The lower left pocket on my spring coat is coated with sugar. I need to take the coat off, turn the pocket inside out, and shake the fabric out*. The sugar has been there for over three weeks and I haven't got around to it. Every time I stuff my iphone into that pocket , or I forget and shove my hands in to stay warm, I end up coated in tiny white crystals.
Why?
3 1/2 weeks ago, I quit sugar (again). On the very first afternoon I walked to the coffee shop with my boys to buy an espresso. I opened the door of the shop and froze, as my boys ambled in, stopped, and stared. There was a petite brunette perched on a tall stool at the front of the shop singing in another language, and a man in an armchair beside her playing guitar. Every seat around the perimeter of the small cafe was taken.
I didn't want to interrupt, but there we were (they were), in bright orange winter coats, standing in the middle of it all.
I hustled the boys to the counter at the back and ordered an espresso. I excused myself and made my way over to the condiment table and shook a packet of sugar. Rip. "Shoot, that's right, I quit sugar, where is the garbage? ok ...hmm, it's too packed in here!" I folded the packet up and put it in my pocket, intending to toss it in the bin on the street.
Quitting sugar was a cinch this time since I already made the toughest dietary changes (no juice, switching to low GI bread, switching to canned tomatoes instead of pasta sauce, dropping cereal). It still took heaps of self control in the beginning. I wrote large notes to myself and stuck them on the fridge and in the cupboards.
I intend to keep it up for at least another month, until my son's 4th birthday.
*I cleaned it
ps. Sugar. So much to say...
First - you really DO feel better when you eliminate it from your diet. After three days it is a breeze. No mood swings has got to be the biggest perk.
Second - why does celebrating mean you have to indulge in sweets? Every holiday has some sort of chocolate or cake associated with it
Third - my teeth shriek with pain when I eat anything too sweet. I switched to sensodyne rapid relief toothpaste but I haven't put it to the test
Fourth - why do I have this internal conflict over eating healthy? I argue with myself. 'no, you do not need to eat that', 'but everyone else eats it, why do I have to be the only one who doesn't eat sugar' 'because if you eat that, you won't even enjoy the taste, your teeth will hurt, and you will have to fight sugar cravings again' 'but what is so wrong with satisfying your sweet tooth?' 'because sugar will make you fat' 'oh yah? as if french fries wont make you fat' 'ok, good point, BUT you are on a roll, you have a winning streak going, don't waste all this effort for a bite of granola bar' 'ok, but don't expect me to live like this forever' 'it's not forever...eat some celery and relax already'
