About a year ago, I admitted my sugar addiction and declared to the world (or at least my wonderful readers) that henceforth I would eat only special occasion sugar.
It didn’t work.
Until recently, I couldn’t figure out why special occasion sugar is so hard for me. Then I read Gretchen Rubin’s article called “Quiz: Are You an ‘Abstainer’ or a ‘Moderator’?”
Rubin describes “abstainers” as people who have a much easier time saying no altogether than indulging on occasion.
I’m an Abstainer
When I look back at times (even very recent) when I’ve been able to go without sugar, it’s because I’ve been abstaining. For example, during my elimination diet, I was off refined sugar for over a month. And just a few weeks ago, I went nine days without refined sugar during my cleanse.
I know of other abstainers as well. An acquaintance eats sugar every other year. During his sugar year, he gains 5-10 pounds and during his no sugar year, he loses the weight. I’m not saying this is a super healthy approach, but it drives home the point that abstinence is easier than moderation (at least for some).
I have this dream of being able to have sweets only on birthdays and holidays, but it’s just not happening. At least not for now.
Sugar Addiction Cold Turkey
I’m going cold turkey to beat my sugar addiction. I started two days ago and so far, it’s been going quite well. The only problem is that sugar is in everything. You really have to read labels. Yesterday, I bought a yoghurt parfait at the Co-op and thought I had read the label completely. But when I sat down to dig in, I noticed “sugar” as the very last ingredient. Doh!
OK – sugar is going to sneak in, but the point is that it will be on accident and it will stay well below the max 6 teaspoons per day guideline (for women – it’s 9 teaspoons for men).
Wellness Project Teaser
I had planned to include kicking the sugar addiction as part of my wellness project starting on June 1. However, I decided I couldn’t wait that long. Heck, studies now show that sugar is bad for your skin!
And anyway, I think it’s good to do a little at a time. By the time June 1 rolls around, I’ll be off sugar, feeling good, and ready to tackle some other nutritional areas such as going gluten free and slanting even more plant.
My Sugar Rules
Everybody’s sugar rules are different. Some people don’t eat candy and sweets and leave it at that. Some people don’t eat anything sweet (including honey and syrup). My goal is to eliminate processed and unnatural sugar and sweeteners. This includes:
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Molasses
- Corn syrup
- Brown rice syrup
- Table syrup
- Any form of artificial sweetener
I will eat maple syrup, honey, dates, raisins, bananas, and other real foods that are naturally sweet.
TIP: For more natural sweetener options, read the article, My Natural Sweeteners of Choice, from Food Renegade.
I’m really pumped about kicking my sugar addiction (again!). Wish me luck!
Over to You!
Do you have a sugar addiction? Are you able to moderate your intake or is abstinence the best way to go?
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Hey Tabita,
Yes. Yes, I do. And right now I do better with abstaining than moderating. I’ve figured out how to moderate alcohol and that’s been incredibly rewarding. But coffee and sugar elude me.
Currently I’ve been coffee-free for over two weeks. But I have a sneaking suspicion that if I were to get coffee tomorrow, I’d probably start right back up to the default setting which is 1-2 cups per day.
I, too, have a vision of myself as a special occasion sugar consumer. Here’s to both of us being able to one day attain it! Good luck!
Thanks Justin. It’s always good to hear that you are not alone. So far, I feel amazing being off sugar.
Good luck to you!