I used to have this standard joke. Whenever I went to a work-related workshop and we all took turns in introducing ourselves and saying where we’re from, I always announced “Hi, my name is Sue and I am an alcoholic, oh, sorry I mean………”. I always got a laugh, even if it was just a muffled sneer. The truth of the matter is, I might not be an alcoholic, but I am a sugar addict. So my introduction should have sounded like this….. “Hi, my name is Sue and I am addicted to sugar. I have been sugar free for, ummm……. I’m not sure how long because I keep falling off the wagon. I quit in 2014. I always forget that I am an addict and I slip up by having something sweet. Annnnnd then I am back to square one, fighting cravings again for the next 3 or 4 days.” Not sure if I would have got the same response from the crowd announcing my sugar addiction. But the truth is, being addicted to sugar is the same as being addicted to anything else. The only thing is, sugar is EVERYWHERE!
In life, I will be travelling just fine living my sugar free life. I’ve done the hard yards, got rid of all temptation from my pantry and fridge. Trained my family not to bring temptation back into the house (this can be one of the hardest steps as we always want to love our family with sugar). Then, I’ll l be caught unawares, someone dear to me lures me in with “Would you like a ……… (Cake, dessert, chocolate, blitz ball)?” I hesitate, then they proudly announce. “I made it with you in mind, it is gluten free!” Before I know it, my response is “Thank you, how thoughtful, just one bit”.
Well….
I CAN’T HAVE JUST ONE BIT!
That one bit has woken the beast. I have been starving it for so long and now I just poked it with a huge stick. It’s like a bear is inside of me, woken from its winter sleep, it is starving and will do anything to be fed. Sugar is the only thing it wants and it will do anything to get it. In my attempt to re-tame the beast, I head down the natural isle. Thinking, “Oh, I will make some frozen banana whip – that will be okay, it’s natural sugar. I can keep the beast happy and I’m not breaking my rules of eating sugar, bananas are a whole food, right? It only has natural sugars, right? Surely, my body will know when I’ve had enough and I can keep the beast happy too, right? ”
WRONG!
The beast ain’t happy, it knows when I’m trying to trick it! That natural stuff ain’t going to cut it! I am just teasing it. I’ve woken it from hibernation, and now l’m teasing it. How stupid was I to think that I can live with this beast in harmony. How wrong was I? I can not live harmoniously with this beast. When it is awake, it takes over my life and I have no control. So, I am back to square one. Taming the beast 101. NO MORE SWEET STUFF, especially frozen banana whip!
Hi, my name is Sue and I am an addict – a sugar addict. I have been sugar free for 12 hours……. I slipped up again last night (well, it was paleo carrot cake made with rapadura sugar and I scraped off the topping) and now I’ve pulled out the big guns to get that bear back in its cave, where it belongs.
How do you tame the sugar cravings beast?
Join me in The RESTART Program to tame the sugar beast together.