I woke up Friday morning and went for a walk. I wanted to do something to get my blood flowing, but seeing as Saturday was race day, I wanted to take it easy!

It started raining just as I slipped into the dining hall for breakfast!

Toast with cream cheese and hard boiled egg, fruit, and spinach with a cheese cube.

After my one class of the day, I had grand intentions of being very productive in a little cafe. As it turns out, out of my 3 tasks I set aside for myself, I forgot the materials for 2 out of the 3. But I did manage to eat lunch!

A veggie hummus wrap.

I spent Friday afternoon running errands and trying to stay dry! Then, one of my best friends from home came and visited me for dinner.

(Super old picture!)

I took her to my favorite cafe, which is outdoors. They were playing a Spanish song that we had to learn together in high school! We walked back to my dorm and ate inside. It was so great to see her!

I ordered a chicken pesto crepe. So good!

She apparently was inspired by my project, so now she’s going sugar free for 40 (or 50?) days! I’m so proud of her!

Saturday morning I was awake bright and early. I had my current 5k pre-race meal of homemade granola bars.

By the time I left my dorm, it was already pouring. We’re in a drought. It’s rained once this winter. Can anyone guess the last time? Oh, that’s right. My one other 5k. Fabulous. We had to park pretty far away (my parents brought me), and I was pretty much drenched by the time we reached the start. We feet certainly were!

The 5k started a few minutes late, and they managed to hold off just enough for the rain to stop.

The race was also a half marathon and 10k, so it was a decent sized race! The course was very nice. Some rolling hills but pretty flat. (I’m planning on doing some long runs here!)

Given that it stopped raining, the conditions were not bad for a PR. The first mile I think went pretty well. I was keeping pace. But then it just wasn’t happening for me. I just did not feel that great out there. This was my slowest 5k to date, although according to my watch I was about 4 seconds off my pace from my last one. The course was a tiny bit long, and I had to stop and walk the last little bit to the finish because it was a giant slippery mud puddle. I actually had to run through several streams because there was so much water coming down that everything was overflowing. We had to run through a foot of flowing water multiple times. I thought my Tough Mudder wasn’t until April? Haha! 

I actually saw someone from my dorm in the race! He did super well-he came in 2nd overall! 

An while this definitely wasn’t my best race ever, my parents actually got some good running shots.

All done! After the race, there was food. Like, food like I’ve never seen before.They had literally everything! Fruit, bagels, chips, pretzels, hot chocolate, pastries, chocolate cake, brownies, cookies-they even had It’s-it’s! Crazy!

I definitely had to try quite a few things! 

While this wasn’t my best race by a long shot, the race was small enough that I somehow still managed to win my age group! Hey, I’ll take it!

I also think this race is a big testament to the project (which I swear I’ll do a recap of REALLY soon!). I have not been feeding my body that well since then, and I did not feel that great out there today, and was definitely slower despite better conditions. I’m working on a plan for the future though. I have been eating a fair amount of sweets lately and I’m getting seriously concerned for me health-nto just because sugar is “bad” but because my heart has been racing a lot and I know my family has a history of heart sensitivities. I’ll talk more about this in the project recap!

After the race, we all went to Whole Foods in search of granola bars. And of course had to get some hot breakfast!

AMAZING french toast casserole, plus fruit and some really spicy Mexican breakfast dish.

I also got some young coconut, pre cut and everything! It was a great snack later in the day.

And since this seems to be photo overload day, here are some pics from my sorority event-we did a Murder Mystery dinner, where we acted out a murder plot and then had delicious Indian food!

Roomie love!

It was a fun night! But I stayed up way too late watching KPop videos, thanks to a friend who is a bit obsessed!

What did you do this weekend?

I haven’t talked much about the no sugar challenge since the beginning. Usually, this means it kind of trickled out of my mind and I failed. But THIS time, I actually finished.  For this challenge, I defined “sugar” as “sweets or desserts.” I enjoyed it, but I didn’t realize the impacts it had until POST no sugar challenge. 

As many of my longer time readers may have picked up, sugar is an issue near and dear to my heart. So much so that I want to spend my life studying it. I’ve always been sensitive to sugar. I’ve done a lot of research into its metabolism. I’ve done quite a few no sugar challenges in the past. But this, in a way, may be the last. 

So, let’s talk numbers. At the end of last week (the end of the challenge) I was feeling leaner. I initially thought it was because of my weight lifting schedule-it was a more intense week than the week before. However, I was annoyed because the number on the scale didn’t really change. That’s kind of the story of my summer. I posted a while ago about the weight I gained recently. I gained that weight through a bout of horrible eating habits. Over the summer, I exercised a lot, including training for a half and starting Crossfit, and really cleaned up my diet. I expected the weight to just fall off-I was eating so badly for a little while that I figured any improvement would have that effect. However, over the course of the summer, I lost maybe 2 pounds. How was that possible?

The mirror, however, told a different story. I definitely looked slimmer. The difference was the muscle I build through all the lifting and exercise. Showing once again that WHAT is more important that HOW MANY.

And back to the no sugar challenge. Although the number didn’t change, I felt and looked better. 

Flash forward to almost a week post-challenge. I ate my first sweet. And I. Felt. Awful. It’s really easy to forget how something really makes you feel. But that’s not all. (Keep in mind, I’m super sensitive to sugar, so these reactions won’t happen for a lot of people.) This week, I’ve continued in indulging in sugar. Nothing too crazy, but desserts regularly. 

I feel like a different person. I feel like my body fat has gone up (but still little change on the scale, mind you). I’m on edge. I don’t feel in control. I feel sick. One cookie is enough to give me a stomachache-and make me crave more. Now let’s talk about what I’ve been eating this week. 

Carbs. Lots of carbs. All carbs. Very few vegetables. 

But here’s the real zinger. I confess-I count calories. Why? Quite frankly, because I suck at intuitive eating. And I like data. Cold, hard facts. Am I accurate counting calories? Probably not. But that’s fine with me. I’m consistent, and that’s all that matters. I know how many my body needs in my counting system. So it works for me. 

Back to the point-numbers don’t lie; I’ve eaten a similar amount of calories last week as this week. But those calories were oh so different. Fresh fruits, veggies, lean protein versus carbscarbscarbs and sugar. And my body is reacting to the two things very differently. Once again, WHAT I’m eating matter more than HOW MANY calories I’m eating. 

What’s the point of all this? I know it’s been said before, but once again, A NUMBER ISN’T EVERYTHING. Sure, calorie counts and numbers on a scale can give you a rough check in, but it’s stupid to focus on them. There’s SO MUCH MORE to the equation than numbers. 

Think of this-

4+4=8

4×4=16

Both equations include fours, but the result is very different; there is another factor, the operator. If you eat exactly 2000 calories a day (the government recommendation) and are exactly the perfect BMI, are you healthy? What if those 2000 calories are just doughnuts and cheetos? What if you have very little muscle and excess body fat? Is that the same as a person who eats 2000 calories of local, organic produce, lean protein, and low sugar, lifts weights, and is the same weight?

Health is so, so much more than a number. And EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.

Keep that in mind when I say this-I could see myself living a no sugar life, long term, more than just a challenge. I’ve said it before, I’m super sensitive to sugar. One cookie is enough to send me off the wall-jitters and mood swings. If that cookie works well in your lifestyle-GO FOR IT! We are not the same people! Sugar can definitely be part of a healthy lifestyle-and it is for most people. But I don’t know that it is for me. 

(Excuse the awkward tween picture.)

It’s not about body composition-it’s about health. Physical and mental. When I eat sweets, I lose control. It messes with my hormones-I’m super emotional and I crave sweetssweetssweets. I can envision a very low-sugar lifestyle. I’ve never regretted not eating a sweet. I feel better when I don’t eat them. I think it would be sustainable FOR ME.

As bloggers, we expose ourselves to all kinds of comparisons. I sometimes read a blog thinking-if this person can eat sugar and feel great, I should be able to too! But in reality, we can’t possibly make that comparison. We share a passion, not a body. We have different lives, different metabolisms, different circumstances. Just because one thing doesn’t work for me, doesn’t mean you all should stop eating it. Or because the blog world is obsessed with some food, it doesn’t mean I should jump on the bandwagon if I or my body don’t like it. 

Hopefully you’ll think about what I said. Going forward, I’m hoping for sugar to play a minimal role in my life. (Don’t make big decisions under the influence of alcohol-how about under the influence of a sugar high?) I want it to be a non-factor. Hopefully, I can hit you guys with some lower sugar recipes in the future as well-don’t think I’m going to miss out completely on all the fall treats!

Thoughts?