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?
Angela
I think that's awesome. I have given up sugar to some extent before, but not to the degree where I wasn't eating any white flour. I felt a ton better just doing that, so I can imagine how much better you feel giving it up completely. I definitely think sugar is a demon! It's probably just as addicting as any drug, yet it is more widely "used" and really affects our health more than we realize. I am planning on doing a similar detox plan...i do use artificial sweeteners so it may be hard to give those up at first. Lol.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your 6 month mark, that's a real accomplishment!! Way to go!
Glad to do it! Let me know how it goes for you.
ReplyDeleteOh, Annette, Annette... This is such a great question, and I think it's one we all deal with at some point or another. I thought it would be best to treat this with it's own blog post. You can find my response here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gallimaufrygrove.blogspot.com/2015/01/how-to-stick-to-your-diet.html
I'd love to hear your thoughts on my response. Have a great day!