Sugar eradication plan

Back to the gym today after nearly two weeks off. The gym closed from December 24 to Jan 4 and I really missed it. I don't miss the 5.30am wakeup or lugging a bag full of sweaty clothes around all day but it's a small price to pay for feeling better and avoiding the 3pm slump where it's just too easy to go scavenging for sugar. Did some treadmill and bike and my legs feel a bit tired but I'm so glad to be back. The man had PT today which seems a bit scary for his first day back at the gym. I've got PT tomorrow and I expect to be thrashed.

Today I've been thinking about all the little things that add up to weight loss obstacles. After giving them some thought, they really are not that little - it's amazing how easy it is to lie to yourself about something. So here's a list of things I'm going to cut out each week.

Almond croissant every Saturday - 500cal
3 stubbies of beer every Friday - 498
10 jubes every work day - 830
cake (it's always some one's birthday) - 510

These are the things I eat every week. That's 2338 calories I am consuming on auto-pilot.There are 7,500 ish calories in a kilo of body fat so that's like an extra kilo I could potentially lose every three weeks without this stuff. I know the maths is pretty rough but 2338 excess calories per week is a hell of a lot.

I'm most amazed by the jubes actually - 10 per day from the office lolly jar really adds up. If you asked me if I each much junky food I'd have said no - until I looked at that list that is. It's amazing how these things sneak in. Tracking a handful of jubes each day makes the calories seem negligible, but adding them up for a week is really quite shocking.

So I need to find alternatives. The beer is fine because I'm having an alcohol free month and it's going to be quite easy to just avoid it. The jubes and cake will be a bit trickier because they are at work and I can get bored at work. Eating doesn't really cure boredom but it's breaks it up a bit. I'll just have to go cold turkey on the office goodies.

The almond croissant is a bit trickier. Every Saturday the man and I go to the bakery for a croissant and coffee and read the newspaper. Maybe I just have to start a different ritual. Or I could just have something different. Even a plain croissant could be the solution. I still get to enjoy a croissant but it's nearly half the calories of the one with almond and custard. (And I had to guess the 500cal for the almond croissant - it's probably a lot more than that).

I'll see how I go this Saturday, but the plain croissant is looking like a really good option. If I get rid of the jubes and cake and beer then I feel quite comfortable having a croissant once a week.

Apart from getting rid of empty sugar and alcohol calories, I've decided to try eating more earlier in the day. I get hungry late morning and late afternoon but never at night (I've never been one of those people who looks for things after dinner). So I'm bringing some of my dinner calories forward a few hours. It should keep my blood sugar nice and stable and help me resist those sugar hits at work too.