We’re heading into our 4th week! By now you should be feeling a difference, even if it’s in your head, a shift is always a boost of encouragement… and if you’re just now joining us, welcome!
I’ve been successful at the walking and stair climbs! Our little girl has been growing and becoming more aware of when moms not around so last week I thought, meh, why not take her with me? So at 5am I strapped her in and up we went! Below is the view from the top, that’s something to work for! The selfies are us before and after the climb, clearly she really wore herself out being my workout partner!
This week I challenge you to 3 separate workouts, none of these require a gym, tons of time or much of anything besides a little effort and some motivation. Click here to see your options on the workout page of Self.com. There’s an uncountable amount of choices that range in difficulty and the time needed to complete them. So pick 3 (and actually do them) within the next 6 days! I brought my phone to our little local gym and followed one of the workouts (that I could actually achieve with my kangaroo holding on). Although it’s adorable, I didn’t push myself to the max… next time I’ll leave her with daddy.
Last week I brought up the not-so-secret health risks of Aspartame with the promise to do more research on other competitive artificial sweeteners. After scanning dozens of websites ranging from claimed scientific facts to general public opinions, I fell upon a blogger that said it best. Wellnessmomma has hundreds of health related articles but this one was spot on.
One of her bullet points really struck home with me because I know I’m guilty of falling into the “trick”. She stated, “Studies found that ingesting artificial sweeteners can interfere with the signal loop and can cause over eating. One study found that (in rats) eating foods or drinks that are sweet but contain no calories tricks the brain into thinking that they should keep eating”. Even if you’re consciously aware of this, it doesn’t stop the chemical reaction in your brain. Over time, your natural ability to taste real sugar and know when enough is enough slowly diminishes. Scary but true.
I once did 30 days with no sugar and minimal salt. Limiting myself to only vegetables, beans, grains and nuts with small portions of fruit. By the end of that month, celery was salty to me and a mango was barely edible due to sweetness. I finally understood the people I’ve always been jealous of… those who could have one bite of chocolate and call it good for dessert…. you know the ones, “I don’t really have a sweet tooth” blah blah blah (eyes rolling here).
I’ve come to the conclusion that if you want something sweet, eat the real stuff in moderation. Why not enjoy the pure richness of a true treat rather the gut filling large quantity of a fake one. A scoop of authentic gelato verses a mixing bowl of sugar free ice cream or a piece of your favorite dark chocolate verses an entire sugar free candy-bar. You get it, so try it!
This week in the nutrition department, I’m going to wrap up the whole sugar/sweetener debate. Personally I’d rather take on the calories from a sweet bite of real food, than challenge my body to the chemically modified, questionable ingredients with the risk of long term illness and side effects. However if you must inch over into the world of sweetness, here’s a simple chart to help your decision.
As a whole, let’s challenge ourselves to simply avoid the sweets all together. Can we survive one week of what it was like before advertised junk even existed? My Grams told me of the days when honey on a biscuit was a rare treat, when you saved your only piece of bubble gum for a special occasion and lemonade was made with lemons, not sugar water!
Imagine what a Carmel fluffa mocha Frapajazz would taste like after drinking straight black coffee for a week!? So this week is fruit, that’s all folks. Are you up for the challenge? I am! I just lied to you. I’m not up for it. Honestly I could go for a homemade cookie and chocolate almond milk as I write this. But if I did everything I wanted to, who knows where my world would be! So, it’s on… let’s do it. Fruit will be my only sugar until we meet again.
This weeks homework:
1. Choose 3 workouts from the link here and dig in!
2. Give your taste buds and organs a break, avoid sugar for 7 days!
Wrapping up our lifestyle changes so far:
1. Use the stairs every chance you get!
2. Stick to the single serving amount or less.
3. Play with pop-cycle sticks and actually use them!
4. Consume products that are closest to their original state!
5. Avoid artificial sweeteners found in most sugar free products.
6. Walk as much as you can at every opportunity!
7. Clean out your system of sugar, stick with fruit!
8. Pick 3 workouts a week and give it all you got!
Her Happy Trails 