Day 7

What is a favorite childhood memory that involves a sugary treat?

Melissa:  I remember going to my friend Michelle’s birthday party when I was about 9 years old.  Her party was filled with fun times racing go carts around a track and playing arcade games with blinking lights and tickets galore.  But do you want to know what I remember best about her birthday…we left the fun center and headed to an ice cream shop that I had never been to before called Farrell’s.  We all gathered around a table and 3 employees come over to the table singing happy birthday.  They are carrying a silver rectangular trough full of ice cream with candles burning on top.  We ate until our bellies ached slurping the melted cream out of our bowls.  I just remember thinking to my 9-year-old self that it was the most delicious thing I had every tasted and  I wished that I could come there everyday and eat a trough full of ice cream!

Kyle:  Yum!  Melissa’s story made me hungry.

When I visited my dad during my teen years we would go play arcade games and shuffle board at Dave and Busters.  We would have a blast playing shoot’em up games and sports.  Shuffle board though was our favorite.  More of a quiet area, calm and we could chat.   And eat.  While shuffle boarding we both would get sodas and their triple chocolate cheesecake.  That cheesecake is a “little slice of heaven.”  It came on a big plate and if the triple chocolate cheesecake just wasn’t chocolaty enough they drizzled the entire plate in chocolate sauce.   It was so rich.  Hmmm….maybe that is why I love shuffleboard so much!

Nearly 1200 calories per slice.

Day 7

Melissa: I stepped on the scale this morning expecting a minor set back or maybe to stay the same but to my surprise I had dropped another 4 pounds bringing my total for the week to 10!  I could not believe it.  I honestly did nothing different except not eat any added sugar.  I even went out to eat a couple times this weekend.

Eating out is definitely a challenge.  There is hidden sugar everywhere.  Most restaurant breads contain a small bit of sugar.  Almost all sauces and condiments have some too.  I just tried to make the best choice I could and choose something that would only maybe contain a minute amount of sugar and tried not to worry about it too much.

I did visit one of my favorite restaurants with my mom for lunch- Native Foods Cafe.  It’s a 100% vegan fast service restaurant that never disappoints.  We usually get a full meal and dessert since it’s so rare we can get a vegan treat while dining out.  But we steered clear of the bakery case.  I’ll admit I sneaked one longing look and enjoyed our meal without that sugary finale.

The only time I really crave sugar is at night.  When I am done with dinner, I find myself roaming around the kitchen looking for something to satisfy the itch.  I have been pouring myself a nice cold glass of water and that usually helps.  I am thankful that Kyle is on board and we were able to rid the house of anything resembling dessert before the challenge started.  I don’t know if my motivation would be so strong if I had to combat bags of M&Ms and pints of ice cream.

Kyle:  My weigh-in was less exciting.  I stayed the same.  A bummer but like Melissa I didn’t think I ate super awesome this weekend.  I went out to eat once with Melissa and my parents.  It was a new Mediterranean restaurant in their area.  I got an eggplant stew.   It was awesome and I ate nearly my whole meal plus some of Melissa’s falafel.  Their was pita bread and hummus for an appetizer.  I didn’t hold back enough.  I try but I walked out feeling I had eaten too much.

The rest of the weekend went well.  So a zero gain was still a positive in my book.

My biggest time of weakness is at work.  I sit at a desk and snack for 8 hours.  Typically I eat chips and suckers, a lot of Reese’s go down or Grandma’s Cookies – well that used to be my snacks.  Now I keep Veggie Straws on my desk.  I have in the fridge fresh veggies and hummus to snack at breaks.  I bring an apple with some peanut butter for a treat.  Yesterday I called Melissa and break and joked getting something out of the vending machine.  I asked “Should I get a 3 Musketeers or a cream cheese danish!  Oh the choices I used to make I can’t see myself going back to.  Its a sugar machine that I’m opting out.