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I have a confession, I have a problem with sugar. Don’t get me wrong, I eat healthfully, but somehow I have not been able to cut the sugar habit. I can’t say when this sugar problem started for sure but I know it is not good for me, diabetes runs in my family, my dad and my brother have both been diagnosed with diabetes. I have had my blood sugar checked and I am doing okay. But as I age (ahem – over 40 and fabulous), the weight is not coming off the way it did in my 20’s.
I realize that a problem with sugar is not at all uncommon. The average American consumes approximately 158 lbs. of sugar a year. I probably consume about 75 lbs. This is probably, because I don't eat much processed foods. This will help me give up the sugar.
How am I going to do this? I have joined The Sugar Detox Challenge at Naturally Knocked Up. This is an 8 week program, so yes I will be giving up sugar during the holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. It should make for some interesting times. But the pace is slow and very doable. It is not cold turkey. Along the way I will be sure to share some of the reasons why you should consider getting the sugar out of your life.
Have you ever considered giving up sugar? Have you successfully given up sugar in the past? I would love to here how it went for you. If you think you might be up to the challenge I would love to have you join me. I will be stating this tomorrow on Oct 1st, 2011, but you can jump in anytime you want to. Share your thoughts on this with me. Let’s encourage each other to liver healthier lifestyles.
8 comments:
I gave up processed and refined sugar about 12 years ago. I'll be honest and say the first two weeks were hell (I went cold turkey and was bed bound). The first two YEARS were hard; I would crave it still and sneak things in...
But now? Now I don't even think about it. I no longer have crashes when my blood sugar drops which is awesome. I have more energy, I feel cleaner and more alive. I don't get recurrent infections or run down.
I'm now a nutritional counsellor because I believe so passionately our food is our medicine. I wish you well in your detox and please contact me if things get tough and you're not getting the support you need :)
Ahhh, sorry - I just realised my comment sounded a bit condescending; I didn't realise the 8 week detox was being run by a professional in the nutritional field. Sounds awesome and best of luck; it seems you will have the utmost care, advice and support :)
I think that is wonderful that you were able to give up sugar, and to do it cold turkey. I have tried cold turkey in the past, you are right it is horrible. Thank you for your support while I take on this detox. I have already gotten HFCS out of our house, this was years ago. But I still have a sweet tooth. We definitely don't eat the SAD(Standard American Diet) here either. Most foods are cooked from scratch. And, although my family is not voluntarily doing this challenge with me they will be along for the journey, in that I buy and prepare most of the food for the house. And I may contact you if I just need someone to talk bounce an idea off it.
I don't think we're ready to give up sugar altogether, but I'd love to reduce our sugar consumption and learn more about alternative sweeteners like agave which I've never tried. I look forward to seeing how it goes for you!
One of our biggest HFCS culprits I've realized is bread, which is so silly when bread made of flour+salt+yeast is perfectly yummy and easy to make, so I've been trying to make more of our own bread. Hard to find time though-we just moved and are still unpacking!
When I first starting eliminating HFCS from our house a couple of years ago, I could not believe that it would be in bread. You are so right about it not being necessary for bread making. However, many food manufacturers use it as a preservative too.
I have a serious problem with sugar as well, and I have tried to quit before... As a former smoker, I figured this would be easy. NOPE. I had more withdrawals from sugar than I had from cigarettes! That tells me that I need to quit, but maybe cold-turkey isn't the best method for me. Good luck! Hi! New follower from the Say Hi Sunday blog hop! I hope you'll stop by my blog and follow back! Thanks! :) Through the Eyes of a Tiger
How did this go? I have giving up sugar for lent this year and fell off the wagon the last two days. I must jump back on. I was off of sugar 20 years ago for about 6 years as one of my kids was allergic to sugar. Now that he doesn't live at home we went back. Yesterday my husband was told that his blood pressure is very high. He needs to get off of sugar and salt. I need to find spices that will help him not miss either. I like your blog.
Truth be told I am not completely sugar free. I do use much less sugar than in the past. I no longer use honey in my tea, and I do not crave sugar like I once did.
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