cakes

The 6 Week No Sugar Challenge & Going Paleo

ice creamNo more of these bad boys!


The last few weeks have seen my usually pretty healthy way of eating go to pot, with lots more sugar finding its way into my diet from celebratory cakes to saturday ice creams, afternoon teas and far too much champagne (with my recent 10th wedding anniversary brother’s engagement and baby cousin’s birth)- making me feel sluggish, tired and really not my best, physically or emotionally. I’ve less energy than usual, haven’t been sleeping well and my PMT is worse than ever. Good times.

So what to do?

I’m determined to get back to my mostly mediterranean diet with limited sugar, high quality protein and slow releasing carbs, and wanted to set myself a challenge so I felt a little bit more accountable.

Similar to those who join a slimming club, by sharing my journey of cutting out the white stuff here, you can hopefully keep me on track. Along with pretty pictures of fruit and veg.

I mean baby tomatoes are nearly as tempting as chocolate right?!

fresh tomatoes

Seriously, my priority is to feel healthier than ever (any weight loss is an added bonus) and I’d love to know if you’ll be having a go at this with me. We can fight the lure of sugar, together!

cakes

Why it’s important I do this

I was diagnosed with PCOS at 19 and have followed a low GI then low carb way of eating since, to help balance blood sugar levels and help with my reaction to hormonal changes.

I’m not overweight, finding myself mostly a UK size 10 but my weight fluctuates and 2 1/2 years post-birth I’m yet to fully rid my mum tum. Having had 2 C-Sections really doesn’t help matters but I want to rid myself of Spanx once and for all.

Why now?

With holiday season upon me, I leave for the Cannes Film Festival next Saturday, then Jamaica towards the end of the month with my family (with a swimwear shoot for heidi klein, no less-eek), I’m hoping to reap some of the no sugar/paleo related rewards (fairly quickly, please) that along with exercise will make me feel stronger and healthier than ever before. Boom.

We all know sugar’s bad for us (check out the NHS site here if you’re in doubt) so I’ll be filling my plate with mostly vegetables (hello tonnes of greens, pretty yellow courgettes, cabbage, cauliflower and more ), low sugar fruit, grass-fed meat, fresh fish and seafood, and in small quantities, some low GI carbs like sweet potatoes and even though they’re not entirely paleo, some oats here and there.

courgettes

I’ll be using manuka honey, lots of coconut derived products from fresh to dessicated, water and milk and of course my favourite flavour enhancers: garlic, chilli and ginger with salads drenched in olive oil with fresh lemon juice or various wine vinegars.

I suffer from the odd migraine so am bidding goodbye to dairy of the non coconut variety, a trigger I’ve learnt, and after reading and watching lots of posts and videos on quitting sugar/and going paleo, I’m excited to hopefully feel ah-mazing soon!

I also want to limit sugar in my kids’ diet as well, while not restricting it completely, but trying where possible to cut down on it, as I know it will benefit them massively too.

Luckily these guys love all the good stuff. We even call Xander below ‘Gwynnie’ as his snacks of choice are avos and coconut flakes.

alexander holding fruit

Today is day 4 and so far so good. I feel bursting with energy yet calmer than ever. I’ve been sleeping well, despite a poorly child. Once he went back to sleep, I was able to, something unheard of before.

I hope this is the start of more great things to come.

Do come join me on the journey if you fancy it, even if it’s just in spirit, laughing at my crazy chocolate withdrawals. Please tell me dark chocolate’s still OK isn’t it?

Are you following a paleo diet or have quit sugar too?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

 

Fitness 4 Mamas

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