My Annual Sugar Binge: More Sour Than Sweet

October 31, 2008 ↓ Comments (0)

For those of you who don’t know, I stopped being sweet three years ago and only allow myself to eat sugary junk food four days out of the year. As today is Halloween, I am in the first of those four days. So far I’ve eaten Kit Kat, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Almond Joy, Hershey’s Chocolate, brownies, and some chocolate covered pretzels. I also had a bite-sized Nestle Crunch, a Milky Way, and I might have ice cream tomorrow. Although I purchased most of this junk several weeks ago in anticipation my annual sugar eating ritual, I can’t follow through and finish any of it.

Gwenn took the candy bars with her (at my request) as she left to go out today. She took the brownies and gave them away as well. All that I have left are chocolate covered pretzels and they’re a little too rich for me to handle. Whole foods sells a grain sweetened chocolate covered pretzels that taste much better, in my opinion, but every time I eat them I get anxious and my shoulders tighten up. Not fun. I’m feeling tired and I can’t concentrate on anything. When I was eating this junk all I could imagine was how I’m going to feel when next week rolls around and I have to ride my bike across town to teach classes. Yuck. It sounds like torture. Yet this is how so many people live on a daily basis—loaded up on sugary snacks and dragging their corn syrup-filled bodies around like sweet slugs.

One thing I wanted to eat last year and missed (I ate some but it wasn’t so good) is well-made chocolate mousse. Tonight Gwenn and I went out to Sweet Masterpiece Chocolate & Coffee Bar here in the Pearl District. I’ve been in there once before to sample some hand made sugar free chocolate (it was good but it cost like $7 an ounce or something crazy like that). Tonight we went specifically for the mousse.

Gwenn ordered a flourless chocolate thing with ice cream. The chocolate was warm and the ice cream was cold. I tried it and it was tasty. The mousse I had was also of a fine quality but it was so rich that I got enough chocolate to last me for the rest of the year.

Before and After Eating Sweets

Funny thing, I didn’t feel good after eating the stuff. It’s not unlike it was the first time I made it a year without sugar. I remember having enjoyed eating sweets back then, but reading my journal shows otherwise. After three years of being unsweet I don’t have the desire to go back to sugary food. It’s as if I’ve “grown up” and let junk food become a thing of my past.

Sugar, I’m letting you go. The further away I get from the sweet life the less I want to go back.