"Sugar Drug" Fast - Support Thread

I recently blogged about the drug-like affects of sugar on our body; sugar gives a physical boost or 'high', even causes temporary happy feelings, provides a kind of rush, then causes a crash of energy AND emotions. Sugar can affect not only our physical bodies but also our mood mood, causing irritability and moodiness.

This physical 'high' is SO appealing because it teases us into believing that we have more energy (which is why people eat or drink sugary substances when they are tired to pick them up). This is totally fake . . . it is pseudo-energy, not REAL energy (which is what we really want, right?).

The emotional effects are so desirable too (which is why people stuff themselves with sugar and carbs when they are 'emotionally eating' / 'stress eating'). We use food to make us happy! Sounds ridiculous now, but when we are discouraged about a bad relationship, stress at work, a recent failure or pretty much anything, a big piece of cheesecake is just one of the many ways we tend to our wounds. Here's the problem . . . that emotional high is also (like the physical high) just fake. And not only that, but sugar can bring down our emotional state, causing irritability and moodiness, even depression!

So, let's acknowledge reality . . . we use sugar to bring us up, but we've been had! All it is doing is bringing us down!

We have to acknowledge this truth because you can not heal or change what you do not acknowledge.

HERE'S THE OBJECTIVE: FAST SUGAR!

What is a "Fast"?

When a person fasts something they decide in advance what, exactly, they will fast, and then they remove that item from their life (go without) for a determined amount of time.

What kind of "sugar" are we fasting?

This is important to define because there is some kind of sugar in most items, even bread. The kind of sugar I implore you to fast are those items that are obviously high in sugar (all candy, pop, and dessert type items). Also, if I really want to have a treat and I am not sure how much sugar is in there I check the ingredients. If sugar is the 1st or 2nd ingredient, I pass. There are some items with sugar that are considered healthy (like fruit or whole fruit juice). I am not fasting these types of items but I encourage you to be aware of how much natural sugar you are consuming daily and eat/drink these in moderation.

What is the time frame for this fast?

YOU pick the duration and YOU decide if you want this to be a temporary goal, or a life change. My personal goal has been to decide in advance what date I will fast until. I try to set them out at LEAST a few weeks apart. I usually choose a holiday. For example; I had once piece of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day and then fasted sugar again until Christmas Eve. After Christmas Day I decided to fast again until my birthday, which is January 15th and after that I will fast until Valentine's Day.

YOU choose the dates that work best for you. Pick an important day and set your mind to go till that day before you eat sugar (as defined above). There is a fun day or holiday in almost every month, so make your decision with some thought. Think of family and friends and consider birthdays.

Temporary or life change?

For me, fasting sugar has provided an enormous amount of success with my weight loss and emotional stability. I am starting to experience REAL energy and REAL emotional strength and it feels so great that I can't possibly go back now. This will be a life-change for me, not a temporary goal; but you need to decide what will work best for you and what will help you to have the most success. If committing to a life change scares you away from giving this a try, then just try it for a few months. Maybe you are not someone who struggles with self control when it comes to sugar and a life-change in this area may not be necessary for you. For my addictions, it is the best thing for me to make this change permanent.

Either way, because of the drug that sugar has been to all of us, it will require support for us to move forward together. It is almost like detoxing the body (no, not almost like . . . it IS detoxing the body) from the effects and poisons of sugar in our organs and blood stream. I strongly suggest that if you take this challenge you will set the first fast date at least 3 to 4 weeks away to help you get it out of your system.

* IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: I am not familiar with diabetes or how it works inside the body. If you are diabetic, you should take time to read from other professional sources of information or ask your doctor if this would be healthy for you, and understand the best way you can approach this challenge.

So, let's do this! If you would like to join this support thread, post your goal date (remember to update them when one passes) and what you are willing to fast. Let us know when you are doing well and when you are really struggling (emotionally eating sweets) so we can encourage you together. I really think we can do this and I believe that looking at and approaching sugar differently with change our health entirely.

Here's the first entry -

Jennifer:
Next goal date - January 15th
What I will fast - Desserts: cookies, candy, pop, or items that contain sugar as the 1st or 2nd ingredient (all highly sugary items).

Now, how about you?