Sugar, Sugar

I used to think I had a sweet tooth. I love sweets. Most especially cake. Lately, I’ve realized I have more of a salty tooth (is that a thing?) While I love sweets, I usually crave savory. For this reason, I didn’t think this sugar detox John and I have embarked upon would be that difficult. I was wrong.

Every night, without fail, we have some sort of dessert following dinner. It’s usually “healthy.” Meaning ice cream that I made with skim milk and lowered the sugar content. If it’s not healthy, it’s smaller. Meaning one or two of the girl scout cookies we just snapped up. But, there is dessert, nevertheless. This doesn’t seem detrimental but it’s a slippery slope.

A couple weeks ago, I was recanting a sugary binge we embarked upon to a friend and grew more and more ashamed with every Peep, jelly bean, cookie, frosted cookie and ice cream treat I listed. I couldn’t believe the amount of sugar I had consumed in 48 hours. Then, I went and did it again the next weekend. Cupcake, cake (twice), donuts, pastries. What is wrong with me!?

Couple that with the few weeks I wasn’t able to work out due to a health issue and we have a serious situation on our hands. Luckily, or unluckily, John is in the same boat. While he was still able to work out, he replaced all of those burned calories with just as much sugar consumption.

We decided to do something about it. SUGAR DETOX.

Two weeks. No added sugar. No regular foods with more than 10 grams of sugar already in them. It sounded simple enough for me. I don’t drink coffee anymore (3 months in!) and don’t sugar my tea. I don’t really eat sweets throughout the day whereas John’s office has candy, pastries, cookies, etc. around every corner. It seemed like I would just be giving up the nightly dessert. I could probably do that.

Let me tell you. This is tough! My effort has been easier than John’s who I think is having actual sugar withdrawal. Headaches, light-headedness and all. I guess that shows how much he was really eating.

It’s our hope that these two weeks will reset our brains when it comes to sugar. For John, no more snacking at work is the biggie. For me, there are plenty of nights where I am not even hungry for dessert but eat it anyway purely out of habit. I often don’t finish dinner until 8:00 pm. Because I go to bed at 10:00 pm, there is no need for me to continue eating in those remaining two hours of wake.

Fingers crossed that the weight I gained on our cruise in October, kept on through the holidays, and is still with me, will start to go away soon. I can now work out again but need to kick it into high gear. I suppose I’m only telling you all of this to keep myself accountable. Maybe I’ll inspire you to kick your sugar habit. Not a bad idea, right?

I’m sure you’ve seen the news stories and articles that sugar is so much worse for us than everyone thought and that we are all eating way more than is normal for humans. I don’t drink pop at all but was shocked to find my skim milk even has 11 grams. I’m still drinking that even though the threshold is supposed to be 10 g. It’s everywhere! You  know what has zero sugar? Pickles! I love pickles which I guess should prove my salty tooth theory.

Anyway….this has become quite rambly. I encourage you to see how much sugar you’re eating throughout the day. The answer might shock you into your own detox.