Two weeks ago I decided to give up sugar. I have osteoarthritis in my finger joints, and when I googled ‘things to do’, avoiding sugar was on the list, alongside losing weight and avoiding refined carbs.
I don’t need to lose weight, and I already avoid refined carbs, so it was obvious what I had to be done. And then I attacked the subject from the other angle. Sugar – what is it good for? Turns out – absolutely nothing.
The sugar had to go.
I used to have a spoonful of sugar in both tea and coffee (and hot chocolate). I straightaway cut that down to ½ a spoonful. I’d been warned that cutting sugar out completely all in one go would lead to headaches, so this made sense to me.
Now, two weeks in, today’s the day I cut it out completely.
I also decided I would stop eating biscuits and sweets. We have a communal sweetie stash at work – I haven’t touched a chocolate or a Haribo for two weeks now.
The next question was – what to do with the stuff that was already in the house? I still had a couple of boxes of chocolates left over from Christmas, there was a box of mince pies, there were the nice biscuits my lovely son had sent as part of a hamper. To say nothing of the ‘normal’ stuff with hidden sugars – the breakfast cereal, the curry sauce, the ordinary bikkies.
Should I just throw everything out? Well, that seemed both wasteful and rude, when people had spent time and money sending Christmas presents.
Should I take them in to work? That didn’t seem right either – ‘Hey guys, I’ve just realised that sugar is really bad for you, so here’s a load of sugary things for you to eat’.
So – I’ve decided to keep all those biscuits and chocolates, and eat them, one a day. At this rate I think they’ll last me until next Christmas…
That’s Stage One of ‘Operation Sugar’ – basically cutting out all the obvious sources of sugar.
Stage Two will be looking at the hidden sugars in my diet. This is going to be a longer-term change. As things get used up, I’ll be replacing them with less sugary alternatives.
I’ve already started to look at the nutritional information on the packs. I was shocked to see that Cruncy Nut Cornflakes contain 35% (35%!!!!) sugar – so they’ll have to go. Once I’ve finished the box, I won’t be buying any more.
Is it working? It’s far too early to tell. In fact, I’m not looking for improvement in my symptoms. I’m looking for things to not get worse – so it could be years before I can be sure that it’s done any good. That’s OK – I’m in this for the long haul.
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