Where you all hate me...but hate HFCS more! Or just me. But not me. Begging is not attractive. Not me!

I have been trying to make some pretty huge lifestyle changes lately. Mostly, trying to practice what I preach. Because, fuck, I am preachy.

Around the new year, probably closer to Christmas, the boy and I both gave up soda. We stopped buying it first. Then we stopped ordering it when out. Then we both just gave it up all together. I often bitch about the horror of high fructose corn syrup. Not really on here because I try oh so hard to not alienate all of you with my radical food ways.

But. I want to talk about this. Soda was the last thing that I consume on a regular basis with high fructose corn syrup in it. And I fully expected the typical reaction (the one the boy had)...weight loss. Nope. Didn't happen. A lot of that had to do with the steroids and my bodies love for it's fat roll. A lot of it had to do with me not introducing a workout program yet.

So, I quit high fructose corn syrup...and, really, processed sugar in general. Which meant mostly soda, except for ketchup and mustard (did you know that? Me either. Only stone ground mustard here. Still looking for organic ketchup.) 

We were a soda house. Mountain Dew, Vernors (I still miss you, my dear), Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, you name it. We drank it. Cold Turkey. Done. I was a 1 - 3 cans a day drinker. The boy was higher, though I am not sure by how much.

On SuperBowl Sunday, I got a 20 oz Dr. Pepper. I drank 1/3 of it and poured the rest out. I couldn't even stomach it.

I drink a cup of English Breakfast tea every morning and nothing but water now. I am not counting alcohol here. I mean, of course. That doesn't count, right?

Strange things have happened. I definitely went through withdrawal. I was crabby and tired and my muscles ached. I still am having problems with my muscles aching. I used to have heart burn/ nausea almost daily. It happens maybe once a week now. My hair isn't falling out. I used to pull out handfuls in the shower, even more when I combed it after my shower. Today was the first day (almost 2 months later) where literally no hair came out when I combed it. I lost some in the shower, but still. I was pulling out HANDFULS. And I was taking all the vitamins and shit everyone says to take. My hair is thicker now.

My nails are growing way faster (I only notice this because I keep them cut nail-biter short so food doesn't get caught under them.) I have to trim them twice a week.

I have a lot more energy. I am sleeping a lot less, which sucks. But, I require a lot less sleep too.

It blows my mind that THIS change could create THESE changes. I always blamed my stomach issues on all of the ibuprofen and pain killers I took through the years of dealing with my back problems. 

I always thought the hair loss, was, I don't know...something else. 

My nails have always grown kind of fast, but this is unreal. 

And I realize that the last two things are pregnancy things and I am going to be honest, my brain went there first. But, no. The only change has been giving up soda. 

I am exercising more, though not back to running. I am walking 4 - 5 days a week about a mile and a half. I am stretching all the time trying to get back to running. I miss running. I used to be a runner before all this back shit and the doctors told me I couldn't. 

We ate out three times this week. But, tonight I made root vegetable "pasta" with lentils and homemade Italian Sausage. (there is a demo video I made for Big Jed. It may end up being shown here. Did you know how easy it was to make sausage? I will soon, maybe, show you.)

Big Jed and I hope to run a 5K in May. I am having a nervous breakdown about how close that is, but I want to do it. I really, really do. 

It is hard to change, but I feel like I am doing it the way I need to. I am not dieting. I am not trying some radical new workout program. I always fail at those (Zumba, for example.) I need to set really small goals and reach them and work from there. 

I don't have a whole lot of weight to lose...my goal is 30 lbs. 40 would be awesome...but 30 lbs is my goal. If I lose 20 lbs I will be happy. I just love the changes that are sticking. The choices I am making. I am really happy with what I have done so far.

So, if just one person reads this and eats more whole foods and goes for a walk, I will be happy. I am happy that I did just that. Maybe I am not losing weight, but I feel good. I feel healthy. I will get there. 

But, fucking fuck. High Fructose Corn Syrup. Just. Stop. Please? Pretty Please? I love you all so much. 

Gah. Preachy. Please?