Staring Sugar in the Face

This morning, my first day not eating sugar, the first thing I saw was this:

Seems like all the foods in the house are laced with sugar. Suddenly there was extra Halloween candy by the front door that wasn’t there yesterday. Cereal is sweetened.

Peanut butter (natural & unsweetened!) and toast…

Quit Day Is Here!

Thank goodness today is my quit day. Below is a photo of the candy that I ate on November 1st, one day after Halloween. Don’t ask how I got it!

Yesterday I didn’t eat that much sugar comparitively, but it was still quite a bit. Today I’m feeling it and woke up tired. I slept all afternoon from noon until about 3:30 PM. Soon I’ll go out and eat the last sweets for a long time.

Jason and Summer gave me a birhday cake. I had three slices and then left to meet Gwenn downtown for First Thursday. While waiting for the bus, I purchased sweet potato fries and a cheeseburger from Burgerville. Fast food will have to go since it’s laced with sugar…

At First Thursday (a monthly event in Portland where artists open their galleries to the public) I ate a handfull of M&Ms. After First Thursday, and back at Gwenn’s house, I ate another chocolate birthday cake and Tillimook ice cream. That was the last sugary sweet for 2005 and 2006. Here’s a photo:

Gwenn made fun of me saying, “You’ve blamed every bad thing in your life on sugar in the past few weeks. What are you going to blame now that you have quit?”

Super Sugar Binge!

Got this email today:

We have stopped eating sugar as of November 1. Jen had gone 2 years with no sugar in the past, but began again about 3 years ago. We both are healthier and happier when we fill our bodies with healthy foods. We are not even eating honey or maple syrup. It is nice to be on a journey of health together.

Jen and David

Jen went two years without sugar! Wow. That’s impressive. I’ve added their names to the join me! page. Meanwhile I’m eating chocolate tonight. Tomorrow is my quit date. I will eat 2 sweets tomorrow: birthday cake and ice cream. Then I’m done. Then I’m ON!

Addendum

Okay, I wasn’t writing everything. Today I didn’t eat much of anything until about 4 PM when I started craving Peanut M&Ms. This is embarrassing but I’m gonna write about it because that’s what this blog is about.

Just now I went to the store and got a bag of Peanut M&Ms and a small bag of Chocolate Chip Cookies. It seemed like a good idea at the time. On the walk home I cracked open the M&Ms and was eating them from my pocket as I passed a man who smiled a wry smile. Now, I’m in Portland and people smile at each other on the streets, but I was sure he was laughing at me because I’d just purchased sugar.

My muscles today are tight and stiff. I don’t feel like dealing with anyone and I’m overall gloomy and somewhat sad. My feeling is that everything is temporary and we’re all ultimately doomed.

I’m happy that not everyone who knows me reads this blog. Most people have no idea I’m doing this. I’m writing for the people who search for sugar addiction. I’m writing for the people who, like me, obsess on things and sugar is one of the things they obsess about.

What gives me comfort today is knowing that soon my obsession with sugar will have to change and I won’t allow myself to channel energy into something so negative. Instead of obsessing about sugar, I’ll obsess about eating healthy.

No matter what, my thoughts are going to focus on something! Why not have it be something that helps me rather than hiders me.

Here’s what to ask yourself when you are about to bite into something sweet:

Am I building myself up or breaking myself down?

Then do the right thing.

One step at a time.

Two Days Left

Two days left until I stop eating sweets. After eating a ton of Halloween candy, the main things I feel is overall muscle tension and extreme moodiness.

Halloween 2005

Woke up today feeling depressed, slow, lethargic, and in pain. My shoulder was hurting (still is) in the joint and my get-up-and-go stayed asleep in bed. This weekend I ate sugar freely, if not irresponsibly, and tonight will eat more sweets. Only a few more days until cold turkey quitting time.

Did I mention that I’m really fidgety? When I’m sitting my leg is tapping a mile a minute. I also noticed that I’m pressing my front teeth together in anxiousness. Maybe it’s because tonight is Halloween and that spells CANDY!

Almost There

Been eating sugar freely and am feeling somewhat hopeless and depressed. As long as I don’t push too hard things seem to be okay but my walk today took all of my energy. Halloween parties this weekend will have me full of sugar!

Sugar Stories Workshop

Thanks to Whitney, Amy, and Aaron for attending the Sugar Stories workshop held this evening at Whole Foods. In the workshop we shared stories about our sugar consumption and (hopefully) discovered some new ideas and common themes about our behavior. I’m excited to learn more about other people’s sugar addiction and am working on making this blog interactive so that anyone can add comments.

After the workshop I nearly purchased something sweet (chocolate covered pretzels, chocolcate chip cookies) but managed to avoid doing so. Only a few more days…

Symptoms

The symptoms of sugar abuse are here. Last night, after eating ice cream and candy, my head was spinning. I dreamt all night long. My sleep was light and I had to pee a lot. In the middle of the night I got up to pee and it came out slowly. This morning my jaw was tight as I brushed my teeth and my gag reflex was especially sensitive when I brushed my tongue. All of this is unusual for me but common if I eat lots of sweets. What’s more is that my overall mood is lethargic and lacking motivation. If I didnt have plans for today, sitting around would seem like appropriate activity. In 11 days I’ll be off sugar completely and we’ll see the changes.