When did sugar = reward, love, comfort, an escape?
This past March I read a book that you could say changed my life.
"Year of No Sugar" brought me a realization that was embarrassing, emotional, and difficult to admit.
Sugar was an addiction.
There was a part of me that thought no one else struggled with sugar the way I did,
so I kept my sugar habits to myself.
You know:
*sneaking candy bars in the car, closet, or after everyone is asleep
*going through a drive-thru and grabbing a soda
*having 2-3 cupcakes because I deserved it
*baking a batch of cookies and eating 2 dozen out of the 3 dozen
I believed the lie that I was the only one with this struggle.
Then I read that book and it seemed as though this woman felt my pain & connection to sugar.
And I thought if I can connect with this woman who I've never met,
how many of my friends are feeling the very same way?!
So instead of facing this problem alone,
I faced it head on and posted it on Facebook!
I decided to create an accountability group called;
YOU, ME, & SUGAR FREE!
As a Health & Fitness Coach, I offer monthly Accountability Groups but this one would be different.
It would be different because we were all giving up something that had an emotional attachment to it.
During the 30 days we focused on ourselves as individuals and our personal goals. The Biggest Question was: Do you want to remove ADDED sugars from your daily intake or ALL sugars (including natural sugar like honey, molasses, & fruit)?
For me, I removed ALL added sugar! The only sugar I have permitted myself is the proper serving size of natural sugar found in plain greek yogurt, fruits, and veggies.
We also had to become familiar with the 52 specific names of sugar and how to identify added sugar and natural sugar in our foods!
We created "exceptions" and they were different for everyone.
My 2 are:
1) Drinking my daily dense nutritional shake: Shakeology, that contains 6g of stevia
2) Quest Protein Bars that contain 1g of stevia
The goal and focus of the group is really my heart to why I'm a health & fitness coach. To EDUCATE women, to help them understand the importance of their health and inspire them to live a healthier lifestyle. I love being a support & encouragement in helping others reach their health & fitness goals.
I think that's why this group has such a special place in my heart.
It was all women who found themselves slaves to sugar.
In the 30 days:
We endured withdrawal:"I went through some MAJOR withdrawals yesterday! Body aches, tired, and an annoying headache that just wouldn't go away! But we are almost a week in and there's no turning back now!" ~Me
We endured WHAT THE HECK moments, when we realized some of our favorite snacks contain added sugar:
"Having a meltdown. Do you know they put sugar in ritz crackers?! What the heck is that?! I have lots of questions now..." ~Sarah S.
"BTW-I can't live without ketchup and am so annoyed it has high fructose corn syrup in it!" ~ Jacki R.
I received check-in's that would start with:
"before you bust me for _________"
"Reason #901 that this group rocks: typically when I'm up late at night I'll pour a huge bowl of sugary cereal or grab a bag of chips & dip, etc...but here I am at 12:17 am filling up my water bottle! Not nearly as "fun", but I know I won't be kicking myself in the morning! Thanks again for the accountability!" ~Sarah L.
"Went out to dinner last night. Had unsweetened iced tea for my drink, which was a huge victory over the new "chose your own concoction" coke machine. We almost didn't go out because I was afraid I would give into the temptation soda. " ~Jacki R.
"BTW-weighed again this morning and am down another 5 pounds...total of 8 since 6/1!" ~Jacki R.
"'I've lost four pounds! I haven't even stepped on the scale in a week because losing weight wasn't my main goal...but YAY! It's amazing what happens when I'm not consuming 6,000 empty calories a day" ~Sarah L.
"After much debate, I decided to step on the scale this morning. I lost 5 pounds. I really can't believe it, but I can feel that I've lost 5." ~Sara S.
When I decided to be a Health & Fitness Coach I knew I wanted to change lives but I never thought it would be through food & exercise accountability. This "business" I am in has nothing to do with sales or how much money I can make but everything to do with people and transforming their lives, inspiring them to be something they never thought they could be. Mainly because I was that person and I can understand being overweight, never being part of an athletic team or having a sport that is "yours". Feeling uncomfortable in your clothing, no confidence, being the "overweight" friend, fighting every month with the scale, trying every diet, starving, binging... the list goes on and on...
I do not promise easy and quick results but if you commit to nutrition + fitness I promise you will have success!
The heart of my business as a Health & Fitness Coach is in my accountability groups - We had a lot of things to celebrate in the 30 Days of No Sugar but the greatest celebration was:
The FREEDOM of no longer being a Slave to Sugar!
1. "Thank you for offering this group. It has changed my outlook on everything. I do plan to continue to cut out sugar but will plan in some cheat days. My kids have been asking for a special Graeter's trip all month, and one of my daughters bought me a pint for mother's day, which I haven't eaten yet. LOL! But I'll make the pint last a long time. I did not have weight loss this week, but there are some other factors at play (if you know what I mean). For the month, I lost 10 pounds, and I'm super happy about that. Although my husband and kids aren't completely on board with cutting out as much sugar, I think we all are more aware of what's going on with our food now. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" ~Sara S.
2. "Although I didn't go completely free, my sugar intake was definitely limited a ton! I want to keep this up. I realized how many things have hidden sugar!yikes! Thanks for being so encouraging!:) I have the year of no sugar book and I really want to read that! thanks for everything!!" ~Michelle T.
3. "Thank you so much for hosting this group. Sugar has always been a HUGE part of my life... especially in stress eating that is my go-to! I could definitely tell when I went OFF of sugar with the detoxification that was NOT fun and then went back on it(It was also not as yummy as usual) This has put my mind frame in a complete different way when I look at sugar and it's an awesome feeling that I can be more aware of what is going into my body. I'm looking forward to taking hold of the 'sugar reigns' and controlling it and not letting it control me!" ~Kelly R.
4. "This weekend we did a little 4 day get away and I had totally planned to allow myself liberty...I ended up having one mini Hershey bar (we were at the Hershey factory) and a chocolate chip muffin (at a birthday party). I felt like I had totally indulged. No soda even tho we ate out for almost every meal. Sugar is going to be "sparingly" as it should have been all along." ~Jacki R.
5. "I've thought about only having sweets on major holidays (& family birthdays/weddings/etc)...that way I'm not giving it up forever, but it will make it that more more special! I keep thinking back to one of Hillary's original posts of how we 'reward' ourselves with sugar all-the-time! It's so ridiculous!" ~Sarah L.
6. "I keep thinking to myself- I'm going to buy a package of cookies when this over! But seriously that would defeat the purpose of trying to change my mindsets and strongholds on this crap. I'm definitely not had a detox of sugar yet, especially since it's in my morning coffee that I'm not ready to change yet, but just feeling like I need to reward myself or treat each other at holidays...I want to really get that out of my head. It's so hard when family is has so many eating issues. I have to control what I can control and move past their crap. I don't want to be a slave to sugar for the rest of my life. And I want to learn more about healthy desserts too and try to forever stay away from packaged crap." ~Molly R.
7. "I don't know mediocrity at all. I think I'm going to reserve it for special occasions as well. I use it as excuses and having not had it much the last two weeks my mind is more clear and I am more fully present as a mom and wife. I see things differently spiritually as well – it's radically changed me."
~Jennifer P.
As for my 30 day progress:
If you've been part of my accountability groups you know I'm not a big fan of the scale. A lot of times we get caught up in numbers when in reality the scale can miss BIG parts of your transformation! Although I did not lose any weight, I saw transformation within my stomach, skin, and inches lost. I kept my same workout regiment of running and a 25-30 minute workout program 5x week.
If you're ready to make a life change and want to join my next Accountability Group or are interested in joining my Team of Coaches who have a heart and passion to change the lives of others, please message me: hillarymayne@gmail.com OR find me on Facebook (hillary.mayne) or Instagram (hrmayne)!
