I didn't even lick my fingers.

Thanksgiving is over. I had an awesome weekend of family, games, puzzles, movies, and Christmas decorating. I made it through, fudge free, for 4 days straight. Instead of pie, I splurged and bought a little box of fresh raspberries. I whipped some real cream for the other pies and took a little that wasn't sweetened and added a pack of equal. Then I dipped my raspberries into that and you know what? It was heaven!
I cooked fudge, and baked three pies. Cherry, pumpkin, and coconut. The smell was delightful and yes it was enough. I love the aroma and also the loose feel of my waistline. (It's a good combination). I didn't even so much as lick my fingers.
This was a special Thanksgiving I will always remember. All of the kids helped with the menu and they were each assigned a different dish. We spent quality time together preparing the meal, playing games, doing puzzles, and watching movies. I splurged on Martinelli's (all natural, yea!) buttered popcorn, and 4 slices of pizza while watching the BYU vs. Utah game. I passed on many things but my gratitude far out weighed all of the things I couldn't have. Amazingly, I am down exactly 2 more pounds, for a total of 9.4 in 5 weeks. This Holiday was absolutely wonderful and I was not deprived of anything that really matters. Cheers!

1 month down 11 to go! Going strong!

Today I made it through the first four weeks. That is one month down and 11 to go. I am feeling good. I walked maybe 3 days at the most. I am still having a hard time getting into a regular routine. I am down 1.1 lbs for a total of 7.4!
This week I said no to peppermint sugar cookies, ice cream at the movies, scones from Tressa's bakery, a trio of desserts at Outback, and yummy looking German pastries.
I said yes to several yummy things this week including popcorn with butter, waffles made with molasses and sugar free syrup, shrimp, and tenderloin steak, with garlic mashed potatoes, steel cut oatmeal with walnuts, and my favorite, freshly squeezed orange juice. Is there anything better on this earth than freshly squeezed orange juice? I got so spoiled when I lived in Brazil. This is where I discovered this awesome treat. This is one of my favorite things for this time of year.
I am excited for Thanksgiving this week. I will indulge on Turkey, green beans, salad,stuffing and all the sugar free trimmings. I am passing on the pies, but I am looking forward to the time spent with my 4 girls as we are having a pie making class on Wednesday night. I will splurge and buy myself some fresh fruit for dessert. It should be a weekend full of family, games, laughing, getting the christmas tree and decorating the house, putting up the lights, BYU vs. Utah game, and spending wonderful time together making memories. I don't need anything more than that. Bring it on!!!!

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, in the most delightful way!

3 weeks down and only 49 to go. This last week I spent 5-6 days flat in bed. I wasn't tested for H1N1 flu, but most likely had it and it was awful. At times I rotated Aceteminophen and Ibuprophen every two hours and night times with NyQuil. Some days and nights were filled with Daytime Theraflu and then Nighttime Theraflu. Day 3 I got a prescription for cough syrup that had codeine in it. All of these medicines helped somewhat, some better than others. I haven't paid attention to the ingredients before so you can imagine my shock when finding out that most of these have sugar or high fructose corn syrup in them. I tried to buy sugar free cough drops,and there is such a thing as sugar free Theraflu which implies the regular kind has sugar in it. We had both here at home so I ended up taking whatever we had at the time. But it is the NyQuil that has the corn syrup. And I am not sure what is in the cough syrup with codeine, but I would be willing to guess it has corn syrup and for sure some kind of sugar. If you think for a second I would refuse these products because they have sugar in them, you are nuts and have not had this blasted flu yet. The flu hurt like heck and I took anything that would help me feel even remotely better. I put it in the category of condiments. My first post said I would not be able to catch everything and some things like Ketchup are going to have sugar in there. I am counting my NyQuil, and codeine as my ketchup.
I am feeling better and hoping to exercise this week. I have said that for the last two weeks and still have not been on a regular schedule. My weight has stayed the exact same as when I lost 6 pounds after the first week. Looking forward to Thanksgiving and lots of vegetables. What's everyone else doing? How is it going for you all?

The smell is enough. (Could that really be true?)

I made cinnamon rolls for the gal that I visit teach on Sunday. I got in the car and the smell was intoxicating. I took a big whiff and enjoyed the aroma. I could imagine what it would taste like. I then imagined what my gut would feel like after I snarfed one down. It most likely tasted awesome. My pants would suddenly get tighter, my head would start to spin and I would have a headache. Regardless of that, then I pictured myself having another one because the one minute of pleasure would be worth it, I would think. Pants would get tighter, and I would help myself to one more. Then feeling very sluggish, tired and mentally cloudy, I would probably have one more. This is the cycle for me. At the end of the whole scene in my head, I went back to paying attention to how I felt NOT eating the cinnamon roll and I felt good. My jeans are loose and I feel good. I decided it is better to feel good and slender then the alternative I just dreamed up. The smell was enough and it was heaven.
I came across a talk on KBYU that was from a Women's Conference a few years ago by Linda Flanagan. She says,
"As our weaknesses are made known unto us, they are like rocks. Ready to be polished, and as we turn them over to God, He will help us change them into Ruby's and Diamonds. Then we will see our weaknesses as treasures and thank Him."

I am not sure how this is possible, but I have faith and a desire to change. I am wondering if a year is long enough.

Yesterday marks two weeks. Only 50 to go. The second week has been hard but not as hard as the first week. I have a couple of projects I am working on that are keeping me rather busy. And, they are hard enough that it scares me pretty good. Enough so that my mind has been much more worried about other things than what I can or mostly can't eat. So my advice here is to stay very busy. It's been great that I can work on these projects with a clear head, and my energy level has been raised. That brings me a lot of satisfaction with what I am doing.

Thump

Did you hear that? It was me falling off the wagon. I am back on sugar and now need to start over again. I wont give up but I also am going to go a little less extreme in the hopes I wont rebound as much. I am working on just being more careful for now and sliding into more.

This is fun. Not.

Happy Post Halloween to me!

Yea! I lost 6.3 pounds in my first week of no sugar. That is amazing. I didn't even exercise. I feel great and I am so excited to get that first miserable week and Halloween out of the way. On to better things.
This week I am going to add in 1/2 hour of walking hopefully every day.
I am feeling committed and it is so much easier to get out of bed in the morning when I have done what I'm supposed to do and can have a positive, hopeful mindset. The alternative is not good. Don't want to go there again.
I love the Fall and can't wait to enjoy the crisp air, falling leaves, and vibrant colors, as I walk every day. There is no time to be ungrateful.