October 27, 2021 Day 104 Due to the weather, yesterday I spent most of the day texting, calling, and emailing people to reschedule a paddle tennis match which was supposed to take place yesterday.  As a new team captain, I’m learning and making mistakes.  I had to find out everyone’s availability and coordinate our team availability with the other team.  I found this to be very stressful, time consuming and disruptive to my day.  I felt tense, was unable to concentrate.    Read More

October 26, 2021 Day 103   Yesterday I had lunch with friends at Chopt.  It was a first for me and many of us.  They have lots of great ingredients including chopped kale, all kinds of veggies, and warm bowls with grains or cauliflower rice.  I got the warm Harvest bowl with mixed grains, chicken, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, kale, and pumpkin seeds.  I asked for no dressing as it was hard to get an answer on the dressing ingredients, even when asking the manager.  I would hope they didn’t add sugar to their dressings since they seem to be so health conscious about other ingredients, but you just can’t be sure. Read More

October 25, 2021 Day 102   It’s been a busy (but fun) few days of meetings, cooking, entertaining, travel planning, phone calls with family, and lots of activity including hiking with my health & wellness friends, paddle tennis practice with the team, yoga, and weight lifting with my son.    I finally sat down yesterday afternoon, cleaned out my emails, and did some work on my sugar course.  I wanted to cook and do some meal prep, but I’d fallen behind on my sugar course goals and just needed to catch up. I worked on the first two weeks of the course.  One assignment will include assessing our energy.  We think sugar can give us energy, but sugar can also play havoc on our adrenals and deplete our energy, and affect sleep and mood, as you may already be aware.  I’m going to try my energy assessment out over the next few days and see what I discover.  Read More

October 24, 2021 Day 101   Just yesterday I discovered something new in the yogurt marketplace.  My son likes Chiobani vanilla Greek yogurt in his smoothies.  I never really looked at the label, but yesterday while grocery shopping, I noticed they now have created a lower sugar vanilla Greek yogurt but it still contains 5 g added cane sugar. Maybe manufacturers are starting to go lower sugar?  Could be a new trend, and wouldn’t that be magnificent, and smart for them too.  We need some good news these days, and this is one small step. Read More

October 23, 2021 DAY 100!!   100 Days on this no added sugar adventure!  It’s just a nice round number, but it’s a milestone, none the less.   Together, we’ve discovered hidden sugars, total and added sugars on ingredient labels, recognized our physical and emotional triggers for sugar cravings, made substitutions with less sugar, and supported one another too!   Read More

October 22, 2021 Day 99   How could it be that I am still finding products with added sugar in my refrigerator?  Well, I didn’t do a complete purge when I started, but instead just read every label before using the product.  I’ve written here before about mustard, but just found a stone ground mustard in my fridge with added sugar.  Last night I wanted to make a salad dressing (olive oil, ACV, lemon, herbs, mustard), and thankfully I had a new jar of Grey Poupon without any added sugar, in my pantry closet.  Sugar avoided one more time. Read More

October 21, 2021 Day 98   I was compelled to run to the Indian market yesterday for saffron.  I took a much-needed break from work and went on my quest.  In the Subzi Mandi I gathered up bulk bags of raw almonds, walnuts, turmeric powder, black pepper corns, and dates - but no saffron in sight.  One shopper I spoke with said the store owner might have saffron at the register since it is so expensive.  She was right.  I asked for the saffron, and one cashier took out a plastic box with an air tight lid, opened it up, and there were several small boxes of saffron.  I asked how much.  $8.99.  I asked - what about a larger box.  She put her small box away and came back a few minutes later with a slightly larger box.  This was the “lifetime supply” I was looking for.  I felt like I was doing a drug deal.  Well, it is medicinal! Read More

October 20, 2021 Day 97   Yesterday I worked on my sugar course content.  Over the years I’ve learned a lot about sugar, and now with this sugar course development I’m reading and studying, and researching even more so I get it right.   Last night I was on a call with a fellow health coach who did a presentation about inflammatory foods.  We all know that sugar is inflammatory, but she gave us even more information about other inflammatory foods that you might think are healthy, and info about calming inflammation. I already use turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon, almost every day, but she also taught us about saffron and I am intrigued. It’s on my grocery list for the Indian market, but I understand you can order a supply from Amazon too – no surprise there. Tea made from medicinal herbs and spices is not only good for you, but can help curb sugar cravings, or can be used instead of an evening beverage like wine or spirits.  Such a better choice for health.   Read More

October 19, 2021 Day 96   “Leave the guns, take the cannoli.”   Confession time!    I was craving carbohydrates yesterday and I think I know why.  On Sunday night my husband picked up dinner from The Pasta Shop which included a cannoli dessert. One dessert comes with three cannoli.  We’ve never had them and I can’t even tell you how good they were.  I wasn’t fazed when he ordered the cannoli.  I just knew that was off my list, and I’d avoid it.  Well, it didn’t work out that way.  When I opened the box and saw the cannoli, I just picked one up and took a bite. This is so unlike me, and I don’t know what happened.  Was it the site of the cannoli? Was it that we never ever have cannoli – ever! Read More

October 18, 2021 Day 95   Yesterday I started reading “Potatoes not Prozac” by Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD.  I was interested in this book because I know that so many women (especially, but men too) are taking anti-anxiety medication, and sleep medications.  The diet is one piece of the solution, and no added sugar can make a big difference.   The introduction and first chapter talked about sugar sensitivity based on our genes and the lived experiences of our ancestors.  Basically, if you are sugar addicted, it is not your fault.  I know this, but it was reassuring to read it again from a scientist. The meat of the book is about how you can change your diet to allow your body to readjust and no longer be hooked on sugar.     Read More