The Sugar Free Challenge

I actually wrote this post yesterday and realized that I needed 24 hours under my belt to know if I had any chance of pulling this off. I'm feeling a little more confident this morning, so here I go! This is one of those posts where I make a crazy declaration of something I'm going to commit myself to and because it's public, I can't be a total chicken and quit any time I want to.

It's no secret that I have a passionate sweet tooth. I love love love dessert. I used to say as a little girl when I didn't want to finish the broccoli that I was served every.single.night (love you, Mom!) that my breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner stomachs were full but my dessert stomach was totally empty. I love baked goods, ice cream, candy - you name it. While I'm comfortably shameless about my affection for sugar, I have realized over the years that I might need to reign myself in. Everyone should have an indulgence, and I'm so proud of myself for being in a place where I don't feel consumed with guilt when I eat dessert. However, I'm currently having something sweet twice a day and I want to make strides to be in better control of what I put into my body and be less dependent on sugar. 

Starting yesterday, I'll be taking a 30 day break from eating any processed treats or homemade dessert. No candy after lunch, no brownies after dinner, no milkshakes on Sunday nights. Pretty much no fun. Honestly, this is going to be really hard. I'm so used to the eating patterns that I've created, I'll have to adjust to new routines, and I'll just miss my treats! But hopefully but the end of this tortuous period, I will have a greater appreciation for my favorite meal of the day and be more prone to choose it when it's truly delicious and not just because it's there. I went 30 days without gluten two years ago and I'm still gluten-free. Make no mistake that I will be enjoying an enormous ice cream sundae at Goody's on April 4, but I'm glad to remember that I'm capable of such discipline ;)

Lots of people are getting underway with Lent, and to you, good luck. Wish me the same as I embark on my hardest challenge yet! I'll be back with weekly updates, so if you have any great tips for living sugar free, please leave them in the comments.

First Day: 
Wednesday, March 5

Last Day: 
Thursday, April 3