2024 Resolution – How Things Are Going (Month Two!)

Now here is the longer version for those who want more details. 😀 A “No Sugar” New Year’s resolution just got easier. Honestly I’m not even tempted to eat sugary treats anymore. I go out to eat with my mom and brother every Sunday after church, and a week ago on Sunday, my brother ordered strawberry shortcake. For most of the last year, we would order it and the three of us would share it. The restaurant we go to (Longhorn Steakhouse) has the best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had. But when he ordered it a week ago, and he and my mom shared it, I wasn’t tempted by it and I didn’t feel deprived in the least.

So I have been sugar free for two months! And to me, that’s a huge deal. (For details on what I mean by “no sugar,” I explain here.) I still believe that focusing on more protein (which most Americans, especially women, don’t eat enough of) helped me the most. protein as we get older), and eating healthy fats (animal fats, olive oil, avocado oil, but no seed oils!!!) Those two things keep me satisfied so I’m never thinking about food and craving sweets.

In other health news, I read a book that I highly recommend everyone read. It’s called The Salt Fix: What the Experts Got Wrong and How Eating More Can Save Your Life (affiliate link). The thesis of the book is that most of us don’t get enough salt in our diet. I know that sounds shocking considering we all have to fear too much salt. Saturated fats, cholesterol and salt – in fact, sugar, when those three things are to blame for processed damage, are three things that have been believed to kill us over the last three or so decades. Carbohydrates and seed oil work for our body. The book is fascinating, but I will share with you how I managed to read it.

In late January, I started seeing ads on Instagram and Facebook for an electrolyte drink called LMNT. It’s a sugar-free electrolyte drink, and I’m always looking for a good, low- or no-sugar electrolyte drink for Matt. So I ordered several boxes to try the flavors. When it came, Matt and I both started drinking. This is the best electrolyte drink I have ever tasted in my life. Most electrolyte drinks try to mask the salty taste by adding too much sweetness, meaning you’re getting too much sugar (like Gatorade or liquid IV), or are full of sugar substitutes that have a fake sweetener taste. . (Like Dr. Berg’s Electrolyte Drink). Bleh on all of this.

So LMNT is a bit different. They don’t try to mask the salty taste. They add just a hint of fruit flavor and a little stevia, but nothing too much. So the first sip I took was a bit of a shock, so my initial reaction was, “Oh, I don’t like this!” But after a second, I was like, “Wait. It’s really good! ” This is not what I expected. I was expecting that fake, overwhelmingly sweet taste, so that first salty sip was shocking to me. But after I adjusted my expectations, I realized how much I liked it. And now, it’s my favorite drink. I love it more than my precious unsweetened tea, and anyone who knows how much tea I drink knows how shocking it is that I love it more than unsweetened iced tea.

Back to my story. We got our first LMNT at the end of January and I started drinking one (okay, maybe two) a day. First, I noticed that I was often hungry. That makes sense to me because I’ve been in keto Facebook groups where people often do intermittent and chronic fasting, and when people complain about being too hungry to continue, the advice is always to put a pinch of salt under your tongue. Controls appetite and cravings. That’s what I understand. The more salt I drank, the less hungry I felt and the less cravings I had, so I didn’t want to be constantly rummaging through the fridge to find snacks throughout the day. In fact, the thought of food does not consume my mind. After lunch, I don’t think about food most days (except Wednesdays).

But here is what really shocked me. On a Wednesday – when I go out to eat with my mom and brother, and then my church group has our Wednesday night gatherings that start with dinner – I eat horribly all day. I didn’t have sugar, but I ate every carb in sight, including several slices of garlic bread (until I fell asleep!!), some chicken spaghetti, potato salad, white bread. I mean, I’m not in control. Now usually on days like that, the next morning I weigh about two or three pounds, especially since I’ve been eating until I go to sleep, that’s the day. So the next morning, I stepped on the scale expecting it, but my weight hadn’t changed at all from the morning before (ie, the morning before my carb fest).

This has never happened in my entire adult life. I was definitely surprised and wondering what was going on. Am I suddenly one of the lucky ones who can eat whatever I want and never gain another pound? And then it dawned on me. Could it be salt?! That’s the only thing I’ve changed recently.

And I remembered hearing about the Salt Fix book.

I wondered if, perhaps, the answer to my question was in that book, so I immediately bought the audio version and listened to it that day while I was working. And sure enough! He answered my question and gave me so much helpful, wonderful and enlightening information that in the last month I have become an evangelist for this book and for salt (especially the wonderful tasting LMNT). In the very introduction of the book, he talks about how salt can help you control your weight. Eat salt, lose weight. That is the title of a section of the book’s introduction.

With this new information, and a healthy stock of LMNT in my kitchen, I have to admit that I haven’t been as disciplined about eating as I should have been during the month of February. In fact, if I’m being completely honest with myself, it’s surprising that I even lost weight during the month of February. In the past, I used to gain weight because of that kind of undisciplined approach to food. So the fact that I lost weight in February was amazing to me.

So in March, I’m going to do a little experiment. I’m going to stick to LMNT and combine healthy eating with a more disciplined approach and I’m going to be more committed to my daily exercise. I didn’t do well in the month of February either. I started out strong, but once I saw a coyote in our backyard, my commitment to daily walks and determination to stick to an exercise routine took a hit. So I’m excited to see how this month goes. No sugar, less processed carbohydrates, more salt, a more disciplined healthy diet and a commitment to daily exercise. I’ll report back at the end of the month to let you all know how it’s going.

EDIT: I totally forgot to tell you all this! I bought a cute little dress for Easter. It’s not very special and I’m not ready to spend money on a pretty dress. I need to lose more weight and feel more confident before I spend money on dresses. But for now, I need cute pants, a colorful shirt, and some new shoes. Here is what I bought…

As soon as I saw my favorite brand of pants/demins (Judy Blue) in this pretty pink color, I knew I had to have them. The shirt is from one of my favorite online stores called Mod Boutique. The shoes are Madden Girl from Belk. Who knows if the weather will cooperate too. This is Texas, after all. We could be in the middle of a blizzard on March 31st. 😀 If that happens, I have to take off my shoes and put on a coat.

But here’s the kicker. I bought pants and a shirt one size smaller than what I currently wear. 😀 And I already missed the month of February due to undisciplined diet and lack of exercise for the last two weeks of the month. So now it’s down to crunch time. To be honest, I have no idea if I can, but if I don’t, it won’t be for lack of effort or lack of discipline in March. So I’ll let you all know how it goes! If I make it, I might as well post a picture of me in my cute little Easter dress. Let’s see.