We’re going to jump right in with sugar and the power it holds over us. I used to never think that it was something that I was addicted to it, but it was to the point that I would pick something sweet over something healthy, even the things that I love like bananas. I loved soda and although I knew that it wasn’t very healthy for me, I would reach for it before I would water. I also loved sweet tea… sugar substitutes just weren’t the same. I liked it sweet with 2&1/4 cups of sugar per a gallon of tea. I know, I know, not good at all.
Last summer I started out with good intentions to lose weight and get healthy but I couldn’t give up the sugar… go without soda- not on your life! But then around Thanksgiving something clicked. I knew that I had to get healthy- I was almost 31 and still eating like I hadn’t a care in the world, which we all know isn’t true. Once you hit 30, if you don’t take care of yourself, it catches up with you a lot faster than it does when you are 20.
I made a vow that on Dec. 1st that I would put the soda down and stop with all the sugary foods. And I did it. I have only drunk soda on two occasions, when I had stomach bugs that my kids brought home from school. I do still have a sweet every day, but it is usually something that is low cal and doesn’t have added sugars.
I was surprised though to learn that you can be addicted to sugar just like you can with alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. Refined sugar is in a lot of the foods that we eat including some bread, snack cakes, doughnuts, mayonnaise, ice cream, crackers, canned soups and plenty of other foods. Sodas and fruit juice drinks (not 100% juice) also contain a lot of sugar per a serving.
The health problems are various and can include depression, diabetes, obesity and sleep disturbances.It can aggravate fibromyalgia and autoimmune diseases and if you have an immunodeficiency disease such as HIV/AIDS you should avoid it all together.
There is good news… you can beat your addiction to sugar. The first thing you have to do is realize that you have an addiction. Then you have to decide how you want to go about giving it up- do you want to cut it out suddenly and completely or do you want to let it go gradually? I found that making sure that I ate a filling breakfast actually helped with my cravings. Make sure that you get complex carbs (such as fruits, veggies and 100% Whole Wheat or Whole Grain breads), plenty of protein and healthy fat. You can even sneak in a piece of dark chocolate to calm that craving. The most important thing is that you get this addiction under control before it cause adverse health effects. If it already is causing them, you can stop them in their tracks by taking control of your food.
I know that you can do this- I have faith in you!
I have tried several times to stop drinking pop. I stopped for a couple months but have started again. One thing I have stopped doing was buying a lot of potato chips. I used to sit down and eat whole bags of potato chips. I have still stuck to that, but the pop thing will be the death of me. Even after I read this, which I wanted to share with you:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nutritionresearchcenter.org/healthnews/what-happens-to-your-body-if-you-drink-a-coke-right-now/
I came across it researching for a school paper. Even after reading that, I have still continued to drink pop. Maybe following your blog will help me :)
Thank you very much for that! I am going to probably post a link in one of my soon-to-blogs. I am very confident that with the right will power and support system that you can overcome your soda addiction. I am always here to give you that support and help you in anyway possible!
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