Sugar, what sugar?

Life has been a combined whirlwind of workouts and work lately.  Time just has a way of flying by and before you know it two weeks have come and gone. I have been playing more tennis lately.  My time off is certainly showing on the court.  I am trying the best I can to knock the rust off.  While I am SO proud of finishing my IM races over the past couple of years, I did miss having time to sort of do whatever I wanted.  It has been nice to dial it all down a notch.

Ever since I got home from Disney I have been following a no sugar, no grains way of eating.  If you followed me around with a camera prior to Disney you might have staged a sugar intervention for me as there was A LOT of clean up that needed to be done to get my eating in check.  I feel like I am at a healthy weight  (and was before the no sugar thing) but just felt like I was living two different lives.  I was busting my butt in the gym but then 75% of what I was using for fuel was some sort of processed food.  Doritos, cupcakes, ice cream were all on my rotation of eats.  I was raised on snack foods and Tab cola so we are talking about a lifetime of habit in the making.

I listened to a lot of podcasts on the drive to and from Disney - more specifically, Vinnie Tortorich -  and decided to try to make a change.  There is a lot of interesting research behind the low carb lifestyle and I won't go into it here but it made sense to me, I could see it seemed to work for others and I knew it was something that I could follow easily as it really isn't overly complicated.  Basically, there is not any measuring or counting to speak of I simply avoid sugar and grains.  Boom.  I think the most important thing about eating is to try and find what works for you.  There are studies and proven results behind a lot of eating styles out there (vegan, vegetarianism, weight watchers, etc.)but if they aren't something you think you can stick to then what good is it?  For me, this works.  Just a lot of clean eating.

The surprising thing is that as addicted as I felt like I was to sugar, I have not had any craving for sweets WHATSOEVER since changing my eating habits.  I can't explain it but am told that it just works that way.  Your body becomes satiated from the fats you are taking in (I eat full fat products as opposed to 2% or low fat/no fat along with healthy fats such as avocado, olive oil, etc.).  I am eating plenty of meats, dairy and veggies along with a small amount of fruit.  I really don't miss any of the other things.  I am not about depriving myself so if I want to eat a cupcake or chips I would do it occasionally but now I look at that stuff and it doesn't appeal to me.  I know - that is crazy talk...

I am not as hungry all the time like I used to be and definitely have more energy.  I really believe that sugar and glucose made me need so much more sleep that necessary.  I almost always felt like like I needed a nap around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  I still get 7 or 8 hours a night but don't feel like I need to take naps in the middle of the day anymore.

I have lost 6 pounds since I started a little over three weeks ago.  I really didn't go in it to lose weight but certainly am not upset with any lost poundage :)  I can tell you with all the crap I was eating, weight loss was bound to happen. Did I mention my junky eating habits?

I know it sounds like some weird food cult has infiltrated my mind but this is where I am at right now.  Trying to eat better!  In the interest of full disclosure I am still chugging down diet sodas.  I felt like getting rid of the soda AND sugar all at once would have been too much for my mental state.  Operation crush the diet soda cans starts next week!