Livin' Clean

No it's not cocaine. It's white refined sugar. Some may say they are similar in addictiveness, and some may say this stuff is harmless. I'd like to disagree to the latter. For the past 5 weeks I have been living sugar free and have never felt better in my entire life.

In this 5 week time I have gotten to know a lot of about myself and my previous eating habits. I used to eat random things just because they were there, never really paying attention to what I was putting in my body. Sure, I pretended to be healthy 50% of the time but that other 50% I indulged because I thought, "I deserve this extra cookie or one more small scoop of ice cream won't hurt or salad dressing isn't that bad." What I didn't realize was that my body has a strong dislike towards white refined sugar. All of these said items contain large of amounts of that white stuff. Now I know why I would get sick after eating Chinese food or eating a piece of pie or drinking a milkshake.

I've also learned, that too many items in our daily diets contain this seemingly benign powdered substance and/or it's evil cohort high fructose corn syrup. For example, have you thought to look on the label of your box of Cheezits, your jar of Miracle Whip or even your healthy box of Wheat Chex. It's true, they all contain these evil doers.

When I told a friend that I was no longer eating white refined sugar he said, "Sugar is in everything." That's a pretty true statement when it comes to pre-packaged, processed items at the grocery store. He's correct, I don't eat most cereals found on those shelves or soda or regular yogurt but there are so many better options out there that are way more fabulous and way better for you. Beyond the basics of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean protein. Here's a list of a few of my favorites:

They really are just grapes and sunshine!

I love raw almonds as an easy snack to ward of desperation sugar eating, especially when coworkers bring homemade chocolate chip cookies.

This yogurt could be my new found obsession. Not only does it not contain white refined sugar like all other regular grocery store brands but it tastes absolutely amazing and they come in really interesting and unique flavors, ie. maple, bartlett pear, strawberry guava and orange passion fruit. Instead of regular sugar it contains organic evaporated cane juice.

A healthy alternative to so many of those sugary cereals, and this cereal actually tastes good.

Whole wheat bread, not to be confused with its impostor wheat bread which is just white bread with brown coloring and usually contains sugar or high fructose corn syrup. WARNING: even some whole wheat breads contain high fructose corn syrup, so read labels carefully, choose honey instead.

Last of all I want to share with you the wonderful world of organic chocolate made with organic raw cane sugar. Surely I'm not going to go without some sort of chocolate in my life. Gone are the days of cheap chocolate m&m's, snickers and hershey bars, but in it's place lies the beauty of super fantastic, very adult, creamier than you can ever imagine, chocolate. I only need a small piece every once in a while and I'm satisfied.

I'm not abstaining from sugar because it's my new diet where I hope to lose a million pounds, I'm doing this because I feel good and if losing weight is its side effect (which it is) then so be it. Maybe you don't want to give up on sugar in your lifestyle completely like me , but maybe eliminating one sugar item and replacing it with a healthier option is a good place to start. I don't know exactly how much weight I've lost but I'm prettier sure I have lost some, my clothes are getting loose and people are asking me my secret to losing weight.

This is my secret.