Why I'm Mad at Russell...

Here's the situation.

I've been very disciplined for over a week...no sugary sweets.

I had decided that today I would allow myself to have a treat.

My whole goal is not to eliminate sugar from my life completely,

but to gain and maintain control over sugar in my diet.

So...It's Valentine's day...

The expectation of Valentine's Day at our house is...

Chocolate.

It's a rule.

Abide by the rule.

But this year was different and my husband, 

bless his heart,

decided to do something crazy and purchased a box of chocolates for me 2 weeks before Valentine's day.  

2 full weeks!

Which was before I decided to break up with sugar. 

He doesn't normally plan that far ahead, but...he knew he'd be out of town on Valentine's day.

So when he called this morning, he apologized to me (he's been very supportive of my treat-lessness) before sending me on a treasure hunt for my Valentine's day gift...

Which I found.

A box of chocolates.

Sigh.

I thanked him...honestly, I was hoping I'd still get chocolates!

I told him that I'd already decided to have one and I was really excited!

I opened the box.

Under the cellophane was a chocolate map...

Hallelujah!

I'd be able to pick exactly what I wanted from the box without risk of getting, say, an orange or lemon cream...

Alex asked me which one I'd be going for...

I examined my choices...

butter cream caramel,

coconut cream,

chocolate buttercream,

fruit & nut caramel,

molasses chew,

strawberry cream,

maple nut buttercream...

That's it!

Maple Nut Buttercream...

It's got 3 delicious components to satisfy my deprived sweet tooth...

chocolate, maple buttercream and walnuts!  

Alex agreed it was an excellent choice.

He waited while I retrieved the chocolate...

I bit into it...

Mmmmm....the sweet assaulted my tongue like a flood of rich, gooey...chocolate cream...

wait.

what?

Where's the nuts?

I don't taste maple!

I re-checked the map.

I cursed.

I apologized for cursing.

"What happened?" asked Alex, listening on phone.

"This isn't maple nut buttercream!  I wasted my first indulgence on chocolate buttercream!" (not a top 10 favorite)

I imagined a Russell Stover worker, in an acute sugar crash, carelessly putting the chocolates in random compartments, 

slapping the map in the box and 

pushing it down the line with no regard for who may receive that box of chocolates...

Someone like me who, for the past week has dreamt of that very moment...

that moment when after a drought of sugar, 

ok, I'll stop...

 So, I closed the box and vowed to try again tomorrow...

I'll have to take my chances with what I get, I suppose...

Which is fine, I like them all...this box doesn't have orange or lemon cream...

I will continue to exercise self control, and have one per day.

At that rate, this box should last over 2 weeks! (unheard of!)

In the mean time, I'm thankful for my REAL valentine, Alex...

But I'm mad at Russell...
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

I AM the Boss of me...

I had a walking date with a friend today and at the last minute she couldn't make it.
I was already at the park but my knee-jerk reaction was "Oh well, I'll exercise at home".
Big fat lie.
I backed my car up to leave.
My phone rang.
I pulled back into the parking space and answered the phone.
The call ended and I put the car in gear to back up again.
Then I heard myself say (out loud and sarcastically no less),
"You're here, you should run around the lake!"
I think I was channelling my daughter...
It was raining.  Cold.
I was a little put out.
How dare I talk to me that way!
So I put the car in park and turned it off,
Tied my key to my shoe ...and...
I ran.
It was good.
I felt GREAT when I was done...
I should listen to me more often...

Sugar update:  I've been a very good girl...although I've taken to adding a scant teaspoon of sugar-in-the-raw to my coffee in the morning.  It makes my coffee SO much more enjoyable and I don't feel utterly deprived first thing in the morning!
I should also report that I slept ALL NIGHT LONG last night!  My normal wake up time is 2 am...tossing and turning until 4 or 5 am until I crash again right before the alarm goes off.  So to get that much sleep all at one time is utter bliss!!  Yay!!!

I'm Breaking up with Sugar - Day 1

Yesterday it hit me for the 1,927th time.  I eat entirely too much sugar.
I've known this for years and years.  The clues are everywhere...the Torani syrups by my coffee maker, the chocolate chip bags in the pantry (opened, half-gone and I haven't made cookies since Christmas), the lack of ice cream in the freezer...how is that a clue?  It's all gone because I ate it.
It's time to do something...again...hopefully for the last time!
Last night, I did a little research online...I read this account of a man's year without sugar.  (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rick-foster/no-sugar-diet_b_1397439.html)
It was very interesting...eye-opening.
The most interesting piece for me was the hard data of his physical results.  Here are some of the benefits he experienced:
1.  His blood work dramatically improved.
2.  He slept through the night on the second night of his journey...something he hadn't done since childhood.   This is something I haven't done in years and years...possibly since my babies were born.   Oh the things I would do for a good night's sleep...give up sugar, maybe?
3.  His energy level increased, and the mid-day dip disappeared.  I could ALWAYS use a little more energy, especially at 6am when I'm running and 1/2 mile in I want to quit.  I would love to have the energy to enjoy my runs more and to go farther!
4.  He was more focussed.  This is huge for me since I often claim I suffer from adult-onset ADD!
So, today it begins and I'm actually looking forward to going through my pantry and removing some of its contents.
I'm not going hardcore...eliminating fruit and grains...I'll keep the naturally occurring sugars in my diet, but added sugar is my nemesis.
Desserts, sweeteners, soda and chocolate.
It's what I crave.
It's apparently what makes my life more difficult...
So sugar, I'm breaking up with you.
It's just not working out...
It's not you, it's me...
wait...it IS you...AND me...
Good-bye...