April Changes

I did wonderfully for about a week and then decided to switch from no sugar to counting calories.  All my efforts unraveled quickly.  It felt too spartan, too joyless.  And it was too soon to add back the sugar.  I couldn't stay away from its siren call!  (When those sugar calories added up too quickly, that's what made it seem so harsh.)

For the month of April, I am going to concentrate on staying away from sugar and cut back on some other foods that my body responds to as though they were sugar.  I am also working on getting back in the exercise swing.  Although I know the scale probably won't register my April efforts, it will be worth it in the end.  Making just a few healthy changes at a time is how I lost 60 pounds and kept it off for many years.

My goals are to...

1.  Go one month without knowingly choosing to eat/drink sugar and to cut way back on white rice, white bread, and other foods made of over-processed grains.  Knowing how my current life is, I want to be reasonable about some of my go-to foods for busy days.  I'm giving myself a hall pass for Fiber One bars, low-sugar jelly for peanut butter sandwiches (on whole grain flatbread), regularly-sweetened yogurt, and the occasional 100 calorie-size bar of dark chocolate.  These foods have fiber/protein to slow down sugar absorption anyway and keep my life changes from being too stressful to maintain.

2.  To go one month without knowingly using any fake sweeteners. 

3.  To approach exercise as a daily task.  Each day I need to fit exercise into my schedule in some form, adjusting it to what my body needs.  If my body needs a break, then just walking to the mailbox or playing leisurely catch with my kid is fine.