I’m so tired, and have been all weekend. I’m grumpy and feeling sluggish. My skin is not my best friend at all, and I have definitely added a little holiday weight onto my body.

All because of sugar!

On the 16th of November, The Jungle Body (my exercise saviour) started a 6 week pre-Christmas challenge. 6 weeks of cleaning eating, 30 minutes of exercise a day with ab challenges throughout the week.

Unfortunately, December is probably the worst month for me to attempt this (I know; excuses, excuses) but between my birthday, my Christmas party, Andrew’s Christmas party and our girl’s Christmas lunch I just couldn’t envisage seeing this challenge through in it’s entirety. I did however, want to give it decent go on the days that I could.

Which I did, until my birthday last Wednesday, and Christmas party last Friday, when I ate cake 5 days in a row…

I have no regrets at all, I really wanted sticky date pudding on my birthday, so I made one. I organised these amazing cupcakes for the party, so I ate some. I don’t eat like this every day, and I will get back on track with any issues. Sometimes, you do need to indulge a little.

I found this week to be a very interesting experiment. After almost two weeks of clean eating (god I hate that term, but it is what it is), it shocked me how quickly I became addicted to sugar. For the first two weeks I was only eating fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, low carbohydrates and healthy fats. No refined sugar, no white carbohydrates, no alcohol, limited dairy and caffeine.

After two days of eating sticky date pudding and cupcakes, I already began craving sugar all time. I’d feel the 3:30pm slump and need something sweet to get me through. Which would work, for about half an hour. Then the tiredness, the headaches and the moodiness would set in.

We all know the affects of sugar, I’m not going to reiterate or lecture you about how bad it is for our bodies. I just thought this week was fascinating, and so scary. I’ve woken up today feeling so exhausted, but determined to get my body back on track; starting with a Konga class tonight and plenty of healthy food throughout the day.

I’m happy to indulge once in a while, but this week has reinforced that life is all about balance and it’s so easy to slip into bad habits. Each to their own of course, you know what works best for your body, just as I am learning what’s working for mine.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, enjoy the holidays because we all deserve a decent break, but look after yourselves too! The human body is pretty incredible, and it deserves to be treated well.

Hanbel.
x