Anyone who knows me knows that sugar is my drug, particularly chocolate chip cookies, with dark chocolate a close second. I’ve given up a lot of food and drink in the name of wellness. And, don’t get me wrong: I’ve seen big benefits. Otherwise, why would I stick with it? It’s certainly not the easiest way to live.
The most profound impact comes when I completely eliminate sugar. Notice I’m not using the past tense there. Because like any addicition, I struggle with staying the course.
Today happens to be Day One of yet another attempt to get back off sugar. The holidays always trip me up. Since January 1, I’ve committed to giving up sugar twice, only to fail within a few days. But as a firm believer in accountability, I’m once again making public my attempt to go off sugar.
The Chicago Tribune reported last week in an article entitled “Sugar Shockers,” that for the first time the American Heart Association has set a sugar benchmark for daily intake. (I was quoted in this article, which is cool, but not the important part.) No more than 25 grams of added sugar a day for women and 37.5 grams for men.
What’s 25 grams of sugar? You’re gonna tremble as you read the label of your:
Yogurt containers
Spaghetti sauce jars
Salad dressings
Cookies
Power bars
25 grams is not a lot. And if you think Splenda is the answer, well then you better head over to this post by The Wellness Bitch. She’ll give you a thing or two to think about.
Wrapping your mind around sugar takes a lot more thought than choosing “sugar-free.” In fact, nine times out of ten if the product is labeled sugar-free, you shouldn’t be picking it up at all.
Wish me luck on my journey. And, if I were you, I’d stay out of my way the next few days. Cranky bitch doesn’t even begin to describe it.
–Jen Maidenberg
2 Comments on “Sugar is my drug”
I’m going gluten-free for a month to see if it impacts my long-term sinus problems (after day 2, I felt as though I was taking a decongestant – so it does seem to, already). I realized around day 4 that cutting out gluten means a lot of cutting out sugar, too – a nice side benefit (Because I already read labels and don’t buy sweetened yogurt, ketchup, etc) ! I’m trying to focus on the things I *can* eat, rather than the things I can’t.
I’ve tried to give up sugar before and I think it is actually easier this way. I’m thinking more about the bread, less about the sweets.
(I realize that there are about a hundred GF cookbooks that include baking recipes. But I don’t think baking with cornstarch or some of the other subs is even close to healthy, so I’m not going to bother with that, sticking closely to whole foods instead.)
Good luck Rosemary! I saw so many benefits from going dairy free. Mucus is not a word I like. It sounds as gross as it feels. But going dairy free really reduced my mucus production. When I am completely GF and sugar free, it’s even less.
I’ve decided to try a version of The Kind Diet as proposed by Alicia Silverstone. Just for a week to start. So I’m still DF, and now trying vegan, coupled with the sugar elimination. I didn’t give up coffee though. But drinking it black again.
I don’t typically sign on to “diets.” But what I’ve read in The Kind Diet really speaks to me on multiple levels. My biggest gripe with media-hyped diets is their often single-focused purpose (typically weight loss). The Kind Diet is very holistic.
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