Sugar-holics Anonymous

I am on Day 5 of no added sugar and please allow me to emphasize that this is no easy feat. Not eating added sugar means I can eat things like fruit, prunes, raisins, yams, some juices and the like because they contain natural sugars. The items that have been eliminated are ice cream, cookies, cakes, chocolates, and all of the other stuff you dream of. I will have to say that I'm not a sugar-purist. A lot of things contain "sugar" or high-fructose corn syrup and I have not stopped consuming ketchup, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, or jam, although I don't over-indulge in these items either.

An excellent question would be, why am I such a masochist and doing this thing to myself? First, I have noticed that my metabolism started slowing down my Freshmen year in college (coinciding with also an excess amount of dorm food), but that since then I have (a) been in denial about it, and (b) have had difficulties in keeping off the excess poundage. I also recognize that some might think that I'm somewhat vain because I am already small-boned and quite petite and fit into a size 6 for most brands, but the point is, I'm greedy and I want to lose more weight.

Second, and a minor point, is that avoiding foods with added sugar also helps stabilize your mood and energy level. I've noticed less of a sugar dive an hour or two after lunch. This is definitely a nice "plus" to the fact that you are depriving yourself of all things yummy, but like I said, I am doing this to lose weight primarily.

One thing I discovered about myself (and my body) is that sugar sticks to me like glue. This reminds me of a quip I heard on NPR many moons ago about Vienna's famous Sacher Torte - "a moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips." So when I stop eating sugar, I notice a difference in the way my pants fit immediately (although to be honest I have not really tried cutting other foods like meat, dairy, flour, or fried foods).

Unfortunately, though, I think your body needs sugar and when you deprive your body of one thing (i.e. sugar), it automatically tells you that you want some of the other stuff like salty chips or greasy fries. So here I am, eating potato chips at 9am in the morning - ah, the cornerstone of every nutritious breakfast.