Like I said in the last post, I have pared down my diet, eliminating or reducing the extraneous things in an effort to improve health. I would rather tweak my diet and lifestyle than seek out medication or medical procedures. I go to the doctor and I trust my doctor, but I truly believe that God blessed us with lots of ways to heal our minds and bodies, only one of them being medicine.
Let's talk about sugar. I admit that I am a sugar addict. I crave it, I lack self-control around it, and once I start on it, I can't stop. I tried to reduce my sugar intake to no avail. A little bit made me want more. So I decided to cut it out. I tried several times, all the while telling myself I couldn't do it because I'm too much of a chocoholic. But I finally did it with a few exceptions: I eat sweets on special occasions, and I haven't cut out occasional quality dark chocolate. I think it's my release valve and I justify it with all the health claims.
The first few days after divorcing myself from sugar are the worst--the withdrawal hits. I get intense cravings and I get grumpy. But after that the need disappears. A tempting sweet can lure me, but I have few self-initiated cravings. The habit is still there, but the physical yearning is gone.
So while I can avoid candy and other stuff like that, I had to figure out how to cook and bake without sugar. I have used honey for awhile now, but in some applications the flavor is too strong and alters the taste of the food. I use stevia and agave nectar with success. Stevia works well in small amounts only. I tried using it in a recipe that called for about 1/3 cup of sugar and the off-taste was too present. But I can make a great cup of hot cocoa with a packet of stevia. I use agave nectar when I want to replace sugar without the honey taste and the amount is more than a few teaspoons. I make all my quick breads (pancakes, muffins, banana bread, etc.) with agave or honey and the texture is the same. I think the flavor is a little less sweet, but that may be due to the fact that I use less honey or agave than sugar in the recipe because I am trying to refine my kids' taste for super sweet foods.
Last week I decided to try out cookies. I thought it'd be an experiment where I'd have to make the same recipe multiple times trying to get it right. I made a peanut blossom recipe with agave. I had to add a little bit more flour because the dough was too soft, but they came out great. I was pleasantly surprised with how well they turned out. My kids had no idea they were 100% whole wheat and sugar-free (with the exception of the Hershey kiss on top--it's all about presentation, right?).
There are arguments that sugar substitutes are chemically equivalent to sugar and our bodies react in the same way to them, so why switch? I don't know the answers to all of that, but I do know that even if it's true, I am less likely to overdo it on a food made with honey than I would be with candy or brownies.
The hardest part of this new sugar-free life is a group situation that involves dessert, for example going out for ice cream as a family, or attending an event where dessert is served. At these times I use my discretion. Sometimes I abstain and sometimes I use my exception option (see paragraph 2).
The benefits from this decision are many. I feel like I am still gradually discovering them. The biggest one for me is the reduction in my dependence on sweets. Another unexpected benefit: my body requires less sleep and I feel more alert during the day. I used to nod off when I sat down to read stories to kids and if I didn't get 8+ hours per night I was tired and had a hard time dragging out of bed. That has changed. I haven't had a nap since I began this seriously (I want to take one just for fun though--I miss that delicious sun-coming-in-the-window afternoon nap). I like to think that I'm more healthy in general as well. Since I haven't lost any weight, that means my caloric level has remained constant. So the calories I used to eat in sugar are now being consumed by more healthy foods and that's definitely an advantage. And finally, the psychological benefit: the success of conquering an addiction that I was slave to has strengthened me. I did something I thought was impossible for me. Have you ever tried to cut something out? How did it go?
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