Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sweet Thing

I might have a slight problem with sugar.  In 2011 I cut recreational sugar for the month of May, and it was a great way to "reset" myself a bit.  I was able to enjoy it after that without riding the endless roller coaster of sugar highs and lows all day and craving it constantly.  Last week I found myself experiencing the signs of rampant sugar addiction again - thinking about it constantly, eating several desserts a day, polishing off several boxes of cookies in a week, waking up and thinking I'd rather skip my workout and just jump straight to that chocolate chip coconut cookie in the cabinet...time to SNAP OUT OF IT!

So I cut out the sugar again.  I may go for the rest of the month, I may reintroduce it again sooner but I need to regain a little bit of control first.  Day 1 was hard - after 24 hours without sugar, I was sleepy at 6pm and ready for bed, thinking that life without sugar was not worth living (I can't make this shit up).  Day 2 was better, and by day 3 I felt fabulous!  I had one small package of raw cacao treats while I was down in Arizona yesterday but I think just staying away from processed sugary treats is helping me a lot.

In other news, training is going well.  I closed out another strong week of building volume/intensity and have one more big week to go before rest week!  I've been doing a lot of TRX for my strength work lately...I love the TRX! Nothing has taken me further with my core strength because it requires engagement of multiple muscle groups for every move.  I told Coach this week that it never gets easier, I just manage to do the moves for longer!

I also started using my swim snorkel finally this past week.  My old masters coach (from ~2009) pulled the snorkels out once and we tried them and I promptly inhaled water up my nose every time I put my face in the water and so I threw it back on deck.   And never touched it again.  But now it's 2012 and Coach says they are good swim toys to use and my swim guru - who is helping me change my whole stroke - wants me to use them, and so I've bought one.  The first time I tried it, I once again inhaled a large amount of chlorinated water and threw it on deck.  The next time, I spent the evening before visualizing a smooth calm inhale/exhale that did not involve my nose and the next morning I was able to do 50-75 yard blocks with the snorkel on!  I'm excited to incorporate snorkel sets into my swimming now!

On my way back from Arizona yesterday, the security line at Sky Harbor was really long for the D gates (where my flight was) so I went over to the A line (the gates all connect in Terminal 4).  The Homeland Security guy checking my ID said "You know you're in the A line and this is a boarding pass for a D gate, right?"  I told him yes but I know they all connect (the terminal is a big square).  His response? "I don't think you want to do that, it's like a mile walk."  First of all...no way it was a mile.  Secondly...there are moving sidewalks the whole way!  *shakes head*

I'm going to go have some Greek yogurt as my "dessert" (oh gee, how exciting) and go to bed by 9pm now, as the 4:45am alarm for masters comes awfully early.  Have a great week!

5 comments:

Stef0115 said...

This smoothie might be good for your sweet tooth. I "discovered" it recently (in a cook book I've had forever) and love it:

Sweet potato (cooked and cooled)
Plain greek yogurt
dash of vanilla extract (to taste)
nutmeg (to taste)
cinnamon (to taste)

Puree it all in a blender.

It tastes like a scaled down version of pumpkin pie!

Maggs said...

I tried the snorkel once at the urging of my masters coach (a very competent swimmer/swim coach) and after 100 I gave up (not even a 100). He laughed at me and said that was the first time he saw anyone have that much of a problem with it. I still have it somewhere. Maybe I should try the visualization thing.

Good luck with giving up sugar. I go through phases...pretty sure it's related to my period...and have found my smoothies to be sweet enough right now...beets, apple, clementine, lime, banana, 2 cups strawberries.

Bobbie said...

I live vicariously though your "want" to cut down sugar. Unfortunately I often eat cake icing for breakfast... enough said. Thanks for your efforts :)

Wes said...

YOU HAVE A POOL TOY I DON'T HAVE? aghast!! :-)

GoBigGreen said...

HMm, I am sitting here with cookie dough and m and m's, I mean Jen is my coach, i need to train on those dont I? I guess i am lucky, it doesnt phase me. I eat sugar ( and really, recreational? ok I guess if that works for you?) daily but maybe i am lucky to just not eat enough to make it matter.
Never tried the snorkel...kinda have no interest!