Phase Two Reboot

Long time no read, right?  I know.  I'm seriously absent and tardy from blogging.  I decided to take a much needed vacation from blogging (and a lot of other things).  Let me fill you in on what I've been up to since I've been away.

In my last entry, I shared that I completed my first half marathon.  It was an amazing experience.  I'm so glad I did it, and I plan to do it again.  It was also mentally draining and physically exhausting.  After the marathon, I had two trips coming up - Minneapolis and Jamaica.  So, I decided to take a well deserved vacation from blogging.... and healthy eating.

Yes, sir!  I was living la vida loca!  If I wanted it, I ate it.  I ate heaps of hot tamales and jelly bellies.  So much so that I'm surprised I didn't turn into either of those things.  It's funny how the candies I crave aren't loaded with fat. In fact, my favorites pride themselves on being fat free.  That's great, right?   Because I'm ingesting my calories and they are all coming from sugar and not added fat (insert sarcasm).

Well, we all know the answer to that question, or at least I hope we do.  I knew what I was doing, I just didn't care.  I was tired of eating right. It's not fun. My taste buds were having hissy fits and my body was literally screaming for sugar.  You all know that sugar is my weakness.  Any form of sugar.  I don't discriminate.  Carbohydrates are what my body craves, and I gave into that for a good couple of weeks.

This is my kryptonite!

I won't lie.  I was also despondent at my plateau problem.  I've been hanging at the same weight for a very long time, and no matter what I did or what I ate, it didn't go anywhere.  So, I figured I'd be happy where I am and eat my weight in jelly bellies and keep exercising.  That's how I justified my guilt at eating these little beans of heavenly goodness, when really there isn't any justification.

So I ate my sugar and exercised.  I vacationed and enjoyed myself knowing that eventually I needed to get back on track.  So, I picked a day where I would get back on track and let these heavenly beans and all they represent go.  I knew I had to do this because I can't exist in moderation.  Moderation just gives me an excuse to eat things that I know aren't good for me, and eventually it leads to binging.

It was a very humbling experience reflecting back on where I went wrong..where I pointed the fingers! LOW CARB IS WRONG!  Remember that?  I was so anti-low carb because of my negative experiences in the past.  I didn't want to go back to that, and I'm not.  But I did learn something in all this soul searching and recent research.  Smart carbs is a great choice.

Smart carbs.  Your body does require some carbohydrate for body functions. I'm deciding to be choosy in what carbs I eat.  Sweet potatoes yes... White potatoes no.  Berries yes.... Bananas no.  I'm also staying away from dried fruit.  I know I have a huge sugar problem, and when I did the Whole 30, I used dried apricots as my sugar bomb to keep my addiction going.  If I really want to kick the sugar habit, that means no dried fruit and very little fruit.  So, that's where I'm heading.

Sorry dudes.  I must quit you.

Why am I doing this?  Because I feel I have too.  I have a huge sugar problem, and don't be fooled.  Any food that has carbohydrate will turn into sugar when digested.  If I want to get my sugar issues under control, I must chose my foods carefully and avoid those that will send me in a sugar shame spiral.  So... no more jelly bellies, wheat products, corn, rice, and so on. 

I need to keep focused on my ultimate goals.  Performance wise, I'm still doing great.  I'm picking up Insanity for the next three months along with a specialized class that focuses on kettle bells and TRX suspension training.  Now that I'm not in marathon mode training, I'm picking up Zumba again, and let me tell you, that class kicked my ass last week.  I'm happy to be back to that.

Maybe taking a vacation was good for me.  I was feeling lost and very tired.  Frustrated and bored.  I did what I wanted and revolted against what I knew was the right thing to do.  Sometimes, you need to experience that the grass isn't so green on the other side.  Blurred Lines no more.  Now, I can see.

So, I've been smart carbing for seven days now.  My reboot started effective July 8th.  It was tough this week.  On Wednesday, I almost caved in and bought a pack of Snapple Jelly Bellies. I was searching my house for any leftover candy.  I realized I was acting like an addict so I backed off ate dinner and went to bed.  The rest of the week was much better.

This week I hope will be much smoother. I have to keep myself busy and weekends are tough with so much idle time.  I have the Dirty Girl Run on Saturday so I'll be sharing some photos of that.  I'm looking forward to it.  I'm sure I'll have some funny stories.

I'm happy to be back to my blog.  I missed it, and I missed my readers.  I need you guys. You keep me honest and accountable.  Thanks for reading and you support.  Until next time...