Breaking Up With Sugar

Sweet tea. Muffins. Pop tarts. Waffles. Milkshakes. Cookies. Doughnuts. Brownies. Honey buns. French toast. M&Ms. Pancakes. Cheesecake. These are just a few of the sweet, sugary things that I find myself craving on a constant basis, and I need to come to terms with it. I don't think that any of these things are bad in moderation. A piece of Dove chocolate or two here and there. A warm cookie with a glass of milk. These are simple indulgences that most of us allow ourselves, but when you've got a pit in your stomach because your pancreas is running marathons in a mad dash to process your latest sugar binge, there's a problem. And unfortunately, I'm one of the ones with a problem, as I am completely unable to settle for one dessert portion, usually opting for two or three instead. I then compensate by pounding the pavement for a 3 to 4 mile run or an hour trip to the gym. I won't be able to keep this up forever. I'd like to evolve to a point where I exercise purely for heart and mental health, and not the purpose of counteracting a day's worth of bad eating.

Most who know me know that I talk a lot about how much I love food. And who doesn't? Like clothes and jewelry, food is comforting and therapeutic, but unlike those things, food is inexpensive. If I'm having a boring or rough day at work, a two-pack of Pop Tarts is just 65 cents. Krispy Kreme doughnuts are $5 a dozen. Waffles at Waffle House are warm, fluffy and are only $2.65 a pop. Sugary foods are readily available at budget-friendly prices everywhere you go, but with obesity on the rise and the future of American healthcare looking shakier by the day, there's no better time for me to take better care of myself.

So that's why I'm challenging myself to a 30 day sugar fast. This means that I will do my absolute best to stay away from artificially sweetened foods. Will this be easy? No. Will I cheat? More likely than not, but I've got to try. Last year I wrote about a night out in Paris where I ate three desserts within the space of two hours. Sure, it's fun to splurge and eat without abandon, but when you can't focus on your work because you're thinking about your next sugar fix, there's a serious problem.

Recently, NPR wrote an article likening the danger of sugar to cholesterol and salt. I'm quite sure it's as addictive as cocaine or heroin as well. I'm by no means a totally healthy eater, but I'm always up for a challenge. Because I'm well aware of how hard this is going to be, I'm going to force myself to publish what I eat every single day. Sure, I could be lying, but I'd only be hurting myself by being dishonest about what I'm eating. This also means that I may have to re-examine my belief of trips to Smoothie King to be harmless, especially with the various powders they toss into the blender to make the final product - you guessed it - sweet. I've been going there 2x a week for the past several months, so cutting that out might be good for my wallet as well as my health.

*Deep breath* Let's see how this works out.