Day 5: My take on low-fat products and sugar

Unfortunately, I had to cancel Basic Training again this morning – I just felt too sick to go, it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. As I have signed up for 3 classes a week and only went twice, there is only one way to make up for it: I’ll go 4 times next week! I am planning to go to Basic Training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (after all, I want to share the full bootcamp experience with you!) and in the evening, I will try to squeeze in a couple of bar method classes. I went to the bar method 4 times this week and the more often I go, the more I like it.

Today, I spent a lot of time in bed trying to fight my cold. I went for a short walk, I enjoyed being outside. I felt envious when I saw all the runners along Crissy Field, but I know I have to get some rest. I am feeling much better now though, I am hopeful to be back to normal by tomorrow again.

Since I couldn’t work out the last 2 days, I tried to focus more on healthy food choices. Honestly, I wasn’t really that hungry because of my cold, so it was easy to make good choices. I especially tried to avoid excess amounts of sugar. Usually, I am a “sweet tooth” and I have some sort of chocolate, candy or cookie every day…Not this week! It was kind of difficult during the first 3 days, but the spirit of the challenge and the upcoming cold made my cravings go away. Sometimes I even think that I am addicted to sugar, but luckily, it doesn’t take that long to break a habit if you really try. I started reading more food labels in the supermarket, and I was quite surprised…I am usually the kind of person who orders a “nonfat latte”, drinks diet coke or buys the 0% fat yoghurt…but did it make me skinny??? When you read the label more carefully, you will realize that in many fat-reduced products, the lack of fat is compensated with increased amounts of sugar. Have you ever looked on a nonfat Yoplait cup…?? Even though it is fat free, some of them have 30 g sugar (which equals almost 1/3 of the serving) in it. I also bought one of the vitamin fruit smoothies today, I thought I’ll help my immune system with some extra vitamins… Don’t get me wrong, I like those drinks, and I keep buying them, but I am more aware now about their sugar content. The picture posted above shows the amount of sugar that is in one bottle (two servings, but I honestly finish the whole thing as one serving usually…). Just something to think about! Despite these observations, I think that in the end, it is all about a right balance and enjoying the food you eat. In that spirit, I traded my “grande non-fat latte” for a “tall whole milk latte” today. The barista at Starbucks looked at me and said “Whole milk? You mean full fat???”. Yes, that’s what I want! No soy milk, no nonfat-milk, just real milk. In my opinion, a food containing 3.5% fat can still be considered “low fat”, right..? After having this “full fat” (…) experience, I am not sure if I will ever order a non-fat latte again. It tasted so much better than the nonfat-latte that I have been ordering for the last 3 years….!

5 days down, 37 days to go and hoping to pick up the workout again tomorrow!