Why Sugar Free in 2013?

So, I am really thankful for a fine group of ladies on Facebook that are taking a health challenge with me! Most of us are on slightly different paths, but the thing we have in common is that we are letting go of certain foods/ingredients that we know are bad for our health, but that we tend to over eat. We began our journey over New Years and all of us have different ideas of how long we'll do it. I hope we learn so much from each other that we never go back to unwise eating!

I personally am going without sugar (except what occurs naturally in nutrient dense foods such as fruit) and white flour. I always have tried to stay away from this stuff anyway, because I was raised on a really healthy diet and also because when I found out I had adrenal fatigue almost three years ago, I made specific changes. But sugar, dear, dear, terrible wonderful sugar... I "knew" I couldn't eliminate it so I tried to regulate it. That certainly works for many types of people; I don't think everyone needs to totally cut out sweets. My grandmother eats one piece of chocolate every day. ONE! That gene did not make it's way to me...

So why does it matter so much? I'm sure I'll post more about this later, but sugar really is terrible for our bodies, for starters.  Also, I'm sad to say that I have had 34 1/2 years to eat cookies in moderation but have failed! To be perfectly honest, I'm fighting a battle, and it brings more freedom in my life to know I am not eating ANY of the bad stuff as opposed to struggling with myself about HOW MUCH of the bad stuff I can have. I feel like I've already won the battle because I'm no longer bargaining and battling with myself. The answer is "no, not any," instead of having a taste of it and then dealing with the old routine.  I think I'm learning from my past tries at moderation that if you do have a problem with sugar, you're only setting yourself up for failure by eating small amounts of it, say, on the weekend, because you're never letting yourself be free of the addiction.  This is an issue of our minds and will power but it's also an issue of what our bodies are expecting...If our bodies no longer expect it, then the battle is so much easier.

Silliest example ever, but I was watching The Holiday over Christmas Break and one of leading ladies finally realizes that this guy in her life was poison in disguise, so she writes to him: "Please don't contact me. I know that I need to get over you, so please allow me the chance." As nice as birthday cake and easter egg jellybeans are, I need the chance to get this out of my system and relieve myself of the burden of constantly trying (and failing) to regulate sweets.

I'm going to blog about our journey at least once a month, so stay in touch and feel free to join us.