Yes, you read that right. And I'm not going to tell you that you should too. This is a personal choice. I only share this here because I want to be able to talk about it. If I fail, if I cheat, if I notice changes for the better or for the worse. I want a place to talk about it too, since I haven't told many people I know because I know what they'll think.
People will think I'm nuts. Sugar is in everything - well, everything processed. Which is what's so damn hard. It means I should eat only, and a lot of, vegetables and fruit. Which are more time consuming to prepare, and have a shorter self life than say, little Debbie Snacks. And damn, juice tastes way better than plain boring water. (okay, I never drank juice. still, I used to drink a lot a lot of iced tea which was high in sugar)
But I'm going to try. Slowly. I'm pairing down my sugar, bit by bit. And it has been a bit difficult thus far. Living at home, eating the meals my mother cooks...it means I have less control over what is going into my food. Not that I'm ungrateful my mom is kind enough to cook for my lazy buttocks (and her cooking is delicious!). If it were really a problem I'm sure I could ask her if I could make my own meals, but I'm fairly certain she'd feel, mm, just a tad insulted. So I don't and I won't. I'll just control as much as I can of everything else I eat. Will I never eat sweets again? No, probably not. It's my life, and if I want a slice of cake every once in a while, I will indulge. Life is not about total deprivation, for sure.
So that's the short of it. I'm quitting sugar. Stop reading here if you feel like I'm preaching, because I do not mean to, but I am going to go into why I'm quitting, for those interested.
Here's a rather lengthy video (at the bottom) about the science side of it, given by Dr. Robert H. Lustig, MD, a UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology. It's called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” and is very interesting if you have, say, a spare hour and a half.
If not, I certainly won't blame you. Here are some highlights:
- Americans consume 141lbs of sugar a year
- Just eating vegetables and fruits you would consume about 15g of sugar a day
- Prior to WWII we consumed 16-24g of sugar a day
- As of 1994 we consume 56.7g a day
- Today, adolescents consume 72.8g sugar a day.
- By cutting back on fat means a loss in flavor so products are pumped with High Fructose Corn Syrup (which functions exactly the same as sugar [fructose]) because it is extremely cheap
- Fructose, he bad sugar, doesn't stimulate leptin, which is what normally signals the brain when you're full. Which means we eat more of it before we feel satisfied, and that ghrelin, the hunger hormone isn't activated. Your brain essentially thinks it is starving.
- Fructose acts in your body the same way as ethanol (alcohol) but doesn't metabolize in the brain, so you don't feel the same effects as alcohol despite it being the same
- Therefore sugar is a toxin
If anyone is interested, or is at least curious but not ready to commit to an hour long video, here's another great resource for quitting sugar, a blog series by Sarah Wilson (where I first heard about quitting sugar), and another (much shorter!) news video out of Australia.
Surprisingly, I actually agree with you a little. I've been trying to eat less sugar since I got home from India - sometimes I'm successful, sometimes I'm not, but I definitely don't like the way I feel after I house a bag of jelly beans (that only happened once and it was a Tuesday. {Tuesdays are when I have work all day and then class til 9.30 and lots of angry commuting} 'nuff said).
ReplyDeleteI could never quit sugar altogether, but I feel as though, for me at least, it's appropriate to at least be mindful of what I'm putting into my body as it's already caused me to make healthier food choices.
That being said, who AM I?
That IS surprising! I mean, I know both you and Allie enjoy your sugar (and let's face it, so do I - a little TOO much - which is part of why I'm quitting it), so I figured you both would thing I was a tad touched to be attempting such a thing.
ReplyDeleteBut I am. I am going to try eating "closer to the source" and cutting out all that is processed, as much as is situationally possible at this time.
You're days are numbered HFCS and Sugar! You sweet poison, you!
You housed a bag of jellybeans WQ?! OH my goodness. I feel like sugar is one of your main ingredients.
ReplyDeleteBut Sarah, no actually, I don't have that much sugar. I'll have a teeny bit with my coffee and maybe a dessert with it later. There's a lot of nights I don't eat any dessert because I've figured it's better. Though I did just make some brownies last week and then those Breton cakes but that's unusual. I mean, usually my snacks are fruits and nuts, sometimes some crackers and cheese. The crackers prob have some sugar but I don't eat too many of those, it's more about making the cheese part fun so I get calcium. And I don't eat them that often. I definitely don't do a lot of processed foods either. When I'd bring my food to work, I always had people telling me " wow you eat healthy!" and I'd be like, "really? I just have some meat, some rice and a veggie but ok. I guess I do?" But man, you got guts to seriously cut it out- kuddos to you!
Oh, I didn't mean to insinuate you ate a lot of sugar - but I do know you enjoy baking, which often includes it, so that was where my thinking was!
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, I need to veggie and fruit myself up! With plenty of nuts and some cheese. I'm actually contemplating buying a book that helps explain a vegetarian diet, just to learn more about veggies and what provide what health benefits so I keep my veggie's all well rounded haha.
We'll see how this goes!!