5 weeks and a Prologue

5 weeks. It has been 5 loooong weeks since I committed to kick sugar in the big fat booty. (And by that I mean, not eating it.) When I think about what I have learned and how my mindset has changed, it seems like the time should be at LEAST twice that. I have been feeling like I am almost done, but with 3 weeks left I still have plenty of time to keep doing better and continue learning.
Woot woot!

This experience has very much become religious for me. In this blog I will share personal stuff which might be TMI for some of you, but putting it all out in the open has helped me remain honest with myself, which is KEY for me in overcoming this addiction. So thanks in advance for being nice to me. :)

God has been with me from the very beginning of this experience. I really believe that I was led to the articles, videos, and people that helped inspire me to once again attempt to give up sugar, at least for 8 weeks. I have been struggling with my weight, being consistently on the low to middle end of "overweight" since I was 15 years old. When I got pregnant with our son Greyson I was at a wonderful weight (thanks to a busy summer job which required me to ride up the MOUNTAIN to campus on a bicycle 5 mornings a week). Physically, I felt good:

I was determined to eat healthy for my child, and not use pregnancy as an excuse to eat like a cow. Instead, I ate like a BALOOGA WHALE! (Which eat a TON, in case you didn't know.) I gained 75 pounds. 75!! I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. We lived in South Carolina at the time so that included a LOT of fried chicken and ice cream. Processed stuff. And sugary stuff. Tons of it. This was me the week before Grey was born:

Granted I was very pregnant, but I still think back on how I ate with SHAME! It is a miracle my child came out as perfect as he did! It was this experience (and the fear of gaining and keeping on 75 MORE pounds with a next pregnancy!!) that has caused me to rethink how I and my family eat on a regular basis. (Let me clarify that weight is not my only health concern. Both sides of our families are ripe with depression, asthma, allergies, heart failure, and cancer to name a few. I felt an incredible desire to figure out how to feed my child in order to save him from having to deal with as many of these health trials as possible!)  In October 2013 we joined the October Unprocessed Challenge. http://www.eatingrules.com/october-unprocessed-2013/. We decided that we wanted to turn the month long challenge into a lifelong habit. During this time I read "In Defense of Food" by Michal Pollan which I cannot recommend enough! As we switched to REAL food, the weight has slowly been creeping off. We are FAR from perfect but in just 8 months our daily diet has changed drastically. This has started me off on a journey to find a happy relationship with food. I LOVE eating as "close to the dirt" as possible. When I eat whole, unprocessed foods, it reminds me that this food is direct proof that God lives and loves us. The things we eat come magically from DIRT! (I must include that other things we eat, ALSO eat food that comes from dirt. We do eat and love meat, in moderation. At least that is the goal. . . ) But it is not really magic, it is our Heavenly Father who makes this magical process possible! I love it.

Yet, I still remain very much addicted to sugar and unable to find any sort of control where delicious, processed, sugary treats are involved. As we get closer and closer to having another child my fear has grown. I am afraid of craving all those same things (Ice cream! Hot n' Spicy Cheese Its! Donuts, donuts, donuts! Fast food! Anything and everything in gigantic portions!!).

Why am I blogging all of this?! This is the prologue to the story: "Shariko Marble Quits Sugar Forever."

Stay tuned for Part Two of this thrilling saga. If you are still reading, thanks. :) What has your search for a happy relationship with food included? Any advice for me to finish my last 3 weeks of no sugar (including fruit and natural sweeteners) strong? Please share any thoughts and feelings! I LOVE connecting with others who are or have been on this same journey to physical, emotional, and mental health!