Happy New Year!

I gave up sugar for 2008!  I did it for a few months last year but it didn’t last too long...now I am ready and EXCITED to be done with sugar!  Life is SO much better when it is UNSWEETENED!

Good luck to you all...and happy new year!

I’m curious Amanda, in what way is life SO much better when it is UNSWEETENED?  Donna

Many ways, Donna...everyone is different, but for me I have found that I sleep much more soundly, I eat more healthfully, have more balanced energy, am less irritable, can concentrate and focus on things that need to be done, I am not obsessed with food, my weight stabilizes, I have more interest in exercise, I fit better into my clothes, I don’t get sick (at all), my stomach does not get upset, my digestion normalizes, my depression vanishes, the list goes on and on.  These are just the first few things I could think of!  Have you ever tried it?  What have you found?

Maybe I just haven’t hung in there long enough to reap some of those rewards.  Having obstained for a few weeks I expected to feel different, so when I didn’t, I ended up giving in to the cravings.  Once I almost made it a month, and I craved sweets the entire time.  I also expected more energy and to lose a few pounds, but that was not my experience and I never lost a pound.  I guess I wasn’t motivated to stay with it… So how long did it take before you noticed those differences Amanda?

hi donna - in the past when i’ve managed to give it up (once for 4 months) i’ve noticed more energy at the end of the day (i’m not exhausted at bedtime), less bloating (especially in the morning), skin that feels cleaner, and a complete loss of interest in sugar.  i could open up the freezer and NOT SEE the icecream that was there!  it’s a huge relief to not be addicted to sugar.  of course, once i have one of anything sweet, it’s just a matter of time before i’m complete addict again.  i’ve given it up for new years this year and so far i’m going strong.  my intention is to go the whole year… !

Ok Bettie, you’re on!  One year, I’ll give it one year.  I hate being addicted to anything.  Gonna take my power back <laughing> Donna

This is great! I, too, am going the whole year.  I really love how when I am “off” of sugar, that it doesn’t even cross my mind.  But when I am eating it that is all I can think of (true addict!).  These last few days have not been too tough because I am firm in my resolution, but the memory of sugar is still fresh, so I do think about it sometimes.  I have never gone an entire year (then again I have never tried), so I am sure knowing others are out there doing it too will help when times get tough.  Best of luck Donna and Bettie!

well, it’s been 4 days and so far, so good.  my office mates are the absolute worst saboteurs!  they’ll do anything to get me to eat sweets and have been mocking the fact that I’ve given it up for the YEAR (maybe i shouldn’t have told them!)!  i think we need to show them!!! if nothing else, being off the sugar is a exercise in will-power.  if we all manage to stick with it (which i have a great feeling about), we’ll be stronger and healthier in the long run!  stay strong, ladies! thanks for the support! : )

Bettie, keep up the good work.  “Doncha” just hate when your cohorts don’t support you?  I suspect they secretly envy you… it takes a lot of courage to get rid of the white stuff.  Afterall, you don’t see them doing it… Furthermore, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

I have to share this story with you guys. Yesterday I went to my favorite health food store.  I don’t shop there too often because the’re very pricey, but they have such a wonderful selection of organic produce and other fun stuff, including cosmetics. I always feel good when I go there. Anyway, a few doors down was this vacant store, which just opened during the holidays, guess what they opened?  “SEES CANDY”!  I could not believe it!  If you’re not familiar with Sees candy, they are fine, decadent chocolates.  This felt like a cruel joke.  There they sit on a shelf, about a half mile from where I live, just waiting to be devoured.  The ultimate teaser for someone off the sweet stuff. Day 5 GRRRRR......
Donna

donna, i feel your pain about the new candy store - that stinks!! here’s the only way that i can think to rationalize not being tempted: you know what their chocolate tastes like - in just the way you know the flavor of entenman’s cookies, donuts, godiva icecream, apple pie, hot chocolate, lemon squares, blueberry muffins… we KNOW what they all taste like because we’ve been eating them for years! maybe if you go into “been there, done that” mode, you can walk right past that store and think “i know what that’s like - it’s good, but i’m not going to eat it”.  that might also silence those chocolates calling to you in the night!

i quit sugar once for 9 months.  the only “good” that i could tell that came out of it was not feeling addicted.  i was suprised i lost no weight.  please write me at to respond.  thanks, karen

I tried before, and I tried after that. Third time’s a charm in 2008! Today will be my first sugar-free day, and I’m not telling a soul that I’m doing it. I find that when people know what I’m doing, that’s when they try harder to screw me up. Sure, there will be an occasion where someone will ask why I’m not having any dessert for the twentieth time, and then I will tell them. But I’ll stick to my guns! Today has been a rough day to start with. One of my coworkers brought in a birthday cake for somebody and I’ve been getting hounded about having some. No problem.

I’m not eating anything with artificial sweeteners in them either. They’re just as bad for you.

Are artificial sweeteners really just as bad for you as sugar? I mean I’ve always heard that, but never from anyone that I actually believed.
Is Splenda bad for you? How can it be?