Like most people, I ate way too many sweets over the holidays.
And while I didn’t gain any weight (how did that happen?), I have been feeling on the verge of getting sick for a couple of weeks – which, I believe, is caused by my increased consumption of sugar. This article, among others, says that sugar can suppress your immune system.
Also, in the book The End of Overeating, David Kessler talks about our body’s response to sugar, fat and salt – our brains become wired to seek more of those things the more we consume them. I have found this to be true – the more I eat sugar, the more I crave it. The less I eat sugar, the less I crave it.
I wrote that my goal is to “Forego sweets for an entire month.” What do I consider sweets?
Sweets are anything that have a high level of sugar and provide no nutritional value, such as:
- all candy (not including gum)
- all cookies
- all foods involving chocolate (I know that dark chocolate has some nutritional value, but that’s not the point here)
- all pop (even diet)
- all ice cream (even froyo)
- all foods made of white flour, sugar and butter
What is not included is the coffee creamer and 2 packets of sweetener I drink with my coffee every morning. It has nutritional value: keeping me sane. 😉
Unfortunately, I have already failed at this goal. I forgot that yesterday was Jan 1st, so I had 2 Godiva chocolates after dinner. (whoops) But I won’t give up just because of that. I’ll still do it for a month (ending on Feb 2nd then instead of the 1st).
In conjunction with this goal, I signed up for the Food Journal Challenge hosted by Amanda at Run to the Finish.
I also failed at this yesterday (can I be excused because I felt sick?) but will start today. I hope that this will help me be more mindful of my food choices, so that I can respect my body as God’s temple. Today, I will Take Stock of where I am eating-wise and go from there.
How are you feeling after the holidays? Any goals for January?
Life, Really Blog 
Oh my goodness! You are a brave woman. I once tried this and I did a good job of cutting out most sugar, but there were some things I just could not resist – dark chocolate from time to time. Though, I will say, after the month I bet a lot of the things you will no longer desire. I still don’t drink soda of any sort and no longer have a milk dud addiction – I would say that was an accomplishment!
Much love,
B
I couldn’t do this, my family has two birthdays in January so I shall have to at least have a token bite of cake, but I like this idea! I gained 15 pounds last year (though not all in December) I’m giving myself a pass on it because I had a really stressful year but this year I want to lose weight and eat healthier no matter how much stress I’m dealing with. (I shall have to pay closer attention to your blog, its very inspiring and you share some great ideas)
Good luck with your weight loss and healthy eating! That requires a lot of determination so I applaud you.