New Year, New Me

I am not one to make New Year's resolutions.  I don't know why.  Maybe because I'm lazy?  If I'm going resolve anything, I usually wait until Lent to give up something and/or add something to make me a better person.

This year was different. 

Over the last year I have noticed I've been gaining weight.  Not that I was thin or svelte, but I've been noticing little things - my wedding ring was tighter and had a harder time going on, I went up two cup sizes in my bra - something that hadn't occurred in over 10 years and my pants started getting tighter around my thighs.  I haven't stepped on a scale (unless I have to for a doctor) in over five years because I never thought I had the need.  I wasn't excited with the way I looked, but my clothes size and appearance really hadn't changed much in 12 years, so I didn't think anything about it.  Until about the last two months...

And I stepped on the scale.

I had gained about 15 pounds. Ugh.  I was as heavy as I was at my top weight when I was pregnant with Annie - 14 years ago. 

So, for the last two months, I have been soul-searching about what to do about this weight.  I've done Weight Watchers before and with some success - but the thought of weighing, measuring and counting really did not appeal to me this time.  I also had done a prescription of Phenteromine, which worked really well, but insurance would not pay for it.  I really did not want to spend a lot of money "dieting" because I knew once I had hit my goal weight, I'd go back to my same eating habits. 

And then it hit me...

I needed to look at my eating habits.  And they were Bad, Bad, Bad...

Suffice it to say that I was probably consuming 5000 calories per day - at a minimum.  And I say that I think - because I'm a mindless eater.  If I want it, I eat it.  If I'm emotional, I eat.  If I'm bored, I eat.  Also, I had switched from diet pop to regular pop this year because I was sick earlier in the year and it ruined my taste for diet pop.  I bet - although I didn't track, I drank at least 2100 - 2500 calories per DAY of regular soda. Then I ate whatever I wanted on top of those calories.

So, I started thinking that I should start with caffeine - and eliminate that from my diet.  This would eliminate the pop drinking...maybe. Because what would stop me from decaf?  Or non-caffeinated pop?  Then December came and I was more conscious of what I was putting in my mouth and I realized that my problem was sugar and carbs. 

I was out on Pinterest and saw a 21 day sugar detox plan.  I thought that was perfect (it takes 21 days to form a habit) and I could do anything for 21 days - it had an end in sight.  Which, unlike a diet has no ending because you don't know when the last pound will come off - and truly if I was going to diet - for all the weight I needed to lose, I'm talking months to years.  Days I can handle.

I would start on January 2nd to give me a few days of no sugar before I started back to school.  No one needs a grumpy teacher on the first day back from break!

My blog will be my "No Sugar Journey" for awhile to track how I'm doing breaking my addiction to sugar.

Stay tuned...