The Great Sugar Experiment
Well, it seems I've posted about this before here and here. But I've been worried about my weight again lately, in part due to a very long course of Prednisone (like 8 months), which causes an appetite increase and subsequent weight gain. So that number was ticking up a little more than I would have liked, and I thought I'd give it another shot to go without sugar. I started that on August 26, with the goal of lasting one month. This time, however, there are a couple different goals in play here.
First, I wanted to stop having any sugary treat or dessert. I'm not worrying as much about the sugar that is in the meals I eat, but I'm not adding sugar to anything, and I'm avoiding things I know are high in sugar like most breakfast cereal.
Second, I came across an article online discussing protein intake for runners, and after a little more research discovered that I'm definitely on the low end of what I should probably be getting. A couple months ago I also got back into the habit of working out in the mornings before work, so I definitely want to make sure I'm getting enough. So I've been eating more protein, and I also think that helps me desire sugar less.
Finally, I have counted calories once or twice before out of curiosity, but a friend recommended an app to help. I had previously just done this on my own, but the app makes it a lot easier. So it calendars what I eat for each meal and snack, and it links to my running app to show more calories allowed if I run that day. I had the goal of getting 120 grams of protein every day, which I've been doing for the last week, and it keeps track of all those macro nutrients as well. Last night I looked at how much sugar I'm getting, and I'm surprised to still be averaging around 60g a day. That's within the guidelines suggested by the app, but it drives home how much worse it would be if I were eating lots of junk.
I like quantifying things, and using apps has helped me stay in the habit of running. So I hope that using this app (and telling people and publicly blogging about it to risk humiliation for failure) will help me stick to this experiment. I want to see if I feel (or look) any better at the end of 30 days, and then I can make a decision about what to do moving forward.
To be continued...
Note: Last night (day 11) I drank some milk and it tasted really sweet.
First, I wanted to stop having any sugary treat or dessert. I'm not worrying as much about the sugar that is in the meals I eat, but I'm not adding sugar to anything, and I'm avoiding things I know are high in sugar like most breakfast cereal.
Second, I came across an article online discussing protein intake for runners, and after a little more research discovered that I'm definitely on the low end of what I should probably be getting. A couple months ago I also got back into the habit of working out in the mornings before work, so I definitely want to make sure I'm getting enough. So I've been eating more protein, and I also think that helps me desire sugar less.
Finally, I have counted calories once or twice before out of curiosity, but a friend recommended an app to help. I had previously just done this on my own, but the app makes it a lot easier. So it calendars what I eat for each meal and snack, and it links to my running app to show more calories allowed if I run that day. I had the goal of getting 120 grams of protein every day, which I've been doing for the last week, and it keeps track of all those macro nutrients as well. Last night I looked at how much sugar I'm getting, and I'm surprised to still be averaging around 60g a day. That's within the guidelines suggested by the app, but it drives home how much worse it would be if I were eating lots of junk.
I like quantifying things, and using apps has helped me stay in the habit of running. So I hope that using this app (and telling people and publicly blogging about it to risk humiliation for failure) will help me stick to this experiment. I want to see if I feel (or look) any better at the end of 30 days, and then I can make a decision about what to do moving forward.
To be continued...
Note: Last night (day 11) I drank some milk and it tasted really sweet.
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