I realised I haven’t posted an update about this in a while, so I thought I should fill you in on what has been going on in the no refined sugar quest of 2015.
I thought that it would be easy by now. I was wrong. It is very hard to stay strong when it’s as simple as not being able to have a normal hot chocolate… I didn’t used to eat much refined sugar before, but never having a “treat” is the hardest feeling. Though I have found places that do raw vegan “treats” that are still an indulgence but they don’t have any refined sugar. That’s not to say I should go and eat a lot of them. Everything in moderation!
I recently went away for 3 weeks and it was really hard to stay 100% away from sugar. I was in Hawaii, Japan and Korea. In Hawaii the massive and constant advertisements about waffles, pancakes, junk food and “health” food make it really hard not to think about food all the time, especially sweet food. In Japan and Korea it was ok but sometimes I couldn’t read the labels on food. So as an example something like black coffee from a fridge would not normally have sugar in it, but when I tasted it I could tell it was sweet so I stopped drinking it and threw the rest away. So I stayed away from anything that obviously had sugar in it but if I found out the hard way that it had sugar I would just stop eating it.
Getting back to my normal food, in my house was a great relief. Also, in Australia it is pretty easy to eat healthily. In Sydney it is trendy to be healthy! Of course if you eat processed foods and don’t do a lot of cooking for yourself you can’t guarantee what is in the food you eat but it feels safer here than overseas.
Also in the last few weeks there have been a couple of new main stream documentaries that have come out about sugar and this is great for public awareness. These movies will hopefully help educate the public around what they are actually eating!
I’m excited for the rest of this year… I’m interested to see what actually happens in my body as a result of not having refined sugar for a year.
This is a little bit of a rant post, I recently saw a post on Facebook from a friend of mine who basically said what I have been saying for a while now… I have had a lot of people ask me “what’s your secret?” “how have you done this?” “you must eat nothing or spend hours in the gym right?” I always get stunned at this because it’s not like I am ripped or anything, sure I’ve lost 30kgs but I still have a long way to go… that’s ok and it’s the truth.
Anyway I get these questions and I say “I consistently eat well and train 5-6 days a week… that’s it” then it’s a lot of probing about what I really do and I still give the same answer… I think there are a couple of reasons why people ask these types of questions:
sometimes they actually want to know
they wish there was something quick and easy so they wouldn’t need to have any sustained responsibility for their health
if there is some secret they are missing out on then their health issues are not their fault
I realise that this might make me sounds a bit harsh or mean but I am really passionate about this topic. “owning your journey” was a lightbulb moment I had last year and I realised that this was one of the missing links, and it’s why I was able to stick to my plan this time.
There is a lot of power in saying “I got myself to this point and I’m going to make it my mission to get to where I have decided I want to be.” While this means you now actually have to own up for what you do and take some responsibility for your actions, now, this thing in front of you has no power. I found that when I stopped being secretive about my weight, eating, self sabotaging practices that all their power went away. I was now in charge of my own journey and I couldn’t blame anyone or anything else. How I did, the outcomes, my training, what I ate… it was all on me. Yes that is hard and it sucks at first but the result is someone that doesn’t live under power or in fear. I live with power and I’m not afraid of anything… except spiders but you know I still had to eat one!
When you have the power over your life and your actions you are now responsible for it. In practice for me this looks like: I know I need to wake up at 6:30am to train, I need to go to bed at 10:30pm. That means I need to tell Skeeve that I will need to go to bed then, it is then my responsibility to make sure I’m in bed by 10:30. That’s it, I can’t blame Skeeve for making me want to stay up late etc. That’s when I have to go to bed and if I don’t it’s on me. Another example, I have a long history of sneaking food and I’m very good at it. I have told Skeeve and everyone else that I am not eating refined sugar for 2015, could I sneak it? Yeah probably… but then that secret would have power over me, as small as it is and I’m not prepared to sacrifice my head space for a mars bar. THAT IS IT!
The secrets we have and the lies that we tell ourselves all mount up. They end up weighing more than any fat ever could. So yes taking ownership of your journey means you have to own everything you do… this also means that when you accomplish a goal, you did it! You can own the win! You will also own the losses… but that is ok because we are always learning.
Nothing ever changed for me until I started owning my own journey, I now own and try to be honest (no one is perfect! ever!) about all the stupid things I do, and I own my wins! Even if they are small!
Ok I realise this was a long rant but I’m really passionate about this because I think it is a big missing link for a lot of people.
Some take aways from this:
own what you do – for me this meant saying I got myself 40kgs heavier than I should be and I will do whatever it takes give give my body the health it deserves
be proud of your wins – I have now set up a wins board for this, but I used to either blog about a win or Facebook it, I don’t care who else sees it because I answer to myself!
own your mistakes and learn from them! – we all screw up all the time but as long as we learn from our mistakes they aren’t a waste
your journey is yours, your goals are yours and what you do or don’t do with it is up to you!
one last vein one – own your ass! If you squat and your ass looks good because of it wear tight ass jeans or short shorts! I hate wearing pants now! 😉
Once you take responsibility for your situation and your journey you have all the power over it.
I’m so excited about this because Nardia’s 7 Week Fit Lean and Fierce program has really helped me, the first time I did it, it totally changed my life… and it gets better every time.
I write a lot about Nardia and I sign her praises every chance I get because she has totally changed my life. With her help I have lost over 30kgs and totally change my mental outlook on myself and my fat loss journey. Honestly I cannot share enough how she has changed my life!
Now I get to share this with you! It starts on the 2nd of Feb, and I will be starting the 12 Week program right along side you!
If you are interesting in looking into the 7 Week program a bit more then click here ====>> 7 Week Fit Lean and Fierce
If you give this 7 weeks all you got it will change your life for the better.
Personally… none of my journey would even be possible without her!
**If you do decide to sign up it would be awesome if you could put “Shanti” in the message section of the PayPal payment gateway – just because I want her to know I love her 🙂
At the beginning of this week we were still in Hobart so that was a lot more relaxing, though there was a lot more “accidental” sugar around.
We were at the airport and got some wedges and sweet chilli sauce… and I was into the third dip of sauce when I realised… “crap! this has sugar!” *face palm* Those things you don’t even think about. Though this is the thing I’m trying to stop… not thinking about what I am eating, I’m trying to encourage behaviour that is mindful and aware.
When we got back to Sydney back into our house things were a lot easier. When you are in your own house you can control what comes in and what doesn’t.
I have had a couple of cravings this week, basically just wanting something sweet. Most of them I just let it pass, other times I’ve had an orange or an actual meal because I’ve just been hungry. Though at the moment I feel like I’m on hyper focus at the moment for the Spartan race coming up so I’m not letting anything get in my way. It’s like it’s not even a choice, I’m on a mission and that’s it.
I don’t know if I have ever been so focused on a goal, it helps that it isn’t far away, today 4 weeks from now the race will be over.
Thoughts from this week:
You can control what you let in your house
When you are focused on a short term goal the other things are less of a temptation
When I’m eating I need to be thinking about what I am eating… it should be a mental experience as well as a physical one
At the end of the day there is so much awesome food that doesn’t have sugar in it!
I travel a lot, sometimes I get a good gym but more often than not it is a couple of cardio machines and a bit of floor space. Even when I workout at home I don’t go to a gym I have a gym in my complex which has some equipment… but it does require some imagination and creativity.
There are a lot of things you can do without a killer gym… or anything at all. I also try and pack some resistance bands for some extra oomph!
Here is a list of some of the moves I
Squats/Squat jumps
Lunges/lunge jumps
Push ups / Plank with Row
Burpess
Mountain climbers
Sprints
N ups/crunches/plank/side plank
Go for a walk/run/jog
Side to side band walks
Bridge
Step ups (normally I can find some sort of a step somewhere
Hang/chin ups off something (maybe try a playground in the morning before all the kids get there)
Tricep dips (normally I can find something suitable)
Swimming/run on a beach
Sumo squats/sumo squat jump/sumo squat kick
These are just some… I’m sure there are a lot more.
What really makes these interesting is all the ways you can do them:
100’s
5x45sec rounds
Move slowly to use more stabilisation muscles and really feel your body weight
Tabata
Full body/Upper/lower
So while you may not be able to do “heavy lifting” due to a lack of gym there really is no shortage of workouts you could do…
No excuses…
Another thing to think about is alcohol, I love to have a few drinks when I’m on holidays, however I always try to keep in mind that I want to train the next morning. So I make sure I don’t drink much after dinner time so I can wake up and train without any issues.
Skinny Thinking 