Living Life Sugar Free

Warning! Bit of a personal blog post coming up!

I have made the same resolution year after year to become stronger and fitter but it just hasn’t happened. Not because resolutions are a waste of time but because to be honest I like wine and cheese too much! And both counteract my strength as both make me bloat and lethargic.Although both are truly lovely.

Well 2015 this has finally changed. On Jan 1st I gave up alcohol, cheese and sugar.

the vintage glasses are empty!

I was drinking too much. Not in an alcoholic type way, but in a usual “40 something with two children and a business kinda way”. I looked forward to it too much when the kids went to bed, to help me unwind after a busy, busy day. And to be honest I often felt fuzzy in the morning. Sometimes I felt sick and I nearly always felt very tired.

almond milk porridge and hot lemon

I love cheese, my god how I love cheese! Having been a vegetarian since the age of 12 (that’s 30 years now!) I have eaten meals laden with pure fat as let’s face it, most people/chefs/restaurants feel the need to coat veggie food with cheese to somehow make it tastier! But I had a feeling for a long time now that it’s the cheese that gives me tummy ache, makes me itch and basically bloats me to a 6 months pregnant mumma.

tuna and beet salad

I’ve always been an all or nothing person. So if I’m eating cake, I’m eating cake! It’s not like I was piling on the pounds (although I had put on a stone over the last year and a half) but I have always had major come downs after sugar. My 7 year old is exactly the same. We feel high then nauseous after sugary treats.

cacao, oats and banana pancakes: no flour, sugar or milk

So as of Jan 1st this was all cut out. The first week I was euphoric, I was buzzing and couldn’t sleep. I was a crafting demon, making Valentine’s wreaths and Mothers Day mosaics until the small hours. When I did get to sleep finally, I slept like a baby but felt like I’d been sledge hammered in the morning.

pea and mint soup with beans to make it creamy

Week 2 was unbearable. I was finally sleeping but the headaches on day 10 were hideous. My skin was terrible. Friends on Facebook who had done the same before promised me it would get easier. I wrote a diary to monitor my progress: most entries were about head aches, head aches and more headaches.

almond milk porridge in my vintage Pyrex

However fast forward to day 25 and I felt amazing. My hair is thicker, my skin is clear, I had lost 9 lbs, my bloat had gone…and so had the headaches (to be honest they were mainly on day 10-12).

I now have been alcohol free for 75 days today. I have also gone the whole hog and given up dairy (not eggs). I am fitter and stronger mainly as I have the energy to do weights and yoga. I have lost 17 lbs. My skin is clear. My dark eyes have gone.  I havent been ill once…my tummy is totally and utterly de bloated. On the work front, I am more focused on what I want to achieve. And interestingly, I am working less not more…seems my clear head has made me prioritise and also gain clarity on what is important and not so important. I am also saving loads of money!!! £35 a week to be exact. However, it seems to be being spent on clothes rather than being saved! Well, I’m not perfect!

sugar free raw brownie, recipe by Deliciously Ella

Basically I feel brilliant. I was told I would and they were right. I have even gone out with friends and not been tempted once to have a drink. To be honest I don’t want the hangover and the fuzzy head as now my head is totally clear. I feel stronger in my mind as well as my body.

The jokes havent stopped though…mainly by my fellow drinkers who just keep making comments about me being teetotal. Only one person has said she admires me and wishes she could do it! I’m hoping this will change as let’s face it I have proved I can still be the life and soul of the party without booze.

leftovers!

I just wanted to share my journey with you and hope you may be tempted to do the same, or at least cut down. I will be sharing more of this with you, mainly in the form of photos and food blogs. You are loving them already over on Instagram.

And most important of all I am not dieting. This isnt about weight loss. I know many people that eat really badly while trying to lose weight, guzzling diet coke, cutting out fruit as it has sugar, binging after cutting back etc. This used to be me years ago, but problems with too much diet coke put a stop to that. This is about not eating processed food, anything with the diet or light option describing it, infact anything with added nasties. And let me tell you, thats pretty much everything! But it is worth the effort I assure you.

Fyi: I eat fish, no meat, eggs, no milk products, no alcohol or caffeine and only sugar in pasta and bread  but choose wholegrain where I can.

(disclaimer)