The Hardest Decision of my Life, kind of.

When I was in high school I was the poster child for bad nutrition. I ate Swiss Cake rolls for breakfast, Zebra Cakes for an after school snack, pizza, Big Macs, you name it I disposed of it. But I was also burning at least 2000 calories a day. I played basketball, it was my sport. I was known for my endurance and speed. I was a legend because I NEVER had to sit down because of being tired. I was in shape. I ran cross country to stay in shape for basketball. I would go from cross country practice straight to basketball practice with only a hint of whining when we were instructed to jog our one mile warm up or 5 suicides. I would run anywhere from 5 to 13 miles a day on top of basketball. I was grossly underweight at 120 pounds and 5'10. I don't say this to brag but to get the point across. I was in shape and starved of proper nutrition.

When I went to college I walked on the basketball team my freshman year. It wasn't the same, the team comradery was gone. It was more of a hot-shot-look-at-me show and I didn't enjoy it. So I quit, walked off. It wasn't paying the tuition so no real loss really. Except I didn't really know how to work out without a coach yelling at me FASTER! HARDER! AGAIN! PUSH-UPS! So I slowly put on the weight. My eating habits didn't change and to be honest I added beer, wine coolers, captain and coke...you get the point. So by my Junior year of college I realized something had to change. I cut out soda. That was a good choice. A few months later I had lost 20 pounds!

So as I was sitting in my back yard this afternoon, in my bikini (big shocker) I realized that I have been afraid to give up what it is that is REALLY keeping the pounds on. Sugar. I have always known it was the reason I can't lose these last 10 pounds. It is the reason I run 30 miles a week, lift weights three times a week, teach water aerobics once a week, do yoga on an irregular basis, and boot camp twice a week when I can and I STILL remain a size 32 jeans, or a size 10. It is the reason I look at my waist and cringe. So today, my friends, I pledge to you that I am going to cut out sugar for one month. The month of August I will only eat necessary sugar such as in my morning coffee and one, just one piece of my son's 4th birthday cake. Can I do it? I don't know. But if I do and I lose even 5 pounds I believe I will be motivated to cut sugar for an extended length of time. After all who likes running ridiculously long races only to squash it's benefits with a giant piece of cheese cake?

Here goes nothing! Wish me luck! And feel free to leave me a comment if you care to join me in my August Sugar Free Month!!!