This time of year is always so challenging for me because of my sometimes out-of-control sweet tooth. I confess: I really like sugar.
I came in to the office today to several bags of leftover Halloween candy. Of course, BOTH bags contain my two favorite candy bars: Kit Kat and Twix. I don’t buy candy very often, but when it’s around, well, I’ll eat it. Do you ever have that problem?
Last January, my husband, Shaun, and I gave up processed sugar and alcohol for a month. Alcohol wasn’t that difficult to pass on. But I remember going through a few days of withdrawal craving something sweet, but holding myself back from dipping into the cookie jar. We did allow ourselves a bit of natural sweetener every now and then to stave off the cravings, such as agave nectar and honey. Actually, it was mostly me needing that bit of sweet.
About halfway through our “fast,” I definitely noticed changes in my demeanor and my body. I felt different, healthier. I was at the gym one day and looked in the mirror at my stomach. Whoa! I had some crazy definition going on. It was almost as if that without sugar and alcohol, my body became less “puffy” and my skin tightened up. I never did weigh myself, but I’m sure I lost a few pounds.
Avoiding alcohol is relatively easy, unless you have friends who like to have you over for dinner and pull out that “special” bottle of red that they’ve been saving to share. I’ll admit that I only made it 2/3 of the way through January without alcohol. You see, I had recently lost my job and we were at those friends’ house with that “special” bottle of wine that I just had to try a glass of. After not drinking for almost three weeks, the wine was absolutely sumptious.
On the sugar side, I made it through the month. The whole experience opened my eyes to how many things contain processed sugar. But it also got me reading ingredient labels more closely and exposed me to products that are naturally sweetened: fruit juice sweetened yoghurt, honey or agave sweetened cookies, natural jams and jellies with no added sugar, to name a few. I’m lucky to live in a place with numerous natural foods stores where these kinds of products are more readily available.
But if I was in a town that didn’t have access to a good selection of natural foods, I would most likely cook for myself more to have control over my ingredients, particularly sugar.
Wish me luck in doing my best to “avoid” the mini Kit Kats and Twix bars that keep calling my name. I’m working on self control today. And through the rest of the holiday season.
Good luck! We recycled most of our two year old’s candy to trick or treaters cause I just can’t have it in the house. All my self control goes out the window.
There is a hysterical video on YouTube from the Jimmy Kimmel show where he asked parents to video their kids while telling them that they had eaten ALL of their Halloween candy. The kids’ reactions will keep you laughing.
Thanks for sharing your story. I’ve toyed with the idea of giving up processed sugar for awhile to see if there’s any difference I’ll feel and haven’t yet gotten up the nerve to commit (I, too, love sugar and most things sweet). Your account, particularly about how your muscles changed, is intriguing and just might be a motivator for me to dive into the experiment sooner.
Good luck on the candy front.
I had a sweet tooth that was out of control, and couldn’t imagine that I could ever stop eating sugar. About a year ago I did, though, and it’s such a relief to be free of the constant cravings for sweets. I still make sweet things for myself occasionally, using Truvia, stevia, erythritol, and other alternatives. I don’t use fruit juice, honey, agave nectar, etc. because they are still sugar — they all turn to sugar in the body. I eat very few sweets now, though, because the things I make without sugar don’t set off my sweet tooth. They satisfy me without inducing cravings. I will have the occasional snack-size Twix or Kit-Kat (2 of my favorites, also) but now I can stop at one. Or two. I lost about 20 lbs, my blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels all normalized, but really, the best part is no more craving sweets.
Good for you! Very inspirational.