Sweet

 

An interesting thing happened on April 1st. I gave up sugar. 

Today it’s been almost two months of life without added sugar and I can honestly say I’ve not really missed it. Technically I have has dessert on Easter, Mother’s Day and one random other day. 

However, my daily consumption of added sugar has come to a screeching  halt. I have become quite content with a little cutie as my sweet of choice. 

I didn’t intend to give up sugar that day, but I was listening to a podcast about a woman who had beaten drug addiction. She told the story of receiving a coin for one day sober. 

I wondered if I could go one day without eating candy? What I did know for sure was that I do much better abstaining than moderating. One chip at a Mexican restaurant can lead to ten, while saying no to that first chip makes it easy to refrain. 

So I did it. I went one day without candy, and that turned into two and then a month, and then almost two months. 

What I found was I no longer craved sugar and my palate seemed to be craving healthier choices. Everything healthy just seemed to taste better. 

Along with the giving up of sweets I had already challenged myself about a month before to start walking thirty minutes three times a week. Over time that turned into five times a week. This was due to a Wellness class I had started attending in February at my local hospital. 

I reinvested in a Fitbit and kept track of my steps. Eight to ten thousand steps a day became the norm. 

Along with more intentional healthy eating an interesting thing happened. After giving up the sugar I was able to lose seven pounds in a  little over a month. 

I had been trying to lose those dang pounds for over a year, but they just seemed stuck. 

I also learned that my cholesterol had gone down sixty points, and I was no longer showing to be insulin resistant. It was as if my body was beginning to work properly again. 

Between no sugar, more activity, healthier food choices and doing resistance exercise at the gym two times a week, the weight seemed to becoming off easily. And without me feeling deprived.

Now what I excused as an addiction to sugar turned out not to be. I literally had no side effects when I gave up sugar. No cravings, no headache. Basically, it took a little self-discipline for a few days, and I was good to go. 

I will share with you, though, that I did use a little plastic quarter given to me by my grandson, as my “sober coin.” I kept it in my pocket, and would take it out to remind me of what I was striving toward. It was a physical representation of giving up sugar. 

Now you might wonder about those times that I did indulge. To be honest they were just okay-nothing earth shattering. I don’t have a problem celebrating a special occasion with a sweet treat. It’s not having sugar a regular part of my life that I really enjoy now.

MAHA

Latest Snack Obsession

 I wanted to share with you my latest snack obsession. 

 I picked up a package of sweet peppers from H‑E‑B. 

I cut the pepper in half and scraped away the seeds. 

Then I spread a wedge of light Laughing Cow cheese inside the pepper. 

Finally, I sprinkled Everything but the Bagel seasoning on top. 

Talk about yummy! That and the crunchiness makes it really tasty.

Do you have a favorite healthy snack? 

Fun

 

I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t have enough fun in my life. Of course, what exactly is fun? According to Merriam-Webster fun is, “providing entertainment, amusement, or enjoyment.”

Now this may seem simple enough, but in reality what one person finds fun another may not. It took me a while to figure this out. 

When everyone was anticipating the opening game of baseball season I could have cared less. Yes, I had attended several games over the years, and always enjoyed the company, but the game itself was rarely what I found interesting or fun. 

Today, however, I look forward to attending my grandsons games, not so much for the love of the game, but rather for the love of my grandsons. I always have a fun time hanging out with them, and love being one of their biggest supporters.

As I contemplate the things that I find fun I actually came up short. Dare say, I may be considered a stick in the mud when it comes to fun. I rarely just cut loose. 

In fact, some of the things I used to enjoy doing no longer appeal to me. However, sadly I’ve not come up with a list of new fun things to take their place. 

In an attempt to study fun a little more (now doesn’t that sound fun, except to me it does) I started observing my three year old grandson whose middle name should be FUN. 

He approaches life with an attitude of fun. He misses no opportunity to enjoy life. Whether it’s riding his balance bike through a giant puddle, shaking his booty to the Gummy Bear song, or playing endlessly in the sandbox with his trucks he embraces all the fun that life offers.

I definitely could learn a thing or two from him. I’ve noticed that as we age many of us embrace inhibition. We have been conditioned to care too much about what others think, and have made people pleasing a high priority.

It’s very hard to have fun without a Iight disposition.  If everywhere you look you see what is wrong you begin to walk around with a dark cloud overhead. 

Children are generally carefree in their demeanor, and take in the wonder of the tiniest roly poly, or the muddiest puddle. They have a gleam in their eye as they look for the next fun thing always expecting to find it. 

The other day we were out riding in the pasture with our grandsons. At one point all of them opened their mouths wide and screamed at the top of their lungs. 

Now my adult sensibilities told me to keep my mouth shut,but in the spirit of fun I opened my mouth wide and screamed along with them. I must admit it felt good to just cut loose. 

Today I’m on a quest (one of my favorite things and something I consider fun) to identify all the things I consider fun. I’m also hoping to add a few new fun things that I’ve not considered before. 

Looking back to your own childhood is a good place to start. What you loved to do as a child might be a great starting point, and could point you toward something you might enjoy doing today. 

However, when doing so consider the words of author of The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, 

“You can choose what you do, but you can’t choose what you like to do.”

This can serve as a compass in determining the things that really ring true to you, and not just something you’ve gone along with over the years. 

What do you consider fun?