Is your life ruled by sugar addiction?
Removing added sugar from your diet may be the single most important step you can take to extend and improve your life.
Wow, that’s a big statement.
No Diet, No Sugar, Please
Having reached my “true grown-up” years in the 1980’s, I have experienced the full force of health, diet, and lifestyle program failures, and the skepticism that inevitably follows.
This next 30 days is not about promising “x” amount of pounds or inches lost. It’s not about a “diet” in common parlance, or any of that pseudo-medical snake oil sales talk.
It’s about trying to be healthy and happy in a culture filled with conflicting messages about how to achieve your best life.
Let’s be honest. Most of these messages emanate from marketing designed to capture your cash.
It’s “The American Way.”
But sugar has taken a prominent place in healthcare concerns in the past decade. Starting in 2020, the FDA is requiring “added sugar” content on nutrition labels.
(Caveat: exceptions and extensions have already been won by food companies:
“In May 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized the Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts Label and Serving Size final rules and set the compliance date for July 26, 2018, with an additional year to comply for manufacturers with annual food sales of less than $10 million. After those rules were finalized, industry and consumer groups provided the FDA with feedback regarding the compliance dates. After careful consideration, the FDA determined that additional time would provide manufacturers covered by the rule with necessary guidance from FDA, and would help them be able to complete and print updated nutrition facts panels for their products before they are expected to be in compliance.” –FDA)
We’ll explore more about that in the next 30 days, plus share strategies for kicking sugar addiction.
Sugar and Brain Fog
I’ve had (admittedly, few) moments of absolute clarity and certainty that something was true.
This morning, I had one of those moments. It’s that hazy time between sleep and awake, when your brain can focus on one thing and see it clearly.
I thought about sugar and how bad I feel after a sweet binge. This latest binge has lasted almost a year.
Prior to my detour, I lost twenty pounds, exercised regularly, slept well, and generally felt good.
But sugar addiction is a real thing. And giving in means heading to some terrible long-term health consequences.
Last December, as the holidays rolled around, I let up on my sugar vigilance. Just like any addiction, giving a little makes it harder to say no to the next indulgence. The cravings begin.
Before I knew it, I was back to (almost) a diet as sugar-laden as before.
The scale confirmed it. I had gained back ten pounds.
Added Sugar Equals Added Energy?
Sugar certainly has its attractions. It definitely gives your mind and body a quick boost.
Think about your most vulnerable time for giving in to the cravings.
Mine is around 3 p.m. Going back all the way to my primary school years, that’s when I’d get home from school and have my snack.
That snack would be sugary, or another simple carbohydrate like white flour. Or, both.
It would be enough to get me going again until dinner time. Dinner was a short stop on the way to the next carbohydrate fix – the evening snacking.
Simple carbs again.
Added Sugar Is Making Us Sick
Have you had a similar love/hate experience with added sugar?
Watch “That Sugar Film” on Amazon to see how added sugar has sneaked into our diets and affected our waistlines.
You can rent it from Amazon; your local library may also have a copy to borrow for free. Here’s the YouTube Trailer:
There’s so much more to talk about! Please feel free to add comments and suggestions, highs and lows, whatever you are thinking, as we break our sugar addiction together!
Baseline and Waistline
Today, we start by recording some baseline statistics. Use a tracking tool like myfitnesspal.com (click for link) or myplate (click for link).
Or, to keep it simple, just use pencil and paper.
Even if you decide not to track in a formal way, start reading those nutrition labels and note how many grams of sugar you are consuming. If the food is unlabeled, Google its sugar content.
Let’s get a handle on those “handles.” We can do it together!
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This post is not intended to offer medical advice. Check with your doctor before beginning any diet or exercise plan.
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