sugar rehab

i'm not really quite sure what precipitated my decision to give up sugar for a week. well, i do know what catalyzed it. it was an article i read on-line, basically saying how bad sugar (in particular high fructose corn syrup) is and how it's in everything. but i read tons of those articles. what i don't know is why this one read on this day made me take action. whatever the reason, one of the last items in the article states:

Enter sugar rehab. Like any addict, you need to detox before you can fully recover. According to DesMaisons, it takes five days to fully overcome your cravings for sugar, and you'll feel awful for three of them.

i saw this as a challenge: go 5 days without sugar. simple as that. and i think the simplicity of it was what made it doable. it was concrete, tangible, quantifiable. it wasn't as vague as most diet dictions: "eat more fruits & vegetables". "eat less fat." "eat healthy". and it wasn't telling me to restrict an entire food group (fat or carbs). nor was it telling me to not eat, or eat less, or count calories (i drive myself CRAZY counting calories). this was focused on being healthy, not on losing weight. (although the article does allude to weight-loss, this particular "rule" in and of itself doesn't.)

in reality, i don't eat that much sugar. but once (or twice) a day, i eat something that would send a diabetic into a coma -- a muffin, a cookie, some ice cream (and a large quantity, too). and it's usually in the afternoon and the late evening.

i made myself some allowances. i wouldn't restrict anything else -- fat, carbs, caffeine, alcohol -- as long as there was no sugar in it. and i wouldn't restrict eating -- if i wanted a snack, i'd eat something. i had cheese or natural PB and whole-wheat crackers pretty much every day this week. if i felt anxious or snacky at night, i'd have (low-fat, but sugar-free!) popcorn, or soy-crip thingys. or a beer.

i should clarify what exactly i mean by "sugar": refined white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and anything with over 10g of sugar of other sources that wasn't fruit. (i never really picked a number...but anything in the double-digits usually scared me off.) i limited juice to 100% fruit juices and 6oz a day or less (i think i only had OJ once, and 4oz of it.)

i started on monday. i had my first "severe" craving wednesday afternoon, when i was feeling anxious in lab. i realized it had been over 4 hours since i'd eaten, so i went and had a snack. i felt better. i resisted a celebratory cake for my friend dean's defense wednesday night; i had another strong craving thursday evening, but allowed myself some soy crisps; today, day 5, was fairly easy.

i should say that i had one "slip" -- i had a cosmo wed night (in honor of dean's defense!), not realizing that it has sugar in it. i really thought it didn't. eff. so, maybe i haven't really been "sugar-free" for 5 days. but i've been pretty damn close...

i should also say that i've had a beer (or more) every night this week. i checked -- beer has no sugar and even has a low glycemic index. (hooray, beer!) it helps me relax, somehow satisfied my cravings (maybe i'm just thirsty?), and makes me feel not as deprived.

things i was surprised to find had any/a lot of sugar:

• Clif bars. granted, it is from "organic brown rice syrup", but it's the first ingredient!
• Low-fat salad dressing. The article did say that a lot of low-fat products replace the fat with sugar, but I guess I didn't believe it until i saw it for myself.
• Whole wheat bread. i still ate it, but there were 3g of sugar per slice. from brown rice sugar, so not as bad, but still -- why does sugar need to be in bread?!
• GoLean Crunch. OK, i new it was sweet, and i new it wasn't from refined sugar, but i didn't realize just how much sugar it has: 13g per cup! not a great way to start the day.
  

the article also says, "Prepare to be edgy and irritable starting on day two; by day five, you'll feel like a whole new person." today is day 5. and, not to sound cheesy, i do feel like a whole new person. i have more energy overall, and less dips in it throughout the day. my mood is great. i am motivated in lab, and excited about things going on in my life. i'm content.

it's probably not accurate to give all the credit to going sugar-free. i got up at a decent hour (8:00 -- decent for me!) every day this week; i exercised every day; i began 4/5 mornings by doing a Core Performance routine; i ate smaller, more frequent meals; and somehow, i had an new/different out-look on lab and on my social life (which made them both less stressful to me). these all helped. but even if the changes i've noticed aren't the direct result of avoiding sugar, the small decision to enter into sugar rehab was certainly a catalyst for being healthier, and this manifested itself in myriad other ways.

it feels empowering to set a goal and achieve it. maybe i'll do it again sometime...