And although in the past (wow back in 2014) I have admitted that I am addicted (My Addiction To Sugar) I still haven't been able to get that sugar monkey off my back.
But I want to. I do. I don't like the idea of something controlling me, because at this point, it does. The rise and fall of the sugar in my body. The sudden feel good release that I get after eating or drinking something sugary to then crash later and feel the need to repeat the process. This is addiction. I won't necessarily totally blame it on will power - I believe it goes deeper than that. I believe there are also scientific reasons behind it. Regardless, sugar has had a hold on my life for quite some time. At this point in my life, I do not know how to enjoy sugar in moderation - the scale and my clothing will also confirm this.
So, what am I going to do?
I'm going to quit sugar for 7 days. I know you've heard it before. I've said it before. But this time, I'm going to take control of my life back.
I am seeing and feeling my body breaking down from my bad nutrition. What I could do in my 30's I can no longer do in my 40's. Maybe it's the years of abuse that are finally taking a toll on me?
I don't know. But this I do know... I don't want to be addicted any more.
So, how am I going to do it?
I've been reading how when you make goals that you should be specific - that making generalized goals without a real plan usually results in failure. So here goes.
- I plan to eliminate sugar such as as junk food from my diet for 7 days. I'm not big into salad dressings and condiments where all of the hidden sugars are. My go-to sugars are chocolate, ice cream (duh), cakes, cookies, donuts, lattes.. I think you get the point. So no, I'm not going to pick apart every label for the next 7 days. I am going to remove from my diet the obvious junk food that I consume.
- I'm going to replace that junk food with a healthy option such as fruit, veggies, nuts and what is considered healthier carb choices.
- I'm going to replace stress eating with other options. If I'm reaching for sweets out of habit or boredom or eating 'just because', I'm going to reach for non sweetened plain herbal tea instead. (which I like to drink by the way). If I'm eating out of stress, I'm first going to try deep breathing. If that doesn't work, then taking a walk if possible, or doing some jumping jacks or jump on my mini-trampoline or coloring, or reading or listening to music.
- I plan to stay accountable to you - whoever you are reading this - by posting daily for the next 7 days how my day went. (And I'm nervous to do this out of fear that I will lose readers who might not want a daily post. I'm also nervous that I've just put it out there that I will tell you how the day went. Because it's really easy to ...ahem.... just forget about updating if the update is bad. But once I've said it, well, now I'll have to do it.). But I think committing to daily updates will help keep me accountable to myself, and to you.
So, there you have it. I'm going to do it this time, and I'm going to keep saying that over and over and over until I do it. I'm going to do it day by day, and minute by minute. I want to break free from this addiction. I want to be free.
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Just found your blog and I am following along and totally doing this sugar free week too.
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