My Love Affair with Sugar

I am excited to have Eat-Clean Diet Ambassador Theresa Jenn Lopetrone as our guest blogger this evening. She's sharing her love affair with sugar and her tips to say goodbye. Take it away Theresa...

Theresa's amazing before and afters. 

I love the smell of sugar and I especially love the taste of sugar. But I hate what sugar does to my body and how it makes me feel.

It was not until I started to eat clean consistently that I realized the impact sugar had on my body.

Although I would like to say that I am perfect and I never have cravings or eat chocolate or cake, I can’t. I still crave sugar and sometimes I give into this craving. I have learned that if I have too much sugar or the wrong kind of sugar I feel my heart rate increase, I feel sluggish, unmotivated, bloated, uncomfortable, and in return, I crave more sugar. In my opinion, these bodily responses prove that sugar is addicting.

Photo Credit: Paul Buceta

Since beginning to practice living an eat-clean lifestyle I have stopped consuming:

• Juice: I would much rather eat my fruit than drink it, not to mention the over whelming amount of sugar that exists in juices.

• Sugar in my Coffee: I now drink my coffee black aside from the occasional Non-Fat Americano Misto.

• Sauces like Ketchup: After learning about reading nutrition labels I now pay closer attention and look for hidden sugars. I have also learned that sauces like this can be easily made at home.

• White Bread: I was shocked to find out that sugar exists in bread which explains why I always felt like taking a nap after eating it. I now eat Ezekiel sprouted grain bread.

• Colas: I now drink sparkling water and tea from DavidsTea instead of colas. It was surprising to find out that the amount of sugar that exists in one can of cola is similar to the amount of sugar in 3 chocolate bars!

• Fake Sweeteners that Contain Aspartame: I now use natural sugars like honey, Stevia, and overripe bananas for cooking and baking. It has made a difference in how my body feels and looks.

Photo Credit: Paul Buceta

One of the many lessons I have learned from my coach, Oxygen Fitness Model, Fatima Leite Kusch, is that we are all human and sometimes we give into sweet cravings. She taught me to reflect on the triggers that lead to giving into sugar and in my case it’s usually stress. I no longer beat myself up over giving into an unplanned ‘guilt-free’ meal. I take time to connect to what caused my sugar craving and I move forward with a lesson learned about my body and mind. It has taken me years of practice to learn how to live an eat-clean lifestyle and I am still learning.

For those of you who follow me on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, or my blog The Fame of Health and Fitness, know that I post and pin a lot of ‘Rated ‘R’ Food Porn’. This might be surprising because of the lifestyle I practice, however, this is a method I use to help with my cravings. If I have an urge to eat a sugary treat I will use Pinterest to ‘pin’ the food my eyes want to eat. Or if I am out and about and I see a decadent brownie or cupcake that is calling my name, I will use my iPhone to take a photo of it instead. I use my iPhone in a similar way to record the clean food that I eat. If time permits, I will take a photo of each clean meal that I eat in a day and later share my meals with my readers on my blog and twitter. This is my way of reflecting and journaling my food for the day.

This journey is hard enough on its own without taking into consideration your career, role as a parent, student, or all of the above. I am not a trainer or a nutritionist; I am person who had a dream to become healthy, fit, and happy. I work as a classroom teacher during the day and I pursue my passion for fitness on my spare time so I understand that time can be tight. If I can make this transition I know you can too!

If you are just starting your Eat-Clean journey, start by removing all junk food from your house. Sometimes even the person with the strongest willpower can’t resist. To read more about my challenges, triumphs, and tips, make sure to follow me on Twitter @TheresaJenn, The Fame of Health and Fitness blog, and check out Oxygen magazine’s March 2013 issue and Oxygen’s 2013 Special FAT LOSS issue!

This journey isn’t easy but we are in it together. As Tosca says “Come clean today and eat clean tomorrow”.

Inspire and Be Inspired!

Theresa Jenn xo