2024 Decision – How Issues Are Going (Month Two!)

Now right here’s the longer model for many who need extra particulars. 😀 The “no sugar” New 12 months’s decision has turn out to be very straightforward. I’m actually not even tempted to eat sugary treats anymore. I’m going out to eat with my mother and brother each Sunday after church, and on Sunday per week in the past, my brother ordered a strawberry shortcake. Most of final yr, we’d order that and all three of us would share it. The restaurant the place we go (Longhorn Steakhouse) has THE BEST strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had. However per week in the past when he ordered it, and he and my mother shared it, I wasn’t even tempted by it, and I didn’t really feel disadvantaged within the least.

So I’ve had no sugar for 2 months! And for me, that’s a reasonably enormous deal. (For the main points on what I imply by “no sugar”, I explained that here.) I’m nonetheless satisfied that what has helped me essentially the most is specializing in consuming extra protein (most Individuals, particularly girls, aren’t consuming sufficient protein as we become older), and maintaining a healthy diet fat (animal fat, olive oil, avocado oil, however NO SEED OILS!!!) These two issues preserve me satiated in order that I’m not all the time occupied with meals and craving sweets.

In different well being information, I learn a e-book that I extremely suggest for everybody to learn. It’s known as The Salt Fix: What The Experts Got Wrong, And How Eating More Might Save Your Life (affiliate hyperlink). The thesis of the e-book is that the majority of us aren’t getting sufficient salt in our diets. I do know that sounds surprising contemplating that we’ve all been conditioned to be afraid of an excessive amount of salt. There are three issues that we’ve been conditioned during the last three or so many years to imagine are going to kill us — saturated fat, ldl cholesterol, and salt — when in actuality, these three issues have been blamed for the injury that sugar, processed carbs, and seed oils are doing to our our bodies. The e-book is fascinating, however let me share with you ways I even got here to learn it.

On the finish of January, I began seeing advertisements on Instagram and Fb for an electrolyte drink known as LMNT. It was a no-sugar-added electrolyte drink, and I’m all the time in search of a very good, low- or no-sugar electrolyte drink for Matt. So I ordered a number of bins to check out the flavors. When it got here, Matt and I each began ingesting it. It’s, arms down, THE BEST electrolyte drink I’ve ever tasted in my life. Most electrolyte drinks attempt to cowl up the salty style by including a lot candy taste, which implies you’re both getting manner an excessive amount of sugar (like with Gatorade or Liquid IV), or it’s stuffed with sugar options which have that overpowering faux sweetener style (like Dr. Berg’s electrolyte drink). Bleh on all of these.

So the LMNT was a bit totally different. They don’t attempt to cowl up the salty taste. They only add a touch of fruit taste and a little bit of stevia, however nothing overpowering. So the primary sip I took was a bit surprising, so my preliminary response was, “Ugh, I don’t suppose I like this!” However then after a second, I used to be like, “Wait. That’s truly actually good!” It simply wasn’t what I used to be anticipating. I used to be anticipating that faux, overpowering candy taste, in order that first salty sip was surprising to me. However after I readjusted my expectations, I noticed how a lot I beloved it. And now, it’s my favourite drink. I adore it greater than my valuable unsweet tea, and anybody who is aware of how a lot tea I drink is aware of how surprising it’s that I might love one thing greater than unsweet iced tea.

Again to my story. We received our first LMNT on the finish of January, and I began ingesting one (okay, possibly two) a day. First, I seen that I wasn’t getting hungry as typically. That made sense to me as a result of I keep in mind being in keto Fb teams the place folks had been typically doing intermittent and long-term fasting, and when folks would complain about being too hungry to proceed, the recommendation was all the time to place some salt below your tongue as a result of salt retains starvation and cravings in verify. In order that made sense to me. The extra salt I used to be ingesting, the much less starvation I skilled, and the less cravings I had, so I wasn’t regularly desirous to rummage by means of the fridge to seek out snacks all through the day. In reality, the considered meals was now not consuming my thoughts. After lunch, I wouldn’t even give meals one other thought on most days (with Wednesdays being the exception).

However right here’s what actually shocked me. On one Wednesday — the day of the week after I exit out to eat with my mother and brother for lunch, after which my church group has our Wednesday evening gatherings that begin with dinner collectively — I ate horribly all day. I didn’t have sugar, however I ate each carbohydrate in sight, together with a number of items of garlic bread (proper up till bedtime!!), some hen spaghetti, potato salad, white bread. I imply, I used to be uncontrolled. Now typically on days like that, my weight will likely be up about two or three kilos the following morning, particularly if I’m consuming proper up till bedtime, which I used to be on that day. So the following morning, I stepped on the size anticipating simply that, however my weight hadn’t modified in any respect from the morning earlier than (i.e., the morning earlier than my carb fest).

That has NEVER HAPPENED in my total grownup life. I used to be completely astounded, and puzzled what the heck was happening. Had I out of the blue turn out to be a type of fortunate individuals who might eat no matter I wished to, and by no means acquire one other pound? After which it dawned on me. Might or not it’s the salt?! That was the one factor I had lately modified.

And that’s after I remembered listening to concerning the e-book The Salt Repair.

I puzzled if, maybe, the reply to my query was in that e-book, so I instantly purchased the audio model and listened that day as I labored. And positive sufficient! He answered my query, and gave me a lot useful, wonderful, and enlightening info that I’ve turn out to be an evangelist for this e-book and for salt (particularly the wonderful tasting LMNT) for the final month. Proper within the very introduction of the e-book, he talks about how salt may also help you get management of your weight. Eat salt, drop pounds. That’s the very title of a piece of the introduction to the e-book.

I’ve to confess that with this new info, and with a wholesome inventory of LMNT in my kitchen, I used to be not as disciplined with my consuming as I ought to have been in the course of the month of February. In reality, if I’m being fully trustworthy with myself, it’s wonderful that I even managed to lose any weight in any respect within the month of February. Previously, that kind of undisciplined method of approaching meals would have resulted in me gaining weight. So the truth that I misplaced any weight in any respect throughout February is sort of wonderful to me.

So in March, I’m going to do some experimenting. I’m going to stay with the LMNT and mix that with a far more disciplined method to wholesome consuming, and I’m going to be far more dedicated to my each day train. I didn’t do nicely on that, both, in the course of the month of February. I began off very sturdy, but once I saw the coyote in our back yard, my dedication to each day strolling and willpower to stay to an train routine took successful. So I’m excited to see how this month goes. No sugar, manner fewer processed carbohydrates, extra salt, extra disciplined wholesome consuming, and a dedication to each day train. I’ll report again on the finish of the month to let y’all know the way it goes.

EDIT: I fully forgot to inform y’all this! I purchased myself a cute little outfit for Easter. It’s nothing terribly particular, and I’m not fairly able to spend cash on cute attire. I’ll have to lose extra weight and really feel extra assured earlier than I spend cash on attire. However for now, I simply wished a cute pair of pants, a colourful shirt, and a few new footwear. So right here’s what I purchased…

As quickly as I noticed my favourite model of pants/demins (Judy Blue) on this fairly pink, I knew I needed to have them. The shirt is from one in all my favourite on-line shops known as Mod Boutique. The footwear are Madden Lady from Belk. Who is aware of if the climate will even cooperate. That is Texas, in any case. We is likely to be in the course of a snow storm on March thirty first. 😀 If that occurs, I’ll want to modify out the footwear and throw on a coat.

However right here’s the kicker. I purchased the pants and the shirt one measurement smaller than what I put on proper now. 😀 And I’ve already flittered away the month of February with my undisciplined consuming and lack of train for the final two weeks of the month. So now it’s all the way down to crunch time. I actually do not know if I can do it, but when I don’t make it, it received’t be for lack of attempting or for lack of self-discipline in the course of the month of March. So I’ll let y’all know the way it goes! If I make it, I could even submit an image of me in my cute little Easter outfit. We’ll see. 🙂