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Ten observations as I finish month four.

6/29/2016

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June is coming to a close and I realize that my fourth month without sugar and flour has slipped by without my even noticing.  I’m not even sure what to write anymore in an attempt to keep your interest in this crazy experiment I started four months ago.  I’ve tried to explain the impact of the dietary change to other people, but I can’t express much of the transformation in words.  I’ve decided to capture ten observations from this past month to share with you.
  1. You can survive on less than 2 tsp of sugar a day and still eat well.  In fact, many days I still have no additional sugar at all, but occaisionally I like to sneak in some barbeque sauce for my chicken or some ketchup for my fries.  For a sweet treat, I’ll have an apple with some chunky peanut butter and it feels the same to me as a bowl of ice cream did in the old days.
  2. The fourth month was one that featured my mindshift about not eating sugar or flour.  My brain changed from “I can’t eat that” to “I choose not to eat that”.  The realization that I am no longer “giving something up” that I want to have has struck home.  Sugar and flour have simply become things that don’t interest me any longer like they used to.  Believe me, I’m just as surprised as you are.
  3. I believe in myself more now that I have for years.  This four month journey has created a lot of self-reflection of who I am and what I can accomplish.  Trust me, once you start doing something you never believed was possible, you start to think about what else can be done.  My mind has become clearer than it has in a long time and my desire to attempt new things in the creative field has increased dramatically.  Many goals have moved from the “maybe” list to the “let’s get this stuff done” category.
  4. My wife and I have a better relationship now than we did before we started the experiment.  It’s not like we had a rocky relationship to start with, honestly we’ve had a pretty good thing going for the twenty plus years we’ve been married, but things are better.  Maybe it’s the fact that she started the experiment with me even though I didn’t ask her to, or possibly because she makes amazing meals that fit in nicely with what we’re trying to accomplish.  It could be that these past four months are just the icing on the cake of personal growth for both of us since moving to Indianapolis a couple of years ago.  I think it also has a little to do with the fact that we’ve lost almost 100 lbs between the two of us in such a short time, which is amazing in itself.  Either way, it’s almost like we’ve hit the reset button on our relationship and I couldn’t be happier.
  5. I can go clothes shopping and not feel the anxiety nagging me that if I buy a smaller size shirt or pants, it will be just temporary until I fall off the wagon and get fat again.  Now, I know there isn’t any guarantee that I’ll maintain my pattern of losing weight in the coming months, but really I’m not on a wagon to fall out of.  I’m eating great meals, snacking constantly, not spending any additional money on groceries, not doing any complicated meal plans, not taking expensive medications, or anything else unsustainable.  I’m simply doing things that anyone else could do without an effort or additional investment.  In fact, I can comfortably buy a pair of pants that’s a little too tight at the moment and know that next week they’ll fit perfect, then the week after that they will be a bit loose, then the week after that I’ll need to get a smaller size.  Let’s just say that Goodwill is my friend right now.
  6. I tend to go to the grocery store more often to buy fruit.  We go through apples and bananas almost too quick now.  I’ve pretty much eliminated most of the unhealthy snacks I used to get for the kids and they haven’t complained.  Instead, I find them sneaking my apples and bananas so I have get more regularly.  I would have never guessed that I’d be giving my teenage son grief because he’s eaten all my apples.
  7. On another fruit note, I don’t find myself giving my wife much grief for wanting to spend money on fruit.  In the old days I hated the idea of spending money on fresh fruits and vegetables, simply because I was used to buying ice cream and cookies for a fraction of the price.  Now I find myself budgeting for a fresh case of peaches, blueberries, or whatever else she wants.  I know I’ll get to eat something sweet in the deal.
  8. I don’t’ have to force myself to go to the gym like I did ever other Summer of my life.  I used to stick to a strict policy of the gym being a place you visit when it’s cold and rainy, not when the weather is nice.  Unfortunately, when the weather was nice, I typically didn’t do anything but grill burgers and eat ice cream because it was too hot to work out.  I’m up for the gym anytime now.
  9. I’m ready for the next challenge so I can tell you all about it.  As of this moment, my plan at the six month is to cut back even more to see what I’m capable of.  My goal is greatly reduce the amount of cheese in my eating by going four days without cheese each week.  It’s not like I’m eating blocks of cheese every day, but I likely consume more than you do on an average day.  I love cheese, but I know it isn’t the best thing when consumed regularly in higher quantities.  The funny thing is that no one has suggested I cut back and I don’t think I’m in any danger from the amount I consume.  I simply want to see if I can do it and want to give it a try.  It won’t hurt me to cut back a little, so the challenge has been created.
  10. This will be the most amazing point that doesn’t make any sense to you.  Even with the weight lost, the confidence built up, the smaller pant sizes, and all the compliments I receive, I simply don’t feel good about my body still.  I just can’t see what everyone else does when I look in the mirror.  Maybe you’re just like me, a little messed up in the head when it comes to body image, but I can’t explain it.  I have tons of proof that I’m healthier and skinnier than I have been in years, but I’m still hung up on my body.  I’m not sure when that will change, but until that day, I keep focusing on the tangible evidence that shows my progress. 
So what did you think?  If you’re reading this, then you’ve likely read my other posts in the past.  Are you swayed just a little bit to see what your life would be like without sugar and flour?  I’m not a doctor or dietician, but I think the sugar, flour, and chemicals we consume each day keeps our bodies confused about what they should be.  This causes fat to gather in strange places or hunger to strike you for no reason.  Once I got that stuff out of my system, I could feel my body trying to get to its “natural” weight and state.  This feeling keeps me going with the eating and to the gym as I work with my body to get me the result I want. 
I want nothing more in this world than to have you feel the same thing, so hit me up and take the plunge.
All the best!
John Graham

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Support!  Do you need it?

6/18/2016

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I’m at a point in this no sugar / no flour experiment that the results have become very noticeable to people.  This is strange to me because I tend to be my biggest critic.  Sure I can see the difference on the scale, with over 40lbs lost in less than four months and even feel the difference around my waistline, having dropped around 10 inches in my pant sizes.  But in the end, I still find myself having a hard time accepting positive comments from others.

I’m sure one factor is that we see ourselves more than anyone else, so a change in appearance isn’t as drastic as when someone sees you after a month.  Adding to this issue is that we see “more” of ourselves than anyone else, which is a good thing for others.  Trust me, you wouldn’t want to check out every nook and cranny of my 6’6 frame.

When I think about how far I’ve come in this time, it hits me how fortunate I’ve been to have a supportive spouse and family.  While it isn’t necessary to have someone right there with you to make this experiment work, I have benefitted from Stephanie’s amazing cooking skills.  I work nights and only have a short time to go home for dinner, but each night there is something without sugar or flour sitting on the table.  I’m even fortunate that the kids haven’t acted like we are trying to kill them with all the healthier meals, likely because they are so tasty.

Now Stephanie has benefitted from this experiment also and has shown amazing results.  Of course, she doesn’t see it on herself, much like I don’t see on myself, but we both can see the results of each other.    This gives us both the opportunity to reaffirm each other consistently, which is always nice for a relationship.

If you are in a place where you want to make a change in your health, and there is a slim chance that others in your household or close circle of friends are ready to make a change also, even if it’s just to support you, then ask them to try the experiment with you.  Work out a meal plan together and share the cooking responsibilities if you can.  Have a back up plan in place, just in case one of you is running behind, which can lead to “just grabbing something quick” and that rarely ends well.

It’s funny to me that when I started this in March, it was a stretch to think I could survive the month.  After two weeks, I realized that I could go a month without sugar and flower.  After a month, it didn’t take much to talk myself into signing on for a second one.  Here I am, halfway through my fourth month and it doesn’t phase me to think about stretching this “short” experiment to six months.  In the back of my mind, I have to wonder if a full year is possible.  Sure I can say that it would be really tough during the holidays with all the sweets and traditions of eating terribly, but you could say the same thing about Summer time with its picnics and barbeques.

I just keep going back to the main thing I’ve learned through this experience.  It gets easier.  Unlike other things I’ve tried in the past, where you felt like you were giving things up and going without, going without sugar and flour gets easier the longer you go.  Sure, you’re likely reading this paragraph and thinking I’m full of crap, but I challenge you to prove me wrong.  You don’t know how your mind and body will function after giving these things up for a prolonged period of time, so any argument you can give me isn’t based in fact.

I want you to feel the sensation of buying a pair of pants that are a bit too tight this week, then having them fit more comfortably next week, then feeling loose the third week, and finally feel like you need to wear a belt the fourth.  While at the same time, you continue to eat great food, stay full, and go about your normal day.  Give it shot and see what happens.

John

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Still going on about going off sugar

6/6/2016

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Well, I’m into my fourth month of the no sugar/no flour experiment and I can’t believe how time flies.  Sure, over the months I’ve dabbled a bit with sugar and flour, a little ketchup here, a little barbeque sauce there, but overall I still can say I’ve consumed less total teaspoons of sugar in this four month period than an average adult consumes in a day.  You might be expecting this blog to once again tell you how great I feel, or how proud I am of surviving the current picnic season without cookies, but I’m not going down that road.  If you really want to know, I honestly feel like Rowdy Roddy Piper of wrestling fame when he played the character in the movie THEY LIVE!

You heard me right.  I feel like I’m a wrestler playing a character in movie, in fact, I’m a character in a cult film directed by John Carpenter.  Now, before you panic and call the psychiatric hospital, let me explain.

They Live is a movie where an average guy finds these special glasses and when he wears them he can see subliminal advertising and messages that are making society mindless slaves.  The world looks normal when you’re not wearing the glasses, but put them on and that billboard might really say OBEY, CONSUME, and CONFORM.  He then makes it his mission to destroy an invading alien force that looks human to the regular population, but grotesque with the glasses.  Their goal is to enslave humanity, which is going well for them because humans mindlessly accept the status quo.  Things don’t go well for the character, but he does have some success before the end of the film.

My issue right now is that I’ve gone long enough with sugar and processed foods that I can take an impartial look at how much those things control our lives, much like putting on those special glasses.  This puts me in a tough spot because my intention was that the experiment wouldn’t make me into someone who constantly pesters others about what they are eating.  I don’t want to be “that guy” who looks at you funny while you’re eating a brownie at a barbeque this summer.  Trust me, I have a hard enough time getting invited to events, I don’t want to burn my last bridges of friendship.

BUT, I can’t stop thinking about the control sugar has in our lives.  When I see someone jogging in the heat or killing themselves at the gym for two hours, I really want them to understand that their results would be doubled if they just gave up sugar and flour for a month.  When I hear someone complaining about some chronic leg or back pain, I want to recommend that they just give up sugar and flour for a few weeks, just to see what happens.  Sure it might not completely solve their problems, but it did for me and it’s worth a shot.  When someone tells me they wish they could get some of their health statistics to a normal level so their doctor won’t prescribe them medication that might have side effects, the first words out of my mouth tend to be “give up sugar and flour”.

I’m not trying to beat them over the head with it, but in the end, people just can’t imagine their lives without sugar and flour.  Not for a day, a week, or a month.  In fact, I’ve come to realize that most people have never gone a week in their lives without sugar and flour, so they have absolutely no idea what it would be like.  Even myself in the healthiest times of my life might have gone a week, but then quickly went to processed “health foods” filled with chemicals that still contained flour, artificial sugars, and provided that sweet taste to keep my body addicted to sugar.  I’m asking you, dear reader, can you think of a time in your life when sugar and flour were completely out of your system?  If you can’t, then you truly have no idea of how different you can feel.
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Now, I am not saying that all things sweet are evil.  I’m not starring in a movie called THE SUGAR GAMES, and my name isn’t John-ness EverGraham.  I don’t want to overthrow the government or sugar industry, making your life bland and sad.  I just want you to gather the courage to try a period of time without sugar and flour, to judge for yourself.  Take two weeks of your life and eat your favorite meals that don’t involve sugar and flour.  If you survive those two weeks and feel better, then try two more weeks to make it a complete month.  After that, live your life how you want, but at least you’ll know what it felt like to shake sugar from your body.

The generations of people currently alive in the United States have all been developed in the age of sugar and processed foods.  We are given sugar, flour, and chemical laden food almost from the moment we can eat solids.  We are conditioned to believe that we can’t live without it.  Our personal reward systems are often built around sugar and we can’t imagine a world without it.  If that doesn’t sound like some dystopian book or movie, then I don’t know what does.

My goal is to help you understand that there is a solution to your aches and pains, your potential medical issues, your desire to lose weight, and your overall wellness.  When you reach that point in your life that you are ready to test the experiment, please contact me and let’s make a plan.

All the best!
John Graham

PS If you are a graphic designer and would like to make dystopian movie posters around sugar, I won’t stop you.  I think it would be pretty cool.  Here’s some ideas:
Mad Max:  Sugar Road
The Sugar Runner
The Sugar Games
Sugar Lives


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    John Graham operates FIGID Press and works closely with new creators to help them realize their goals.

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