Round 2: Day Twenty-seven - Day Thirty.

The end feels a bit anticlimactic due to a week long internet blackout after my computer quit on me. However, I have been keeping up with the project, despite the lack of updates.

The final verdict? The results aren't quite as dramatic as last year. This is probably due to the fact that I was much less stringent this round, for my own personal sanity. In round one, I had the motivation to be strict with my diet for the sake of the ending article. I refused to write about a project unless it was fully realized and the results untainted. But for this round, my only motivation was the improvement of my own health, which frankly, isn't as strong as my urge for chocolate. That being said, even with my Miracle Whip cheating and my mid-work candy slip ups, my health and well being has improved. I'm not a part of the super immune like last year, but it is much more possible for me to wake up in the morning and I certainly don't have the overall ickiness that all the junk food was causing me before [not eating potato chip sandwiches on a daily basis probably helped].

So, in ending, I feel as though I should share some of my favorite non-sugar sweets that have gotten me thru the past thirty days.

1. hot tea: usually green and fruity flavored, hot tea has been my best unsweetened indulgence. There really is something to be said for relaxing after dinner with a warm cup in hand...even if it means cranking up the AC to do it in the summer.

2. sugar-free french toast: I've heard many recipes for french toast over the years, some including sugar, some not. Personally, my own method has always been a simple egg + cinnamon mixture to soak the bread, topped with pancake syrup. This recipe on it's own would be project approved with the simple substitute of pure maple syrup for the sugar-laden pancake syrup. However, after deciding on a whim to include the last few drops in the bottle, I made the discovery that adding pure vanilla extract in the mix makes this breakfast even more delicious. I suggest you try it if you haven't.

3. agave nectar: in anything you'd normally put sugar in, really. Throughout the month, I used it in baked goods, and any recipe from my mother. [My mother uses sugar in everything.] It worked particularly well to sweeten deviled eggs while only adding to the creaminess of the texture [since it's liquid instead of granule].

and of course,

4. organic dark chocolate: I prefer 85% or higher, but in a pinch anything above 70% will do. Enjoy it a square at a time and pair it with your hot tea for a melt in your mouth experience.

Now the ultimate question: am I sticking with the project after the 30 days?

Last year, I was obsessed with the positive results and vowed to continue indefinitely [we see how long that lasted though, right]. This year, I made brownies on day 31 and had two for breakfast this morning. So, no, I'm not sticking to it. BUT I am going to keep moderation in mind. The beauty of this project is that it makes you realize the fact that giving up sugar isn't just about an issue of weight or too many cavities, it really does improve your whole well being. As someone who often indulges just because I can, it's good to keep in mind what kind of harm I'm doing to my body. I will continue to shop for organics, continue to try to pacify my sweet tooth with cups of tea, and continue to ask myself if dessert is really what I need...but I'll also enjoy my ability to have a brownie for breakfast when the occasion calls for it.

Round 2: Day Twenty-six.

Today was bad. Quite bad. After a 3 1/2 hour interview at a temp agency complete with computer aptitude testing, I returned home ready to veg out. However, since the computer tends to stay on for at least a half and hour at a time now [I think it was the file clean out that helped], I knew I had some homework to catch up on.

One of my current assignments is actually to re-design my personal homepage. This is frustrating since, just three weeks ago, I finished a class dedicated to perfecting the original design, so it's hard to feel inspired to change it just yet. But today, I tried. And the more frustrated I got, the more I wanted to eat. Not just sugar, but really anything. [Emotional eating? I don't know what you're
talking about.] The victims of this frustration binge were as follows: an entire bag of Caesar salad, four slices of cantaloupe, two rows of dark chocolate, leftover kung pow noodles, a handful of sweet potato fries, my last Clif bar, and finally [shame] the last of some peanut butter cup ice cream still left in my freezer from just before the project started [I blame the Reese's cup commercials].

And now, I'm a bit nauseous.

Round 2: Day Twenty - Day Twenty-five

Alright, so I'm a bad blogger, but this time it's actually not my fault. My computer has been spontaneously shutting down for the past week, leaving me unprepared to work on anything important for fear of loosing all work accomplished. However, I'm awaiting the arrival of a brand new MacBook Pro this week so things should be looking up, who knows, perhaps I'll try some vlogging with my new I-sight camera.

To catch up [quickly in anticipation of an unexpected shut down], this week has been about resolutions. Despite this sugar free project, I have been less than exemplary in my eating habits as of late. Granted, I'm not eating candy by the handful, but the meals I've been consuming generally consist of organically sweetened cereals and pure maple syrup soaked french toast [which, btw was delicious]. And while this eating has not translated into sudden obesityby any means, it hasn't gone completely unnoticed by my body either. Now, don't hate me, but most of the time all it takes for my weight to return to 'normal' is just a little over a week of conscious eating and an extra 15 minutes added on to my workout every day. So that's what this week's resolution was: fruits, veggies, tea, water and some very sore muscles.

Anyway, back to my sugar free existence: in general most cravings have subsided. As I've mentioned, tea helps A LOT, but dessert has finally become a 'take it or leave it' option. That being said, stress can still become a factor. Example a: Monday night. I came home from work in need of some comfort food and decided to indulge in an organic chocolate peanut butter granola bar with my evening tea...one turned into two...two turned into three...and when I finally closed that box, I then broke out the dark chocolate for a few more pieces of indulgence.

This tends to be my problem with sweets and sugar, I have no middle ground. Like any true addict, the options are either abstinence or gluttony. Granted, when I'm in a steady state of mind and things are going well, I am completely in control. But the second I let my guard down, I'm a whole box of chocolates in with a bag of peanut M&M's on standby. As this project comes to a clost in a few days, this is the factor that concerns me: while I would like to return to moderate consumption of whatever sweets I choose, I'm aware that there could be some nights where the fall from the wagon is quite steap. So I'll probably attempt to keep up the sugar-free existence until that night of weakness comes.

In the meantime, the commercial I just saw for dark chocolate Reeses Cups will haunt my dreams.

Round 2: Day Nineteen.

I really am a hot tea addict. Thank goodness for my air conditioner or I'd never get cool enough to indulge.

Really, for me, the biggest hurdle in avoiding sugar is the habit. I imagine it's something similar to a smoker trying to quit. When you're used to having a cigarette after a meal or with your coffee, it's hard to finish a cup of joe without that familiar itch. I get the antsiest for sugar right after eating. I actually think I've become accustomed to rushing thru the meal to get to dessert. I have to force myself to slow down and enjoy, knowing there's nothing to come after. On those days where I get that post-meal sugar twitch that just can't be kicked, a cup of hot tea serves two purposes: 1. it's a great way to slowly indulge in those few small pieces of organic dark chocolate, letting it slowly melt with the warm brew in my mouth and 2. some days just looking forward to the tea is enough to stop the sugar twitch. Just the other night, I sat down with both a cup of tea and my last Green & Black bar after dinner, only to leave the chocolate completely untouched.

Progress.

Round 2: Day Sixteen/Seventeen/Eighteen.

I promised myself this round that I would do no combined posts like last time. Even if I was writing an update on another day, I told myself that they would be kept separate. That being said, there is just too much time to cover after three days of slacking, it's hard to remember what happened on which days. Therefore, I'll have to amend my rule just this once.

I've been feeling quite blue lately. The holiday weekend brought on a bout of homesickness that kept my moods swinging. In theory, I could blame it on the sugar withdrawal since depression and mood swings are common, but in reality, I think I was just a bit lonely.*

The good thing about feeling slightly depressed while withdrawing from sugar: lots of sleep. The narcoleptic tendencies continue with a vengeance. I believe I took an afternoon nap on all three of the above mentioned days.

It should be said that I'm actually a big advocate of afternoon naps. I really do think that a good twenty to thirty minutes of sleep after work are quite healthy and revive me for whatever evening tasks may await. However, these are not those kind of naps. We're talking two to three hour comas in which I hardly remember a thing that happens. My mother's called me on several occasions during these black out periods of sleep and, once they're over, I'm usually barely aware that I have spoken to her. I'm waiting for the day that I carry on a conversation with someone other than family during these sessions, who knows what might be said, or what friends I might alienate with my strange responses.

In all fairness, it should be noted that this extreme sleep cycle may not be completely due to the lack of sugar in my diet. Admittedly, I am staying up WAY too late working on homework and therefore, getting an average of around 5 hours of sleep every night. However, it also should be noted that often times, even after the homework is finished, I still cannot seem to fall asleep. Sugar withdrawal messed with my sleep cycle in round one so I'm sure it's not ENTIRELY innocent in round two, but I also should keep most of the blame on myself.

Thankfully, even with such pathetic amounts of sleep, my skin is still quite resilient. Just like in round one, no matter how haggard and deflated I feel with such little rest, I'm amazingly free of sallow skin and baggy eyes. This is perhaps my favorite side effect of abstaining from the sweet stuff: bright eyed and bushy tailed appearance even when I feel like death.

In closing, I'll leave you with this link to a blog posting I found while trying to find some sugar/depression facts for this posting. It's interesting [and short] enough that I'd rather just direct you to the writer's experience than try to paraphrase for my own posting.

*For those who might be concerned about my well being, I am currently feeling much less blue.

Round 2: Day Fifteen.

In honor of the halfway marker today, I finally tracked down last year's organic obsession: Green & Black chocolate. I've had the hardest time finding it here in Chicago, but today I happened upon it at Walgreens. However, they didn't have my favorite 85% dark and I had to settle for 70%.

The thing I love about dark chocolate is that it's more satisfying. I can have just a few pieces and be done with it, as opposed to an entire bar of milk chocolate. Tonight my chocolate was coupled with a few glasses of wine, but even with weakened willpower, I only made it thru a fourth of a bar. Besides, I now know that my raw organic sugar ingredient listing is not only better for me, but better for the planet. Plus, dark chocolate has the ever popular antioxidant factor that takes away even more of the supposed guilt.

Round 2: Day Fourteen.

Currently Watching: Eco Trip Season1, Episode 1: Chocolate

It's quite an impressive little series, following the travels of David de Rothschild to find out what the impact certain aspects of daily living have on the environment. In this particular episode, the subject is chocolate. From the cacao farm to the chocolate factory, the environmental impact of all the main ingredients are covered. But what interested me most [other than the delicious shots of chocolate] was the coverage of sugar. Apparently, sugar causes more biodiversity loss than any other crop. No only that, but the drainage of water sources and massive amounts of chemical runoff from cane production is causing an ecosystem collapse in the Everglades. The episode even recommends buying chocolate sweetened with raw organic sugar or organic agave nectar to help prevent such damages to the environment.

Think perhaps I'm on to something?

Round 2: Day Thirteen.

I have quite a headache this evening. Massive really. Couple that with a personal near-trauma and I'm not much in the mood for blogging, but here goes my best...

I'm bored with food. Dessert really is the whole point of the meal in my opinion and with nothing to look forward to, I get a bit discouraged. I have been pacifying my sweet tooth today with Clif Bars. They're organically sweetened so they're project approved, but since they're energy bars they're also around 230 calories each so eating three a day isn't very practical. When money is less tight, a trip to Trader Joe's for some non-sugar dessert ingredients may be in order.

Now back to my headache [it's the only thing I can think about so I guess it's the only thing you get to read about], it could be a sign of withdrawal. I experienced headaches early on in round one, but with all the cheats I've had in round two, it makes sense that they're a bit later in the game this time.* All I can do is chug some water, get some sleep, and tough it out.

*So I checked into round one's day thirteen to compare and found that I felt like crap at this point last year too, but for different reasons. Complete with headache.

Round 2: Day Twelve.

Something you may not know if you've never waited tables: your server doesn't get a lunch break. Sometimes your server probably hasn't eaten anything for the past 6 or 7 hours. Because service shifts are generally supposed to be shorter than the average work day, there usually isn't a planned 'break' at any point during the shift. Plus, when your job is to serve people their lunch break meal, when do you think you'll find the time to have one of your own?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm just explaining a common aspect of the job so you can understand that on days like today, I work almost 7 hours with no food whatsoever. So when someone hands me a free piece of laughy taffy, I take it, ponder for about an hour over whether I should eat it, and finally get hungry enough that it doesn't matter anymore that I have to blog about my cheat later in the evening. But no diet cheat ever goes unpunished and I immediately became cursed with a sugar sore throat. [The laughy taffy ingredients list pretty much looks like this: sugar, corn syrup, and partial hydrogenated soybean oil. yum, right?]

After work, I came home and was asleep within the hour, slept solid for about two. Practically narcoleptic. I've been doing that a lot lately and I'm not sure if I should blame sugar withdrawal or my own bad sleep patterns, but it has to stop soon.

Of course, then how could I get these 3am blog posts out there into the world?

Round 2: Day Eleven.

This will be a short post. I'm feeling a bit under the weather tonight. It's starting to get brisk out in Chicago and it's making me feel run down and sniffly. Perhaps some of that is sugar withdrawal, but most of it's just the unmistakable signs of an oncoming cold.

The one and only good thing about the impending cold weather [other than getting to wear some fabulous new coats] is that I can once again pacify my sweet tooth with hot tea. This was how I curbed my dessert cravings during round one and didn't realize how much it helped until it was too hot for tea during the start of round two. Now, whenever that post-meal sweet tooth hits, I'll simply put on the kettle.

Now excuse me while I curl up on the couch with my cranberry green tea before passing out in the exhaustion that comes with catching a cold.