Sugar Addict

[macyholtz]

joining the club.  i totally have an addiction. i want to quit it.  do people find they have to give up fruit as well?

[SugarcubeOD]

So I wanted to qualify my 'addiction to something stupid' comment because we're definitely not having a stupidity competition... altho the idea of a stupidity competition totally makes me laugh!

 

I know being addicted to sugar isn't stupid.  It's more that when people start smoking, 99% of everyone who does, without a doubt becomes addicted to it.  

 

99% of people who eat sugar or fruit do not become addicted to it.  I've been trying very hard in the last little while in other areas of my life (with the help of therapy) to worry less about what other people think about me and to give myself benefit of the doubt, love, compassion and acknowledgement... I think the same approach will have to be taken with sugar because it's so easy to worry that people will think it's an over reaction or me just trying to be a special snowflake, when I KNOW the impact it has on my personally.  What other people think shouldn't matter but with out a doubt, we are all influenced by our community and surroundings somewhat...

 

Anyway, that's a ramble, but I just wanted to say what I meant about sugar being something stupid to be addicted to.

 

I've been discussing it off and on with Ladyshanny as well and trying to come up with a solution/plan for removing it from my life.  I don't think i eat enough of it to end up with NAFLD but that's a pretty scary thing to even be a possibility and I don't really want to end up with health concerns from something that I don't need in my life. I'm smarter and stronger than to let a food own me!

[SugarcubeOD]

joining the club.  i totally have an addiction. i want to quit it.  do people find they have to give up fruit as well?

Fruit is a tough one because it's actual food... I do know that a lot of people with a generalized sugar problem (as opposed to out right addiction) do remove fruit for their Whole 30 to get a good break from it... 

 

I don't know quite what I'm going to do about fruit in the long term... I can't see never eating an orange or blueberries again, but it may be gone for a long time... 

 

I think for the foreseeable future, if you do have a sugar addiction, it's wise to leave off fruit as a food group and ESPECIALLY dried fruit or high sugar foods like figs and dates.

[Carlaccini]

joining the club.  i totally have an addiction. i want to quit it.  do people find they have to give up fruit as well?

 

It depends - I will still eat fruit off and on.  When I did my first whole 30 (3.5 years ago) I still ate 2 to 3 pieces of fruit a day.  And it stayed like that for a while.  Part of me now thinks I was propping up sugar cravings - but I also know at the time that I didn't really have a sugar dragon at the end of my whole 30, was feeling fantastic, had zero to no cravings for sugar.  But after my whole 30's were complete I would always include sugar back in - telling myself that a *little bit of sugar* won't hurt.  I don't know if eating fruit was part of that - Personally I think I was just trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and trying to convince myself that it would fit.

 

Little did I know that sugar was the main culprit for my migraines (the main reason for me doing a whole 30 in the first place)  I came to this conclusion 9 months after.  It took me another 2 years + a few more whole 30's coming to terms with the fact that sugar and I just NEED to break up.

 

Now that being said - If I want to have fruit - I will have some fruit.  I will never tell myself that fruit is a bad choice.  However I will mostly eat berries if I choose to have fruit.  I will sometimes have pineapple as pineapple is my favourite fruit in the whole wide world.  Sometimes I will throw in some kiwi into my berries.  When peaches are in season - I will eat some.  When melon is in season - I will eat some.  But what I won't do is use fruit as a solution for when I am craving something sweet.  Meaning if I want ice cream I am not going to stuff myself full of grapes.  If I want ice cream I am generally reaching for some olives, or prosciutto or  coconut butter. But if genuinely want black berries - I am going to eat some black berries.  I hope this makes sense.

 

Some people feel they need to eliminate fruit as they find eliminating it will help kill off their sugar dragon - and you may do this if you feel you need to.  However we leave this up to you.  If you feel that you are properly mixing in fruits as part of your meals - then enjoy.  But if you are finding that you are craving something sweet at 3 pm now is not the time to be reaching for a banana.

[runcolorado37]

Ahhh thank you for all the insight. I have been feeling like an "addict" recently and was just telling my husband I wish there was an "SA" meeting

 

Sugar is a real problem for me. I would say I am an overall healthy person and most of my friends and family laugh at me when I try to tell them I'm addicted to sugar. "Oh but you run so much, you're skinny, you can have a piece of cake, just one bite!"... So frustrating to explain it has nothing to do with calories or weight or anything other than knowing if I have one bite of cake at a birthday party, I will go home and raid my pantry to find anything that resembles something sweet. And spend the next week slowing going from one bite, to one handful of M&Ms at work to a few pieces of chocolate at home, next thing I know I ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's and I'm back at "detox" stage. If that doesn't sound the same as an addiction I don't know what does. 

 

For me personally - I can handle fruit without spinning out of control so I allow it. But sugar and I stay far apart as long as possible. When I "relapse" I "detox" and just continue on my journey. This is a forever thing for me. 

[ladyshanny]

I mostly stay away from fruit just because by the time I've eaten a template meal of protein, 3+ cups veggies and proper amount of fat, I'm not hungry anymore.  I did have to stop buying bananas because I was wandering by the kitchen eating them whenever which I felt like, for me, was a little too close to the line.

 

From time to time I'll buy pears or strawberries to put onto a salad but that's about it.  We really don't miss it.

[BobbyL]

Sugarcube, I hope you know me well enough by now to know that I am here because I care and I want to help with all I've learned.  So take this in that tone, with that part understood ~ please.

 

What if I said to you:  "I certainly keep hope that I can have a normal relationship with something like cigarettes... in the summer on the boardwalk with a friend for instance..."

 

If you care like I do, you would go:  "Oh my gosh, NO!  Don't do it!  You have done so well with quitting!"  ...Am I right?

 

A large part of the problem, and why some people will struggle forever with sugar/carb addiction ... Is that they don't put it in the same category as other addictions.  But I am here to tell you, it is the same.

 

Wine comes from grapes.  Alcohol comes from fermented foods of all kinds.  Cocaine comes from the coca leaf.  There are hallucinogenic mushrooms.  Marijuana and tobacco come from plants.  

 

Coffee.  Chocolate.  Wheat.  SUGAR.  DAIRY.  The list of addictive things in nature goes on and on.......

 

The only difference between these is that some are more socially acceptable than others.  And some of them we can consume and still live somewhat of a "normal" life.

 

...If someone decides to quit smoking, we get applause.  Generally, in this day and age, no one is going to give you crap about quitting.  Even fellow addicts who feel "left behind".

 

If someone decides to quit ice cream, we get, "Oh, come on, just have a little... it's so good... you've been good, just splurge... etc"  (I am fortunate that no one in my life does this to me, but I know that it does happen, from so many stories on the forum!)

 

One may argue that these things are different:

 

"But ice cream is food!"  ~  No.  It isn't.  It is the milk intended for baby cows, mixed with the highly processed sugar cane plant, and a variety of other things ENGINEERED to make you addicted.  This is something that would never be found in nature.  Never.

 

In fact, I would argue that smoking is even more "natural" than consuming ice cream.  There is a better chance of the dried tobacco plant catching on fire in the wild -- and you accidentally breathing in the smoke -- than there is of "ice cream" EVER just occurring in nature.  

 

Something missmary said long ago has really stuck with me throughout my journey.  I wish I could go back and find the post -- but I can't.  Basically, she told someone that they kept trying to consume something, because they had it in their mind that they "should" be able to eat whatever it was.  But the fact was, that person could not handle whatever it was.  It wasn't something that they "should" be able to consume.  ...What needed to change was the person's thinking.

 

ALL of us struggle if we consume ice cream.  It is not something I can EVER have again.  I know it has been a struggle for ladyshanny, also.  There is no magical day that we will be able to have it, and then not crave it again and again.  If you think of it as a drug, if you realize it makes you feel like an addict ~ maybe it will just piss you off enough to finally QUIT for good.

 

The success for me is not to be able to walk on the boardwalk and smoke just one cigarette ...  The success is being able to walk on the boardwalk and not even THINK of a cigarette.  (Or ice cream, for that matter.)  

 

It's all about creating new patterns, new pathways, new memories.

 

Hey, OP ~ I would say "sorry" for hijacking your thread ...   But I have a feeling this will all be helpful.     Best wishes on your journey!

 

P.S.  Edited to say:  My final quit for smoking was June 2013.  I have learned so much in these 2.5 years.

 

Congrats!

 

I quit smoking on July 17, 2003, after being a pack+ a day for 10 years.  It was the hardest thing I ever went through, and the website whyquit.com got me through it. 

 

The most important thing it taught me was I had to go through one full year as a non-smoker before I really was "quit".  You have to experience everything you normally experience in a year as a different person...a non-smoker.  It was hard, but I made it through, and every year the cravings went down more until they were nearly non-existent.

 

I am applying the same thought process now.  I'm using the same exact same mindset I did back then. I'm not a sugar addict, but I do love my chips & crackers & the cheesy stuff you put on them.  I don't want to go back to them after 30 days.  I think I want to get rid of them forever.  So for me, certain parts of the Whole30 will become Whole365 and I'm going to treat those items like I did smoking.  Because I'm afraid just one nacho would be the equivalent to just one cigarette...and I don't want to go back there.

 

The Crown Royal?  Yeah, no, it will be reintroduced at some point.  

[Brewer5]

altho the idea of a stupidity competition totally makes me laugh!

 

when I KNOW the impact it has on my personally.  What other people think shouldn't matter but with out a doubt, we are all influenced by our community and surroundings somewhat...

 

I've been discussing it off and on with Ladyshanny as well and trying to come up with a solution/plan for removing it from my life.  I don't think i eat enough of it to end up with NAFLD but that's a pretty scary thing to even be a possibility and I don't really want to end up with health concerns from something that I don't need in my life. I'm smarter and stronger than to let a food own me!

 

Wanna swap stupid stories?  

 

The effect that it has on you personally is ALL that should matter.  Anyone who is pressuring you to eat sugar ...  I would really take a look at that person and see how it has everything to do with them and their own insecurities, and really nothing to do with you.   Nothing.

 

I had to make big changes for my health many years ago, after the birth of our first son.  I followed a candida diet and removed gluten and sugar at a time when it was nowhere near a mainstream thing to do.  I was young... and I had folks who questioned me... but I was also educated.  I was able to answer questions, no matter how uncomfortable it made me to be under the magnifying glass for awhile (or so it felt).  I had done my research.  I was backed by books and a website full of information, a forum filled with other people like me, and their staff nutritionist who was able to answer any questions.

 

Hmmmmm, sound familiar?

 

Anyway ~ I was just thinking about what you said about how we are all influenced by our community and surroundings somewhat...  and I realized:  I'm really not.  I have always been the oddball in my circle of friends and family... the one who questions the norms, and almost makes a point to go against them.  Especially if they are STUPID.  Others may not always understand my choices -- but they do know that I have done my research, and they respect that.  

 

I am a unique snowflake ~ and so are you.  

 

Your last statement I bolded... that's what it really comes down to.  Be educated, be confident, tell folks you no longer eat sugar with a smile on your face ~ and show the world what it looks like to be free of it.  

[Brewer5]

Kmlynne, on 23 Jan 2016 - 05:26 AM, said:

http://ed.ted.com/le...in-nicole-avena

 

Karen ~ that was a pretty good, brief synopsis.  I like it & I will pass it on.

 

I hate that the very last statement was, "But one wedge of cake won't hurt you."  

 

...Well, unless it makes you want popcorn... and tortilla chips... and Sno Caps... and more cake..........    

 

Of course it can hurt you.

[Xandra]

joining the club.  i totally have an addiction. i want to quit it.  do people find they have to give up fruit as well?

 

Fruit is a really interesting question for a sugar addict. Depending on how your W30 is going, you can actually test your reaction to eating fruit along the way, like an early reintro. First, you have to eat no fruit at all for several days. Then if you're eating 3 meals a day, no snacks, and humming along in Week 3, try adding some fruit to your meal and see what it does to you. What it does to me is it makes me want to eat more fruit. So when I found myself broiling half a grapefruit all by itself after a meal and serving it up like a dessert, I knew it was time to kick fruit to the curb again. No harm, no foul, but a good indicator to me that I'm not ready to handle "just one piece" of anything sweet yet.

[NancyW]

I hate that the very last statement was, "But one wedge of cake won't hurt you."  

 

...Well, unless it makes you want popcorn... and tortilla chips... and Sno Caps... and more cake..........    

 

Of course it can hurt you.

It was the equivalent of one wedge of cake (a cupcake) that derailed me after my first Whole30 in September, sending me on a wild ride through all the fall/winter holidays. (Black Friday is a holiday, right?) I just lost 10 pounds during my January W30, and still weigh more than I did at the end of September. THAT is what "...one wedge of cake..." did to me. Yes, I'm a sugar addict. Have been since grade school. I'm 58 now, so it's really has been a lifelong struggle. I read the moderator vs. abstainer description. I NEED to be an abstainer, although the thought of never having sugar again makes me want to have a world class temper tantrum. So I'm figuring it out now that I've completed my second W30. I sure won't be eating any sugar any time soon. Ditto for grains, even the whole ones.

 

Twins, wow! That made me chuckle. My sisters and I are not twins (or triplets...), but we share similar struggles.

 

Thanks for this thread and all the great info. I hope this will continue on, as I need all the support I can get!!

[Brewer5]

It was the equivalent of one wedge of cake (a cupcake) that derailed me after my first Whole30 in September, sending me on a wild ride through all the fall/winter holidays. (Black Friday is a holiday, right?) I just lost 10 pounds during my January W30, and still weigh more than I did at the end of September. THAT is what "...one wedge of cake..." did to me. Yes, I'm a sugar addict. Have been since grade school. I'm 58 now, so it's really has been a lifelong struggle. I read the moderator vs. abstainer description. I NEED to be an abstainer, although the thought of never having sugar again makes me want to have a world class temper tantrum. So I'm figuring it out now that I've completed my second W30. I sure won't be eating any sugar any time soon. Ditto for grains, even the whole ones.

 

Twins, wow! That made me chuckle. My sisters and I are not twins (or triplets...), but we share similar struggles.

 

Thanks for this thread and all the great info. I hope this will continue on, as I need all the support I can get!!

 

Nancy, I have been down the road of:

 

Do a Whole 30

 

3 months riding my own bike

 

Do a Whole 30 

 

3 months ridding my own bike

 

Do a Whole 30

 

...Do you see a pattern here?  Clearly, something was not quite working for me.  I had to get out of this cycle.

 

We really do have to make a CHOICE to not behave like an addict anymore.  We do have the power and the tools to overcome this.  The answer for me has been a high-fat, moderate-protein, very low-carb approach.  I don't do much fruit or starchy vegetables.  Everyone has to play around and see where their own, personal level of carbohydrate tolerance is.  If you get done with a Whole 30, and you still want to Eat All of The Things...  well.  The sugar dragon is still alive and well, isn't it?  All it takes is one cupcake, one face-dive into the bowl of tortilla chips, or whatever ~ and you are right back to being a slave to the same-old cravings again.

 

I have been able to look around at the other members of my family and see the path I do not want to go down.  It's not that I have such amazing, non-craving, slim genes......  trust me, it's not.  It's that I make a choice, each and every day, to eat a high-fat (very satiating) diet -- and avoid the things that will lead me down a road where I no longer want to go.  It's not painful, and I'm not throwing a temper tantrum.  When you reach that point ~ it's so freeing.  My hope for everyone on this thread is that you can ALL experience this for yourselves someday.  Never give up.

[Xandra]

" I NEED to be an abstainer, although the thought of never having sugar again makes me want to have a world class temper tantrum."

You know what makes me want to have a world-class temper tantrum? All the diets that tell you to eliminate fat, all the low-calorie food products filled with whatever fillers and marketed as healthy, the Food Pyramid that tells you to eat 4 servings of grains every day and to limit eggs and salt, and finally, all the products everywhere that use sugar as an ingredient for no good reason at all (anchovy fish sauce, anyone?? Like I'm buying fish sauce to make my food taste sweet.). Those are the things that creep up on us every day at a supermarket and make me crazy.

We are the alcoholics who have no choice but to walk through a bar where everyone turns around and offers you a drink. Keeping those blinders on is tough business, and I wish I could relax in the world and not feel like every big food company and restaurant is out to sabotage my health.

[Brewer5]

When I walk through the grocery store, my mind rarely even registers all of those things as "food" anymore.  I'm not kidding.

 

It is literally everywhere we look ~ but it's an amazing thing when it really has no effect on you.  Aisle after aisle of just:  crap in a box.  I don't even look.  It could all be a stone wall ~ has the same effect on my brain.

 

Headed down the cereal aisle yesterday -- full of BARS, SYRUP, MIXES, BOXES... and is it a coincidence that in this same aisle, is the CANDY?  Picked up my one Lindt 90% bar of chocolate for the kids (which will last us awhile)... moved on down the road.  Not a single thought of buying any of it for me.  Not one.

 

My husband, on the other hand, was having his "carb night" ~ so he was struggling to decide between his favorite chocolate covered peanuts, and the candy bars up at the checkouts.  "Which one is a better deal, which one do I want the most, which one is really going to scratch this itch?" etc. etc.

 

I moved on.  Bags of frozen vegetables:  check.   Best deals on fresh meat:  check.  Sardines for the dog:  check.  Now, let's head on up to produce........

[Xandra]

I know that experience, and I had it yesterday at the grocery store where I thought "Wow, beautiful doughnuts, if you like to eat doughnuts" and didn't care at all that I wasn't going to have one.

But today I took my blinders off just to have a look at a Facebook group called "Just Eat Real Food", and the first recipe on the page was Whipped Pineapple Popsicles. Granted, you can use coconut milk to make them, but this was like throwing a pie into my face and telling me not to taste it. Not what I expected on a page like that and it made me retreat into my shell.

[SugarcubeOD]

When I walk through the grocery store, my mind rarely even registers all of those things as "food" anymore.  I'm not kidding.

 

It is literally everywhere we look ~ but it's an amazing thing when it really has no effect on you.  Aisle after aisle of just:  crap in a box.  I don't even look.  It could all be a stone wall ~ has the same effect on my brain.

 

Headed down the cereal aisle yesterday -- full of BARS, SYRUP, MIXES, BOXES... and is it a coincidence that in this same aisle, is the CANDY?  Picked up my one Lindt 90% bar of chocolate for the kids (which will last us awhile)... moved on down the road.  Not a single thought of buying any of it for me.  Not one.

 

My husband, on the other hand, was having his "carb night" ~ so he was struggling to decide between his favorite chocolate covered peanuts, and the candy bars up at the checkouts.  "Which one is a better deal, which one do I want the most, which one is really going to scratch this itch?" etc. etc.

 

I moved on.  Bags of frozen vegetables:  check.   Best deals on fresh meat:  check.  Sardines for the dog:  check.  Now, let's head on up to produce........

I find this too… I went to the grocery store the other day and my neighbors asked me to pick up some pop (Coke Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper).  I felt really… awkward purchasing it.. spending money on something that is SO TOXIC.  (not to mention that both neighbors are extremely overweight men who eat a diet of crap… one of them just about died last year thanks to an explosion of his diverticulitis and now has no bellybutton and an ostomy bag… and still eats cheezies and dr. pepper for dinner… that makes me exceptionally sad )

 

As my Whole30 lifestyle has gone on over the last almost three years, I started taking synthetic chemicals out of my body care products as well… natural toothpaste, shampoo, makeup and skin care… I find going into a drugstore now actually uncomfortable because so much of what’s in there is so completely toxic, marketed as ‘good for your body’. 

 

Sometimes I feel so offended, like Xandra, about how much we are lied to and deceived around food and healthcare products.  And then it makes me feel even worse that people that don’t prioritize their own health education are duped by things like Centrum Multi-vitamins and anti aging lotions and healthy 100 calorie snack packs of oreos… People would rather listen to the marketing as experts rather than becoming an expert in their own health…

 

I may not be making a lot of sense… as does happen from time to time when something makes me really mad… 

[Doge1117]

I love Brewer's post about socially acceptable addictions . . . and "just have a little." Preach it.

 

Also, I get mad about deception too! On Saturday in TRADER JOE'S, in a bag called "Just Grilled Chicken," what ingredients should I see but cane sugar and yeast. Blech.

[NancyW]

I have a coworker who is diabetic, and eats granola bars all day long. She calls the Whole30 "just another crazy diet." And another one who is 10 minutes away from having her doctor prescribe insulin shots for her who drinks Diet Coke all day long and says, "Gee, I guess I should do something..." Maybe I can inspire others with my behavior, looking and feeling better at 58 than I did at 38. It's hard not to be over-zealous about it...

[Brewer5]

Nancy, there is not a single person in my real life whom I am actively trying to convince of anything right now. Oh, the stories I could tell... But alas, I am on my tiny phone and cannot write a book.

I will just say that I have learned to be open and available when folks ask questions... And I save my breath when they don't.

People WILL see your improved energy and mental clarity... Reduction of aches and pains... Generally rosy outlook on life. They will see that you feel good and that you are not counting days beyond your Whole 30, you are not crash dieting, you are just living your life and making your choices.

SHINE. That is how we change the world ~ one person at a time.

[NancyW]

"SHINE." I like it! 

[_mandacell]

I don't think I could fully express how grateful I am to find this thread!  You have all just confirmed that indeed, I am NOT alone!  I have often felt like a phony or like I was being over dramatic when feeling like I have a sugar 'addiction'.  Comparing sugar to nicotine or drugs didn't seem legitimate.  Reading all of your stories, realizations, and advice is showing me that I am not crazy.  

 

For most of my high school and college years, I was able to pretty easily moderate sweets and I never drank soda.  I could tell myself that I didn't need the candy bar because I knew I would feel awful and would merrily eat veggies instead.  I would even eat a bowl of broccoli as 'drunk food' in college after parties haha.  

 

Everything changed when I was pregnant with my first son in 2011.  The sugar devil took hold of me and I have struggled to free myself for the last 5 years.  I look back and cannot believed it happened, and at the volume of sweets I ate during my pregnancy.  Glazed donuts were my weakness and the cravings were soo intense. Even now, I envy women that can power through pregnancy cravings for unhealthy food.  (I did also start eating meat again during this pregnancy).  Since then I have struggled with sweet 'benders' and find myself all to often justifying my need for sugar and why I deserve it...trying to convince myself to get rid of the guilt.  Sure sounds like an addiction to me..

 

I am currently on day 5 of my third whole30.  I felt incredible, full of energy and bloat free after finishing the previous two.  But slowly, the sugar devil made his way back in.  I am here now, finally realizing that I MUST abstain.  I can no longer moderate, no matter what kind of lies I tell myself.  I've decided to go 60 days sugar free to start.  Reevaluate then and see what the next move is.  I feel I must start somewhere, while I most likely will continue sugar free, I need to keep my adult temper tantrums at bay.

 

Thank you all again!  I needed to hear (read?) all of your words, the harsh truths, the struggles.  I am feeling understood and encouraged.  Thank you!!     

[katieblue]

I think _mandacell has said everything that I wanted to say, as have many of you... but I have to say it again anyway. The more time I spend getting immersed with these forums, the more I feel like I'm not crazy, weird, or alone... at least not for my food issues.

 

I grew up in a household where we NEVER had any forms of sweets; my mom was a self-proclaimed health food nut. Maybe two to four times per year, my dad would make my sister and me a treat of waffles and ice cream or bring home crumb buns for Sunday breakfast if my mom wasn't going to be around. Then we had the holidays where we would go to a relative's house and they would have Christmas cookies or an Easter carrot cake or something. And every time that we had the chance, I got in the habit of stuffing my little face because it was AMAZING to me and I knew I would not have the chance to indulge again for a very long time. I never felt bad after I ate it because, well, I was a kid, and I wasn't aware of my body or how it reacted. Plus, I was an active little twig, so I just burned it up when I ran around.

 

Needless to say, this is not the case as an adult. When I moved in with my boyfriend, I started a lot of my own cooking, which also led to discovering baking. I hate cooking. Hate, hate, hate it. But I LOVE baking, especially cakes, because the artist in me has such a blast decorating them and coming up with creative combinations. The problem is, whenever I make them, I eat them. And I don't EVER just stop with one piece. I'm not talking about simple cake with a thin layer of frosting. I'm talking cakes with three or four layers, sometimes with a brownie or cheesecake layer thrown in, with decadent cream cheese or buttercream frosting and a TON of sugar. When I have it on the plate in front of me, before I even start eating, my heart starts racing and my skin gets hot. The feeling continues through gobbling it down, and through my second piece, until I'm so stuffed I'm in pain from so much food. It happens with ice cream and cookies, too. I can never just "have a little". When I have some, I need to have as much as I can stomach. And then I feel TERRIBLE afterward. I get grouchy and depressed and bloated and self-destructive. It's a terrible cycle. I did a 30-day sugar cleanse in May and I feel like the effects of sugar on me have gotten worse since I took it out completely for a month and then reintroduced it.

 

I'm on Day 6 right now, and I'm LOVING the way I'm feeling without sugar. I can eat so much food and still don't feel that awful, stuffed feeling. I had initially planned this Whole 30 so I could still have my carrot cake at Easter. But with each day that goes by, I question if I want to have it at all. Like many of you lovely ladies, I think I might be an abstainer. And I think that's totally okay.

 

Thank you all for your true words!! xo

[Xandra]

I have a lot of baking supplies, too. The Man isn't ready to give them up yet, because he was convinced he wants a special cake for his birthday or I should keep that bin of cookie cutters to use with the kids. Well, that batch of sugar cookie dough I made before Christmas is still sitting in the freezer, along with half of the Irish Christmas cake that I still love but can't find a reason why I need to eat it. At some point, I'll get it out and make some (hopefully stale) cookies. But I'm pretty much over a lot of baking. I recently gave away my KitchenAid mixer that was gathering dust to a happy baker who will use it.

My attention now has turned to making some of the more complicated (or I should say unfamiliar) W30 recipes. This has really opened a whole new world to me, and makes me just as excited as the baking did before. We eat out far less now, so I give myself freedom to try new cuts of meat, exotic vegetables, spice blends I never heard of, grilling, broasting and braising, perfecting bone broth, and making kombucha.

And I'm managing to keep sugar (and a lot of fruit) out of my life and off my plate. After decades of eating a diet full of sugar (my parents served white rice with white sugar sprinkled on top at the dinner table) I have a long way to go before I can feel fully adjusted, but I do feel like the battle is subsiding a bit, now that I'm 2 months sugar free and the benefits are so tangible.

[katieblue]

Good for you, Xandra! It's so awesome to hear from a fellow baker. We have a few slices of leftover red velvet cake from Valentine's Day sitting in the freezer, and my boyfriend is convinced they will be a "celebration" when we complete the Whole 30... but I'm thinking I'll just let him have them if he decides he really wants them. (He keeps telling me it's not "realistic" to keep eating like this after the 30 days are up... watch me keep us both going without him even knowing ). Best of luck to you in the future and congratulations on coming so far already!!

[Marjanill]

Aisle after aisle of just:  crap in a box.  I don't even look.

This just made me laugh. I think I will try to remember that next time I am in the store.