My Personal Demon — Sugar

Sugar may be legal, but it’s still an addiction.

J.M. Troppello posed some excellent challenge questions in her 30 Writing Prompts for January. One of her prompts was:

30. Do you have any health goals for the new year?

I do have a health goal for the new year. Only one.

Basically, I’m content with where I am health wise — as far as my eating habits are concerned. Each year I try to eat a little bit healthier than the year before. But I’m pretty satisfied with where I’m at.

My eating healthier regime started around 20 years ago. On a routine office visit, my blood results showed high cholesterol (495), excessively high triglycerides (over 3,000) and my sugar was starting to run just high enough (130) that the doctor wanted to give me meds for that too.

“Let me see what I can do with changing my diet,” I replied.

“You’re going to die if you don’t start these medications,” was his response.

“Give me three months, to see what I can do. If I can’t change the results, we’ll do it your way,” I countered.

I didn’t get my numbers down in three months. It took me four months.

And 20-plus years later I still haven’t taken a single pill for any of those problems. I read a lot of books, made lots of dietary changes, and added exercise — mostly lots of walking and riding my bicycle. One of the books I discovered back then was 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, by Dr. Andrew Weil.

Although it takes a great deal for a medical doctor to earn my respect, mostly because of the way most of them seem to cater to Big Pharma and discount the place of nutritional and holistic methods, Dr. Weil is still my all-time favorite doctor. His books are in my “keeper” stack. And 8 Weeks to Optimum Health was a great resource in my get healthier goals.

I’m still not perfect. I still snack on far too many things I shouldn’t. I still eat more fast foods than I feel that I should. But I go easy on myself too, using the 80/20 rule. I figure that if I eat good 80% of the time, I won’t beat myself up for the 20% I’m not so good. Although I am trying to move that up to more of a 90/10 ratio.

I only have one main obstacle that I’m still fighting with.

I have an addiction.

A legal addiction. I won’t go to jail for it, or even get a ticket over my binging with my addiction.

It’s sugar.

I am addicted. I have a problem. I’ve tried for over 30 years to fight this addiction. Not that I’ve had the addiction for 30 years, I’ve been fighting it for over 30 years. The addiction has had a hold on me for a lot longer than that.

In Fat Chance: The Hidden Truth about Sugar, Obesity and Disease, Dr. Robert Lustig discusses the idea about foods and if they can be considered addictive or not.

There are seven criteria for substance dependence according to the APA Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the SM-IV-TR. The first two are considered physiologic, whereas criteria 3–7 are considered psychological dependence…To be considered addicted to any substance of abuse, one must meet at least three of the seven.

1. Tolerance

2. Withdrawal

3. Bingeing

4. Desire or attempts to cut down or quit

5. Craving or seeking

6. Interference with life

7. Use despite negative consequences.

I am definitely over the threshold of three.

In number 3, the desire or attempts to cut down or quit, I’m obviously not the only one. Out of curiosity, I did a Google search of ‘Books about cutting out sugar’. I counted more than 60 books before I got tired of scrolling down the page. It seems to be a popular topic. There must be a lot of us out there trying to curtail our addiction to sugar.

I kicked a habit before. It took me many years before I could quit my Diet Cokes. Of course, then I’d just switched to Vanilla Coke. But I justified that one Vanilla Coke a day was better than the 4–6 cans of Diet Coke I drank for many years.

It took me a long time and several attempts before I cut Diet Coke’s hold on me. Then, because of the sugar in the Vanilla Coke, I finally cut that one out too.

So this is my big health goal for the year:

I’m stopping sugar!

Dr. Lustig and his medical advice and what he has to say about sugar, in the book mentioned above and in Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine is going to help me kick this one.

My desk drawer that usually holds my secret stash is down to two little Reese’s peanut butter cup candies from Halloween. (Only because a half an hour ago I ate two after my lunch.)

And then that’s it!

No more!

I’m banishing sugar from my life.

After dinner tonight the other candies will be gone. The cookies are all gone. I haven’t had any ice cream for about two or three months now. By tomorrow the candy is all gone, and I’ll probably be prowling the house like a maniac.

You may not want to talk to me for a few days. It might be safer for all.

J.M. Tropello has her new prompts out for February. Go check them out and see if there are any that catch your eye.