My sugar-free experiment

[mrshandy]

So it's been two weeks and we're doing pretty good. Here are some thoughts:

The Good
- Weight loss probably 3-4 lbs this feels great! I'm pretty short so it's made a great difference in how my clothes fit. I'm below PP weight and looking forward to hopefully a little moew
- We enjoy what we eat for the most part especially dinners. Pinterest has been great for finding Whole 30/Paleo recipes. They are really yummy.
- Cravings have subsided somewhat
- It didn't seem to affect my milk supply too much or my running
-We're going to FL to visit family later this week and I can't wait to show off my PP body to everyone and even maybe wear a bikini!

The Bad
- the thought of never making cookies again makes me so sad
- I still love sweets and have no idea if this will ever subside
- Some of the choices I made probably weren't the best, but Rome wasn't built in a day.
- Things I ate too much of: Sugar-free bread w/ PB, Avocado,

The Ugly
- H and I broke our diet Sat night when we went to a friend's b-day party. We hadn't been out since the baby was born so there was no way I was going alcohol free.
- I'm pretty sure my GU and shot bloks for my running have sugar in them, I ate them throughout the two week period. (OMG the shot bloks tasted so damn good yesterday during my long run)
- As mentioned we're going on vacation later this week, so I'm worried H and I are just going to go back to our old habits.
- I can't give up alcohol long term, I'm just wondering what's a good moderation and how to figure that out.

Now I'm just wondering where to go from here. Bring back fruit? Limited sweets? Alcohol? I want to keep up our sugar free lifestyle on a daily basis and just break it for special occasions.

I may make a separate post about this to pick H&F's collective brain.

Thanks for all of the encouragement by the way. You guys are truly inspiring and have changed my life for the better over the last few years.

[cinco]

Thanks for sharing! It's interesting that you didn't find it hurt your running or milk supply, b/c it seems to do both for me. I think I need to play around with eating more calories. I haven't even come close to going sugar free though, just trying to limit it and the processed foods.

I admire your will power.

[gt7301b]

I don't have much advice for the long-term, but I am very impressed by your ability to make it this far! I hope you can figure out a reduced sugar plan for the future, maybe weekend/party splurging?

[wambam]

From what I'm reading here, I get the sense that you're emotionally distressed by being on plan/off plan and I think that isn't conducive to making this work long term. If it were me, I would commit to being sugar free in your day-to-day life and only veering from that when it's really, truly worth it. I can't tell you what's worth it and what's not, that has to be your choice. Are store-bought cookies worth it? Maybe not. Is having one drink on your first night out baby free worth it? Probably. But you have to decide.

[Wines Not Whines]

You're amazing for sticking with this for 2 weeks! Seriously.

[mrshandy]

Feb 24, 2014 11:37:21 GMT -5 wambam said:

From what I'm reading here, I get the sense that you're emotionally distressed by being on plan/off plan and I think that isn't conducive to making this work long term. If it were me, I would commit to being sugar free in your day-to-day life and only veering from that when it's really, truly worth it. I can't tell you what's worth it and what's not, that has to be your choice. Are store-bought cookies worth it? Maybe not. Is having one drink on your first night out baby free worth it? Probably. But you have to decide.

Definitely true. I think I could give up the sugar stuff on a daily basis fine.

Alcohol on the weekends is not something I'm willing to give up. I just have to figure out what my limits are. 

[mrshandy]

Feb 24, 2014 10:49:42 GMT -5 cinco said:

Thanks for sharing! It's interesting that you didn't find it hurt your running or milk supply, b/c it seems to do both for me. I think I need to play around with eating more calories. I haven't even come close to going sugar free though, just trying to limit it and the processed foods.

I admire your will power.

My milk supply has definitely been up and down over the last few weeks. I don't think it helped it. I have been doing a lot of countermeasures like power pumping, lactation tea, pumping more at work, so that might have offset any affect it had.

I do feel like I eat a lot, just try to stick to appropriate snacks.

[ebeth]

lol. you really like fruit. where are you getting fruit this time of year? I might need to start shopping there because the only thing I find semi-palatable in the winter is clementines. come august I will be eating peaches like it's my job, but for now I am very apathetic re: fruit.

I'd save the sweets for special occasions or really delicious sweets.

I hear you on the booze though. there are times in my life where I choose alcohol over vanity pounds. I am currently in the midst of one of those times. but really, it isn't conducive to weight loss for me.

basically, you're going to have to experiment to figure how each of these things affects you.

[mrshandy]

Feb 24, 2014 12:16:04 GMT -5 ebeth said:

lol. you really like fruit. where are you getting fruit this time of year? I might need to start shopping there because the only thing I find semi-palatable in the winter is clementines. come august I will be eating peaches like it's my job, but for now I am very apathetic re: fruit.

I'd save the sweets for special occasions or really delicious sweets.

I hear you on the booze though. there are times in my life where I choose alcohol over vanity pounds. I am currently in the midst of one of those times. but really, it isn't conducive to weight loss for me.

basically, you're going to have to experiment to figure how each of these things affects you.

TJs for the most part. I used to eat oranges on a daily basis and a banana here and there. Mangos when I can get them on sale. We usually get kiwis for DS. We pretty much always have to some kind of fruit in the house for DS since he won't touch a veggie with a 10-foot poll (lol apparently all the years of us eating veggies in front of him did nothing!)