A Less Sugar-full Life Update

It’s now been three months since I bid adieu to the sort of sugar-infused life I’d led up until three months ago. If you didn’t read why I did it, a quick refresher: I was always tired, and I thought going without sugar might help me feel better. I haven’t given it up completely. I don’t avoid anything with the tiniest bit of sugar in it. If bread has sugar as an ingredient, for example, I still eat it. But what I really gave up was the constant chowing down on all things sweet. The brownies, the ice cream, the cake, the jam, the soda. If something exists primarily to be sweet, I avoid it.

That was the goal, at least. I allowed myself a bit of wiggle room. 1-2 times a week, I could have something sweet. But that was it. Of course, the goal was also to update you all regularly about how I was doing. That’s something that hasn’t really happened.

However, I’m happy to say that I’m still firmly entrenched in my goal. The 1-2 times a week limit is enough for me to feel like I get something sweet now and then just fine, and I honestly don’t miss the stuff I was eating. (Okay. Maybe a little. Especially when the kids are having sundaes or something.)

I do think I feel better. Yes, it might be the placebo effect at work, but here’s the thing: that doesn’t matter. Going up to someone who says he’s feeling better and telling him he isn’t? Why do that? If I say I’m feeling better, then I’m feeling better. I’m less tired. I have more energy. It’s a good thing.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this whole experiment has been the reactions of other people. I think some have taken it as a personal criticism of what they eat. They get defensive about sugar, and they tell me how it’s really not that bad. Let me be perfectly clear: I don’t think any less of anyone who eats sugar. This is a personal choice, plain and simple. My family still eats plenty of sweet stuff, and I don’t hold it against them at all.

At the same time, a lot of people try to “catch” me cheating. I’ll be seen eating a cookie or something, and they’ll smile and say “Done with the no sugar thing, huh?” Or express doubts that I ever really gave it up to begin with. I tell them I allow myself 1-2 sweet things a week, but they typically don’t seem to believe me.

I don’t really mind either of these reactions. As a Mormon, I’m used to not eating and drinking things many other people eat or drink. I’ve been declining iced tea my whole life, for example. I don’t think it’s bad for people to drink, and I don’t think less of people who do drink it. It’s just not something that I personally consume.

And the reactions are becoming less and less frequent as time goes by. People are getting used to me like this. Surprisingly, I’m getting used to it too. I’d thought I’d need to keep posting about it to keep me motivated, but I’ve stopped posting mainly because it hasn’t been necessary.

The weight loss I saw right after cutting off sugar has stopped, but I have yet to gain anything. I eat as much as I want, when I want, and I stay the same weight. That’s a really nice feeling. True, I’m probably 10-15 pounds heavier than I ought to be, but I’ll try to deal with that at a future date. One thing at a time.

In any case, I’m just mainly here to report back cheerfully that all is going as planned, and I’m very pleased with the results. Thanks for reading, and have a lovely weekend!