Day 10: It's all about gains

Meal-wise and Numbers-wise I'm in a happy place right now. Both my calorie and sugar count are on target (cals < 2000 and sugar < 100). Still not having any cravings for soft drink (especially that mid-afternoon V) or chocolate (no Snickers either). And to top in all off, I weighed in at 145 kg exactly, meaning I have lost 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs for my American friend) in the last 10 or so days. This is fantastic considering I have done zero-exercise and the only thing that's changed in my diet is I'm eating less sugar and going through the detox/cleanse.

Speaking of which, I am still feeling sluggish and the bathroom trips have been longer and more frequent. Given tomorrow is the official end before I move towards Sarah Wilson 8-week plan on Monday; all signs are pointing towards that "clean slate" I was looking for. Once done, its just a course of pro-biotic capsules to get that gut ready for the "good stuff" next week.

I've decided to forego today's positives and negatives because I have mentioned them all above but I will be adding more information about things that may make your journey towards sugar freedom a reality.

For a treat, I added Dani Spies take on Sweet Potato, or what we current refer to as Kumara. Now Kumara has been a staple in our family meals for as long as I can remember; more so than potatoes sometimes. But what Dani does at the end even has the most harden Kumara fan (me) amused (Kumara + plus every condiment under the sun + curry?). Check it out.

Day 9: Oops I've been bad

Day 5 of the detox/cleanse and really feeling sluggish with flu symptoms (e.g. sneezing, dripping nose etc); these were all to be expect as part of the side effects one would get by doing this but still an uncomfortable experience to go through to achieve good health. Still I am motivated by the fact that on the other side, I will be better for the whole process.

Like yesterday, I felt I had pigged out today because I had some larger than normal meals but as the numbers show, I was doing just fine! Had a lot bigger meals today include a sausage roll because I was working late but as the numbers show, it didn't impact my bottom line. Yay!

Today's Negative's (52g of sugar = 13 tsp)

• Flu like symptoms from the detox/cleanse but totally livable (not even close to taking-days-off-work level of sick)
• Worrying that my big meals are killing my numbers when in fact they aren't
• That Organic Juice. Again :(
• No snacks to munch on during the day - still looking for a good nut/fruit mix I like
• Exercise? What?

Today's Positive's:

• Great sugar and calorie numbers which I'm really liking
• Always feeling full - not even close to craving anything
• Learning more and more about good health and cooking every day
• Loving coconut oil right now ... so many uses and benefits

Day 8: Caught myself slipping

Urrgh! Had two heavy meals today which have playing on my mind tonight - A Tosilog, which is a Filipino dish with pork, rice and 2 fried eggs - and a Chicken Iskendar, which chicken served on white rice with a variety of salads. Both rate very highly on the calorie and sodium meter but surprisingly not the sugar meter, which was a pleasant surprise however coming in at number one was that Organic Apple and Blackcurrant Juice! Whaat? I suppose it doesn't matter if it's organic or not, fructose is fructose; there's no escaping that.

Today's Negatives (65g of Sugar = 16 tsp):

• Those convenience meals - although I still rate the Tosilog and Iskendar over any other takeaway alternative; these two meals still account for most of today's big numbers
• That Organic drink. Loved it but so costly (both sugar and money wise)
• Another over-2000 calorie day. That's not going to look good at tomorrows weigh-in :(
• Slight side effects from the detox/cleanse continue e.g. drowsy etc but nothing major enough to get in the way of work and the drive there and back
• Need to get some snack food to compliment the 2+ litres of water I drinking a day

Today's Positives

• Sleeping in - since starting this route I've been really sleeping well. Not sure who to contribute that to; the chamomile or the detox/cleanse or the menu choices but we're on to a good thing.
• No cravings whatsoever and despite the lower consumption of food, my appetite has been fine
• Work sure feels a lot easier when you start at 10am for some reason

Tomorrow I ride out the rest of cleanse to be followed up with a round of pro-biotics then straight into the Sarah Wilson 8-week sugar-free plan. Getting excited to see how all these changes are going to effect me going into Christmas this year. Until tomorrow, Eat well, Sleep tight and Good night! 

Day 7: Just feeling better ...

Well it's Day 7 of the change but day 3 of the detox/cleanse and I got to say, I am pleasantly surprised with myself today. I have no cravings for sugar, caffeine or any types of food whatsoever yet the head is clear, today's progress is great and the guts are feeling fantastic.

I got to admit I was shocked to see how little I have eaten today but I can tell you; I am full and don't feel the need to binge feed any more. Green Tea and Honey has for the most part become my new staple after going from 6 cups of Coffee a day to 4-6 cups of tea down to 3-4 Green teas every day; like I said progress is good.

Today's Negatives:

• The side effects of the detox/cleanse kicked in today which wasn't major. A little rundown and low on energy which resulted in a late-afternoon siesta but other than that feeling good.
• To be honest, the sourdough toast isn't that good even with cheese and scrambled eggs. Will need to find an alternative FAST!
• My sodium count is still unbelievably high which shows there's still work to be done

Today's Positives:

• That sugar count - the lowest I've been all week - might count for the low energy but between the detox/cleanse and low amount of food I've eaten today; I'm not surprised
• Even managed to go sub-2K on the calories after two bowls of Pasta with cheese sauce. Woohoo!
• Finding some fantastic resources on YouTube - Holistic Habits and Dani Spies - Not that I'm much of a cook but if I take this health thing all the way, I well might be. 
• Over the hump as far as the bad part of the detox/cleanse goes. Once I get through tomorrow, it's all downhill from here and given I start at 10am tomorrow, I get to sleep in. Bonus!

Anyway, that's me folks. Really loving the changes, looking forward to what happens next!

Day 6: Good things are happening

I don't want to get too excited yet but good things are happening. The Detox/Cleanse is trucking along fine. Haven't had the Colon Blast effect which I had been dreading all day, thank goodness, but still ... some of the anticipated side effects are showing; flu like symptoms, low energy, migraines but nothing totally unbearable. The book says if you make through Day 3 and 4 OK, you're in the home straight. Day 4 is Monday for me (a work day obviously) so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. On the upside, I'm on 10 o'clock starts next week so I get to sleep in. Yay for me!

The Menu was looking pretty clean cut today. Sticking to the detox/cleanse menu hasn't been without it's problems. No animal meat and caffeine has made today troublesome but I did get to have a nice falafel pita on the house (using loyalty points). Also visited an Organic foods store today, not your regular health food store that happens to sell organic foods, I mean a genuine, everything's certified organic store. They had all the odd sounding named foods I had been reading about in books and online. Bought some coconut oil, sourdough bread and some soup for dinner tonight (Vegetable and Quinoa). The sales assistance was impressed that I hadn't made the rookie mistake; calling it Keen-wa instead of Quinn-Noah. Thanks Kobe Bryant video on YouTube! Anyways let's cut to the chase:

Today's Negatives

• Feeling some side effects from the Detox/Cleanse but nothing too major to worry about
• Eating and cooking healthy is expensive but because I'm new to this, there's room for improvement (aka budgeting)
• No decent Organic or Health food supply store locally. Might have to go to the Farmers market next weekend, wallet-permitting

Today's Positives

• Day 2 of the Detox/Cleanse without any major blow backs (pun intended)
• Found a genuine organic food store within driving distance
• Went sub-100 in the sugar count today and feeling good to be honest
• Went sub-1000 on the calories as well 

Our National side, the All Blacks Rugby team, just won a tough one against the South African Springboks tonight; which will mean the country will be a jovial mood this week. Just started raining but you know what, still feeling good about what I doing and where I'm going. See y'all tomorrow.

Day 5: Made it back

Well, pat on the back for me! Sugar-wise I've managed to pull it back today, which I think I can contribute to a good start/breakfast today. I also started the cleanse today, which is essentially taking tablets before and after breakfast and dinner. Wasn't any of the dreaded side effects today, although I can feel some changes coming on.

Today's Negative

• Still craving for meats and smoothies
• Creating a regimen for the cleanse like preparing food and factor timings etc
• Sodium and Calories are high and as usual the foods I like are the ones to blame

Today's Positive

• Bought Sarah Wilson's "I Quit Sugar". Something to read while I go through the cleanse.
• Buying alternatives for cooking and eating like Coconut oil.
• Feeling better about good choices everyday
• Although I'm not the biggest fan of Chamomile Tea, I've been sleeping really well
• Bought some Green Tea to get me through the cleanse/detox
• Sugar numbers are better than yesterday but would like to see it trending down

Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the cleanse works out. Day 2 (tomorrow) and 3 (Sunday) are supposed to be the worse, Enjoying the little changes everyday.

Day 4: Tripping up on the journey

Not a good nutrition day although I will admit most of it was self-inflicted. Made some discoveries today that both surprised and shocked me but more on that after today's menu:

I've introduced at top 10% condition to the spreadsheet today. Basically, I want to see the top 10% positive and negative nutrition contributors to my diet.

Today's Negatives

• Ate a lot of unnecessary junk today. Chowed down on three pizza slice during a team meeting today because there were no other options (other than not eating) at the time. Given it was today's top calorie, fat and sodium contributor, it's definitely something I should have shied away from.
• Banana Mango Smoothies have been a favorite of mine for quite some time now but with it being today's top contributor to Carbs and Sugars (I'm guessing most of that are Fructose as well), I will need to reevaluate my smoothie options.
• Had way too many pies today. Again blame the weak spirit, it's something I'll definitely need to work on especially given that I'm starting the cleanse tomorrow.

Today's Positives

• Awareness means I don't have to repeat the failures of the past. Armed with knowledge, I definitely feel progress can be made going forward.
• Starting the cleanse tomorrow - fearful of change especially over the weekend but looking forward to the results

Although I have tripped up today, with the cleanse starting, I will definitely step up my game to get the results I am looking for - a healthier, cleaner, longer living me!

Day 3: A journey of 1000 miles starts with one step

So day three of reducing my sugar intake while watching the calories and trying to keep a balanced diet is kinda working.

I'm down 38 grams (9.5 teaspoons) of sugar today and still below the 2000 calories range for weight loss. Sodium (aka salt) was up with the 4 Kaiser Rolls I had with Dinner tonight (numbers pulled from the labeling). I was shocked to see one third of my intake was from four buns!

Negatives today:

• Feeling a like Slob (but that could be more due to the pressure of work and finances than this change) 
• Still making bad food choices based on cost and convenience
• Exercise? What's that?

Positives today:

• Decided I'm going to do start a Detox on Friday. If I'm going to make a change for my health, I might as well start with a clean slate or as clean as I can get it, if you know what I mean!
• Started snacking on nut mix and dried fruit throughout the day - No bottles of V or Snickers bars to found so far
• Finding good food choices in unexpected places (Tank Juice Bar) and having Pita Pit points up the sleeve for some freebies this weekend!
• Getting on top of some work allowing me to align mind with body and soul
• Learning more about nutrition everyday

We have a shared lunch at work tomorrow (Pizza and drinks all round). That's going to take some negotiating but let's see how that pans out. Have to do the prep work for Friday's detox but I've got hours up the sleeve so I'll be out the door nice and early to get things sorted.

Day 2 - One step forward, two steps back

Well today's menu was a mixed bag of results. Although I am really trying, caving into bad choice because of convenience or limited options is a real failing for me and something I'll need to be conscious of if I'm going to be successful with this.

Add to this today's weigh-in at a whopping 146.5 kilograms and the benchmark has been set for improvement. Although reducing calories is important for overall weight loss, it's the sugar number I'm most keen on reducing given my current health state. 168 grams or 42 teaspoons of sugar in a single day is horrendous given the World Health Organisation recommend 4-6 for grown men.

We have a way to go but at least the first steps have been taken, we can only get better (literally and figuratively) from here.

Day 1 - Going Sugar Free ... or so I thought

Well going sugar free wasn't exactly the success it was going to be but at least the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle has begun.

It's 10:00 pm and I'm about head to bed but let's have a look at today's food journal:

• 4 x White Tea with 1 tsp Sugar
• 6 x Buns - 2 x chicken, 1 x cheese, 3 x honey
• 1 x Triple-Decker Egg and Ham Sandwich
• 1 x Chicken Panini
• 1 cup Chicken and Vege Soup
• 1 x Tapsilog - 1 bowl of Rice, 2 fried eggs and beef strips
• 1 x Banana Smoothie
• 1 x Honey/Apple Cider Vinegar/Water Mix
• 6 x Dried Mango strips
• 6 x Dried Papaya cubes
• 1/2 cup of Nut Mix
• 2 x White Toast w/Margarine
• 1 x Chamomile Tea with 1tsp Sugar

Downside to doing this

• Always feeling hungry - which is kinda normal but its the thing I'm trying to kick the most
• Spending money on things I normally wouldn't e.g. Apple Cider Vinegar, Honey etc.

Upside to doing this

• Buying alternative snacks to choc bars and sugar drinks like Nut mix and dried fruit
• Reading and understanding food labels a lot more now
• Not sure if it was the Chamomile Tea but slept really really well last night so now its my pre-sleep routine

Things to do

• Still A LOT of research to do but learning A LOT every day
• Not only is refined sugar the enemy but also fructose (fruit sugars). HOWEVER when eaten in its raw state, where the fiber is present, fructose can be a good thing
• Need to do a weigh in and get some measurements done to start tracking progress
• Food benchmark has been set - now time to improve on that and get results!