"Don't Stop Believing" Journey to Ironman

Hydrating With Acai--One Powerful Antioxidant

Sometimes I get so darn sick of plain water. I'm always looking around for ways to add a little flavor, preferably without artificial sweetners or sugar. Packages of Emergen-C in different flavors is a good option, but I happened upon the following idea and it's working really well.

Part of my vision for myself includes kicking the sugar addiction, and making sure I have a full complement of proper nutrients. I've done a lot of research on the kinds and amounts of supplements the body needs to fuel what we ask of it. I especially want to be sure to have the proper antioxidants in the proper amounts.

I have been researching how Acai berries/juice (pronounced a-sigh-ee) have more antioxidant power than blueberries, red wine grapes, etc. It also supposedly helps with energy and focus. I decided to try a bottle of the juice, and I really like it. You need only an ounce of the juice for a theraputic dose of antioxidants, so I spike at least one water bottle/day spiked with Acai. Very few calories, it's not very sweet, and it's just enough flavor. I know I'm getting a good antioxidant hit, and I know I'm drinking more. I will admit, I think my focus at work has been a little better. I tried this one, but there a lots to choose from. Sure is better than soda!

The Sugar Addiction and What's Really Going On

Unconciously, I've been using the Law of Attraction (LOA) all of my life to my betterment and my detriment. The past few years I've been actively seeking to employ its power and the freedom it offers to my advantage. (Duh, that's the better choice.) It's sure better to live the concious life than the unconscious, right?

So what's with me, the sugar addiction, and not getting a handle on it? That's what I need to explore, and my buddy Paula's comment to my first post on this subject got me thinking, and the thinking took me waaaay back...

As a kid, sugar was always the reward, as it was for many of us. One of the only activities as a kid I'd do with my dad was go to the corner drugstore for a coffee frappe. I loved those outings. Nice time with dad = ice cream. I didn't have much supervision as a kid in the morning, so many a day breakfast was Yodels, or a piece of cake, and a glass of milk. No one knew I was doing this, but then again no one asked either. Ergo, meals = sweets, particularly sweets with frosting. Every day after school there was the stop at the corner store for the 5-cent Oh Henry candy bar. You get the picture.

Watching my weight as a 20-something came to mean keeping the calorie count in check by sacrificing the nutritious food for the sweet food. Calories are calories, and if you eat 1500/day of salad or Ring Dings, you stay slim. We don't even have to discuss which is the better choice. (Not the ones I made, believe me.)

After my boys were born, and I started working out again to get back in shape, there was a subconscious yet instant correlation in my mind. Working out meant a license for sweets. By then, I was eating better overall, but still. I told myself if I worked out I could lose the baby weight, and STILL eat candy. When I started competing, the equation became even more firmly cemented. Intervals and long runs meant bigger burns. Big calorie burns meant bigger latitudes on what I could consume, right? And, by golly, it worked. I lost the weight and ate pretty much whatever I wanted. But I didn't want to eat that way, and beat myself up daily about making bad food choices. Think about it--30+ years of eating bad, then feeling bad, eating bad, then feeling bad. What a waste of energy.

So now, at the tender age of 50, I see how long those tapes have been playing and replaying in my head. These thought patterns belong in the garbage can. I know as sure as I breathe, however, that the Law of Attraction has been at work here big time--and I have been using its power and energy to my detriment. The more I stay focused on the negative, the lack of discipline, the displeasure with my habits, the more I am destined to repeat them. What is in my life re this sugar issue comes squarely from where my focus has been. If I keep saying "I'm weak, I have no willpower, I'm addicted," then guess what? I'll stay, weak, and powerless, and addicted. A new script has to be written, and I think it's this...

Instead of focusing on what my behavior is lacking and the unceasing undertow of negative tensions, I need to sync into a new vision of myself. The vision will not be of a person deprived (trust me, I still plan on enjoying a Snickers from time to time), but of me fed full of health, vitality, and wellness. The vision needs to be of who I really believe I am--a lean, strong athlete powering up hills on the bike and run fueled by greens and grains and proteins. I need to feel it, breathe it, see it, focus on it, intend it, want it. I KNOW it will support my training and help me achieve my goals. I need to envision it and take it in on a cellular level every day until the patterns in my brain get redesigned.

That's the thing about "getting" the LOA. It's a tool that works without fail if you draw it into your hopes and dreams. Think about what I've been doing for the past several decades trying to battle this sugar thing. As Dr. Phi would ask, "How's that been workin' for ya?" (It's the only thing Dr. Phil ever said that doesn't make me want to punch his lights out.) It will take work to reframe my focus, and it will involve some falling off the wagon. But this is who I feel I REALLY am, and that's aspect of myself I no longer want to deny.

Big thanks to Paula for making me revisit this through her comment. This was on my mind, but formed and unfocused. I'm feeling much better now!

My Sugar Habit

All of my life I've battled a sugar habit. It's been especially bad the past few weeks. Too many sweets. Too many empty calories that crowd out more nutritious foods. And I can't seem to get a handle on it.

I firmly believe that sugar is an addictive substance. I swear that trying to break the sugar habit has made me MUCH more empathetic towards those trying to get out from under pain killers, alcohol, other drugs, or nicotine. I'm talking cupcakes here, and I feel like my body gets taken over by the addition monster and I can barely resist. I cannot even imagine the fortitude it takes to get clean and turn off from the real bad stuff. Thank goodness I didn't go down any of those paths, because given the problem I'm having with York Peppermint Patties, I'm quite sure a smack habit would have done me in. I can be tough as nails in other area, but this one is a Waterloo.

I've been trying to use some energy tricks to work with this issue because I really want to cut back on the sugar intake. All that sugar doesn't do my training any good. Every morning I've been waking up and getting a good vibe going before getting out of bed--doing some affirmations, being grateful for my family and something else in my life, envisioning a good day, envisioning a great workout, AND seeing myself eating healthily. What a great way to get up and tackle the new day. BUT I must have some block in the eating area, some negative undercurrent that still attracts the bad behaviors. During the course of the day, I envision myself doing eating one thing, then deliberately reach for the HoHos.

There's some kind of negative block here, and I'm going to keep using the energy flow to envision the overall strong, healthy, vital person I want to be nutritionally. I'm almost there, but for this sweet tooth. I'll keep posting on this as I keep working on attracting better eating habits to my life. But what, what, what are the negatives getting in the way????