Six Month Sugar Report

            Well it has been six months since I cut out refined sugars from my diet, and while that’s only half of the year I was going for, I feel like it is long enough to do a sort of “report” on my experiences with it.  Sorry if it feels a bit like a science report.  I guess I’ve never recovered from that “biochemistry major” thing.

What I did:

So I cut out refined sugars.  My guideline was not to eat anything with sugar in the first three ingredients.  I did eat fruit and foods sweetened with honey.

Challenges:

·      I realized a few weeks in that I had a serious sugar entitlement.  I felt entitled to having junk food on special occasions or when I had just gone through something difficult or emotional.  My thinking had to change from “It’s Thanksgiving, I deserve some pie” to “It’s Thanksgiving, no reason to treat my body badly”.  I was very proud of myself for not eating any sugar on holidays, or emotional days (like when we found out we couldn’t have any more children).  Sugar: 0  Melissa 1 

·      I also had to get over making people feel bad when I didn’t eat sugar.  Either they went out of their way to make me a delicious dessert, and I couldn’t eat it.  Or, they would feel guilt because I wasn’t eating sugar, and they felt like they shouldn’t be eating it either.  I’m sorry if I have ever offended anyone!  Sometimes I felt a bit left out, especially when it was an event that revolved around dessert or sweets.  I just had to get over it!

·      Last, sugar is in everything! Our salsa, bread, tortillas, dressing, etc… all had sugar in the top three ingredients!  I had to start making a lot of things from scratch, and most importantly, reading labels very carefully.  I learned all the words for sugar and sugar substitutes (there are a few dozen) and I feel like an expert in reading labels now, haha.

The Good:

·      I lost over 50 pounds!  Not eating sugar really helped me stick with a healthy diet overall.  Without sugar, I wouldn’t binge.  I was able to find other ways to express and deal with my emotions, and it shows!

·      I also have INCREDIBLE energy.  I literally have not had this much energy in my life!  It used to be that I would be tired all the time, have to take a nap almost every day, and I really was only productive about every other day or every few days.  Now I can get up at 6, go, go, go throughout the day, take care of two kids under 2, and get up 2—3 times at night without a nap!  I wish I had known this all sooner!  If I knew how good I would feel now, I would have cut sugar out years ago. 

·      Funny enough, my discipline overall has also increased.  Being so disciplined in eating has poured over into the physical, spiritual, and emotional discipline as well.  I can control my anger and emotions better, I’m a much more patient and laid back mother, I have master over my body, and I just feel really in control overall.

·      I also don’t feel sick all the time!  I used to have stomachaches, nausea, headaches, joint pains, all sorts of stuff almost constantly!  It was normal for me to wake up feeling sick, and go to bed feeling the same way!  Now I don’t ever get sick,  I haven’t had joint pain in months, and this past week when everyone got the flu, including Joseph who never gets sick, guess who didn’t?  Even when I was around them 24/7 and cleaning up all that throw up, I didn’t even get a stomachache.  I attribute it to my healthier immune system!

·      My skin has never been clearer.  I wish I knew as a teenager how much my acne was dependent on my diet.  I wouldn’t have suffered through it all those years!  Joseph and I are going on a pioneer trek this summer, and I realized I wasn’t even self-conscious about not wearing make up for three days.  It feels good.

·      Last, but not least, I have been the happiest I’ve ever been.  I didn’t realized the connection between my diet and my mood, but it is so easy to be positive!  I am able to handle emotional turmoil and trials so much better now.  Sugar has literally affected every area of my life. 

The Bad:

·      Now when all is said and done, cutting out sugar did not change the fact that we are unable to have more children.  That was a main reason why I started it in the first place, and it didn’t work.  I was quite sad about that.

·      Also, my psoriasis has not completely disappeared.  In years past when I cut out sugar for even a week or two, it would completely clear up.  I’m not entirely sure why it hasn’t this time, but I blame hormones since my psoriasis always got so much worse when I was pregnant, and my body still hasn’t returned to normal hormone levels after Hyrum’s birth.

I have become a huge advocate for cutting out refined sugar.  It has literally changed my life in dozens of ways.  I have never felt better, been happier, or had so much energy.  Please, please, please try it!  Give it a few months; I promise you will not regret it!  If you are looking for some magical sign from the heavens to do it, consider this to be it!  Here’s to another six great months!