Review of Week 4 - one week to go until strawberries!

Heading into Week 5...

I admit it. 

I've lost a bit of my motivation and my concentration for this. Don't get me wrong, I'm really proud of myself for doing as well as I have and pretty much following the programme to the letter), I just feel I should have noticed more obvious changes. You know? Last week I noticed a bit more room in my trousers (win!) and while the focus/purpose of the programme is NOT weight-loss, it is going to be a natural side effect of not eating sugar for so long. It can't not be, really.

I think I've said I've not had any detox symptoms and that hasn't changed. However, I've also not had any hunger pangs and have drastically cut down on my snacking between meals. I'm finding the portions a smidge on the large side, but find I take longer to eat them, so perhaps that's the pay off. I feel full properly, rather than feeling I need to fill the space after I've already eaten. Still, no weight loss, back to feeling bloated and therefore a bit sluggish and part of me just wants it to be over (I think this could be considered a withdrawal symptom, actually - my brain is 'sugar sad'). I'm a bit fed up with the cooking, spending great amounts of money on food, eating late(ish), and the huge amount of prep and dishes that get done every week. 

I've not had any harsh or specific cravings, though. At least not the kind where I push old people out of the way to get a chocolate bar or anything like that, so I suppose that's positive (at least for the oldies). It's a bit hard to explain, but it's almost like the cravings have simply gone dormant. They're there, I can 'feel' them, but they're being very quiet and that's part of the reason I'm very consciously NOT putting sugar in my tea (drinking it without, but really not enjoying it) or cheating in other ways. I'm worried that once I start, I simply won't be able to stop again. One lady on the FB forums had a little bit of fudge she'd made for her grandson's birthday and threw it up! :( Not good, but good in the sense that she won't likely try sugar again in a hurry, that's for sure! 

There are three weeks left - Week 5 (this week) is our last NO sugar week - and next Sunday we can start adding tiny amounts back in, but only in the form of berries and Rice Malt Syrup. I am REALLY keen to put strawberries back onto my morning oats, I have to say!

Otherwise, I'm sure the iron supplements I've been taking have been helping, too. I'm no longer gasping for breath for ages at the top of the 'hill' on my way to work. I still breathe a bit heavily, but nowhere near what I was just a month ago. I've gone from 400mg per day down to 200mg (still a lot!), but am definitely feeling more with it. I've not done any exercise, but am planning to start running again once the hour changes at the end of the month (can get up nice and early) and will try that trampolining thing I wanted to start back in Feb. Hopefully, combined with the new eating regime, I will see some weight loss then. 

I told the MD at work yesterday that I had a proposition for him, so we had a chat. The company has only been in the current offices a few years, but no one's ever really gone through it to organise and sort the paperwork, which is something that's desperately needed. The MD certainly doesn't have time to do it, although his office is one of the worst offenders. I told him I wanted to start sorting/organising the stuff as plenty of it can probably be sent to archive at this point, or thrown away or at the very least put into boxes and hidden away again. I'm going to go in a couple of Sundays a month for a few hours at a time to get it done because there won't be any time during the week, there's simply too much going on. I'm taking time off in lieu (or perhaps half time, half cash) so it's worked out well. Parking is free on Sundays and if I go in early enough, then I can spend a few hours focussed on work and then be home with plenty of time left in the day to relax. I'm going to start after my mum leaves in April. It's crummy work and not particularly something I'm looking forward to, but it needs to be done and I'm happy to have extra time off in lieu.

I've booked my falconry experience for May 3 and bought one for my sister as well, so that'll be fun. So excited - raptors are such brilliant creatures (and heavier than you think), so I'm really looking forward to it.

Then I've got cupcake decorating to look forward to as well, likely once my Mum has gone as we'll be busy while she's here. 

I've been buying books like crazy (they're my Achilles heel) despite my promise to myself to use the library more. I have over 200 'want to reads' on my Goodreads list, but if I have cosy mysteries at hand, everything else gets pushed aside, although I love non-fiction as well.

My February finished pile. All bought since end of December and will be donated to the library.

My 'to read' pile. All bought since end of December - all the books at the bottom are books about writing (instead of actually writing, I tend to read a lot about it instead...). The top of my dresser also has about 2 dozen books I have yet to read as well, but these are the newest. "Death in Devon" and "The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra" were bought on a visit downtown on my lunch break on Wednesday. The lady at the bookstore was very excited that I was buying them - she had her eye on the first one (he wrote the Bookmobile mystery series, which was terrific) and had read the latter and LOVED it. So, good choices, apparently. :)

My smaller 'to read' pile. The Andy McNab titles are borrowed from a work colleague and I'm currently reading the top one. I find I can't really read more than one book at a time these days, although I used to be able to do it. I'm ensuring I now have a book with me at all times, as with the waiting and commuting I do every day I can easily get an extra hour of reading in.

I've got the house to myself this weekend as my cousin is visiting her mum for Mother's Day (it's tomorrow here). I had semi-grand plans, but basically have just unpacked my grocery delivery and done a laundry so far. :P Tomorrow I need to be more productive: tidying my room, doing some food prep for the week, etc.

Have a great weekend everyone!