I have a confession to make. I know we are not great friends yet, but soon we will be and I need to share this with you. Recently, I realized I fell off the healthy eating bandwagon. I was going through the motions but not being as true to my healthy eating as normal. Don’t get me wrong, I was still mostly on the wagon, but I had fallen off enough to notice a change in my body, mood, and energy level. Like normal, I still bought everything organic, ate mostly un-processed food but soon my evil twin, “The Queen of Just One” reappeared. Just one cookie because my co-worker made them, just one piece of pizza, just one brownie. I mean who can pass up a gooey brownie filled with more chocolate?
Chocolate & Carmel Amazingness in a cookie
Not ME, it that was a sure thing. The sad thing is, everything that I ate could be made using healthy ingredients but since I was not making the sweets I was eating, they were made with things like bleached flour and regular table sugar. After realizing just how far off my bandwagon I was, I made the decision to cut out all processed foods, sugars and starches. Break my body of its quickly forming sugar habit, more like addiction and get back on my normal bandwagon.
Normally, I do really well with my eating until I get to THAT busy point. You know the one… when you can no longer tell if the pile of cloths is clean or dirty sitting on your dresser without smelling it. (sometimes even then it’s your best guess.) Somehow my barn looks like a tornado ripped through it and don’t ask to ride in my car because I am not sure where you will sit… on or next to the workout bag, the tennis bag, groceries, horse tack or swimming bag. BUT the worst part for me is when I start hiding things from myself. I don’t remember hitting my final tipping point recently, but I guess I did. I was eating out more than I like to out of necessity. I was beginning to live to eat instead of eating to live, which is not normal for me. Suddenly my clothes were not fitting how they should, my energy level was low, my workouts suffered and I was beginning to feel crummy. It was time to get serious again. The sugar had to go!
I renewed my healthy eating habit and enlisted my mom to get serious again with me. No more just ones allowed. The first few weeks of eating clean were a little rough as I experienced what I would call withdrawal symptoms from sugar. I am several weeks into eating clean again and the sugar withdrawal is finally gone. YAY! I am not craving or wishing for a brownie to magically appear within reach. The cravings hung around for way too long. You see, I did not consistently eat the bad stuff but enough that my body got used to it.
I am strong individual but on my brother’s birthday, I almost broke down for cake, ice cream and cupcakes all within an hour…
mmm… it taste’s so good but it’s so bad.
That night I got home later than normal and I was a little tired and a little more than hungry. When I walked in the door, my senses were assaulted by the amazing smell of my favorite local bakery’s signature cake. Then there were cherry fritters that my boss brought to work with him on National Donut Day. It seemed like every time I turn around my senses were bombarded by sweet treats tempting me to set aside my newly reestablished resolve. The first week that I had gotten back on my bandwagon, when people offered me something that I am not eating anymore my response was, “I can’t.” Without fail they would reply, “Sure you can” and they were right, I could. I could easily pop a piece of donut into my mouth or grab a piece of cake and sneak in my room, hide and eat it without anyone being the wiser. Instead I decided that I would out smart my bodies cravings… that’s when I developed my new line of defense. So far this new line of defense has been GREAT!
So let me share it with you.
“Thank you but I don’t ___________.”
You can say this to your tempting co-worker or to yourself when things smell amazing and the best part that I have found is that they don’t argue anymore. I have even found myself telling, “Thank you but I don’t eat __________” has helped me. I feel like I am changing my mindset every time I tell myself, Thank you but I don’t.
This simple sentence has become almost like a life changing motto for me.
I have done this in the past that is remove all sugar and processed foods from my life. I have never struggled with it like this time. This experience has been challenging for sure. Remember that birthday cake from my favorite bakery? Well I told it more than once, “Thanks but I don’t eat things like you anymore.” I was able to walk away from it… I did not even take a little bit of frosting and that is my favorite part. The closest I got to that enemy was to take a pic of the last piece. Normally, I would have snuck in a whole bunch of taste tests of the frosting and enjoyed a piece or two of the actual cake. Not this time! I left it for my brother and his buddies to enjoy.
I should say I have two more confessions: wait for it. One: My birthday is coming up soon! Two: I ❤ my sweets! Since mom joined me back on the healthy bandwagon and also gave up sugars and renewed her resolve to eat right we both agreed that no matter what, we would not have a cake from my favorite bakery for my birthday. We normally celebrate my anniversary of me getting better with age over 4th of July. Instead of the normal cake, we discussed a few ideas of what I wanted for my “birthday cake.” Remember that I said most sweet deserts can be made as a healthy alternative? Well last summer we discovered Chef AJ. She has the most amazing chocolate cake with a raspberry glaze. mmmmm… craving it now. I wish I had pictures of the last one we made. It was scrumptious! I think it even beats the traditional cake from our local bakery… sorry local bakery! This cake will be showing up at our celebration. I wish I had a picture of this for you. I guess I will have to let you know how it all turns out after the celebration. I am choosing that from now on, the sweets I do eat need to be the healthy alternatives.
Since I have adopted my, “Thank you but I don’t eat that _________” motto. I am walking away from the foods that I should have never 
started to eat again in the first place. I am excited to be eating my normal healthy foods! Here is a picture of a sweet potato “cheesy” broccoli quinoa bake! Back to the foods that I love. My clothes are fitting better again; my energy level is increasing; I am happier and I am eating to live rather than living to eat. So dear friends if you have recently fallen off your healthy bandwagon or just want to get on a healthy bandwagon, please feel free to join my on mine! There is plenty of room on this bandwagon. In the future, I will be sharing my secrets, favorite recipes, tips and tricks of how I stay on my bandwagon. P.S. we did not talk about this, I am sure we will in the future, but it’s okay to fall off your bandwagon… AS LONG AS, you pick yourself up and get back on!
2 tsp. Matcha- I chose organic
Living a hippie life in a corp world 