Monday, June 23, 2014

I Quit Sugar - Week 2 Recap

Read Week 1 Recap Here

Two weeks down! This week really was much easier for me and the meals are filling me up even more than week 1 and I find myself not even being hungry between meals for snacks anymore (I used to eat 2 snacks a day minimum at work).  I don't think I'm eating more food during my meals just focusing on nutrient dense proteins and veggies with fat added to everything…fat is yummy :).

This week I actually ate out a couple times so I had to practice picking the best choices on menus.  I didn't go all crazy and ask for ingredient lists for everything just ordered things that were obviously not sugar coated or anything.

The biggest challenge came with running a half marathon over the weekend. Up until this point I ALWAYS ate some sort of sports fuel during a half marathon (sports beans were my drug of choice).  However, after listening to a podcast by Dr. Timothy Noakes (an exercise and sports nutrition doctor) I was convinced I didn't really need that fuel.  You should listen for yourself but basically since I've been turning my body into a fat burning machine instead of a carb burning machine I really don't need any extra fuel during a run as "short" as a half marathon…and he even argues a marathon!

LISTEN HERE

So I loaded up on a fat filled breakfast of eggs with avocado and sourdough toast and then fueled my way through the race with only Nuun Energy.  Whether Nuun Energy really is just that awesome (it probably is) or I really am turning into a fat burning machine I don't know, but I felt strong the entire race and didn't even feel the need to inhale post race snacks like I typically do.

Okay, let's talk about last week's eats yes?

We removed all sugar (fructose) for week 2 so no fruit or any sweeteners of any kind.  In the beginning of the week I cooked a big pork shoulder in the slow cooker that made a few of the meals throughout the week.


LEFT: This was hands down the best meal of the week! It was super simple.  Just shredded pork mixed with sautéed onion, carrots and celery with some curry powder. Put that in a oven dish and top with mashed sweet potato and bake in oven. I topped mine with feta cheese after cause feta makes everything better!

RIGHT: Greek salad for lunch with shredded pork.


Another big win for the week was this coconut chicken.  Just replace bread crumb topping for coconut flakes in any breaded chicken recipe…YUMM! Served with some pumpkin mash (AKA pumpkin out of a can) and roasted broccolini.


Not everything is amazing in this program in my opinion and sadly half of this dish went in the compost bin.  It was a take on fried rice using cauliflower instead of rice…nope…doesn't work for me! Plus the whole dish was just veggies, not enough to fill this girl up! I did manage to eat a bowl for lunch one day but I disguised the taste with avocado and goat cheese :).


Eating out has really been pretty easy! On the left post-race breakfast of eggs, potatoes and sourdough toast! Lunch on Sunday was an Evolution Fresh bowl with quinoa, kale, black beans, butternut squash, tomatoes, avocado…so much yumm!

Week 3 Prep

The focus of week 3 is still no fruit or sweeteners of any kind and we are going to be learning about how to read labels.  I'm still trying to digest all the information but I plan on doing a post on it later this week.  But some bottom line information for you first:

  • The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day for women, 9 for men.
  • 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • A can of coke contains almost 10 teaspoons of sugar…a box of dried raisins, 7 teaspoons!
I roasted up a whole chicken on Sunday night to have in meals for the week…why I don't do this every week I don't know, it couldn't be an easier or cheaper way to have chicken ready for a handful of meals!  

Rock and Roll Half mary recap coming soon!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed! And this seems quite do-able. I feel like sugar is one of the easier things to forego, especially once you get over the hump. I feel like I can stop having desserts for a week and all of a sudden I forget about them. But the real question is...what about the post-Ragnar Blizzard???

Marathon Lar said...

OMG, Robyn…I have been thinking about that post Ragnar blizzard actually, that was like heaven on earth last year wasn't it! I figure if I'm really craving it I'll go for it but maybe I'll just get the biggest fry they have instead and eat salt instead :)

Leslie @ Triathlete Treats said...

Are you talking about the DQ this is strategically placed with all of the ferry traffic! I am sure I have hit that one up after all 3 of my NWPs!
Great week! Glad to hear that it is working well for you! Good job eating out and using good judgment too!!! :)