July has been a good month.  On the first of the month I decide to (again, for the bazillionth time) quit sugar.  This time, I’ve also added in flour products too, which I think was what kiboshed me previously.  The upshot of it is, in the simplest of terms, is that I don’t eat a lot of processed foods, and virtually nothing that comes out of a packet.  Except nuts. Mmmm, nuts…. Anyway, I’m now on day 35, and after weighing myself this morning, I’ve lost 9.2lbs since July 1st, and I’m 1.8lb off having lost 2 stone since last May.  I did have a couple of fish suppers while on holiday which was the only time I ate anything with flour (i.e. the batter), but that seemed to be okay, and didn’t set me off on a sugar-induced rampage, so I can honestly say it’s been easier than I thought.  I was worried it would be difficult to maintain while away for 10 days camping, especially since the final week included staying at a campsite with an amazing tea garden that sells delicious cakes (all well-tested by me last year).  However, I’d made the decision before I left that I was just going to keep doing what I was doing, and it was fine.  I didn’t even really feel tempted.  The only time I’ve had cravings has been in the last week, but that’s hormonal, and I’ve still managed to resist.  So I’m happy with that.  I’m a sugar addict, always have been & always will be, so this is something I just need to do.

While it’s been easy in a lot of respects, what it has made me realise is just HOW much sugary food has dictated my life so far.  Something that still keeps happening, as a kind of unconscious motor-response is that say on a Friday I’ll think “ooh it’s Friday, I can get lots of nice food to eat (i.e. dessert/cake/sweets) tonight,” but then realise that actually I can’t.  Or rather I don’t want to.  When I was driving to Scotland and thought about stopping at service stations for breaks, i immediately wondered what treats I could buy for the next part of the journey.  During the week or at the weekend if I go somewhere, whether in the car or for a walk, I wonder if there’s anywhere I can have a coffee & a cake, or if there are any sweets I can buy.  I still have these thoughts A LOT, but it’s just an echo of the past that hasn’t caught up to the new reality.  I just catch myself and change the story.  I admit that sometimes when I think that I can’t eat ANY of that stuff again, it’s a bit depressing.  But 10 days having fun with lots of different pals proves that the happiness doesn’t come from stuffing my fizog full of sugar, so I’ll get through it.

Eating low carb, high fat (LCHF) means that actually the alternative is eating lots of fresh veggies, cheeses, butter, proteins etc. and it feels satisfying (and still slightly naughty if it’s a creamy sauce, for example, after years of being told fat is bad).  I’m not missing out, especially as it’s a choice.

Financially, I’ve actually noticed that not eating crap has saved lots of money too.  No more nipping to the shop for a treat, or buying cakes with my coffee.  Shopping is an easy experience and I only visit about 2 or 3 aisles in the supermarket now.  It’s probably just as well I’m spending less in that respect, as it’s helping keep me on track with my debt repayment.  What I’m finding though is that unexpected & unplanned expenses are cropping up each month that are utilising all my spare cash, or eating into the small amount of savings I have, such that I’ve not got that buffer anymore.  So I need to have a couple of lean months to get back on track.  Being flexible with it is necessary, but I can’t afford to be too flexible or I’ll keep pushing the end date back.

However, I’ve made the decision to resume my studies in September, even though I’d promised myself a year off.  I wanted a break, but to be honest since my last course finished in April, I’ve had a good break already, and truth be told I miss studying.  Also, I enquired as to whether there was a time limit on completion of the three post-grad certificates I have my eye on (I’ve completed one), as if you do all three you get a Master’s degree.  It turns out there is a limit, so I’ve bitten the bullet and signed up for course two.  I’ll complete the work over 24 months which means I won’t actually need to take any courses in 2018.  The downside is that some of August’s debt repayment money, and all of September’s will now be needed to pay for the course (I’m not credit-carding it!), so I won’t actually be able to pay everything off until March 2018.  It’s okay though, and a price worth paying.

So that’s it really.  Here are a few photos from my trip to Scotland.  I do love my homeland, maybe more of that in another post.  Have a great weekend folks 🙂