I CUT SUGAR FOR 31 DAYS, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED

For the whole month of January I cut sugar completely from my diet. It was so hard at first, but really needed. I never had completed a type of challenge like this so, I am very proud of myself. Even though the 31 day challenge is over, I am still not eating sugar. Now that it already feels like a habit, I want to see how much further I can go!

Below I wanted to share my craving patterns, detox feelings, and unsweetened foods that helped me get through this. Now, just to clarify I removed all sugar no matter it's form such as soda, chocolate,  white or brown sugar, etc. So let's dive in!

Week 1 - In some ways it was easy to give up sugar because of the holiday indulgence, but it was still hard. I never had a sugar detox migraine, mostly because I made sure to drink some cranberry juice the first few mornings. Over all, my body felt great! 

Week 2 - Believe it or not, but my cravings went away. This is when I started to implement my love for acai bowls, so the mixture between the granola and agave was the best. 

Week 3 - Still no need for sugar. I felt great in terms of having no cravings! But, going to the movies without any butter popcorn, or candy it was a different experience. Isn't it interesting how we glorify certain outings only for food? 

Week 4 - This week was a little harder for me. At times I definitely wanted something sweet, other than fruit! But, this week it was nice to be surrounded with friends who have also been watching what they eat! 

Week 5 - Crazy to think 31 days free of no sugar. I didn't think I could do it. This week I implemented lots of fitness, and that kept the motivation even stronger than ever! I found that working out gave me more of an incentive to never cheat myself on such hard work. 

1. No headaches! I loved not having any type of symptoms of being addicted to sugar. I still had headaches if I was working too hard with homework, starred too long at a computer screen, or didn't drink enough water, but nothing related towards food. 

2. Never felt sick. Sometimes eating sugar always made me feel funny, or give me stomach aches. It felt great to not have any of those problems. 

3. No cravings. It's amazing how after the first week of detox, I was able to not have any cravings. I loved not being dependent on needing a sweet fix in order to be satisfied. 

4. I drank more water. I have always loved soda, but now I definitely love the taste of water. It doesn't bother to only have water with my meals now! 

Drink freshly squeezed juice. Jamba Juice was another hot spot for me, because their freshly squeezed orange juice was delicious. The oranges this time of year are so sweet, I just love it!

Acai bowls are life. Nekter is the first place I've tried a bowl, and I love it. I like to replace an actual meal with this bowl because it is so filling. But, I love how this taste like dessert.

I loved iced teas if the cravings were bad. Some of my favorite teas are the tropical black iced tea from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, passionfruit from It's A Grind, black iced tea from Sidecar Donuts and Coffee. All are unsweetened and I promise the taste, flavor, and sweetness doesn't even need sugar!

Use agave. Sometimes I loved honey with hot tea, or agave with my acai bowls. I never used it enough to even make it become a bad habit to replace my sugar absence, but this is something you'll have to decide for yourself.

JANUARY

ON THE MOVE

I'm plugging along with my college classes, and so far I'm loving them. I have lots of homework, though I seem to be handling it just fine. I've only attending a few chapels this month, so I need to get myself in gear because I don't have long to obtain 30!

I've had so much fun being with my friends, especially after that long month break for the holiday's. Exploring Newport Beach bit by bit is my main focus this semester at Vanguard!! Late night spicy Uno games in the dorms, acai bowl runs with my roommate, and sunsets on the beach are simply the best moments yet here at college.

The 365 project on Instagram is so fun. If you follow me on my insta account, then you will already have seen my new challenge that started on January 1st. If your new to this, it's taking and posting one photo everyday for one whole year. I don't know if I'll obtain this challenge all the way through, but I was feeling defeated amongst other creators. I stopped taking photos because they never were perfect enough for me to enjoy. Tossing that mindset out and using this challenge as a way to remember simple moments day to day.

My health has been a struggle. I want to go in depth more later, but lately no matter what I eat (besides fruit and veggies) my stomach will hurt so bad. The patterns are strange, and I never know will it begin again. Hence my acai bowl addiction on Instagram, haha, because it's about the only thing that won't upset me.

I joined my University's student lead Newspaper. Guys, it's the best! Secretly, inside I feel like Andy Anderson the How-To-Girl (How-To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, anyone?) and nothing feels more fulfilling. It's so neat being able to know the inside scoop on everything that is happening at Vanguard.

                            

I have stayed strong on my 31 days of no sugar challenge. This was necessarily a challenge, but a conscious health choice on my end. Over the years my sweet tooth has become really bad. So with the new year, and my health I almost didn't have a choice. It's something I had to do. I can't wait to include this on a separate post because I have learned so much, so stay tuned.

Choir this semester was able to be apart of a project that allowed us to record. It was so exhausting, but an amazing experience. Hours and hours of rehearsal took place, but learning music is such a joy for me. I'm able to escape everything, and just praise God through worship.

On the blog, I'm going to be more personal. Like I mentioned above about my health, no sugar diet, and everything I'm exploring as a college student, my hope is to share my thoughts on everything in it's own post. I never want my content to exclude the important pieces of my life, and right now it hasn't been easy. But through it all, I hope to connect with you and in turn hear your stories!

The Heart Of It | Criticism

JUST SWALLOW

Criticism is the worst part of trying something new. Feedback is a tough thing to swallow because to me it means failure. That my capabilities or work isn't enough. Perhaps criticism has been aimed towards your personality. Gosh can that make you feel low. I know it has for me. 

Certain criticism needs to be shut down immediately. At times it isn't all true or right for you to hear. But, if you are a college student like me trying to figure out where all the pieces fit, than you've probably received a lot of criticism too. 

I've learned that criticism doesn't always mean you are wrong. Sometimes it means you are on the right track. It simply means you are worth critiquing. I just absolutely loved hearing that from one of my dear professors. It has helped me so much to overcome this feeling I have had for so long. I've carried around this pressure to be perfect in order to never receive comments that suggested otherwise, but that isn't the point. 

At the end of the day, I cannot please everybody. I will never be perfect. Honestly, that is okay. Providing a filter towards the harsh criticism that comes my way though is healthy. Instead of letting it eat at me, I can absorb the comments and discern which to listen to. 

For me though, it runs deeper than just accepting my imperfections compared to others. It has to do with holding onto every praise from others. Just as we shouldn't become obsessed with criticism, I should be with people's compliments either. If I live for one's approval, I will die of their criticism. 

I hope my thoughts can help you in anyway possible. I began to type and the words kept flowing. As I was told, "You can be the juiciest peach, and someone will hate peaches." 

GIRLS DAY IN NEWPORT BEACH

LIDO MARINA VILLAGE 

Over my holiday weekend, my girlfriends and I decided to escape from our college bubble and explore Orange County! My plan was to try a new coffee shop, Honor Coffee Roasters, yet not one table was open for us to take photos or order coffee. Once I began to walk through this little street, I was thankful it was too busy because I wouldn't have had enough time to find these cute little resting corners. 

First can I just say how much I love Newport Beach? I know I'm only three miles down the road from my college, but if I could live here I would in a heartbeat. This cute little row of shops and coffee houses were so much fun to browse through. I found an adorable little stationary shop that I must hit up on my next visit.

So blessed to have such sweet friends from college. If you are a blogger like me, find friends who don't mind taking your photo's for you! Haha. Being at Vanguard has been such a neat environment for me to grow in because everyone is connected through blogging in some way. So, my embarrassment of telling people about my side hustle has left completely, and I love it. These gals are so supportive of my passion here on the blog, and it couldn't have been a better start to my long week!