Diary of a Sugar-aholic

So I told you guys that it's now been a month of no processed sugar for me.  By no, I mean, none to extremely low, I check all labels when I buy things and make sure it's under 3 grams per serving.  I still have my fruit and things, natural sugar like that is ok with me.  I am the kind of person that has always loved sugar.  Not so much soda(thank goodness I never cared for it), but baked goods(I love to bake), chocolate, candy.  I just love sugar.  I would always have some kind of sugar, if not a few times a day, then at least after dinner. I always had my dessert.  Well I decided it was time for a change and I had to get it under control.  Do I still crave it?  Yea I would like to have some, and maybe after a while longer and I can let myself have some here and there, but for now I know I would have a huge sugar binge if I gave in now.  I've been very proud of myself because I've had extreme will power.  Especially when I was in Chicago and went to native cafe twice and both times did not give in to the tasty vegan desserts, no matter how delicious they looked!!!  I've missed sugar for sure and I feel like I'm still getting it out of my system, but it's getting better.  When I first gave it up I felt awful!! People say you should feel better, but I did NOT!  I didn't have energy, i was cranky, you know, you're usual withdrawal stuff.  It's gotten better but I could still use it sometimes.  As for replacements, well, if you know about this stuff you can probably guess.  CARBS!  Your body turns carbs into sugar and boy did I want to eat anything and everything carb related!  4 bowls of cheerios here, a bagel there, sheesh!  That wasn't exactly healthy either, but one evil in exchange for another I suppose.  My body is getting used to no sugar so it has backed off the carb overloading at least.  I still have some here and there but at least it's not 4 times a day!!!  So that's pretty much my journey through this so far.  Like I said, I hope to one day be able to have some sugar here or there as an indulgence thing, I don't want to miss out on all the good stuff of life, and I feel it's important to indulge every once and a while as long as it's just that.  I'm feeling proud and good about all of this.  I miss it, all the time, but the feeling of overpowering that craving and being stronger than it makes me happy and gives me hope that spills into other areas of my life.  It's a good feeling!  So if you're struggling with something, just know it's possible to overcome it!  You can do anything you put your mind to.  I'm living proof of that right now.  I know no one that knows me would have ever guessed I could give up sugar, especially for as long as I have!

Back in black 2013

well, black is a slimming color....and well...it goes with almost everything.  I don't think I own a pair of gym pants that aren't black, let's face it...my ass looks great in some black workout pants, especially after deadlifts and good mornings....ok I'm over it.  How is everyone's new year going??? I hate new years resolutions, i prefer to set some specific goals throughout the year.  It's the middle of January and I've set a few already.  i will get to those after I talk about how my year ended.  For the most part HORRIBLE!!!  JUST AWFUL! I'm talking fitness wise here, my personal life shall remain that way so don't worry about that.  The holidays crept in, the winter break/terrible schedule arrived, the winter mood set in, and before you know it, I was on my couch watching tv and eating junk!  Now, I'm not a big person, I don't think I am, I have no doubt I'm a good size by anyone's standards, but let's be honest, I have specific goals here and just because I'm not obese doesn't mean I can slack on them!  Still looking ok after gaining 15 pounds in 2 weeks is not an excuse to keep going the route I was.  I am not a magic metabolism machine, my metabolism is terrible, thank you Duncan genes.  I stop eating healthy and it "normal" by America's standards, cut down to 2-3 days in the gym instead of 5-6 and bam, there I go, 15 pounds back on.  It was awful, I wanted to smack myself, and instead I ate a cookie and cried....well I didn't cry I just ate a cookie and thought what the hell am I doing with each bite.  Hello, my name is Chelsea and I'm a sugar-aholic.  My stress reliever/keep yourself busy thinking about other things is baking...terrible habit to have!  I'd lost about 5 of the pounds by the end of the year, but I still had a ways to go just to get back where I was, which was still not close to my goals.

Fast forward to today, I'm sitting here with my fruit, romaine lettuce with walnut oil, and left over tenderloin.  Feeling pretty great.  School is back in session and so I'm back into my routine.  I've been running again, lifting heavier, eating better, just all around doing well.  I've still got about 5 pounds to go to hit where I was before, but I don't know if I've mentioned before that I hate scales.  I absolutely hate them!! I used to step on one every morning and count my calories but you know what?  THAT'S CRAZY!!!!  I don't have "weight" to lose!  I have fat to lose and muscle to gain! and a pound is a pound! as long as I'm taking that pound of fat and replacing it with muscle, I could care less what the scale tells me.  I care about how I feel and how my body looks, i want to have muscle mass or at least just be lean(not that I'm not now, but hey, I'm the one seeing how I look naked, which is different from how well I can dress myself : P) I'm up at 17% body fat right now(I was 12% over the summer) and I'd like to be somewhere around 10% .  I want a six pack and muscles that jump out at you because they aren't hiding under that (tiny but still significant) layer of fat.  I have goals!  they aren't unhealthy(I'm not planning on walking around at that low of a body fat percentage all year long, even I understand there are off seasons), they are what I want, and it's ok that it's not what everyone wants.  We all have different goals and as long as we go about them the right way and they are healthy, then go for it!

Onto goals!I can do 1 pullup unassisted(I could do 2 in september, but use it or lose it, and I lost it) and 7 with 40% assistance.  i can do 2 chinups unassisted and right now I can do 10 with 40% assistance.  By the end of the summer I would like to be able to do 5 unassisted chinups and 3 unassisted pullups.  I may be lowballing my pullups, but I think those are reasonable and attainable goals!  they are SMART, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.  So with that said, I would like to add to it, that I would like to lose that extra 7% body fat in 6 months.  In reality, I'd like to lose it in a month or at least by the time it starts to be spring, but I'm going for 6 months because I don't want to push myself into a time constraint where I become unhealthy trying to reach my goal.  If it hit it before then, well all the better!  I will be eating healthy, working hard in the gym and on the streets(running guys, come on!), and keeping myself motivated!  So if you see me and I'm grumpy or unhappy, or down, or just plain being lazy or seem unmotivated then grab me and say, you are AWESOME!!! you have GOALS!! and you will GET THERE!!  If you see me eating unhealthy, remind me my body fat percentage isn't being helped by that meal.  And if you see sugar anywhere near my mouth, you have my permission to slap me and yell GET IT TOGETHER MAN!!!

So that's pretty much it.  I know I've been away for awhile, thinks have been crazy hectic, no excuse, but I will do better! I promise!!  I hope I've motivated you to make some goals of your own, and if not, then at least you know what mine are and you can all help me stay motivated and on the right track!!!!