sugar-free me

Today is day three of my cut-out-the-sweets initiative. In the last part of my pregnancy, I cut out all sugar in hopes of having a non-ginormous baby. Didn't have gestational diabetes or anything, but her head measurements were so big that the ultrasound machine literally could not compute her size. They were thinking she was going to be 11 pounds or so! My doctor suggested cutting back on sugar to see if that would help.

And... yikes, was that hard on me. Especially during pregnancy where you get tired so easily, a sugar rush could really help my day along. Anyway, I did it then, and I am going to try it now.

After a while, I really did crave it less. Certain things (hello, mint chocolate chip ice cream!) were always hard to pass up. But I put a goal in to eat at least three pieces of fruit every day, and while it did increase my danger of becoming one of those jerks who think fruit is a dessert, it worked.

I gave myself one cheat a week, and by doing so felt more like I was savoring, and less like I was depriving. The pressure was on to make sure it was truly delicious and worth the indulgence. Sometimes I even skipped the indulgence if nothing worthwhile came along. It's easy to pass up nasty store-bought cake if you know a homemade brownie sundae is on the horizon...

This is not a low-carb endeavor, so certain things that others might consider sugary are still in on my list. More like I am cutting out those foods you would normally consume for dessert. I know that I eat healthy foods already, in acceptable portions, but my sweet tooth is completely insane.
Out: cookies, chocolate, ice cream, etc. (4:00 gelati hour, I think I'll miss you the most...)
Still in: yogurt (not the frozen kind), fruit with whipped cream, chocolate milk, grown up breakfast cereals, PB&J

If I drank sodas or juices, I would cut those out, but I really only drink water, wine, and the occasional margarita.

Wish me luck!