on. Moderation, mindfulness. It seems, I think, a greater (and more important) endeavor.

3 comments:

Rachel said...

I'm so proud of you for so many reasons!!! 1) I LOVE Fried Green Tomatoes!!! 2) I could NEVER buy a candy bar and eat just one square!!!! 3) I, too, am an all or nothing kinda gal...I've never met a bag of Doritos that stood a chance of survival 4) It sounds like you're doing great and being aware of what you're eating, when, how much...Terrific job!!!!! I bet Dad will do a great job putting M to bed and M will be ecstatic to see mommy in the morning!

Valtastic said...

For the event. Eat before you go and then tell people you're stomach's bothering you when you're not eating. Once you try one brownie.. you know you'll eat more.

p said...

with doritos i'd go with nothing, but this is much better and much harder.

i'm going to disagree with val about the event. the one dessert thing only usually works for me ONLY when i feel judged by others. funny how we don't feel that pressure/motivation strong enough from ourselves when everyone is grazing. you can do it!