It’s the Sugar People!

Just ask Leigh, who participated in our Sugar Free Jumpstart in July and is down a record 13 lbs since then!  I ran into her at 1901 yesterday morning and was amazed when I saw her.  

Leigh is not a big person and never has been, but her results have been dramatic.  Since cutting sugars out of her diet, she’s totally transformed her body!  She went from petite to smoking HOT!  And it’s not always easy to lose weight when you are closer to your goal, anyway.

I asked Leigh to share her experience and here’s what she had to say.

‘I’ve been a long time client of the studio-since the beginning!  I actually started taking Pilates in 2008 at the previous studio, Creative Body Balance.   Hard to believe it’s been 5 years!  

Mostly I’d done things on my own in the past, like trying Weight Watchers with my mom (more than a decade ago), and the South Beach diet.

Just before I started Pilates I had to renew my drivers license and I remember telling the woman assisting me to go ahead and up my weight on the license to 135 because I never thought I would see anything lower than 135 on my scale, no matter what I did.  (You should see the sad picture of me on my license too!)

I had been hearing people talk about the “paleo diet” for several years, but I didn’t think it was something I could really do.  The 21 day sugar free Jumpstart gave me clear parameters on what to eat, and what not to eat.  More importantly Pilates 1901 gave me a community to be accountable to and get support from. And, it helped that my husband decided to do it with me. 

At first it was hard.  I was feeling sluggish or tired. After reading back through the materials I learned taking a B vitamin could help with that issue, and it really did.  After the first week I had no more withdrawals and noticed I was sleeping better – and definitely losing weight! I found with each day that it was easier to resist those foods on the “no” list.  

But I’m now down to 120 pounds according to my scale at home, so that would be a 13 pound loss since starting the sugar detox in July!!  I don’t know the percentage of body fat I’ve lost.  I can tell you it’s been a couple of decades since my weight has been that low.  I feel great, have good energy, and sleep great too.  I’m now shopping for new clothes because all of my pants and a lot of my other clothes are too big.  Fun!

 Even though with South Beach I’d already given up fast food, sodas and a lot of bread/pasta/rice, I had not done anything this strict for 21 days straight.  I highly recommend the 21 day detox period because it really does change your attitude and tastes about sugar.  Now when I go way off course (say with a Sheridan’s concrete) I feel so bad I vow never to put that “crack” in my mouth again.  

I no longer have foods that will tempt me in my kitchen.  Being sugar free (for the most part!) is a way of life for me now, not a detox or “diet.”  I find myself telling coworkers and friends “I can’t eat that” as if I had a food allergy to sugar and processed foods. It does take a commitment to planning meals, grocery shopping and cooking, but the results are so worth it!  And honestly, I don’t miss the processed foods at all.

It is hard for me to resist “preaching” this no sugar lifestyle to coworkers who I see “dieting” by having Lean Cuisines and diet sodas for lunch.  When anyone asks me what I’m doing, I am happy to spread the no sugar gospel!