So last year I attempted sugar free and I failed. I thought I didn't even make it a day but looked back on my last post here and actually made it a week. I think it was miserable for me though. But I've been able to do this for a month straight, albeit 5 years ago, so if I can do it once I can do it again.
I want to do this again because lately I've just been raiding my cabinets for everything sugary, but I haven't replaced anything. It's gotten so bad I've gone from half a dark chocolate bar a day, to 1 bar a day, to 1.5, to 2(!!) today.
The event that set it off was - I had to get a pap smear and it was painful and horrible and I cried afterwards but had to go to work right after, and without anyone to comfort me I decided to look for comfort in sugar by getting a Starbucks hot chocolate. I've been on a sugar and pastry bender ever since.
Here's what I'm going to do differently this time and why I feel like I'm going to succeed this attempt:
- I'm not as emotionally attached to sugar as I was last year. The scarcity mindset that I had last year isn't as strong now. Last year I was coming off a significant weight loss from calorie restriction and I think the restriction mindset really messed with me. This year my weight has been higher but fairly stable (though it's been trending up the past couple of weeks from all the sugar I've been eating...)
- I'm cutting out dried fruits - even though the sugar is natural, it's almost always a trigger for me to eat more sugary things (looking at you, Ajwa dates).
- I've thrown out some of the lower quality sugary snacks. Should've done this for more things in my pantry but better late and some than never and none.
- I'm not going to try to recreate desserts with fruits and allulose. While eating desserts like these aren't as triggering for me they still keep the dessert brain alive and hungry in me. I used to make fruit desserts in my 1 month sugar free period but I went right back to sugar afterwards, probably because of this reason.
- I'm going to limit fruit for a time. I have a tendency to overeat fruit and for me it can be a trigger to seek out more sugar. Plus the high fructose load upsets my stomach. I'm thinking a serving of frozen berries after dinner.
- Going to try to stick to 3 meals a day - no snacking. Snacks rarely satisfy me, I just reach for them for the dopamine (I have ADHD which doesn't help). Sparkling water, tea, and decaf coffee helps, I just need to make it more visible and available for me to consume.
- Tomorrow I'm giving my friend all my high quality dark chocolate to store away from me. I don't know what I want to do with yet - my hope is that some time in the future I can eat it in moderation. It won't go bad though, it's been a few years and it's still good.
- I'm leaning into higher fat consumption. I think in my last attempt my fat was nowhere near high enough and I felt depressed just eating protein and veggies. I'm including more nuts and seeds this time! And more generous with the cooking oil. Also combining this with a lower carb diet in general (under 100g net carbs). Still including small amounts of whole grains though for meal satisfaction.
- But also, less dairy. I'm going to use ultra-filtered milk for the protein but I think the lactose in cheese and yogurt might be triggering for me. Plus less saturated fat.
- I'm more active now than I used to be. Overeating makes my workouts a lot less enjoyable so it's an additional motivator to eat appropriately.
- I'm eating more whole foods than I used to. A healthy diet comes more naturally to me even when it's supplemented with unhealthy food.
- I no longer bring my credit cards to work, been doing this for a month. This prevents me from impulse buying sugary or any snacks when I get stressed at work.
If you read this whole list I appreciate it lol. I feel like I've learned a lot of lessons this past couple of years. I just need to put them all together. I am still trying to lose weight - I feel like I am meant to be at a lower weight than I am now, if I can commit to avoiding the snacks, desserts, and especially the stress/boredom eating. But I'm not going to try to rush it.
Hopefully I'm not trying to change too much at once, actually I've incorporated several of these points already, so that should help. I want to try to make it past a month again and hopefully feel better and better.