Hello Challengers!
This has been such a great and motivational group effort! Please remember that if you have social media -- click the links at the end of the email to join the discussion (much more involved than these emails). Also, if you have forwarded the FB group to your friends, they may be lost without the information that was originally sent to you when you registered at www.sphealth.org/sugarchallenge.
Registration helps to ease the confusion with the handouts
that get sent and gets them on these emails.
OK....enough of the housekeeping and on to the real meat (pun totally intended):
HOW DO YOU FEEL?
There is no right or wrong answers here. We are a little over 1/3 of the way into the challenge -- and depending on what your body's current state was will determine how you feel. Me? I've been doing this for over a decade and I know to wait until week 3. At week 3, I always feel this crazy transition in which I honestly think I'm never going to drink alcohol and eat any added sweetener again. Haha. I want to remind you -- that outcome is not the point (unless you want it to be).
For some -- they feel the effects almost immediately after a grueling week of headaches and lethargy.
All in all, here's what to expect (whether you're already there, almost there, not sure you're ever going to be there, etc.):
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Less cravings -- by eliminating food products and added sweetener, your blood sugar does not have highs and lows
- Equally important for the above is ensuring you're eating regularly (enough calories and also never going too long...ex: more than 4 hrs)
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More energy -- your metabolism (aka "engine") runs so much better when it's only dealing with the components it's designed to metabolize -- meaning nourishment.
- Without the distraction of synthetics and added sweetener, your body can run smooth which equates to more energy.
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Learning a ton - please know I understand how frustrating this can be. It's not you (and it's not me). That's the food industry. They have purposefully made it extremely difficult for you to trust, to understand, to not become defensive about your choices.
- This is why our food labels are in the metric system (which, remember, we do not follow in America).
- This is why we have eliminated real food thinking we're choosing food products that are healthier (ex: store-bought milk alternatives, among others) rather than figuring out the real source of issue or simpler solutions or just not trying to substitute a food you've cut out.
- Identifying food vs. food product -- This challenge isn't about NEVER having added sweetener, alcohol or food products again. It's elimination for one month so you are cleaned out and can start the following month off well.
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Come Feb 1 -- choosing real foods over food products since you've had 31 days to investigate
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Come Feb 1 -- ditching all, or most all, synthetic sweeteners and keeping your real sugar intake to the recommended amounts (6-9tsp/day) as a normal eating pattern
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Come Feb 1 -- hopefully realizing being in control of your food rather than relying on eating out (which will hardly ever fit the healthy profile) is so much better for you all around.
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Come Feb 1 -- recognizing that any chosen food product comes AFTER you've built your meals and snacks out of real nourishment -- it should never replace real food and shouldn't be the mainstay of your eating pattern.
Tips:
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Keep going -- this isn't about being perfect if you feel you're not meeting the challenge
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Keep learning elsewhere - ask questions, post in FB, watch recipe videos, try new recipes
- Stay positive! You won't regret it, and I assure you some new behavior will come out of this.
- Don't believe everything you read. The food industry targets folks who want to be healthy. Trust your sources (like me ;))
Happy Tuesday!
Jaime
Your friendly challenge leader
