I Quit Sugar - 19th November 2013
So I’ve been off sugar for 4 weeks now.
I decided to go off sugar in January 2013. Yes, 10 month ago. That lasted for about two weeks. Okay, maybe 1 and a half. I remember I was so proud of myself at the caravan when I bypassed the chocolate blocks in the fridge or passed up the offer of an ice cream. Like I said, that lasted about 1 and a half weeks.
This time I’m a lot more serious.
I think I started back a month ago because I noticed that sometimes after eating chocolate I would feel nauseous. Not all the time. And I can’t pin it to anything specific, but I found myself not finishing off a really rich dessert that I use to breathe in without any trouble at all. It was like my body was rebelling or something. I also noticed that I was getting fat. Or, more than fat, I was getting that dimpled Demi Moore look on my legs and the backs of my arms. Not pretty. Poor, Demi. I feel bad for her that one photo should have meant so much, but hey, she got fit out of it!
Anyway. I’m 45. This is as good as it’s going to get an it’s still a surprise to look in the mirror and see the older version of myself. The older version that looks freakishly like my mother.
And I don’t want to end up as boxy (sorry mum) or as unfit as my mother. So I’m combining a lack of sugar with boot camp twice a week. Boot camp was supposed to inspire a few more days of self-motivated exercise but I’ve successfully resisted that so far.
But not for much longer.
So.
I am following Sarah Wilson’s eight week quit plan. It’s not that awe-inspiring or “new” but for $15 I have a “friend” or “bible” to consult when I’m at a low ebb. Like now. I’ve had a cheese wholemeal roll for lunch (not that exciting today) and a raw carrot. Now I have a cup of tea next to me and a small bowl of pistachios. The pistachios help the cravings a lot. It must be the salt.
Not that I’ve had a huge amount of cravings. But I’ve had some. And I think I’m having more. Which is where the $15 “friend” comes in handy. I read the 4 week chapter before and skipped ahead to week 5. She mentions that the cravings are normal. Which was good to know because I thought they’d be worse in the first three weeks and would start to taper off. Instead, I think my body thought we were playing pretend or something and it’s now “really” wanting sugar. Cake. Chocolate. Slice. It’s not fussy really.
Thankfully there’s nothing in the house really…. well, I could find something but I’m trying to be strong. I’m very determined when I want to be an so far I don’t look that much better to warrant a day off the wagon. I don’t know that I feel that much better either. Which is the first question people ask me. How do you feeeeeel?
Not much different, sadly. I thought maybe I’ bounce out of bed with loads of energy to burn. I think I feel pretty normal… but maybe it’s too early to tell.
I did have a funny situation about two nights ago. My husband and I were lying on our sofa together reading when I got up to go have a shower and changing into lazing around the house clothes. When I returned to the sofa I had the strongest whiff of chocolate I’ve had in ages. I picked up his hands and brought them too my nose and smelt chocolate all over his fingers. ‘you’ve eaten chocolate,’ I exclaimed in a horrified voice. He laughed and said he’d raided the stash of cooking chocolate for a couple of pieces. Yes, we are desperate in our house. What was funniest for me was that I had smelt it. We have been having a few pieces of chocolate at night for years and I don’t recall ever smelling it. Now that I’m depriving my poor little body of it, I can scent it from 60 paces.
I won’t talk about the authors lunch I went to at a lovely restaurant that had a chocolate fountain and what I believe was custard and bread and butter pudding. I didn’t get close enough to check the later. It was too cruel.
Anyway. I’ll continue to pick at my pistachios and try not to think about sugar infested treats. I think this week and next will be the worst. Then at week six I can reintroduce a little again. According to Sarah Wilson I will, at this time, be in a position to honestly know what my body needs.
Since this is one of the main reasons I’ve started this regime I’m determined to stick it out till at least then…
I’ll keep you posted as to how I go.
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