The other day, I had a hankering for a Coke drink, not the diet one. I wanted the pure, sugary rush. After that, my husband and I went to a festival that had fair food. Ooo, peach cobbler! Apple Cider! I saw little hearts in my eyes as I passed the pumpkin funnel cakes. I wanted some but didn’t dare. The peach cobbler tasted like there was a cup of sugar in it.

I asked my husband why I crave sugary things. He said it’s because sugar makes you want to have more sugar. Oh, wow.

Years ago, I happened upon an Ellen Show episode in which she said she was off sugar. I was like, what? Why? She went on to say that her wife, Portia, had been off sugar, and so she was getting off it, and she shared how difficult it was. I didn’t bother looking up the reasons why getting off sugar was good at that time. I kept on eating the goodies. I thought, poor Ellen, she’s suffering.

Fast forward to the present day.  I found this on Healthline.com about sugar:

A) Studies have found that sugar triggers the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens — the same area of the brain implicated in the response to addictive drugs.

B) Sugar can also cause the release of endogenous opioids in the brain, which leads to a rush that may cause future cravings.

C) Eating sugar regularly alters your brain to become tolerant, causing you to require more to get the same effect.

D) Therefore, if your diet is high in added sugar, reducing your added sugar intake may cause unpleasant symptoms.

 

Unpleasant symptoms??? Wait, what?

I thought I’d take it slow and wean off it slowly so as not to give myself a nervous breakdown. I thought that Ellen DeGeneres had it easier because she had a staff of people to support her during her withdrawal, where I didn’t want to be alone in this battle, trying to justify myself, “Why can’t I eat just one piece of chocolate?”

Getting sugar out of our lives is tough. So, I did a little more digging and found that sugar is, yes, found in sweets, but also in processed meals, salad dressings, ketchup, cereal, and on and on! My head was spinning. I can’t get off cereal! I love cereal, especially Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Alright, I don’t want you to panic. It’s going to be okay. We can eat sugar, just in moderation. We don’t have to exile it out of our lives and drive ourselves kooky. Just pay attention when you do have something with sugar in it, so as not to keep going for more. Be strong! You can do it.

According to the article “Seven Health Benefits of Cutting Down on Sugar,” cutting down can help us:

1. lose weight
2. avoid energy crashes
3. enjoy clearer, more youthful skin
4. reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes
5. maintain good dental health
6. reduce the risk of liver disease
7. protect our heart health

That’s all good stuff. Sign me up. So, I’ve started to be more mindful of what I’m craving. Wanting stuff with sugar in it is like sliding down a sweet, slippery slope. We get a taste, and then we’re scrounging around looking for that last piece of pie in the fridge. Been there. It’s going to be tough around the holidays, but instead of making multiple desserts, I’m only making one. That way, there won’t be leftovers whispering my name every time I open the refrigerator.

I thought I’d share this information today because it has affected me. I’ve gained weight as a result of eating too many goodies. I thought exercising would combat any fat hanging around after eating sweets, but it didn’t. I don’t exercise with that much vigor to erase the extra calories from overindulging.

We need to pay more attention to what we put into our mouths. I had to limit my sweets. Now, after cleaning up after meals, I leave the kitchen and get busy doing something else to prevent myself from giving in to those desires. After some time, the desire passes.

Once that habit is eradicated, I won’t want the sweets anymore. It just takes time for a habit to become a habit. There are many theories out there on how many days it takes to change a habit, so I go with doing a new behavior for at least a month to make a lasting change. (I thought it was 21 days to change a habit, but then another expert said it’s 60 days. Ugh!)

I know it’s tough to pay attention to what we eat because we are busy and have stressful lives. But by taking the time to read labels or becoming more conscious eaters, we can defer health issues from creeping up. We don’t want to get chained to medications that may cause unnecessary side effects.

Mother Nature provides everything we need. I’m going to use this thinking: if it doesn’t come from the earth in its whole form, I need to check the ingredients.

Food for thought. I hope you enjoyed this one. I wish you good health and happy days.

To stop sliding,

Francesca

 

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