Sugar Free Diaries – Month 2

Another month gone! This month was scary in more ways than one. Not only was it October – the month of candy, but I also had my first slip up. Before I discuss my slip up and some shocking facts about sugar, I wanted to let you know that there is a FREE sugar free shopping list at the bottom of the page!

When I got back from my trip to Annapolis, T and I were planning on going to dinner and seeing a movie. Before my year of no sugar, T and I would always get candy from Publix and sneak it into the movie (I know it’s dishonest…but those movie theatre snacks are just too expensive). The past few times we went to the movies we just skipped Publix and I was fine. Well this time, we happened to be eligible for a FREE candy with our movie theatre rewards card. T wanted popcorn and didn’t want any candy. I MEAN WHO REFUSES FREE CANDY?! I told myself this would be my treat for the month and ordered some Twizzlers.

Two hours later I ate 90% of the bag and T maybe had 2 Twizzlers. Looking back, I think I gave him a death glare any time he tried to stick his hand into the bag. When we got home, I felt sick to my stomach and had a splitting headache. When I woke up the next morning, I felt nauseous and had an awful taste in my mouth (similar to how I feel after one too many chardonnays).

I told myself I wouldn’t make that mistake again and would stick to my treats sweetened with honey or maple syrup. The night after my Twizzlers episode, I had INTENSE sugar cravings. It was as if my month prior hadn’t even happened and I was right back where I started. It was frustrating, but there were a couple things I learned and was reminded of from this experience.

1. Sugar is addictive and it only takes one bag of Twizzlers for my intense cravings to return.
2. Sugar is so not worth it.

 Here are some not so fun facts about sugar:

1. According to the USDA, Americans consume on avg 156 lbs of sugar a year. Imagine 31 5 lb bags.
2. Sugar goes by many names on food labels, including corn syrup, dextrose, fruit juice, glucose, maltodextrin, maltose and molasses. Read your ingredients!
3. Eating too much sugar raises your risk for gaining weight and the health problems that are associated with being overweight.
4. You are more likely to suffer diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and many other health conditions when you indulge your sweet tooth too often.
5. Sugar is the core ingredient used by the food industry to make bad ingredients (processed flour and chemicals) taste good.
6. According to brain scans, sugar is as addictive as cocaine.  Dr. Mehmet Oz recently wrote “When you eat sugar, it stimulates the release of dopamine in your brain, which makes you feel pleasure…It may startle you to learn that heroin, morphine and sugar all stimulate the same receptors in your brain”.

Now, time for some good news! I’ve had a few people write to me asking to create a list of items I’ve found that are sugar free. Just enter your email into the “subscribe” box on the top right side of the page (under my picture)  and I’ll send you the list! If you’re already subscribed (thank you!), I’ll send you the shopping list as well