Hi guys, hope your all well. If you read my previous post (you can read it here) you will know that for the whole of February I have gone sugar-free for Cancer Research to raise money for this amazing charity and also to give me a kick-start in my healthy new lifestyle. I mentioned previously that this is a challenge for me as I have a sweet tooth and automatically want sweet food after my lunch or dinner ( this was never the case with Breakfast as I use to have something sweet). I have sucessfully completed my first week and thought I would let you know how I am getting on.
Biggest Challenge this week
So overall this week has not been too bad, although a couple of days I have felt a little hungry and stressed and nearly given up. However my biggest challenge so far is when we decided to go shopping in Leicester, it was like a retail park which also had a fast food court. I had a look round the food court and could not find anything sugar-free that I could eat, luckily there was an M & S ( department store) next door which had a mini supermarket in it. I picked up a plain salad with no dressing and then headed to the deli section and after searching for a few minutes I managed to find some Piri- Piri chicken that did not have sugar in it. I was quite surprised how many of the flavoured sliced chicken had sugar in them. I would have prefered to of had something warm that day as it was cold but I didn’t really have much choice.
We faced the same dilemma when we decided to go out for any early valentine meal as both me and my boyfriend are working late that day. We looked round the restaurants at the menus and were struggling, but then we got to Nandos and I managed to find something to eat. I ordered chicken thighs, sweet potato mash and sweetcorn, unfortunately I wasn’t able to have any sauces but the sweet potato gave the chicken flavour so I was fine.
Things I have learnt this week:
- All shop brought salad dressings contain sugar,I have now made my own with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- Fast food is a no go when sugar-free
- Frozen fruit blended with plain yogurt tastes like sorbet
- Nuts are a great snack to keep you going in between meals
- Eggs are the best option for breakfast to keep you full till lunch time
- Always carry snacks with you when going out
- Check menus a head of time if you are going out for a meal
- Meal prep is important to ensure you don’t grab sugary snacks
A couple of times this week I was close to giving up but I am so glad I didn’t as I want to raise as much money as possible. Although this challenge for me is mainly about resetting my taste buds, I was happy to discover that I have lost 2 pounds this week. I have also found that as the days go on tea without sugar is starting to taste a lot better.
I will check in again with you guys next week to let you know how I am getting on. If you have any food suggestions please let me know in the comments.
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