But there have been some positives along the way too with my weight loss journey. I have been exploring the local Asheville trails for walking and running. I have found some great parks and I have been able to switch up the scenery during the week and do some hiking on the weekends. Here are some of the highlights:
Also, about 3 weeks ago I decided to go without chocolate for 2 weeks. Well, I was mostly successful. I went without chocolate for an entire work week and then had a piece of amazing chocolate cake on the weekend from the French Broad Chocolate Lounge.....and that was it. What I discovered is that it's not really the chocolate that's a trigger but it's just the sugar. If I have high sugar treats after dinner (or any other time for that matter), it sends me into a binge. I can do this on almost anything sugary. I know this doesn't seem like such a monumental discovery, however, it was an eye opener and lesson learned for me. I decided that I would treat chocolate and other desserts as a treat....because that's what they are. I am not eating chocolate to satisfy my hunger. I am eating it because I like the taste of it. That's basically it. I will eat things like this when I go out on the weekends. I will treat chocolate like a special indulgence. Maybe once a week on the weekends, I will let myself have some ice cream from the Hop or a piece of that amazing cake from the French Broad Chocolate Lounge or one of the many sweet treats from Firestorm. I will plan for this and keep my calories in a range that will allow for this indulgence. I don't need to keep sugary desserts, bars, etc. in the house. It just sets me up to fail. Lesson learned.
I still snack too much at night and this is something I will continue to work on but Rome wasn't built in a day. Baby steps. That's how I am going to approach this journey. Rather than beating myself up about the choices I make, I am going to learn from them and proceed. I have a plan this week for the nighttime snacking. We will see how that goes.
Also, I have a few random pictures from the past few weeks. I feel like Asheville is full of photo opportunities all of the time! Speaking of photos, I am signed up to take a photography class starting next month at the community college! Hopefully I will start to get a handle on my new(ish) camera!
In the meantime, here are some random photos from the past few weeks (all of the photos from this blog post are taken from my cell phone and mostly the Retro Camera app):
Asheville Graffiti is hardcore!
Free apples from an apple fest at an eco-community
I just loved all of the bumper stickers on this van...so Asheville!
Peaches from the big farmers market
This has sort of become a ritual for me every week....picking up the Mountain Xpress and a Cofee Light Frappuchino
Life is good.....I just need to stay motivated and focused. Life is full of learning opportunities and I am trying to learn something from everything I do and every choice I make. Like the title of my blog says, this is a journey. I am not in a race. This is life and I just have to figure a few things out.
Have a great weekend!
Have you ever tried using cacao powder? Its pure chocolatey goodness minus the sugar and fat. I use it in recipes or just sprinkle it on fruit when I need a choc hit. Or cacao nibs for more crunch? One of my favorites is frozen banana blended with cacao powder to make a healthy 'ice cream'.
ReplyDeleteSugar (refined) is a killer, I found the longer I can go without it the better. Good luck! :) xxx
Thanks, Claire! :)
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