It's been a little over 6 months since I broke off my relationship with sugar. You can read about it here and here. So, was it worth it? In my opinion, it was very worth it. It was something I didn't think I could ever do, but it has been half a year since I ate sugar. (I occasionally eat out and have something made with white flour. I am sure that there is also some sugar in their recipes. But I haven't had a dessert that was made with white sugar since January. I cook with whole grains, dates, fruit and occasionally a little honey or maple syrup, but no white sugar or white flour for this girl.) At first, it was really hard and I felt deprived at events and parties. Now I honestly don't. And I will tell you why I don't.
What Has Going Sugar Free Done for Me? *I have more energy. *I eat healthier foods automatically. *I feel less moody. Not that I would ever be moody or anything. *I have an easier time getting out of bed in the morning. *I think more clearly (Some of you may beg to differ. You can keep your thoughts to yourself, thank you very much.) *I won't get into a lot of detail here, but my hormones have balanced out tremendously. I still have a little way to go, but it is totally manageable now, unlike before. And things keep getting better. *I lost 7 pounds without trying. Before I went off sugar, even strict calorie counting wasn't yielding results. *Those 7 pounds came from areas that never seem to lose fat, like the belly. *I just feel better overall. I can't really pinpoint why, but I feel great.
So there you have it. All I need to do when I am tempted to eat sugar is think about how bad I felt before. It is enough to keep me motivated. And then there is Chocolate Covered Katie's healthy dessert blog to help me when I really must have something sweet. Although some of her desserts use a bit of sugar, many do not. It is usually easy to alter a recipe to be sugar free, too.
I can't guarantee that anyone else on the planet would have the results I did. I just did what I had in my heart. But I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of people would feel better if they at least cut back a bit.
So, what do you think about sugar? Demon or Angel? Or both?
