Break the Sugar Addiction

It starts with one piece of chocolate, and then another. Then it’s birthday cake to celebrate, a fun dessert out at a restaurant, ice cream on a Sunday night. The downward spiral begins. The sugar begins to take over and the more our bodies get, the more they want.

katie cake

Let me remind you, that I am perfectly okay with everybody, including myself enjoying their favorite desserts on occasion, or even a small piece of dark chocolate daily. If that is their most favorite thing ever, there is no way I will tell them they can’t enjoy that special thing #yolo. But it is so easy to let that one piece of chocolate slip into something more, and it’s a fine line one has to walk.

cheesecake

Over the past month, I have let sugar begin the process of taking over and it is definitely winning.

Prior to that (so a couple of months ago), I was limiting my refined sugar intake. I was feeling great, my skin was mostly clear with only occasional breakouts, and my sweet tooth could be hastened by a handful of raisins. Now, on the other hand, my health has taken a minor detour, my skin is breaking out worse than it has in a very long time, my body isn’t functioning at its maximum capability, and it craves more and more sugar.

chocolate mousse cake carrot cake

m and m's

milkshakes

fro yo

I am not okay with this and guess what? That all stops today.

I decided I had to write this in a post because you guys are all my witnesses. I will be removing refined sugars from my diet once again just as I did before and only limiting them to very special occasions. I plan to do this for the next couple of weeks to one month (given I have an anniversary vacation coming up in two weeks which is a very special occasion) but hope that I can continue to remain mindful of my sugar intake and not let it get out of hand again even after that time. The sugar slip and sugar addiction happens all too easily.

Starting today the only sugars I am allowing in my diet are:

  • natural sugars from whole foods
  • fruit
  • dried fruit
  • honey
  • agave on rare occasion
  • coconut sugar on rare occasion
  • stevia

I know two weeks doesn’t sound like much but you would be surprised at what a dramatic difference that short amount of time can make. If I slip, I’m not going to beat myself up, but I am going to do my best!

My body is in need of healing still and I know it doesn’t appreciate all of these extra sugars I have been feeding it lately.

I already feel better just after writing this. I have a couple of people on board with me in this challenge. We are going to hold each other accountable. If this interests you I would love for you to hop on board with us and write notes in the comments section! Even if you don’t want to remove it completely, you could use this as an opportunity to become more mindful of the refined processed sugars that are around you, and the amount of sugar you are taking in.

So there you have it. That is what is going on in this nutty household right now. The sugar….is going down.

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On a side note, I just got back from the Healthy Living Summit yesterday and I have some serious recapping to do. Look for it sometime this week!

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