One of my “favorite” past times is trying to figure myself out. It has been a lifelong pursuit. I still have a lot of figuring out to do. But there are a few things I know for sure. One of them is this: I am a sugar addict.
About 15 years ago I did the unthinkable. I quit eating sugar and I stayed off of the stuff for 5 years. Until my Dad had the nerve to die unexpectedly- which really put me into a tailspin and I turned back to chocolate for comfort. (To read the sad story,click here)
Over the years I have tried to go back to my non-sugary ways. Usually I will make short-term goals. Last Fall I decided to go off of sugar for several weeks, eat any sugar I wanted for 24 hours on Thanksgiving, then back off again until Christmas. It worked well. I felt great and as a side benefit, I lost 10 pounds.
But since then, I have only sunk deeper into my addiction. I seem to have no control.
While I was in the midst of my 5 year absence from a sugar filled life, I had a lot of people kind of mock my decision. The single biggest negative comment I would receive was, “Why don’t you just eat it in moderation?”
The thing is, maybe that would work for someone who is not an addict. But at least in this, I know myself. I really am an addict. Telling me to eat sugar in moderation would be like telling a heroin addict to just shoot up a little bit on the weekends. I really am not exaggerating.
So here I go again. I have been off of sugar for two weeks now. Yes, I went through the withdrawal symptoms. But that has mostly left me and I am feeling pretty good. If you decide you need to root this addiction out of your life you need to give yourself a good two weeks to get the stuff out of your system until you achieve some normalcy.
I will periodically post some of my recipes that I turn to when I am feeling like I need something sweet.
And for all of the rest of you who are lucky enough to be in control of your sugar cravings, I will occasionally post some of my family’s favorite sugar laden desserts.
P.S. Here is a good article on sugar addiction. You should read it. Just sayin’.
One Comment
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Jessica
Jen, you’re a trendsetter. There was an article about sugar addiction on Yahoo! today.
I became a sugar addict in my early 20′s, after getting married to a man who believed it was absolutely essential to eat dessert after dinner every day. I keep telling myself that I’ll have dessert just once a week. That never happens. Maybe I need to go cold turkey, too.
I admire your fortitude. Good luck!
