Peeps, I am exhausted. EXhausted I say. I have been uncharacteristically exhausted for the last week. I was wondering why this might be and I think I have the answer. Sugar. Sugar. Sugar. We lurch from one sugar laden holiday to the next in this society. It is catching up with me.
My body cannot process sugar well. It gives me the shakes, it gives me terrible stomach woes, it makes me irritable, it exhausts me. Yet I continue to shovel it in. Now considering sugar is prevalent even when you aren't aware of it, shoveling massive quantities of it into your maw on a daily basis, knowingly is very self-destructive behaviour.
I believe going cold turkey off obvious sugar is the way it's going to have to be for me. No more chocolate, candy, cakes, pies and various yummies. NO MORE I SAY. (Are you reading this Aaron??!!! Do not tempt me, boy!!!!)
I find it interesting to note that when I finally lost my accumulated four baby weight a few years ago, it was at just this time of year (to the day really) that the process began. I suddenly resolved that the sugar must go and the rest would follow. (There must be something about Valentine's Day that just finally puts me over the edge). From that day forth, I got very serious about consuming no sugar and sure enough, the rest did follow. (Now don't get me wrong-it took a psychotic determination, great deprivation and huge amounts of exercise along with the no sugar to lose 40 or so lbs in 3 or so months-and I do not recommend my methodology,) but eschewing sugar was definitely the first step and I think it gave me the energy to pursue the psychotic level of exercise and contributed to considerably less cravings in general.
Last night I was watching this thing on the travel channel, ( it was some tribe going about their business in some remote area of the world where it is apparently sexy to put a huge chunk of wood through your lower lip and chin), and what struck me was that the adult members I saw of the tribe were very rotund. They were fat. And they had multiple rolls everywhere (I know this as they were naked). I am perplexed as to how they could be fat since the documentary was pointing out what an enormous amount of work went into creating a small amount of something edible from some really un-fatty looking root thing. Their kids were scrawny though. Maybe they eat the fatter kids. Interesting. ANYWAY, I paid close and careful attention to the roly poly matriarch's thighs and buttock area and noted NO CELLULITE. I have a very non-scientifically supported theory that the hideously ugly CELLULITE comes from processed food and sugar. This woman was fat, but the fat was smooth and uncomplicated. That kind of fat is easy to lose and even when it is around, infinitely less objectionable then the *gag*, *puke* pockets of cellulite.
Did you know that sugar also wreaks havoc on the immune system? My other highly non-scientific theory is that the reason kids get super sick en masse around the beginning of November, is not just because the weather gets cold and they are locked up back in school with other snotty kids. It is because around the end of October they started glutting themselves on all that Halloween candy! And don't forget all the crap that comes with the multiple Halloween parties for a full week or more preceding that spooky night. So the immunity they would have to ward off the other kids' germs gets destroyed at just the time that everyone starts huddling together. It the Perfect Germ Storm. I'm telling you, I'm right. Watch for yourself this October/November. It is scientifically proven though, that sugar drastically suppresses immunity.
So anyway I'm thinking that for the sake of not feeling like a 98 year old woman at the age of 33, I am going to have to say goodbye to the sugar. There are about a thousand other compelling reasons to do so (or at least 124). Now don't overestimate my commitment here. I am not going to get completely crazy about it ferreting out every gram of sugar in every piece of fruit and so forth, but no more overt sugar consumption at least until I am feeling more like myself. Hopefully at that stage I will have lost all desire to self destruct in this way again.
Anyone wish to join me with my quest?
PS: This does not mean I endorse fake forms of sugar. Splenda, Sweet 'n Low and such freak me out big time. Aspartame is straight up poison, so if you are kidding yourself that you are doing something good by drinking the diet soda, let me assure you that you are not. To the contrary. Go with the real sugar or nothing at all. The fake stuff is freaky deaky. Trust me. I am not a Dr. but I watch them on TV all the time.
PPS: My husband just walked through the door with the shipment of Girls Scout cookies. Out! Out! Damned Thin Mint!
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6 comments:
I'll join you! First thing tomorrow. Ever read Sugar Blues? Scary stuff. http://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Blues-William-Dufty/dp/0446343129
In the meantime, hide those Thin Mints in the back of the freezer. They taste better frozen anyway. ;-)
I really enjoyed this post. I know sugar is evil. And I know that sweet things can taste so yummy. I've wanted to give it up before... in fact, I think I did give it up for a couple of weeks one time. It was after I had gone through a spell of eating lots of sugar and was not happy that the more I ate, the more I "needed" to eat it to keep my energy up (because there is that brief time where it does give you energy, before it makes you crash for a much longer time). I wonder, though, if one has to give it up *completely* to rid themselves of the "addiction," or if there really is a way for a person to eat it in moderation without having so many cravings for it that they give in and eat more of it. I feel kind of bad saying that, because I don't in any way want to discourage you (or anyone else, me included) from giving it up in a sane "everything in moderation" way (as in, the best way to diet is to limit portions, not restrict what you eat). It really is *bad* stuff and doesn't seem like something that belongs in our diet (as purified sugar/sucrose).
About the cellulite though, I have a different theory--there are different skin types, and I think it depends on how tough/thick/healthy the skin is that determines how much fat gets displayed as cellulite. There are some people who are thin and have cellulite and some, as you noted, who are rotund and do not. It could be skin type, or it could be sugar consumption--it's an interesting idea!
Last words: do give it up! And keep us informed of your progress, because it may encourage me to give giving it up another try.
Ohhhhhh...the THIN MINTS!! They are EVIL!!!
That being said, I am soooo looking forward to my box(es) that will be here at the beginning of March. So I have to say, Kirsty, that I will cut down, but I don't think I can cut out. Thanks for the motivation, though! I WILL BE BETTER! (That's better than nothing, right?)
I'm with you! I really want to lose 10 pounds of fat, and kicking sugar outta my life should do the trick. But I am a chocoholic---seriously--this will be hard with two batches of homemade choc. chip cookie dough in the freezer...
Good luck!!!
Cursing girl scout cookies? Wow - you are serious about this! I'm totally with you on the sugar thing. I eat/drink WAY too much of it... but I'm not committing to anything at this hour of sleepless stupor... (it's 2 in the morning - only you can imagine what I've been doing for the past 2+ hours..)
But yay for you! ;-)
I hope your no-sugar diet (meaning the food you eat, not the losing weight kind) is going well! I was thinking about you when I was low on energy this afternoon (I have not given up sugar). I just saw this, supporting a link between sugar and acne:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/24real.html?em
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