COMMENCEMENT!!!

BRAVO!!!!! MAZEL TOV!!!! WE DID IT! 

30 days without processed sugar! Wasn't so hard, was it?

And how accomplished and GREAT does it make you feel today? 

I commend, honor and respect your choice to go all the way with your commitment to this challenge and am 100% humbled by your follow through!

All week I have been feeling a little similar to how we all feel at the end of a great summer or even summer camp when we were kids; I don't want it to end! I started to think, "how could I ever conscientiously go backwards again, knowing what I know and experiencing what I have experienced?" And the answer is a resounding: OF COURSE NOT! Never, ever could I go back to living with sugar the way I was living, albeit was not a BAD diet, but not necessarily the BEST diet. 

Now that I have lived an entire month without any form of sugar, I crave the next level of wellness, not to be mistaken with obsession. Anybody who wants to criticize eliminating poison from our lives, is either scared or completely insane in my opinion. 

I simply want all of us to bask in our recent attained goals and live THIS day with immunity!!

Should you chose to partake in the Halloween festivities, live it  and come celebrate with all of us at the new Shake Shack on Columbus Ave (and 77th) at 7:30pm!

Congrats again and until the next challenge.... (coming soon!)

love,

LC

HOME STRETCH!

Bravo...we are officially on the home stretch and it feels a little bit like the end of summer camp when we were tots! This is really the icing on the cupcake that we have been fantasizing about filled with pinkberry and candy corn. The irony is that now that the lifestyle of no processed sugar has been integrated into the daily routine, I am questioning whether or not I can go back! I can't fathom using poisonous artificial sweeteners ever again or having sugar in my food simply because I am too lazy to pay attention to the ingredients. Just doesn't seem right now that I have drunk from the well of truth. It's like finally implementing global recycling and then taking it back because it's too much work! Conscientiously, not possible.

So, with that in mind, let's start to think about where we are going to go after we commence on Friday and how we would like to live after this challenge is over. This is not to undermine the complete sugar comma we will be putting ourselves in for Halloween eve at Serendipity, but after we get our "fill", what's next?

I challenge you to start making a lifestyle list of what you are willing to let go and what may not be possible at this point. Outside the comfort zone is one of my favorite mentalities, but living that way isn't always so easy.

November brings another challenge, so buckle your seat belts and get ready for your final FOUR days of SUGARBUSTERCHALLENGE 2008!

LC

Buyers Beware: Carb overload is an easy path to fall into now that we have omitted the sugar in our diets. It's the common feeling of deprivation that can lead us to the carbs unknowingly. The moment you start eating these white flour carbs, the quicker you will in turn start to crave sugar again. Experiment for yourself; there is nothing like first hand knowledge to seal the deal.
If we take out the processed white flour carbs for these last 10 days, I think we will be shocked at the body transformation!
Sugar and carbs work hand in hand in a conspiracy to wreak havoc on our liver and intestines. I ate ONE piece of pizza the other day and within an hour, I was ready to blow it all away on a small bite of chocolate! But I didn't! I couldn't'! But boy did my insulin want it!

As we start to reach our goal and cozy in on the home stretch, add another dimension of commitment to your health and well being and maybe do some 'cleansing' at home.
I have found myself desperately wanting to cleanse those lose papers and unfilled business issues so that I can live without the clutter in my personal life as well as in my body!

I am going to take out the bleached flour and start to diminish the carbs I intake as a final chapter to this challenge and take it all the way. I am already starting to think differently about how I will live once we commence on Halloween! Speaking of which, we are all going for frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity as a treat to reaching our goal, so set your calendars for the eve of October 31st! Just a small bit of excitement to keep us going.

FOR THOSE OF YOU HAVE FALLEN AND CAN'T GET UP:
Self Sabotage is a bitch, but use this blog to repent your sins and move forward now instead of tomorrow. Every meal is another opportunity to start anew!
Make it happen and start again from the first post and move your way back up at your own pace. Every BODY is different and the demons that surface throughout the process are powered by a lifetime of bad or lazy habits. Taking responsibility is the only way back in.

Less Carbs, More Veggies, Quicker Changes...

HALF WAY MARK!

So, it's time to take stock and realize, the hardest part is done! WE MADE IT TO THE HALF WAY MARK! Bravo!!!! This is it...this is the home stretch. This is when the BAD habits start to leave your life and the new patterns emerge completely without any effort. Half way to a goal in a challenge without sugar is MAJOR! Take a moment and realize what you have been doing and how the change has taken new form and weaved right into your routine.

For starters, I know some of you have experienced some weight loss. This is great news, but surely not why we are doing this at all. I am finding the ones who are actually losing noticeable pounds are the ones who were the most addicted and may not have quite been aware. Awareness is everything. Awareness is the difference in having a day or a life that is in rhythm. You hear me say that a lot, but it's so relevant to a healthy lifestyle. You can be healthy on the outside, slim and strong in appearance, but frantic and unorganized on the inside. Does this ring a bell?

Truthfully, the changes that are occurring are a positive force that you are spearheading because you desire healthy options and healthy challenges. Maybe you are becoming more obsessed with the way you eat outside of omitting sugar; you should be! I would not categorize this as an unhealthy obsession. The real crime is how long we actually lived without much thought or routine into what we put into our bodies. It's called hiding under the rug, and quite frankly, that rug is dusty and OLD!

If you get a moment and haven't already, dig up with NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE section from this past Sunday (Oct 12th) with the corn husk blowing up on the cover and read a few of those articles all dedicated to food and how this country eats. It's shocking and alarming. This is a national epidemic that needs more attention and solutions. No doubt about it. It's like global warming; it's here to stay unless we make some drastic efforts NOW. There is no more talk about the theory of it, when the planet is in obvious peril just in terms of weather patterns alone.
Anyway, I digress. That's another challenge down the road: GREEN LIVING = GREEN BEING.

So, stay focused. You are so near. If you fell off again, strap up your boots or uggs or whatever the weather is demanding, and get back in the saddle without regret! It's over, it's done, move on now.

Go get em, Tiger!
LC

Criticism

I always find that those people who criticize are usually the ones who although wish they could have the diligence and fortitude for attempting anything that challenges their daily 'comfort' zones, are generally the ones who DON'T attempt any such challenge. Mostly, this is not necessarily a conscious choice, yet it's so easy to criticize without having the knowledge or experience first hand.

Now, that's not to say that it is pretty close to alien-esque for Angelina to have lost all of her baby weight after only 11 weeks of giving birth to twins, but I think it's healthy to have criticism when referring to crazy celebrities. I would argue any double standard in that observation!

But when it comes to everyday life in conjunction to positive change, this type of criticism can be damaging without even being completely coherent.
From simple comments like, "why are you doing this", to, "oh c'mon, one piece of chocolate isn't going to kill you". These comments are all part of the struggle that can help justify the inevitable doubt with which we are in constant communication.

DON'T LET THE CRITICISM GET YOU OFF TRACK!

It doesn't really matter if your friends, family or even colleagues may not understand, agree or support you. What matters is that you know! What matters is that you challenge yourself! What matters is that you inspire others through your knowledge, experience AND inevitable changes!
The truth of the matter is that our country is overweight and we practically ingest sugar intravenously from the time we are toddlers.

The time is overdue to adopt a healthier lifestyle once and for all!
If going off of sugar for a mere 30 days out of 365 days in your life this year allows you to realize how damaging it is to our bodies, then you will have succeeded. Everything else is icing on the cupcake (which is only 19 more days away). Pun completely and shamelessly intended!

Ignore the criticism in your head as much as in your surroundings. You don't need to justify your positive re-reinforcement to anyone but yourself!

I am really proud of all of us! Sugarbuster's unite!
xox
LC

Setting your sights HIGH

As the time of holidays and weekends start to approach at a furious pace, it's with great importance that we take a few moments at the end of each day and the beginning of the next that we set our personal goals and sights high, YET reasonable.

Everybody's struggles with this particular challenge are all relative: some are entering this phase with more obstacles and internal sugar demons where as others aren't sure exactly what they hope to gain from this experience other than the simple follow through with this intense 30-day experiment.

Whatever the reasons, we will all end up at the same place at the same time but with so many (ideally) different and fabulous results. Remember: there is no easy solution to a healthy mind, body and spirit. There is no miracle potion, lotion, pill, liquid diet, or hypnosis that will enable you to have the body and life you dream for yourself; the only true form of attaining a goal of health and prosperity is to live with health and prosperity. Throughout this challenge, you will find a lot of internal doubt arising from day to day. Not only is that the withdrawl speaking, but it's just as much the fear of not reaching what you had envisioned! 

These type of commitments take shape and form the deeper you dive. The only way to really know the truth is live it day by day and enjoy the journey. Instead of dreading a holiday or a weekend free from the weekday routine filled with temptation, move ahead with some goals for next week! Look how much we have learned and felt in two short weeks...okay, maybe they weren't so short, but looking back is never as bad as when you are in the thick of things!!

You have everything you need...

LC

Falling Off The Wagon

Self sabotage is clearly the most efficient way to NOT complete a challenge such as this one.

The one week mark is here and it's been a looooong week at that. There is something about reaching that mark and overcoming any cravings and allowing the second, the third and the fourth week to unfold with a little more ease. At this point, if you want to reap the full benefits, it's a mind over matter issue. Once you get this far, you don't want to give up! It's the beginning of ANYTHING that is the most challenging. It's where the unknown peers around the corner simultaneously offering us joy and pain in the same virtue.

YOU CAN DO THIS! YOU WANT TO DO THIS! SO, DO IT!

A few of you sent me emails today with updates on falling off the wagon a time or possibly two in the past week, but I think it is great is that you got right back up and started again. Giving into the cravings is not a sin; it's a normal feeling that for one reason or another, can fiercely be over run with obsessive thoughts. You have not failed. Just a bump in the road. DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP OVER SLIPPING UP! It's counterproductive.

So what?: you had that cookie or scoop of ice cream or a muffin or a chocolate or two. Move on and realize it's the thought and follow through on the grander scale that weighs so much more that one incident. Just rid yourself of the pit falls or patterns that you yearn to change.

For myself: it's all about cleansing right now. I feel that I have moved past the worst, yet every day is quite challenging. Once I set my mind on something, there is no turning back. I have to finish this challenge regardless of the outcome. But you betcha: boy, would I looove that cupcake right about now. 

sweet dreams,

LC