30 Days NoGluten/Sugar Challenge

I failed on day 8. I had an accident on Tuesday in a slide at a swimming pool and I had to had a wound above my eye "glued'" by a doctor. I used this as an excuse to eat a cookie in order to comfort myself in the evening... this opened the door to binging on crackers, bread, etc. I won't expand on the stuff I ate. I told myself that today would be day 1 again but I ate spaghetti instead. And cookies. I'm back on the challenge again tomorrow!

Day 0

 

Day 1

I only had a peach today besides dinner. For dinner I went to a restaurant and I had a beef and onion stew. French fries were served with this. I was pretty greedy with the french fries (with mayonnaise) and I even asked for more. But I walked a lot today and I also didn't eat anything during the day besides the peach, so it's not all that bad.

 

Day 2:

Had a bicycle trip to a city. I just had a tomato soup there (didn't eat the bread). When I got home I got some anjovis. I also made some buckwheat and I'm now making a bit more because I burned a lot of calories today. I had strong urges for bread today...

 

Day 5

Nothing special to mention. I went to a restaurant yesterday. I had carpaccio and a fish salad. There were french fries served and I did ate quite a lot. When there is bread on the table (which was served with my meals) then I can resist the urge to eat it but I'm not too strict with french fries. It's okay because I exercised yesterday and today. I'm for cold turkey but I think it's a good strategy to eat average quality food like french fries (fried that is) so you're not shocking the system. I'm going to be more vigilant when I'm in a restaurant next time.

Other than that, I'm eating buckwheat, fruit, etc. Tonight I will have a steak. I feel pretty good.

 

Thanks for your post, MW.

I must say, it's definitely not a challenge for the fainthearted. The fact that you already made it to 20+ days once is very commendable. I'm confident that you can do this again, one day at a time. But you have to suffer. If you don't suffer, you're not changing. Embrace the withdrawal. Mouthwatering because you see your favorite snack in the grocery store? Good. You have a headache? Good.

I'm travelling now and normally it's quite the default to indulge in convenient food when you're abroad. I'm surrounded by all these snackbars, durum kebabs, bakeries, etc. But quite frankly, it's not compelling to loosen the screws. I just eat kind of minimalstic. I get some fruit, nuts, eggs, advocado, etc. and just eat it in my apartment. I start to feel more energetic and I look healthier, so I don't want to lose the momentum.

Good luck!

Day 9

 

Day 11

I moved to another city and found a small place where I can eat national dishes for a cheap price. I had some peppers filled with rice, eggplants with cheese, eggplants with tomato sauce, chicken kebab (no durum), ... Yesterday and today I ate it in the afternoon and had multiple dishes... It felt quite heavy I must say. I don't think it's too clean but it was good for variety. I overate but I'm walking a lot. I drank yerba mater afterwards as it's good for digestion.

This has nothing to do with this thread (it's helpful to write it down) but a few days ago I was in this lowkey bar with some people. Almost everybody was smoking inside and I smoked a few cigarettes (maybe 5) too and I regret doing that. Luckily I didn't drink that evening (there was pressure, I didn't even drink a tonic which is my usual go to drink but just sparkling water). I also didn't allow this little slip-up to entail picking up smoking again. I think it is harder to motivate yourself to eat healthy when you're neglecting one aspect of your health (e.g. smoking).

I also went to juice bars to get some fresh juice as a way to detox myself from the nicotine (red beets, carrots, green apple, ginger).

 

Thanks, MW. Hope you're doing well and maybe you'll pass by this thread again in the future!

Day 14

Haven't indulged in gluten/sugary foods. I went to other cities where it was a bit easier to get some traditional food. I had some Turkish food (stiffed peppers with rice, eggplant/tomato salads, etc.). I went out of my way to not eat the Turkish bread they served. Same for yesterday, I had lamb on Turkish bread. It was very hard not to eat the bread... Also this morning, had some poached eggs with guacamole in a restaurant. Served on a toast. I could taste the toast when I was scraping off the guacamole of it. Very close call because it was very tempting to eat the toast. Also had a salad with Balkan cheese.

 

Day 20

Quick update. I'm still in a foreign country and haven't really indulged in gluten/sugary foods.

Maybe like a week ago I had some breaded chicken snacks (like these big chicken nuggets, I forgot the name of it) in a shisha bar. I also smoked cigarettes and this led to a smoking relapse but I corrected this slip-up after like 2 days.

I'm eating quite a lot of dairy really, namely Bulgarian yoghurt (which has a high probiotic content and makes me feel good). I also don't get out of my way to avoid dishes with cheese and white rice. I'm walking a lot and actually hit the gym and sauna yesterday. It's just a good thing that I don't have any interest anymore in things like pizza, pasta, bread, cookies, etc. I feel good.

 

Day 21

Yesterday I went to a restaurant with a friend and he recommended me a national snack as a starter. It was like a cheese ball covered in corn flakes (hard to believe it was a national speciality, anyway...). It was served with blueberry jam. Technically I ate the food that I try to avoid with this challenge but I'm not allowing this to open Pandora's Box, so it doesn't hurt (it's not that I enjoyed this snack that much, but the perfectionistic regret isn't that intense). As the main dish I had chicken with potatoes.

I also bought some pure peanut butter from a market yesterday. The salesman let me try the different nut pastes/butters he was selling. He then let me taste a paste that contained some brown sugar. I felt a bit like an alcoholic who took a sip of a drink (the taste of the sugar was intense!). But I didn't let the pefectionism take over.

I had breakfast in my hotel and I tried a little piece of a pastry dish that contains eggs, yoghurt and cheese. I just kept it with one and didn't allow myself to indulge further (didn't eat any bread). I had eggs, sausages and cheese (although it wasn't the best quality). I'm eating a lot of dairy. I eat a lot of yoghurt and I eat it with the peanut butter (the jar is already empty, I kind of 'snack' from the jar...).

So yeah not completely glutenfree but the point of this challenge is self-control and not perfection. I also did hiking in the mountains so it doesn't really matter that much.

 

Day 0

Had a slip-up. Not going into details. I was in a situation where I was with people at a table in a hotel. Suddenly there were muffins on the table and I thought that one wouldn't hurt. I became greedy and ate like 5 (this shows how I have a compulsive obsession). Today I felt that I had cravings for comfort food again. I was able to control myself throughout the day and not indulge. But at dinner, I did eat some toasts as an appetizer and I also had a dessert (yoghurt cake).

I will jump back on the horse tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow I'm back on this wagon. I'm not going into details on what I ate for the last days but I ate like shit. At a certain point I was travelling with other people and it made it more difficult to stay on track (not an excuse of course). Now I'm back in my home country but it already was difficult to eat clean for the last days since I returned. Tomorrow will be hard but I have gone through the 'withdrawal' phase for a couple of times now since the last months, so it will be okay. Will get some fruit tomorrow. I also relapsed with smoking since a couple of days so I'm going to ditch that too.

Thanks for the insightful post @Do all to the glory of God

 

I broke a streak of 5 days of NoSugar/NoGluten yesterday (all the previous resolutions that I wrote down here where all in vain). I had a family gathering and I couldn't restrain myself when the dessert came. I started eating cookies and once I began, I couldn't stop (a real addict). This even led to eating candy that was available at this party...

This week was hard, a lot of cravings, especially in the evening, where I would entertain the idea to go to the night shop to buy cookies, something I have done with some frequency in the week before that, but I was able to fight it off (until my willpower was put to the test yesterday). I did eat some dairy during these days (Greek yoghurt, mozarella, cottage cheese).

I'm also going to take a break from this forum (a general 'digital declutter' to stabilize the brain chemistry in general) so I won't be logging here actively for the coming weeks. I will make this little deal with myself that I will only get back on the forum once I reach a 30 day NoSugar/Gluten streak again. Pray for me.

 

Cheers for the post @MindfulWarrior

Good that you're able to practice moderation!

With regards to the forum: the problem is not the technology in isolation but it's rather my compulsive use of digital entertainment in general and how it has a negative effect on my life. I guess having some sort of operational procedure where I have a specific rule on how I use the forum, instead of just logging in anytime of the day, would be good. I'm planning to take a 30 day break before reintroducing this technology, so that I have more clarity to think how I can incorporate it in my life in a way that doesn't slurp up time, i.e. being intentional about the usage.

Day 1

I didn't have any grains/sugar today. Yesterday I just went to an Indian restaurant and had some gluten foods but didn't binge or something. The day before that I did have Pizza Hut which I regret.

I have been eating dried dates for a few days now. It gives you that sugar high (more than fruit)... might be a good substitute for sugar if you have the cravings during the first couple of days. I know it's still sugar... but it has fiber and vitamins, so it's not that bad I guess.

 

Day 8

I'm off the sugar and gluten again. I don't have much novel information to share...

I have been eating a lot of dried dates as a way to deal with cravings, they are awesome (and healthy apparently). The only problem is that once I start eating them, I can't stop... the ancient part of the brain makes it hard for me to limit the intake of dates.

Today I ate like 2 boxes of 300g of dates. This is a lot of sugar but it doesn't make me feel like shit like with cookies or something (it has vitamins and nutrients). I'm now using them as a way to make the transition phase less miserable. I'm planning to limit my intake of dates to 4-5 a day.

I'm rope skipping everyday so I'm very active, I feel pretty energetic.

I have also noticed that I sometimes lack the patience when it comes to gradual changes because of these habit changes. I think "Why do I still have fat around my neck?" or "Why hasn't my skin cleared up completely?"... I have to remind myself that a bit more than a week ago I was eating PizzaHut, drinking soda regularly, eating a whole loaf of bread in one sitting, etc. I tend to suppress these facts and think that I have been eating clean for so long. When I'm on a healthy diet streak, I always feels like I've been on it for ages, thus I become impatient. I think it's symptomatic for an addict: wanting to get instant results/gratification. There are no shortcuts in life.

I'm now eating buckwheat with some chickpeas.

 

Day 10

I don't have much trouble to stay away from refined sugar and grain products.

I still have been eating tons of dried dates to this day. They make me feel less deprived... Like I said in my earlier post, I don't want to keep eating them in the quantity I'm currently eating them now, but it's something I will definitely keep in my diet. Eating 20+ dates feels way better than eating just 1 bowl of spaghetti or let's say a pastry snack... I don't really have get that insulin crash from it it seems. I think my indulgence in dried dates is hurting my wallet rather than my health.

Anyway all that sugar I get from dates doesn't go unused. I bought a jump rope last week and I have been skipping rope on the daily. Today I did 1000+ skips and I'm planning to do hit 1000 everyday. I already feel better because of this new hobby. I'm also doing some basic weight lifting at home (dumbell curls, overhead press with a cinder block, chin-ups, etc.)

I had a dream last night in which I relapsed with a chocolate snack. In the dream I also was looking up a recipe to make a cheese cake... I'm not sure if this is - like a P dream - a sign of the addiction and the fact that I'm recovering from it or just a reflection of the fact that I'm thinking a lot about this NoSugar resolution I'm on.

As for dairy, I had Greek yoghurt yesterday. I'm not going crazy with dairy but I am planning to buy some raw milk next time I find myself on a farmer's market.

I ordered a big bag of buckwheat as I'm using this as a new staple (very healthy and filling). Also ordered hemp seeds as these are full with omega fats, zinc and magnesium. Also a good amount of proteins.

I'm going to take a forum break. I want to spend less time on the screen and reclaim my time for offline leisure activities and studying.

 

It's been ages since I posted in this thread...

The absence of postings may be an indication that I've been dropping the ball when it comes to eating clean.

If lean back in my chair and look at my white wall whilst thinking deeply on my eating habits from November to January I have dubious feelings but generally speaking, it's allright [I do remember a lot of instances that I went to the night shop under impulse to buy snacks, soda, chips, McDonalds].

I have had lapses and binges but I think I have been steering clear of the bad stuff for most of the time.

As we speak, it's been a while since I had bread or something with added sugar, but I don't know exactly when it was. I had some junk food last thursday with a friend [french fries and fried snacks] but this was more of a social thing/cheatmeal rather than something miserable and impulse.

The good thing is that I haven't eaten bread and cookies etc. despite the fact that I'm in exams. Normally I'd have a binary response and gravitate towards comfort food in order to indulge as a way to 'relief the stress from studying'. I'm now eating pretty high fat/protein [more keto-ish than paleo-ish]. I have a lot of eggs, cheese [eating cheese cubes as a snack sometimes], steaks, olive oil, fish, nuts, etc. I still eat a lot of dried dates which has tons of sugar and is pretty easy to binge on, but it doesn't give me that dirty feeling like added sugar/bread.

I started this thread as the manifestation of my goal to abstain from gluten/sugar. I think I have made tremendous progress since. My skin looks better. I have more energy. I lost a lot of body fat. I don't really feel much temptations when I walk past a bakery that makes fresh sandwiches so it feels that a keto-esque diet is becoming my default. Another thing I'm rigidly trying to avoid are the so called 'vegetable oils' like canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, etc. They put these industrial oils in everything... I haven't cracked the books on why it's bad, but if you look up how canola oil is made: then it's not very convincing that this is good for you body.

Hope you're doing well @MindfulWarrior