Dealing with cravings

My weight was the same today. I wasn't too surprised, since I knew I was running a risk by having the Starbucks Frappaccino yesterday. It was only size Tall, but even that has a whopping 40 grams of carbs. I could have ordered the sugar-free syrup, but I refuse to have artificial sweetener and put potentially damaging chemicals into my body. I've done enough reading on artificial sweeteners to convince me that they just aren't for me. Too bad they don't have one made with stevia.

The reason I had the frappaccino is because I was craving one so badly. I shouldn't have let my craving get the better of me, though. It wasn't worth it, because I'm convinced that the sugar and high fructose corn syrup in it spiked my sugar levels, then I crashed and craved something sweet even more. I'm convinced it's the reason I wound up having a Lara bar as an afternoon snack, and then two protein shakes after dinner last night, because I was craving something sweet so badly. It is the curse of sugary sweets. Sweets = temporary high = crash = craving more sweets.

I can see now why on plans like the South Beach diet, for the first two weeks they have you cut out all carbs except what you get from vegetables and cream and certain dairy products like cottage or ricotta cheese. It helps you to get over the cravings. It breaks the addiction. Thankfully sugar addiction doesn't seem to run quite as deep as other types of addictions. Two weeks, minimal withdrawal symptoms, and you're done. Addiction gone. So why does two weeks with minimal carbs seem so daunting to me? *Sigh.* I know it probably needs to be done, but I'm going to try a few more days of simply cutting way back on the carbs and see how it goes. But no more sweets for at least two weeks! We have a birthday party to attend tomorrow, so I will have to figure out a way to deal with not having any cake, or maybe I'll just have one bite of my husband's piece.

Yesterday's Food:
Breakfast - Two scrambled eggs with broccoli and cheese (2 slices fat-free)
Snack - Protein shake made with 1 cup frozen berries, 1 cup water, and 1 scoop stevia.
Lunch - Chef salad, 1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese, a few olives; Starbucks Caramel Frappaccino (Tall)
Snack - Lara bar (chocolate peanut butter - fairly low in carbs and 4 g fiber)
Dinner - Two cheeseburgers, no bun; squash and broccoli.
Dessert - Two protein shakes made with 1 cup almond milk and 1 cup ice each.

I did Week One, Day Two (Workout Two) of the Couch to 5K program yesterday. It went surprisingly well, and the fact that I'm doing it in a hilly area and pushing my daughter in the Graco stroller makes it an even better workout. I was feeling it on the last running interval, though, huffing and puffing just a little. Oh, and I did some math in my head and figured out that Week One of the program, which tells you to alternate running for sixty seconds with walking ninety seconds for a total of twenty minutes, equals a total of eight one-minute running intervals, with eight one-and-a-half minute walking intervals in-between. That made it easier to figure out when to turn around and head back - four running intervals, then it's time to turn around. Trying to use the stopwatch on my phone was a bit annoying, though. I need to buy a regular stopwatch or timer of some kind. My feet did hurt last night, but today they seem to be better. I'm really hoping the shoes I have will do the job a little longer, until I can afford to buy new running shoes.