I Kicked My Sugar Addiction with Potato Chips....Seriously.

So I honestly think I've kicked the old sugar addiction. It took about 5 years and 4,003 false starts, but this time, I think the success is for real. The only way I can describe the way I feel right now is this: huge relief.

Sugar is bad, bad news. Especially when it's a part of your every day diet. Now don't get me wrong, the occasional piece of birthday cake or popcorn and soda at a sappy chick flick is good for the soul--and I don't plan to give that up. But sugary treats as an every day (or multiple times a day) habit? That's an absolute recipe for disaster.

Heart Disease? Diabetes? Acne? Lethargy? I'll stop.

Yesterday I saw this picture at Whole9's facebook page, and it literally made me say, "Holy $%^@." Don't worry, my kids are used to that kind of talk.

The caption said: Under normal circumstances, this is how much sugar is in ALL of your blood. Think what happens when you add 1-2 tsp of sugar/honey to your coffee/tea. Or, God forbid, you drink 2 ounces of soda. #Ouch

Whoa my goodness. That just jumped right into my face, and I'm so grateful that I seem to have a handle on this sugar thing. Just to be clear, when I say I had/have a sugar addiction, let me elaborate. On a typical day I was eating 1,000-1,500 calories of good nutritious food, and no joke, 600-1,000 calories of sugary treats.

I would eat breakfast, then I'd have candy. I would eat lunch, and I'd sneak away from work for a hot chocolate and a gigantic chocolate chip muffin. Then I'd eat dinner, and cap it off with a couple bowls of ice cream. 

I totally appreciate this comment from Stephanie on yesterday's post, because a few weeks ago, I swear I could have written it myself:

"So far this afternoon I have had five wintogreen lifesavers, six mini candy canes left over from Christmas, and two packets of hot apple cider mix poured straight into my mouth. Bring on the strategy."

Everyone likes sugar.  But poor Stephanie ate a whole mess of gross stuff, just to get the sugar buzz. I can so SO relate.

Okay. Now that I've established the fact that I wasn't just an occasional cake eater--and you really believe that high fructose corn syrup was pumping through my veins--I'll get to my Ah Ha! moment.

A few weeks ago, Jared and I started watching old episodes of Celebrity Rehab on Netflix. I immediately noticed 2 things. 1) Dr. Drew is a ridiculous babe and has moved to the top spot on the People-I-Would-Do-It-With-Even-Though-I'm-Married list, and 2) Those addicts in treatment smoke the sh!t out of their cigarettes.

No one walks in to that rehab facility and says, "You know what Dr. Drew? Today I'm gonna quit crack and heroin, and sugar, and cigarettes, and diet coke, and looking at girly magazines. Oh, and maybe I'll give up gluten, too."

No. They're like, "I'm here to quit heroin and crack, and smoke 1 million cigarettes and drink gallons of diet coke while I do it."

Clearly cigarettes and diet coke are crappy for your body, but not nearly as horrible as crack and heroin. So why not get rid of the biggies first, and then tackle the secondary issues?

Honestly, I could relate to this way of thinking so so much. Of all 4,003 times I've failed at giving up sugar, I've simultaneously failed at giving up white flour, processed foods, and keeping my calories under 1,800 each day.

I think...no, I know I was trying to do too much at once.

Then I read this article by Tina Haupert of Carrots n' Cake, and my eyes were totally opened.

I decided to give up sugary treats only, during lent (February 22nd until April 8th). Why lent? Because it never hurts to have Baby Jesus in your court. Can I get an Amen?

So basically I gave up baked goods, ice cream, candy...that kind of stuff.

For the first week I ate anything I wanted...as long as it wasn't a sugary treat. Bacon, potato chips, Subway footlongs....anything. I also exercised a little bit more to make up for the gluttony.

When I got a sugar craving, I ate a few chips. When I felt like I 'deserved' a treat, I had a meatball sub for lunch instead of a huge slab of cake. Nothing was off limits--except for the sugary treats. I also had a go-to healthy smoothie recipe--a cup of unsweetened almond or coconut milk, 1 or 2 extra ripe bananas, and a scoop of unsweeted baking cocoa (10 calories, no sugar, loaded with iron). That smoothie is so freaking good, and tastes just like a chocolate milk shake. And the only sugar comes from the bananas

I have to admit that slipped up once that first week. I was on an extremely stressful phone call with a friend, had a RIDICULOUS sugar craving and ate a spoonful of cold hot fudge. But guess what? That was all I had. I've had a few mini moments of weakness since, but nothing I can't overlook.

I really think I'm free!

This past week, I've been focusing on cleaning up my eating in other ways--mostly planning out healthy meals so I don't feel tempted to swing through a drive-thru. By the end of Lent, I really think my diet will be where I want it to be.

Did I get to a super healthy diet cold turkey? No. Not at all. But I'm getting there and making real progress. I can now make it through one day, or five days without sugar, which I never would have imagined! I can also eat a yogurt as a treat, which is just absurd for a person like me. I also eat potato chips, but I don't OVER eat potato chips.

I'm so happy. My runs are better, I feel more energetic, and I'm not constantly consumed with thoughts of treats any more.

This is week 2, here's to hoping it sticks and keeps on improving!

One million thanks to Dr. Drew and his Hollywood addicts for smoking like chimneys. They helped me see the light of moderation and being reasonable.

You can do it, too.

It's a Damn Cold Day in a Hell

Holy crap, I think I kicked my sugar habit. In the last 12 days I've had a gluten free brownie, a few bites of my husband's Ben & Jerry's, and a couple Skittles. 2 weeks ago, that would have been my breakfast dessert.

No joke, I found my strategy by watching Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

More details tonight when I have an actual keyboard to type on.

Body Fat Check In

I'm 1 week into my body fat experiment, and so far I'm down from 25.9% to 25.4%. I've still got 5 weeks to go to hit my goal of 24%. I think that's pretty good!

There's been no magic trick to make it happen, just more strength training, more protein, more fruits and vegetables, less sugar, and almost no flour. My sweet treats have shifted from baked stuff like cookies and brownies to a few squares of dark chocolate, or a 1/2 cup of ice cream. Also, I've upped my running pace a few notches.

I'm especially happy since I went to a weekend-long family Christmas party this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I tried to load my plate with protein and veggies, and only make it to the dessert table once a day. I had to have a slice of my aunt's famous red velvet cake, but I only had a little piece--major victory in Amyland.

My goal this week, given the fact that I'm making a huge batch of Pioneer Woman cinnamon buns tonight and Christmas falls on Sunday, is to make it down to 25.2%. I'll keep you posted.

Lunchtime Tweaks

I usually don't eat out for lunch. Not because I don't love to eat out, but because it gets expensive. I work close enough to home that I usually blitz out and eat some leftovers while I catch an episode of The Duggars on Netflix Instant.

I love my life.

But today my schedule's all over the place, so I ended up grabbing lunch at a deli.

When I walked through the door of the deli, I wanted a Turkey Rachel. It's only the most amazing sandwich on the face of the planet....turkey with thousand island dressing, swiss cheese, and a heap of coleslaw, on buttered rye bread, grilled. Holy crap, it's hands down the best food item ever invented. But the butter alone makes it more of a treat sandwich and less of a normal-old-Thursday sandwich.

So I moved on and opted for this:

Yes, I'm a trainer who eats potato chips.

There are a few 'keys' to this lunch:

1) I ordered half of a sandwich. Yes, it has a little bit of mayo and swiss cheese, but only half as much as a regular sandwich.

2) I wanted the corn chowder--because HELLO????!!!! it's the soup of the gods--but again, it's heavy on the butter. And the cream. And all other manners of goodness. So I opted for the chicken and barley soup instead.

3) And the chips? It's a tiny bag that has 80 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. Much better choice than the potato salad and seriously, who doesn't love a chip?

Staying lean isn't about making extreme choices or eating strange foods. It's about making decent choices consistently. Sure I made a few little sacrifices, but that was a stinkin' good lunch. Plus, no blech feeling and zero regrets.

People, you can have your Turkey Rachel and eat it, too.......but save it for date night.

What Does a Personal Trainer Eat?

I get this question at least once a day, and every time it comes up, before I can honestly answer I ask, "Do you mean today or yesterday or in general? Because whatever you mean, I'll tell you the truth."

Sometimes the truth is embarrassingly perfect, and other times it's so far beyond humiliating that there are no appropriate words in the human language. Most of the time it's somewhere in between.

Just like most women in the world, I have my angelic super-food days where it's been nothing but 1,800 calories of lean protein, organic greens, nutty snacks and angel dust. This is about 10% of the time.

Another 10% of my days are the days where I eat Lucky Charms, Cherry Coke, Cake, the Wendy's $1 menu, and maybe an apple. For lunch. 3,000 calories of pure ugh.

But most days are somewhere in the middle--and those days are my favorites. I'm having one of those days today, so I'll share what that looks like. But before I do, I'll give you a few fun facts:

1) In my world there aren't any off-limit foods or food groups.
2) I'm prone to eating too much fat...like 100+ grams a day if I don't pay attention kind of prone.
3) I used to be a hardcore sugar addict, took me about two weeks to kick the habit, and now I'm able to eat sugar in moderation.
4) However, I cannot, under any circumstances eat brownies in moderation. Sometimes I make them any way. I always regret it.
5) I'm 5'8" 145-150ish pounds, and wear a size 6-10...mostly an 8.
6) I probably have more stomach flab than your average coach/trainer. But man I'm a happy person!

I'll share my menu with you a couple times a week. Here's today:

BREAKFAST: 2 slices of whole grain toast, 2 fried eggs, and a smoothie made with blueberries, strawberries, kale, pumpkin, water, and a little big of agave nectar.

LUNCH: A sweet potato, half of a cucumber, half a can of chick peas, with light poppy seed dressing. A scoop of sunflower seed butter, and a grapefruit.

DINNER: That'll be 2 slices of pizza and a salad with light dressing.

That just about takes me to 2,000 calories and 60 grams of fat, so any other snacks will be fruits and veggies. I'm planning to run tonight, 3-5 miles, so I'll definitely have a recovery smoothie or a Greek yogurt to follow that up.

I'll check back in tomorrow and let you know how it all turned out.

But before I sign off, can you see how I balanced the super healthy breakfast and lunch with the gas station pizza for dinner? There's NOTHING WRONG WITH PIZZA!!!!! You just have to plan around it a little bit!