Right, I won’t lie, this giving up sugar is hard.
Giving up sugar when the sun comes out and everyone is eating ice creams and lollies is even harder.
And giving up sugar the same week your youngest son turns two years old and everyone is eating chocolate cake and cupcakes is just about the hardest thing I’ve ever done (bar motherhood of course, which is on another level entirely). To not lick my fingers when handed a half-eaten cupcake or ice cream has taken the strength of someone I do not recognise.
BUT, I am so proud to announce that I have survived a whole week.
HURRAH!
The sense of pride to have come through this last week triumphant is as good as having a whole dairy milk and I literally want to shout from the rooftops at my achievement so far. However, like I said to my husband this weekend, I am going to resist my usual practice of celebrating too early and will simply smile sweetly (oh the irony) and keep on, keeping on.
So what have I learned this week?
Sugar is in EVERYTHING.
We’re not just talking about putting the Easter eggs in the bin here, we’re talking condiments (and I love a condiment), yoghurts, most sauces, and fruit which leaves very little of my ‘regular’ fail safe foods to turn to. I decided, after assessing both personal and independent reviews, to follow Sarah Wilson’s book ‘I Quit Sugar’, which means also giving up fructose (all fruit: dried and fresh). This certainly makes the challenge an even harder one, not being able to grab a satsuma for a quick snack on the go.
Wrapping your head around this big a change and a brand new menu is the hardest part but once you get over the shock of what you can and can’t eat, you’re on the detox train…
4pm is the hardest time of the day.
I found I could manage breakfast, lunch and dinner without too much difficulty, but my nemesis has been that 4pm afternoon slump. That time of day when your lunch is but a distant memory and you’re way too early for dinner/ tea – and where normally I may reach for a sugar fix to just push on through to the end of the working day (often a little biccie (or 2, or 5) with a cup of tea). Talking to others, I found I am not alone, and I’ll admit this is when I’ve found myself climbing the walls a little…and have had to dig deep to get through.
Distraction here is key. I’ve found giving myself a new work task, or going for a quick power walk, to stop myself thinking about how nice a cookie might taste, has really helped.
Clarity.
I do not want to get all ‘high and mighty’ with this challenge and I’m not sure if this is forever BUT I will say that right now I feel more empowered, strong and focussed than I have in years.
To be in charge of my diet and know that what I’m feeding my body with is goodness, feels truly wonderful and this overwhelming sense of clarity of mind is almost euphoric and for that I feel very pleased to have got through the week.
It’s been A WEEK.
Enough of the celebrating. Off to munch on a pecan…
More next week.
Gemma x
Managing Director. Barker PR. gemma@barkerpr.com.
