Lent, Day 2 - no sugary sweets

Sooo...yeah.....I decided to give up sugary sweets this year for Lent. My sweet tooth had gotten WAY out of control. When I get overly tired or stressed I reach for the sugar, and with a new baby that was pretty much every day. I have lost a good portion of my pregnancy weight but those last 6 to 8 lbs (depending on what day I step on the scale) just will not come off. I'm thinking the truck-loads of candy and cupcakes I keep shoving into my pie-hole might have something to do with that.

Now I haven't gone overboard with the NO SUGAR thing. Mainly I've cut out the junk sweets: anything where the nutritional value of the food does not outweigh the sugar content (i.e., cookies, candy, cakes, cupcakes, chocolate, etc.). With this philosophy I am allowing:

• fruits
• low sugar yogurt (like Chobani)
• low sugar oatmeal
• natural peanut butter
• sugar free creamer for my coffee (shut up...I know it has no nutritional value but at least I switched to sugar free)

Let me tell you this is MUCH harder than I had anticipated. Especially when I have these staring at me:

 OMG these jellybeans are the BEST and they only come out for Easter.

Mmmm.....Tagalongs.......

And add to it that I've been ramping up my workouts a bit so I'm rungry all of the time. And "RUNGRY JEN WANT SUGAR!!!" (in my cavewoman voice).

Day 1 I was fine until about 2:00 p.m.  The afternoon blood sugar dip hit me HARD. I wanted to reach for the sugar so badly...just one jellybean. No one will know. Problem is, I would know and I would be disappointed in myself. So, I made a huge glass of water with NUUN and had a few strawberries.  It helped. Day 2 I tried to be a little smarter and ate a bigger breakfast and drank water steadily throughout the day. That helped some but again - 2:00 p.m. BAM! the cravings hit. Again I scrounged for alternatives to combat the cravings.

I'm on Day 3 today and I'm starting to learn a few things already:

• My blood sugar dips and my cravings spike about the same time every day - 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Knowing this helps me prepare for these times a little better. I'm trying to incorporate a healthy snack right before these times. My favorites are raw almonds, fruit, string cheese, yogurt, light popcorn or laughing cow cheese.
• I find I eat less of a healthy snack as opposed to a sugary snack. A couple of strawberries or a few almonds will do the trick where as I will mindlessly eat cookies or candy. The little "you need to stop eating!" dude in my head just seems to take a siesta when I start chomping on the sugar.
• I need to eat a better breakfast. I usually just grab a Luna bar and some coffee. Nope...not gonna work. A breakfast bar just does not cut it. I need protein in my breakfast to help me last through the day.

I will be curious to see if my sugar hiatus will make a difference on the scale. I plan to weigh in after 7 days to see. Stay tuned, I will report back on it. *fingers crossed*

What are some of your favorite healthy snacks? How do you monitor your sugar intake?

Today I LOVE: rainy, stay-in-your-pajamas-and-read-a-good-book-days.

Upcoming Races

I'm getting super excited...I mean "pee my pants" excited about two upcoming races. I signed the entire Z family up for the 2012 Amedisys Mardi Gras Mambo in Baton Rouge. It's a 10K that's super stroller friendly. It will be our first race as a family. I cannot wait to strap the little guy into the jogging stroller and take off. He loves being in the jogging stroller and I'm anxious to see how he does in a race setting. I'm hoping for gorgeous weather (no rain please!).

I'm also looking forward to the race bling...RACE BLING!!! It's been so long since I've seen or touched or caressed race bling. Oh race bling...how I've missed you.

The other race Mr Z and I are doing is the Rock N Roll New Orleans Half Marathon. I still remember when this was the Mardi Gras Marathon and Half Marathon - before Rock 'n' Roll bastardized it and jacked the prices way up. I still struggle and try to call it the Mardi Gras race. Luckily I got in on a great deal and I'm getting to run this puppy for $35. Whoohoo!

What I'm most excited about is meeting up with all of the great runners that I chat with via social media. It is so great to put a face with the twitter handle and meet these people in real life, warts and all. I'm working with Claim Your Journey to organize a MASSIVE tweetup at his booth. Stay tuned for details. In the meantime swing by his site and check out his posts. He is a purveyor of all things running in Louisiana, has great posts on just general running info and is a super nice person ta boot!

Now should I rock the tutu for both races??

Today I Love: Race BLING!!!!

#SelfbragSunday

Negativity is a disease.

I believe that. Negativity spreads like a virus. It infests and infects our lives and the people around us. It can eat you up inside if you dwell on it. I am a firm believer in the power of positivity and positive thinking. That is why I'm starting Selfbrag Sunday (#selfbragsunday). Every Sunday on here and Twitter I'm going to post something positive about myself or something I did that week. And I encourage everyone else to do the same. Put your positivity out there and feel good about yourself!

Today's #selfbragsunday topic is:  Name one part of your body that you love.

I love my calves. I have nice, muscular calves. They are strong. They make me strong. I can see all of my running and walking workouts in my calves. I think they are one of my nicest features.

(Not my calves)

What is your favorite body part and why?

Today I am thankful for: Nautical stripes - they scream spring to me and make me happy.

Scenes from a long run

Picture post from my last long run.

 It was a gorgeous day to be out for a run.

 I had the BEST running companion ever. He lasted about halfway and then conked out.

Rockin' my Newtons. I am seriously in love with these shoes.

 Stopping at the turnaround for a re-fuel and a stretch.

Not a good picture but there's a great little wooden bridge that I cross. It's always picturesque.

The Tunnel.  This goes underneath a major four-lane road.

 I always love seeing the tunnel because it means I'm only a half mile away from being DONE!

 And of course, my reward for completing a good, tough run.