Free from Sugar Free

Well, I made it—30 days with little sugar. Here's a quick review of the experiment parameters.

• I had no desserts except for some sugar-free jello and pudding, and I tried a little sugar-free candy and cookies a few times. There was sugar in some of my meals, but I avoided it as much as I could. I didn't do things like pancakes and syrup, and aside from two bowls of Frosted Mini Wheats during the whole month I stayed away from cereal.
• I tracked the calories in everything I ate, using the myfitnesspal app. I stayed under the 2,140 recommended calories every day, often by at least a couple hundred calories.
• To increase my base metabolic rate and try building lean muscle I did about a 15-minute bodyweight workout routine each morning. I have been pretty faithful about this since June. I also continued running the usual three days a week, including three half marathons on the weekends.
• I increased my protein intake to 120 grams a day, with more on the days I did running.

The results:

• The maximum weight I hit before starting this was 160 lbs, more than I have ever weighed before. I know it's not objectively bad, but it was a weight-gain pattern I didn't like. The last couple days I've been at 152. That's not bad, although before we moved to Idaho I was more in the 145 to 150 range. I'm curious about whether my running would improve if I dropped another 5 lbs.
• At the beginning I measured my waist, letting it all hang out. It was 34 inches. Again, not objectively bad, but I was used to wearing size 31 or 32 pants. I measured it a couple nights ago and it was 32. I'll take it. Katie also said she can tell a difference in how I look.
• Here's the weird one. How do I feel? Surprisingly, there's really no physical difference. I'm not more energetic or anything. I don't know if that's because 30 days isn't long enough, or if it was a gradual change, or just that I was in decent aerobic shape to begin with. Not a bad thing, but a little bit interesting.
• Mentally, however, I do feel a little more confident in my appearance. I don't generally crave sugar, except when Katie bakes something and I see it sitting there. I have a good sense of what foods are the most calorie- and fat-rich. Sadly, I've pretty much eliminated drinking milk, and have been eating a lot less cheese for that reason.

Now what?

Well, I don't really want to go back to just eating everything I want. But I don't want to be completely devoid of treats (i.e., joy) either. I think the plan will be to avoid most of the things like candy and just have home-baked goodies for the most part. I will continue tracking calories, so even if I eat treats they have to stay within what I'm allowing myself. I hope that will keep me from overindulging.

I also want to work on reducing my fat and sodium intake. I went over the recommended sodium almost every day without even realizing it. My blood pressure is always a little higher than I would like when I go to the doctor, so maybe I can help that. And my cholesterol has been inching closer to 200, so lowering my fat intake might help.

Overall I'm glad I did this, and I hope I've been able to establish patterns I can follow long-term. It's not easy, but I would recommend it to anyone who wants to wants to try a healthy change.