Are you a sugar addict? I am.
In 2005 I vowed to quit and began
writing about life without sweets.
This site contains a forum,
product reviews, my journal,
educational Sugar Challenges,
and the Stop Being Sweet ebook.

Tempted to Eat Sugar Monthly

May 10, 2010 • Comments (1)

Every first Thursday of the month Portland’s Pearl District plays host to art gallery openings and an art walk. I very much enjoy hitting the streets with Gwenn to check out what’s happening in the local art scene. What I also enjoy—sometimes more than the art—are the variety of foods that people put out to accompany the new collections. Some places put out a bowl of pretzels, others assemble very lavish spreads.

Man Making Plate on First Thursday

Man making plate at First Thursday, September 2008

This photo was taken at the grand opening of a local business. Not every gallery or business puts out so much food but there’s often plenty of sweet temptation. Luckily for me, there’s also plenty of veggies and unsweetened treats.

While walking around this past First Thursday, I got to thinking about my favorite bakery back in NJ and how I no longer have a caveat in my sustainable sugar abstinence program. Suddenly I got a great idea. I’ll allow myself to eat sweets every First Thursday and only when I’m on the art walk, and only when the sweets are put out for the public to eat. Genius! I told Gwenn.

“Somehow I think that First Thursday would take on a whole new meaning for you if you did that,” was all she replied.

Gwenn was absolutely correct. I had already mapped out and mentally marked all of the places that usually put out cookies. Some locations regularly feature a variety of sweets and I was imagining taking two handfuls and stuffing my pockets. If I allowed myself to eat sweets once-a-month during the art walk it would no longer be about the art.

It’s pretty amazing. I’ll be unsweet for five years this year, only eating whatever I want during my “annual sugar binge”, and still I’m trying to figure out a way to allow myself to go back to sweets. It’s possible and probable that the desire will never go away.

Posted in My Personal Journal on 05/10/10 • Comment

Want to Quit Sugar?

May 09, 2010 • Comments (3)

No Cookies

If you really want to get off sugar you could start today. You could start right now!

Here’s my dare: stop eating sugary foods from right now until this time three days from now.

3 days. That’s it. That’s how you can start to stop being sweet. No last minute quick bites, just commit to it and start now.

Go for it!

Posted in Tips, Tricks, Info & News on 05/09/10 • Comment

How Long to Get Off Sugar?

May 07, 2010 • Comments (2)

A Week is Not Long Enough.

You can avoid sugar for a week. It’s just one week! The first week will probably be the hardest because your body will crave sugar and you will want to give in to temptation. If you’ve only avoided sweets for three days then you’re not losing much by eating candy and breaking your new good food habit. One week is not long enough. Sad thing is most people only go one week and they eat sugar again. Then they go for a week without. That is one bad roller-coaster ride.

Two Weeks Are Not Long Enough.

You can avoid sugar for two weeks. It’s just two weeks! The first week is really hard but the second week gets a little easier. With one week under your belt it’s silly to break your winning streak by eating a cookie. Keep it up, you’re almost there.

One Month is Not Long Enough.

You can avoid sugar for one month. It’s just four weeks! The first week is really hard but the following weeks always get easier. If you can manage to go a whole month, you can most certainly control your own behavior. You now know that what you eat is your choice. Will you choose to go all the way back to the start or keep going?

Six Weeks is Not Long Enough.

You can avoid sugar for six weeks! This will be especially easy after you avoided sugar for a month. If you fall off the wagon anywhere along the way, remember that you can always beat your last record, even if it’s just by a day.

Three Months is Not Long Enough.

If you can handle one month, you can go for three months. Keep in mind that after three months you will think that you’ve healed yourself of your sugar addiction. This is a dangerous place. Three months of sugar abstinence does not mean you’ve got this whole sugar thing beat. You’re just getting started…

One Year is How Long It Takes.

You can go an entire year without sugar. Really, you can! It’s actually pretty easy (physically) after you get past the first week. By the time you get 12 months into it you’ll have developed new eating habits and you’ll think everyone around you eats too much junk food. But surprising will be your overwhelming desire to go ahead and just have a little bit of that sweet something-something. You’ll be sure that you can manage sugar moderation after a whole year. You will also think that sugar isn’t so bad. You’ll have romantic notions about sugar and you’ll want to go back to it. Don’t give in. You have become an unsweet person and your transformational journey into a healthy new you has just begun. Good luck!

Posted in Frequently Asked Questions on 05/07/10 • Comment

Lakeview Bakery in Parsippany, NJ

May 04, 2010 • Comments (0)

When I was a kid, my mother would take my brother and I to Lakeview Bakery in Parsippany, NJ. As I’ve mentioned before, I used to go there quite often when I lived in town. My favorite thing as a kid was the frog cupcakes and later in life I gravitated toward the cookies. They had yellow icing cookies with a chocolate icing smile face, chocolate chip, chocolate drop, and sprinkled sugar cookies. After I moved away, whenever I’d go to Parsippany, I’d try to make a point to stop by the bakery and eat about six or eight of my favorite delectable treats. Doing so brought me back to my young years and awakened the child in me. But that will never happen again.

When I got a letter from a friend in Parsippany mentioning that the place had closed, I can’t tell you how disappointed I was and still am. For some reason the bakery seemed like it would always be there and would be something to which I could always return. In fact, eating cookies at the Lakeview Bakery was the only caveat in my sustainable sugar abstinence program. It’s rare that I’m back in NJ and so it wouldn’t have mattered what time of year it was. I would have eaten those cookies guilt free but now I’ll never be able to go there again.

There was a nice lady who worked in the front office of my elementary school. She later worked at the Bakery. To be honest I’m not sure of her age and it’s quite possible she’s not with us anymore. She was always nice when I’d go in and she’d remember me each time. In fact, Lakeview Bakery was kind of like my version of the neighborhood bar. It was my own private “Cheers” (television show) where the former-elementary-school-secretary-turned-sweet-bakery-bartender knew my name. Now I’m lost. No bakery. No childhood. What to do?

My mother says, “Don’t worry, eat cookies.” Maybe she’s right. One day we’ll look back to today and all of the things we are taking for granted around us will have transformed completely. Some places won’t be here. Some people won’t be with us. And, most of all, we’ll never be the same. Still, I’m staying off the sugar!

(As of May 5, 2010 the Google map below still showed the Lakeview Bakery.)

View Larger Map

Posted in My Personal Journal on 05/04/10 • Comment

Sugar Challenge: May 2010

April 30, 2010 • Comments (1)

This month, keep a food log. It’s not as hard as you think. Simply make a file on your computer or keep a small notebook with you and write down everything you eat. EVERYTHING! (Okay, that’s the tricky part.)

Really commit to this. Here’s why: You will notice things you had no idea were going on.

When you have to write down what you eat it makes you more conscious of when and what you’re eating. The goal isn’t to stop yourself from eating, nor is it even to prevent you from eating certain foods. If you’re abstaining from sugar keep doing so. If not, you can start now or start next month after you see how much sugar you’re eating.

In about a week you’ll be able to see trends. The more information you include in your food log the more you’ll be able to notice.

Here’s an example from my food log:

Tuesday, April 20, 2010
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Salad, lettuce with 1 carrot
- 1 Pink Lady apple with peanut butter

That was it for that day (I wasn’t feeling well). Since then I’ve begun to log the time that I ate, how I felt and how I slept.

By doing this you’ll get an accurate picture of what you’re made of and who you’re being. At the end of the month you’ll end up with a report card of sorts. It will tell you at least what you ate and at best how the food you ate effected you. Start now and try it for a month. This is so easy to do yet it’s also easy to fall out of the habit of writing it all down. Just like avoiding sugar, if you miss a day just keep going from where you are.

Good luck and Stop Being Sweet!

Posted in Sugar Challenge on 04/30/10 • Comment