Good: To make new years resolution to cut out sugar.
Bad: To break said resolution 45 seconds later.
I suppose that was an unrealistic resolution. Sugar is approximately 76% of my daily intake. Alright, maybe not that much, but it feels like it, especially after the holidays. It's so much easier to change from doing something "rarely" to doing something "never." Sugar is my "almost always" and to go from "almost always" to "never" in one fell swoop is basically impossible. My no pork resolution, on the other hand, has gone easily from a rare to never occurrence. I haven't eaten pork or any variation of pig since the beginning of the year. It's been fairly easy since- A) I eat pork rarely and B) pork really isn't my cup o' tea anyway, so it wasn't hard to say no. In response to the offering of two slices of ham, I simply gave a smile, polite shake of the head, wave of the hand, and a gentle "No thanks." Piece of cake.
But then I see a piece of cake, or fruit snacks (my current weakness), or some small ball of chocolatey Christmas goodness. I stand frozen, my extremities numb, my tongue dry, my eyes glazed over, gazing at the treat. There isn't even that split second of self control, that brief, "Eh, maybe I shouldn't..." before I've consumed it in it's entirety.
I'm determined to give up sugar eventually, although I've heard horror stories about sugar substitutes and their effect on the digestive system (in particular, bowel control). On the other hand, I've known people who have gone off sugar and lost so much weight and are in the best shape of their lives.
I think I shall take the advice of the screwy shrink in What About Bob and take baby steps. Baby steps are key. To cut off something cold turkey that is unfortunately a huge part of my diet is ridiculous. But if I introduce it to small, easy-to-handle changes, things might go more smoothly. Instead of "No sugar," I could try "One sugar thing a day," (sad, I know) and when I have that down pat, "One sugar thing a week," and so on.
And so, my variations:
By February 1st: One sugar thing a week.
By 2009: No sugar things.
By 2010: No beef? We'll see.
3 comments:
I learned once in a nutrition class that to have a strong sweet tooth craving is actually genetic. Seems about right. People who don't crave sweets but instead crave fats have just a learned bad habit, but do not have a genetic problem. So I think our entire family shares that one genetic trait. We are addicted to sugar. I know COMPLETELY how it feels to be tempted by the chocolate beast. And the chocolate always wins! Always!! Ah!
Read the Abs Diet for Women.
Lol. Baby steps is right kiddo. Nice play on words in there though. "Piece of Cake!"
Then, you go on to talk about cake. :D
Cute.
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