My sweet disappointment

Sweets

Months leading into the new year I would tell anyone who would listen of my goal for January: to cut all sugar from my diet and to not have a drink of alcohol. The no alcohol part was easy to believe, but the no sugar diet threw people off guard. I was confident, I was excited, and I believed in myself. That was all until day 11.

Why was I doing this? What was the point? Do I really want to continue? Those were the questions I kept asking myself on day 11. I was cranky and angry without sugar; my fiancé says I was basically going through withdrawals. But I needed support at that point, I needed to hear that I could do it and know why I was doing it because I really couldn't remember why I decided to cut sugar for a month.

That entire month was filled with compromises. It really was impossible to go sugar-free everything unless I just ate a fully raw diet. I wanted to detox my body of anything artificial and unnecessary. Sugar has no nutritional value; it just makes things "taste better" and hides its true flavor. 

Sugar and alcohol were both things I would consume for just because; neither of them have real benefits, I just enjoyed them. That was the problem: I was angry I couldn't get the taste of something sweet. Removing alcohol wasn't a problem, but removing sugar was the hardest vice to cut.

I had been consuming sugar my entire life and to try to cut it out completely from my diet was torture! My body was freaking out and cranky at first. But I pushed past day 11, with some compromises to quiet my anger, but I did not complete the entire month with a sugar-free diet.

I'm kicking myself for failing but I am surprised I lasted as long as I did. I started to wean myself off from having sugar in my coffee months before January, I would usually have 3 spoons of it. Once I started to add sugar to my coffee again, however, I finally realized how excessive it was to have a whole 3 spoons of sugar in a small cup.

During the 3-week trial of a sugar-free diet I also noticed how much sugar I would have willfully consumed. I would eat so much crap! After the trial run I felt more in control of what I would eat and plan when to treat myself to something sugary and sweet. If I had plans to go out with a friend for cupcakes I wouldn't eat anything sugary before then. If I knew I was going to go out for drinks later I wouldn't drink the day before. This way I was able to fully appreciate and enjoy these treats.

I was taking sugar for granted and I didn't treat my body fairly. The fact that I was angry and completely forgot why I was doing this new diet bothered me. I couldn't believe that I couldn't handle the change. I had a terrible addiction to sugar; I let it control my emotions rather than me having control over what I choose for my body.

It was a huge wake up call and I do plan to succeed in having no sweets for an entire month in the future. Now that I know what to expect I can stock up on sugar-free and artificial sugar-free foods.

I stand for health but I was making major compromises whenever sweets were involved. Here's the truth: we can choose to say no. It's really that simple. If someone surprises your office with a box of cookies and you weren't planning on having anything sweet that day don't just give in because it's there. Try saving it for tomorrow if you really want one, but prepare yourself, or make cuts. Don't over consume sweets to the point you get this addiction and you depend on it emotionally.

Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit
— 3 John 1:2

I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others that I myself might be disqualified.
— 1 Corinthians 9:27

It is not good to eat too much honey, and it's not good to seek honors for yourself.
— Proverbs 25:27