The Sugar what?????

I've just eaten a spinach, beetroot and goats cheese salad with chickpeas and lemon yogurt dressing, whoo hoo!  Mrs Spunky is doing a two week sugar free challenge, absolutely no sugar, no honey, nothing, zip, not a trace, she's even checking the ingredients on breads etc WHOO HOO!!!
 I decided to see if I could cut out the tsp of sugar I have in my coffee twice a day, It somehow was quite easy, I don't miss it at all, very surprising.  So as The Sugar Challenge date neared I somehow decided to see how I would go.  I'm still deciding if this was a good idea or not.  The timing was as good as it could get, the new fitness routine and step up from walking to jogging has really increased my confidence and enthusiasm.  Also my diet to date is quite balanced and contains minimal processed foods.  The real challenge for me, oh golly! "the kids are in bed and I'm exhausted, if I just fold that pile of washing and tidy up I can treat myself to 1/2 a block of top deck" challenge.........
It's day four and I'm coping, a little surprised to see what they sneak sugar into these days but going well.  It's quite amazing actually by challenging yourself how you end up looking for healthier alternatives rather than simply omitting sweet.  My downfalls in the healthy eating department are not enough fruit, not enough water and too much Chocolate.  While I've not yet found a replacement for my nightly binge (Mrs Spunky told me to try fruit, an orange perhaps, well last night I wanted to throw an orange at her! )  I've replaced honey on my porridge with dried and fresh fruits and afternoon snacks are now natural yogurt and fruit and nuts rather than well no yogurt and probably not enough fruit.
So these changes are okay, the one thing I've not omitted is the soy milk of which I probably drink 500ml a day, it contains raw sugar.  Everything else is gone. Yay!  I think I'm feeling better and I seem to be sleeping better, as the weeks progress I will notice more of a differnce.  Some of the girls are doing the challenge for weight-loss others for a healthier lifestyle, the idea is to make the challenge a couple of times annually to create a healthier happier you.  Have a look at  fitness food and style a very inspirational blog where Danny keeps a daily record of her diet, including photographs of the food and also before and after shots of her pregnancies.xx

Make it hurt!

It's 12.30pm, I've just devoured a salad sandwich, full of salad mind you, it was one of those messy ones that you'd rather be eating at home than in a public place.  I certainly gave the kids a run for their money, Little Bear and Miss S are five and Mr Spagetti is three and they still make such a mess when they eat, it's quite ridiculous.  They have manners and I insist they use them, they must sit at the table until they've finished and they try really hard to use cutlery for the majority of the meal, I understand fingers are often quicker and to be honest if they're intent on getting the food in quickly than two things, they are eating a healthy meal and my efforts (this time) were  worth it.  So I'm now having a cuppa and have just eaten 2 rows of top deck (please ignore this), actually it was 3 rows, however I have also just carted a very large wheelbarrow of wood from the wood shed to the bottom of the back steps and then carted armfuls (about 10-12kg) up the steps into the wood basket about 6-7 times (take note of that part).  I am feeling great!  Why???
About six weeks ago I was invited by a good friend Mrs Spunky to join a fitness group Crabtree Fitness Profesionals.  Great idea I thought, I'd just started walking six km on Mondays and was enjoying the uplifting feeling, of both my spirit and my buttocks.  An added bonus was that my little ones could come and play with the other children, I just had to turn up......that easy!  So after arriving on day one of my new Wednesday routine, I was all smiles, the sun was shining and all of the women were really lovely and of varied ages, and weights.  Off we went full of enthusiasm,  jogging and jumping and lunging and twisting our way through the 45min class. Whoa, I thought I was going to vomit, what a shock to my system.  With a laugh we all made it back to our cars, we were all in pain but you couldn't wipe the smiles of our faces, we had done it and week by week our fitness and energy levels were going to rise!
Now here I am 6 weeks in and I love it, when it gets hard (and we expect it to)  we make jokes and laugh our way through and then when it gets harder (which it does) we call out to each other with encouragement.  By the end of the session we are relieved and proud, so, so proud.
Here I am now feeling healthier, sexier, more confident, content and happy and it's all due to one little hour of my time focused on me!  My advice is to get out there! Be happy, surprise yourself and clear your mind. x