New Conquest: The No Sugar Diet

Last March 7, I was sick and was on full bed rest, which allowed me to finish an entire season of House of Cards. Season 4 was not available in Netflix PH, and I didn't have the energy to start another binge, so I scrolled my Facebook feed and chanced upon an article about how some guy was able to think sharp after he went on a No-Sugar diet. I have been going through some stuff and I knew that I needed a big change to get myself out of my rut.

You have to understand - I love dessert. Sometimes I consider it a full meal by itself. Often times, it's an accessory to a crime (that involved steak! And pasta! And more dessert!) I tried controlling my sugar portions by only allowing myself to eat dessert twice a week, listing down the time I went beyond my two treats allowable. But I found that I ate one version of dessert or another everyday! And that I could not stop :( I have gone through pacts with my friends where we promise ourselves not to eat sugar for 20 days, and report to each other when we would feel tempted. After restarting the pact 20 times, because we would relent to our cravings for 20 straight days, we decided to stop lying to ourselves.

That's why going cold turkey on dessert is a big thing for me.

Today is March 21. I had a donut last March 15 and then had lots of cake last night (mega cheat!). From March 7 - 20, I admittedly did some unintentional cheating with refined sugar (in the form of white rice, sauce on grilled items, etc), so I can only claim a couple of two or so straight no-refined sugar days. But even with the unintentional cheating, my refined sugar intake was definitely below the 25g daily allowable for women. Over the days from Mar 7 up to the morning of Mar 20, the first few days was tough, but after getting through maybe the first four, I started to feel full fast or just eat when I'm hungry. Yesterday, though, was a major cheat day for a big lunch with the fambam and a bachelorette party in the evening. I don't know, maybe its just in my head, but after all the refined sugar I had yesterday, I don't know if I can gain that sort of control again!

But I know I have to. I found my old buried instagram account that I set up to follow inspirational girls who changed their eating and exercise habits and became happier individuals. I want to be part of that natural high. So maybe if I take part of this change, I'll feel happier, too. Feelings, after all, are but a mixture of chemicals in our bodies.

So I'm putting myself on my own 21 day challenge. 21 days of meal planning and no refined sugar. I don't know how to do that yet, or if I'll survive! I'm usually just all about goal setting without getting anything done... But may I please win for at least 21 days?

Everyday for 21 days I'll list my meal plan for the day and give an update if I won - at life! - the day before. I hope this'll inspire you to take a leap on that change, too.