When I think about the million dollar question, "How did I gain all this weight?", it goes back to turning to food when I'm happy, sad, angry, insert any other emotion here. Lately, I've been trying to pay attention to how food makes me feel when I eat it.
Well whenever I eat this.....
I feel exactly like this......
I have a little taste of something sweet and all control goes out the window. I can't get enough! The frenzy ensues and then I've consumed way more than I intended. So as you know, I indulged on Sunday pretty heavily in the sweets and I have struggled ever since. I have craved sugar every.single.damn.day. It feels like I let a monster out of the cage and I'm trying to stuff that shark back in. AND ITS SO HARD! I know people that can have a splurge and then snap back the next day, but truthfully, I am not there yet. I had an ice cream cone on Tuesday and then found myself grabbing a handful of leftover candy from the weekend today. The candy went in the garbage, but I have a full unopened package of fruit by the foot that I need to find someone I can give it to.
It was a hard decision to make, but I actually declined a social outing this weekend because I knew I would be surrounded by food and alcohol. And thinking about it just stressed me out because I NEED to get back on track. We're about halfway through the month and I want to finish strong. I'm also feeling the pressure of the 220s. Every time I get in the 220s, I get stuck and fall apart. What I am realizing is that I need to change mentally in order to move forward physically. And mentally, I needed to rack up some good days and get my willpower back to full strength.
Upon further research, I discovered that sugar is a nasty little cycle. Eat some, then crash, crave more and eat more to achieve the same "high"....
And honestly, I have noticed the blood sugar crash. I woke up Monday feeling like I was hit by a bus. I also notice it during the afternoon depending on what I had for lunch. So it's no wonder why you gain weight. As you become more tolerant, you need to consume more. Then I looked into how to get out of this.....
Notice how these tips are just getting back to your healthy habits. Drink water, high fiber foods, exercise, and finding natural sweet sources. I learned that fruit, while a simple sugar, doesn't cause the same effects because they are also full of fiber, water, and minerals. So craving sweet? I need to find a piece of fruit. I've never had a case where I've eaten too much fruit. Even if I had 3 pieces of fruit, it is far better than cake or candy.
I also came across a new blog called Eat + Run in the health section of US News.com. There was on article in particular that struck me as brilliant. The author talks about sugar addiction and how its origins date back to our primitive days. If you think about it, back when we spent days searching for food, our taste buds were critical to survival. Foods that tasted sweet signaled a good source of energy. Back then all our ancestors had to deal with was honey and fruit (Carbs = Energy). Foods that tasted bitter cautioned us to think twice because it could be toxic. So the ancestors that survived were the ones smart enough to consume foods that tasted sweet and avoid the bitter foods. That response has been passed down to you and you can't rely solely on it. We have easy access to food, your cravings for sweet are not because you've been energy deprived while foraging for your next meal.
But we're not just hopeless slaves to our ancestry. The author goes on to talk about how you can re-train your taste buds and cultivate a sensitivity to sugar, needing to consume less to be satisfied. I 100% agree with this. I have noticed it myself with salt. Because high blood pressure and cholesterol run in my family, I really watch the salt content in my food. When I cook, it's with salt-free spices and pepper. I rarely add salt to food and if I do, it's a little bit of sea salt. So when I go out, I immediately notice how salty foods are. I did notice on Sunday the instant sugar rush, but I didn't have the discipline to make the connection and stop. I'm working on that.
The best thing I learned is that there is no magical formula to "beat" sugar addiction. It's just getting back to my healthy habits ASAP and limiting myself to small infrequent indulgences.
Here's the article in full for your reading pleasure:
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