DAY FIVE

I decided to post to my blog so I wouldn't be blowing up people's news feeds for the next 25 days.  Or maybe the real motivation is so I can express my feelings about giving up sweets for 30 days without feeling limited by posting to my status everyday.  It's incredible how much of my brain power is going toward NOT doing something....not eating sweets.

The first few days were tough but were really pretty fun seeing how supportive people were when I posted that I was going to give up sweets for 30 days.  The truth is that I've made that promise to myself a hundred times.  But when I posted it to Facebook, I knew that I would have to follow through.  If I had made that commitment without telling anyone, it would have lasted a whopping 12 hours (on a good day) before giving in to my sweet tooth.

Day 4 (yesterday) I was excited because for the first time since I had started the challenge, I didn't wake up wanting to dump a gallon of Diet Coke down my throat.  Yea me!  Then we went to The Chocolate Bar for a friend's birthday and I wasn't all that tempted.  It was still fun to go hang out with friends and peruse the endless aisles of rare candies, take a peek at the two-foot tall chocolate cakes, and to see how many different objects they can shape out of pure chocolate.

But in all honesty it wasn't all that difficult because I was with friends and we were having a good time.

But then today happened.

I went in to work to give tours of the hospital.  It was my second day of doing tours so I was feeling tired.  Tired or stressed?  Drink a Diet Coke!  Have some sugar!  That'll give me a second wind for sure!  But what if that's not an option?

All I'd have to do is take a quick elevator ride down to the 3rd floor and snag one of the delicious made-from-scratch goodies from the Bistro.  OR a sugary snack from the gift shop.  We have options!

I got a salad with grilled chicken and no dressing, and a bottle of water instead.  :(

It wasn't even good.

By my second tour of the day I was EXHAUSTED and craving sugar in a fierce way.  I found myself casually hanging onto the hand rail in front of the nursery as I was giving my tour spiel because I was so drained.  I had serious plans of breaking my commitment....but I didn't.

I drove home feeling drained and hopped into bed because the boys were still napping.  I woke up 15 minutes later (Troy actually informed me later that it was closer to 2 hours...oops) feeling terrible.  I knew that 20 ounces of stingy, bubbly, battery acid-like liquid would be just the cure.  But I held fast and figured it was sugar-caffeine withdraws and tried to view it as a good sign that my body was detoxing.

I jumped into the tub for a soak because that always helps me relax, threw on some workout clothes, and took the boys out for a bike ride.  On a gorgeous day, that was exactly what I needed!  We went to grill out with friends and spent the evening playing in their backyard.  I've felt great for the rest of the night!

I wish I could say that the pride of making it through another day outweighed my desire for sugar...but it doesn't.  I'd rather be drinking a Coke right now.  BUT I am proud of myself and I hope this gets easier as the days go by.