Sugar Free Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday I decided to start a diet because race season is not many weeks away! Clearly I should have started this after today. BAD planning. I've never actually dieted except for once in my life when I was a teenager and decided to eat salads because it was the cool thing to do at the time. I've changed my diet to be sports specific or changed my diet to whole foods, but I haven't actually gone ON a diet. But yesterday was the day. I thought I would give it a tri (overused pun totally intended). 

I am reading about nutrition ALL the time. There is one article after another coming in my e-mail box from this and that but it is all a blur to me. No carbs, add carbs, more protein, less protein, high and low glycemic index, paleo diet, diet for runners, Rachel Ray diet, and so on and so forth. It really makes NO sense to me. But I admit since my feet have been hurting me I haven't been spending long hours in the kitchen cutting up fresh food and my diet has gone into a slump and add not running into that and I have probably gained a few pounds. Honestly I never weigh myself. I would love to but the scale at the gym doesn't seem to work and I have one here but I can't find it! I've never had to diet but my body has NEVER been the same after three kids. I've always been 10 pounds heavier after having kids but at the same time I started doing sports and lifting weights so how much might be muscle weight? I'm not really sure but I thought, hey, let's try to loose some because the amount of weight you carry could affect your speed. 

So yesterday I cut dairy and processed sugar out of my diet. I admit it, I like chocolate, sweets, and lattes. I don't particularly like fruit. I've never really eaten much of it. It doesn't sit well with me and I don't like the taste. But ok, I'll try eating some as a substitute. So yesterday I said goodbye to lattes and cereal and cheese added to anything. Honestly I didn't plan this thing out well at all because I'm not so sure what I had around here to eat. It was particularly poorly planned because I got up at 5, got to the gym before 6 (it's half an hour drive just to the gym), and didn't leave the gym until 9 after doing weights, swimming, and running. I didn't get home until 9:30 and still hadn't figured out what to eat for breakfast because lately I've been in a cereal slump. After getting the kids settled I cooked some eggs on toast but that was 5 1/2 hours after being awake and having not eaten and doing three workouts. Then for lunch I made a vegetable stir fry with cinnamon, garlic, and olive oil, and angel hair pasta, and had some nuts and fruit as a snack throughout the day. Clearly I am not good at meal planning or diet planning so I think today I need to get to the store and figure out what healthy snacks I can eat during the day. I worry about getting enough protein because I don't eat meat that often so I guess I will hope to get enough protein from beans and eggs. 

So, that is my haphazard diet. I cut back on the amount of food, removed the processed sugar, and cut out the dairy. I'm curious to see how the week goes because yesterday for the first time in YEARS I actually took a nap. Wow, no processed sugar = a sleepy me trying to get through a long day! Amazingly my seven year old and three year old also took a nap (this NEVER happens) while my five year old stayed quietly but awake next to us! I have no idea how long I can keep this up. Let's hope I make it through day 2 on Valentine's Day! Goodbye lattes, goodbye chocolate, goodbye cereal. I'll see you again maybe one day soon! By the way I ran for 35 minutes yesterday! This is extremely exciting after being down for the count since the beginning of the year! YAY!! Enjoy your Valentine's Day with the ones you love! Eat a cookie for me :).