Today marked day #1 of John and I's 21 Day Sugar Detox journey (see details here: http://the21daysugardetox.com/). This is going to be a LONG 21 days but, I am ready! I'm ready to kick off 2014 with a bang and set the tone for the whole year.
A little background:
My husband (John) have done a pretty decent job of eating healthy in the past. We would workout for an hour most days of the week and have a healthy, home cooked meal afterwards. Our evening meals mainly consisted of chicken/fish with a grilled vegetable, salad, or brown rice. Breakfasts were mainly oatmeal, cereal, or an occasional scrambled egg/egg white with whole wheat toast. Lunches have been anything from left overs, an occasional frozen meal when in a pinch, salad, or something of the sandwich variety. All in all we did not eat out much or have fried/fatty foods. With time, we also kicked our diet soda habit.
I think we had become a little relaxed about our diets since we were both training for triathlons at one point. We needed the extra nutrients to stay fueled and energized. We would bike 20-25 miles on a Saturday then go pig out on chicken wings and beer as a reward. What I didn't seem to grasp that most food items were for "convenience" and weren't always filling (i.e.- granola bars). We also became interested in craft beers, which are not low cal.
I got the 21DSD book for Christmas. My family was quick to tell me "man, that looks hard". And, they're not wrong. It is going to be hard and as I read through the book I couldn't help but say in my head "shit, I eat this or that on a regular basis". My husband decided that we should do this as a team, as he had also confessed his unhappiness with his physique from the holidays. Phew, I was then relieved to have a detox companion.
My inital goal with this blog is to update datily while on 21DSD to remeber what I ate, how I felt, what I did for a workout, and how I have slept. I want to be able to monitor my progress and look back to see what was working if I plateau or struggle. Because, let's face it, there are going to be hard days ahead.
We started off the New Year by getting rid of the foods that are not approved on the 21DSD diet. We also made a rather expensive trip to the store. As we were shopping I paused and said to John, "we really can't eat anything (as I stared at our shopping cart of vegetables)." This is not true. There are plenty of things to eat in this detox, they are just things that we don't eat on a regular basis or don't take the time to cook. We are both so busy with working full time, working out, social events, and grad school that we sometimes don't go the extra mile to fix a balanced meal. It's always easier to just run and grab something convenient and it's always going to be easy to use the crutch phrase"I don't have time" when maybe it's just not the priority. I did some research for recipes last night before we shopped so we would have a better idea of what lies ahead. I didn't want to not be prepared then find myself in a vulnerable state craving a cheeseburger, giving in, then hating myself for being weak.
I spent 3 hours last night prepping food for lunches, snacks, etc. Everything from cleaning lettuce, boiling eggs, cooking and degreasing bacon, and baking chicken tenders for salads. I even took the time to bag everything/put everything in containers so we could just grab and go first thing in the morning. I felt good about this accomplishment!
I would say "cheers" but this is a no alcohol zone on this detox! So, here's to 21 days of taking a huge step in my/our health!!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
New Year, New Habits
'Tis the season for resolutions and happy 2014! Let me start by saying this blog is for inspiration and a way for me to keep track of my health/fitness progress through 2014 (and hopefully beyond 2014). Let me start with a little background.
My healthy/fitness journey began way back after I had gotten engaged to my now husband (4'ish years ago). I was in nursing school, had horrible eating habits, was stressed, and when I drank alcohol it wasn't in small amounts. Since then I have lost around 40lbs and have been pretty good about keeping it off. My husband is a workout/health nut so his motivation to workout forces me to follow in his footsteps. I now enjoy working out more than I did in the past. I grew up being an athlete and continued through college. I was a little burnt out on any form of exercise and was "bored".
In 2011 I developed a love for spinning class and became addicted. I went to class 4-5 times per week and was basically eating cereal for dinner (bc it was quick and convenient and I was too tired to cook after class). Plus, my husband was OK with that plan while other husbands would expect a warm cooked meal on the table at night. Attending spinning class and watching calories really helped me drop weight and tone. My husband and I ran 5k's and 10k's frequently to help keep us motivated. I was (and still am) thankful for his support. It's true when people say it's important to have a workout companion. Although there were times of tears, frustration, and tough love, I thank John for pushing me the way that he did.
So, here we are in 2014. Since those rough days of weight loss I have completed several 5k's, 10k's, a half marathon, and a sprint distance triathlon. The half marathon was a killer (not sure I'd do another one) but, I LOVED every minute of my triathlon. During that time I was getting in really good shape. Sure I still had a few problem areas that I wanted to fix, but over all I felt the best I had ever felt.
The end of 2013 brought some health challenges that included dizzy spells and a lot of head aches. My workout streak was declining, my diet became poor, I was in a car accident, and my husband and I were really getting into enjoying the taste of craft beer. All of this is no bueno when you're not burning 500-800 calories per workout 5 days/week as you were before. Gradually, my pants became tighter, tops aren't fitting as they once were, and I can feel an over all difference physically. Plus, lets not pretend the number on the scale hasn't increased a smidge. THEN, on top of all of those things, the holidays arrived. I tried and tried to resist the holiday deliciousness, but lets face it, I failed.
During all of my dizzy/headache spells I did some research on dietary approaches to helping me feel better. Doctors were trying to throw pills at me to fix my problem. Although this may be a future possibility, I wanted to explore other non-pharmacological options first. The nurse in me wanted to start with "least invasive" (plus, with being married, an "oops" could happen, if you know what I mean. You can't take most medicaitons when you're pregnant.). I searched high and low for multiple books, diet plans, and recipes. I read a little on how eating Gluten Free could help. This idea scared me bc gluten is in EVERYTHING that is good (in my opinion). Beer, desserts, breads/cereals, condiments, literally everything! My husband suggested following more of a "gluten-light" diet. So, we did our best to reduce gluten but not completely cut it out.
I stumbled across a book called the 21 Day Sugar Detox By Diane Sanfilippo, http://the21daysugardetox.com/, and decided to add it to my Christmas list. I am now the owner of the book and am now on Day 1 of the detox journey. I'll write more about this journey in a post following this one.
For now I will say here's to a new journey in 2014! My goal is to be in better health than I was in 2013.
My healthy/fitness journey began way back after I had gotten engaged to my now husband (4'ish years ago). I was in nursing school, had horrible eating habits, was stressed, and when I drank alcohol it wasn't in small amounts. Since then I have lost around 40lbs and have been pretty good about keeping it off. My husband is a workout/health nut so his motivation to workout forces me to follow in his footsteps. I now enjoy working out more than I did in the past. I grew up being an athlete and continued through college. I was a little burnt out on any form of exercise and was "bored".
In 2011 I developed a love for spinning class and became addicted. I went to class 4-5 times per week and was basically eating cereal for dinner (bc it was quick and convenient and I was too tired to cook after class). Plus, my husband was OK with that plan while other husbands would expect a warm cooked meal on the table at night. Attending spinning class and watching calories really helped me drop weight and tone. My husband and I ran 5k's and 10k's frequently to help keep us motivated. I was (and still am) thankful for his support. It's true when people say it's important to have a workout companion. Although there were times of tears, frustration, and tough love, I thank John for pushing me the way that he did.
So, here we are in 2014. Since those rough days of weight loss I have completed several 5k's, 10k's, a half marathon, and a sprint distance triathlon. The half marathon was a killer (not sure I'd do another one) but, I LOVED every minute of my triathlon. During that time I was getting in really good shape. Sure I still had a few problem areas that I wanted to fix, but over all I felt the best I had ever felt.
The end of 2013 brought some health challenges that included dizzy spells and a lot of head aches. My workout streak was declining, my diet became poor, I was in a car accident, and my husband and I were really getting into enjoying the taste of craft beer. All of this is no bueno when you're not burning 500-800 calories per workout 5 days/week as you were before. Gradually, my pants became tighter, tops aren't fitting as they once were, and I can feel an over all difference physically. Plus, lets not pretend the number on the scale hasn't increased a smidge. THEN, on top of all of those things, the holidays arrived. I tried and tried to resist the holiday deliciousness, but lets face it, I failed.
During all of my dizzy/headache spells I did some research on dietary approaches to helping me feel better. Doctors were trying to throw pills at me to fix my problem. Although this may be a future possibility, I wanted to explore other non-pharmacological options first. The nurse in me wanted to start with "least invasive" (plus, with being married, an "oops" could happen, if you know what I mean. You can't take most medicaitons when you're pregnant.). I searched high and low for multiple books, diet plans, and recipes. I read a little on how eating Gluten Free could help. This idea scared me bc gluten is in EVERYTHING that is good (in my opinion). Beer, desserts, breads/cereals, condiments, literally everything! My husband suggested following more of a "gluten-light" diet. So, we did our best to reduce gluten but not completely cut it out.
I stumbled across a book called the 21 Day Sugar Detox By Diane Sanfilippo, http://the21daysugardetox.com/, and decided to add it to my Christmas list. I am now the owner of the book and am now on Day 1 of the detox journey. I'll write more about this journey in a post following this one.
For now I will say here's to a new journey in 2014! My goal is to be in better health than I was in 2013.
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| Cheers to new goals in 2014! |
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