GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!

I really hope that Paleo Chix don't mind that I reposted their article, but I check their blog all the time, they are some wonderful women. I can across this article right when I was or I should say I am dealing with my own sugar issues. Today I started my own 21 day sugar detox, so far so good!!!. I have always been pretty darn strict Paleo but it has not been so clean lately.....and I feel completely out of control. No I do not wake up in the morning and eat a donut nor do I eat desert everynight, so some might think that I am crazy but when there is chocolate around the house I will eat it until its gone....ALL GONE! So I try and not have it in the house, but when it is... look out. I also have an issue with Splenda I put it in everything. So when I came a cross this article I almost started to cry just knowing someone else out there was dealing with the samething.....Thank you Cynthia J at Paleo Chix for the post.....Please check out their blog at http://www.paleochix.com/


About six weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar with Greg Amundson, called “Goal Setting and Positive Self-Talk”. Greg is one of the original CrossFit Firebreathers, and serves both in the military and in federal law enforcement, and he has developed this talk over the past 4 years, bringing together his experiences in all three arenas. One section of the seminar really grabbed my attention: the importance of setting short-term goals.
Greg said “Short term and IMMEDIATE  goals are important. When accomplished, they build confidence in your ability to set and achieve long term goals. A long term goal is nothing more than the successive accomplishment of several short term immediate goals! This understanding is POWERFUL.”

I have wanted to decrease my bodyfat and increase my level of fitness over the past several years, and have done pretty well, especially since the original FRAT Paleo Challenge in August 2009. But I reached a certain point and have been stuck there for months. I’ve been “pretty good” with my Paleo nutrition and “pretty good” with my workouts. I have only one deviation from “perfect Paleo practice” left,  and its name is SUGAR. I’ve tried before to kick my Peppermint Mocha habit, and found that in its place my intake of dark chocolate surged. I’ve had no trouble at all eliminating grains and legumes and dairy from my diet, have had no desire to reach for a soda or a brownie, but chocolate and Peppermint Mochas have had an irresistible lure.

So what does that have to do with goals, you may ask? Enter our friend Diane’s 21 day Sugar Detox. I bought Diane’s guide way back in March but did not jump in on that 21-day detox. I’ve read through the guide (which is excellent) and checked out the Facebook page, and decided that I might as well give it a whirl this time around. I figured that if I told Diane I was doing it she’d notice if I didn’t contribute any comments and that making a “public” (ie. Facebook) commitment to participate would keep me from wussing out part way through. I knew, from having done a 30-day Paleo Challenge, that it is possible for me to “go without” my sweet treats for a while, so managing 21 days seemed like an attainable goal. I also told my children that I was embarking on this path, knowing that they’d provide a little moral support and reinforcement (“MOM! You’re not allowed to have that!).
Here’s what I’ve discovered so far.
First, that the timeframe in which I have to accomplish this goal of 21 days sugar-free is not weeks, days, or hours.. It is moments. Every day, there are several brief moments in which the desire for a “little indulgence” springs up. In those moments, I have to make a choice to either give in and “treat myself” or hold strong and stick to my decision not to eat sugar.  In those moments, my goal is very simple – don’t let THIS be the moment that derails my larger goal to make it through the 21 days without a single lapse.
Now that we are 13 days in to the Detox, this has become a comfortable process; I have found that if I talk myself out of indulging, the urge to pop into Starbucks for a mocha or a grocery store for some dark chocolate will pass pretty quickly, and when it does I feel a lovely little glow of accomplishment. In my mind, I have defeated temptation, met a small but significant goal, and moved another step closer to my ultimate goal of losing fat.
Greg said at his seminar that “Short term goals accomplished on a regular basis build confidence in your ability to arrive at your desired end state.” Boy, do they ever!
Another thing I have learned is that when I have a case of the munchies, if I eat fat (avocado, Sunbutter on celery etc) the hunger goes away immediately.  In fact since I’m not eating any fruit, I find that most of what I’m eating is protein and fat, with very little carbohydrate, and, surprise surprise, I find that I’m eating less often, and eating less in general. Who knew I could not only function but feel really good consuming so much less than usual?
The only thing I miss is fruit; there are still lovely sweet berries available at the Farmers’ Market that just make my mouth water. But honestly I find that I have no real desire to eat them, or the luscious apples and pears that are also abundant. My desire to eat fruit is completely overshadowed by my curiosity about how long I can go sugar-free, now that I’m accustomed to it. Maybe til Thanksgiving? That seems like a reasonable timeframe.
I suppose eventually I will allow a little sugar back into my diet, but for now, I am happy with this little experiment, loving the fizzy little sense of pride in accomplishment I feel at the end of each day, and starting to realize that if I can kick the Mocha and chocolate habit, my long-term goal of losing more fat and a developing a higher level of athletic capacity is easily within reach. And now I’m starting to think of how setting small, short-term goals can help me reach other long-term dreams – such as earning my 4th degree black belt in 2012!