Living Sugar Free - Dog and Man

In July I wrote about my decision to eliminate processed sugars and white flour from my meals. Sugar - Ending The Love Affair I was so unsure of my ability to avoid these ingredients that I felt very hesitant about sharing my plan on my blog.  Today marks exactly four months of sugar-free living.  I've noticed two side effects; the first is weight loss and the second is that an occasional dose of sugar leaves me feeling yucky, as though it is too sickly sweet now. 

Due in part to my own successful dietary change, I put our dog, Zack, on a reduced carb diet.  I wasn't aware of how um..."chunky" he had become until his last trip to the groomer.  His long fur had been concealing his slow-but-sure weight gain.  I gave away his dry kibble and began to feed him home-made dog food (cooked meatloaf consisting of  hamburger/eggs/rice).  Not surprisingly he loved the switch.  Today Zack weighed in at a 5.3% loss in body weight and I at 5.4%.

As with any significant lifestyle change, it helps to have a plan.  While I had done research and read other people's sugar-free lifestyle stories I didn't have a plan in place and made it up as I went along, experimenting with what I liked, what gave me enough energy and wasn't too much work.

It's helpful to assess what your family and friends reactions may be, if only to know where potential saboteurs may lie.  Fortunately my family has been amazing.  My husband is supportive of anything I undertake and the rest of my family has also been very understanding.  To celebrate my birthday this year my sister made chocolate fondue instead of chocolate cake ... that way most of the group enjoyed the chocolate while I loaded up on the plain fruit.  Now that is thoughtful. 

Here are some helpful links if you think that you or your pooch may benefit from living sugar-free.

http://homemadedogfood.com/

Dr. Lustig - Video - Is Sugar Poisonous?

Steve Nash on Living Sugar Free

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a sweet day,

Sandra