I don’t
want this to become a “food blog,” but I do want to write about what I am
working on at a given time. And I have nothing against food blogs; I just read
a bunch of awesome food blogs and I don’t have the time or the fancy dishes to
compete. You won’t catch me grinding walnuts to make a pretty crumb topping, or
spending money on all-white dishes because the food photographs better on
porcelain. I am not a nutritionist or a success story in any sense. I enjoy
junk food and I never feel guilty about eating something for lack of nutrition.
I am
attempting to give up sugar. The idea itself is not accurate, of course,
because the only way to truly give up sugar is to not eat. But I need to reduce
my consumption, because I’m addicted to it. White, processed, granulated, comes
in a heavy paper bag, sugary goodness. It looks like snow and cocaine and baby
powder. It tastes like heaven. I have no idea what high fructose corn syrup
looks like, but I imagine it to be extra glorious, so beautiful that I don’t
dare look directly at it.
I won’t
give you the WebMd version of why I’m addicted to sugar (and will, by default,
be diagnosed with some weird form of cancer, because WebMd). Instead, my
personal controversies:
I’m clearly lactose intolerant (I won’t tell you why, just trust
me), but I still feel a compulsion to consume dairy products. My intolerance is
getting worse with age, and if I don’t act soon I’m afraid I’ll have a roommate
instead of a spouse.
I am a coffee fiend, but I don’t suffer typical effects
of coffee, namely anxiety that prevents sleep. Caffeine isn’t my addiction. I
figured this one out after I had a job that did
cause this level of anxiety. If no coffee is available, I crave other sugary
drinks. I also don’t like coffee without it being sweetened, not even a little.
Thanks to unemployment, I have a lot
of free time. If I
“watch what I eat,” I will usually have a fairly productive day, including a
trip to the gym or the bike trail for some exercise, and a couple of dog walks.
If I’m not tracking my food and activity, however, the dogs don’t get walked, I
don’t get walked, and I end up inhaling the house. Like now, for example. I
actually wrote this last night. I am touching it up as an excuse to not shower,
not clean up, not plan for my day. I am on my fourth cup of coffee, I’ve eaten
a bowl of oatmeal, and I’ve visited the kitchen twice to eat peanut butter out
of the jar.
The overeating is usually done to
the point of being uncomfortable. I’ve also been known to make coffee late at night and
guzzle it on top of already having indigestion. Dining companions frequently
ask, “Are you ok??” when they see the looks of despair on my face. “I’m fine. I
just decided to eat a pizza when I wasn’t hungry. Are we getting dessert?”
So, my plan
to break this addiction:
Natural sugars: add whole fruit to my diet
throughout the day. Fruit contains phytochemicals, water, and fiber in addition
to some pleasant blood sugar spikes.
Sleep off any initial crashes. I’m unemployed and have been
avoiding napping in an effort to not feel like a worthless screw up. Build a
bridge and get over it. Who cares if I’m 33? Nap time!
Distract myself with productivity. I have been using this strategy
lately to combat anxiety about the job situation, and it works well most days. Cleaning,
playing with the dogs, and some writing snippets have been immensely helpful.
Lastly, give up coffee habit. I’ve done this before and I mostly
cope just fine. I do not experience “caffeine headaches” that others describe.
Other than some cravings it’s easy. Giving up coffee also has a host of other
benefits. I need to tattoo them on my arm. I’m going to do this last, however.
Dairy is a far bigger problem for me, and I’ll reap the most benefit from going
that way.
I am also
starting something else today, which I will post about on Tuesday. Or not. I
might write something unrelated to food for Tuesday, just so people will come
back.
Thanks for
stopping by! Have a fabulous day.
L
