About a month ago I decided to eliminate carbs, sugar and alcohol from my diet. No, I wasn’t trying to punish myself, it was at Pavel’s request. I have a lot of admiration and respect for him so I decided to comply with his request, at least for a short time. He assured me that I would lose weight, curb my sugar cravings and find it easier than I thought I would. Through a little trial and error (ok, lots of error) I found out he was right.
Giving up alcohol was the hardest. Not because I can’t, but because I enjoyed a glass of wine or two on the weekend. Steve and I would usually have a glass when he got home on Friday night to celebrate the start of the weekend. It was a habit but, as Jerry Reed sings, it’s a habit I can break. I did it, pretty easily in fact, with Steve’s support. We both did and found out that we didn’t miss it as much as we thought.
No carbs and no sugar means meat, vegetables and fruit. Yes, fruit is a carb, but I can have it except for pineapple, bananas and grapes which are all high in natural sugar. Sound hard, right? Well, think about this: I can have almost everything else including full-fat cheese, bacon (mmmm, bacon), steak, etc. No, I can’t go overboard with the full-fat stuff and this isn’t some weird Atkins thing. It’s all about eating protein and foods grown naturally. I’m to aim for 2 cups of leafy vegetables a day, 1 cup of other veggies (no potatoes), lean proteins and a maximum of 4 oz. of cheese in a day. I do miss sandwiches, though!
The results after a month are really amazing. First, I feel so much better. My sugar cravings are really low (hey, I’m only human). I have enjoyed a glass of wine, but that’s all I want. AND, I’ve lost 7 pounds. I am now smaller than I’ve been in about 8 years. It’s great to be able to put on my summer clothes with ease. Knowing me, this won’t last forever, but that’s what I’m hoping for. Pavel says that once I get the cravings under complete control then I can add in 3 cheat meals a week. That means I can have a bowl of pasta or a sandwich without compromising all I’ve worked for.
Pretty Pretty Bang Bang 