Do you have a sweet tooth? Have you ever tried to reduce your sugar intake?
I have something personal to share. Today represents Day 75 of being sugar free — no refined sugar, honey, syrup, agave, corn syrup, or molasses.
I never thought I could do this or that I needed to.
I’ve known all my life I have a sweet tooth. I used to think it was hereditary, because my dad loved his sweets. So did his dad. When my hubby and I went out where there was cake, I’d eat the icing, he’d eat the cake. What a match!
Anything tasted better with a little sweetness. In the morning I would crave my coffee. But it wasn’t the coffee. I craved the sweetness from the mocha flavoured coffee mix I added. I looked forward to the sweetness of my organic quinoa cereal.
Did you know what you crave first thing in the morning is what your body is likely addicted to?
My sugar fixes continued throughout the day, despite all my wisdom to the contrary. I teach health and wellness for goodness sake.
We all know sugar isn’t good for you. It creates inflammation, messes with your hormones, causes Type 2 Diabetes, increases weight gain, affects mood, causes energy crashes, impedes learning in children and unfortunately, feeds cancer.
So why do we eat it?
Because it’s highly addictive. Studies show that sugar is just as addictive as crack.
It creates a dopamine effect that your body needs more of. So reducing or eliminating it takes some focused effort.
I didn’t go cold turkey. My process took several years and six stages I want to share with you.
1. Awareness
I started becoming aware of how much sugar I was eating. I read labels. Sugar is in EVERYTHING. Now companies are adding sugar to things you wouldn’t think have sugar because it boosts sales.
2. Reduction
I tried reducing sugar here and there and finding substitutes like using apple sauce to sweeten baking and introducing stevia, a natural plant-based sweetener. I ate more fruit, including dates. I had some success but was still returning to refined sugar. The more I tried to get away from it, the more I craved it.
3. Elimination for a Day
Last year in the women’s wellness journeys I ran, I invited ladies to try a sugar-free day. That was a lot harder than it sounds. It took me several tries to have a completely sugar-free day start to finish. And that’s when I began cluing in that I had a problem.
When I say sugar-free, I don’t mean substituting sugar for artificial sweeteners like Aspartame or Splenda. I mean getting your sugar naturally only from veggies and select low-glycemic fruit.
As healthy as my eating was, as much as I’d added greens and gone off gluten, I had this total mental block to admitting how much I NEEDED my small sugar fixes throughout the day.
Some of it was emotional. If I needed an inspired creative idea, I went for sugar. If I was bored or hurt, I went for sugar. If I did a great job on something, I felt entitled to reward myself with sugar.
It’s almost embarrassing to share. But I just know I’m not alone.
4. Finding My Reason to Go Sugar-Free
In January 2014, I was cleaning out some old papers and an ad serendipitously fell out on my lap. It was for a woman, Janet Rowe, who does Live Blood Analysis. She pricks your finger, put a sample of blood underneath a microscope and VOILA, she can tell you a crazy amount of information about your health.
In minutes, she nailed all of my current and past medical ailments without me saying a word. But one thing surprised me. She told me I had a systemic yeast infection. Systemic means throughout my whole body. It was affecting my digestion, my hormones, my cycles, my energy, my everything. EEK!
So I started her diet and supplement protocol which wasn’t easy and took me a few weeks to get my brained wrapped around.
A month later I went back. Lots had improved. My cycle extended by a week – a huge victory.
But, she said, “You are still eating sugar.”
What?? How did she know? I was about to start a whole entitlement speech on “Do you know how many changes I’ve made? I’m gluten free, I’m dairy free, caffeine-free…”
She must have smelled my speech coming because she pointed at the screen and said,
“See this long stringy stuff in your blood? That’s yeast. Sugar feeds it. You will never know how good you can feel if you don’t remove sugar entirely and kill off this yeast.”
GULP. She was right. And that was all I needed to see or hear. Half disappointed in myself, half mortified by the long stringy things, I was now ALL-IN to becoming sugar free.
5. Beginning the Rocky Road
Day 1 and Day 2 were not good. In fact, on Day 2, I was eating potato chips at 2 am. I needed something or I would cave into sugar. Picking my battles, I allowed the potato chips. At least they didn’t have sugar!
Each day was a personal victory celebrated between me and my food journal. Each day I breathed through the headaches and dizziness. And I won’t lie, they were definitely there. But I reminded myself, this was the detox process. I was killing off the yeast.
Someone said things would get better by day 5. They lied. I was so dizzy. I even had a scary moment while driving. But I kept sticking to sugar-free because I realized that if I’m this dizzy, it means I’m this crippled by the yeast. Be gone with you long-stringy buggers!
The conviction in me was growing and got me through the first month.
Month 2 came with new challenges. I was traveling a lot and therefore not in my own kitchen controlling my food. Yet I had to take control anyways, making special requests to chefs and hotels everywhere. I also had to form new habits. I couldn’t sit at the airport anymore sipping my soy chai from Starbucks. I needed to see all the places I reached for sugar and find new habits.
But I made it through. Again, my honest food journal saved me. Day by day I grew stronger and the grip of sugar on my life faded away.
6. Seeing the Other Side
Here I am, Day 75, and I’m proudly staying the course. My mind is clearer, my stomach flatter, my cycles longer, and the dizziness almost gone entirely. I also think the cellulite on my upper legs is diminishing. Sweet bonus! I’m still making tweaks to my diet because I noticed myself eating more nuts than I’d like. And the occasional diet coke or sugar-free gum show up. I know… not ideal, but I see this as a journey not a report card.
My goal is to get to 100 days and then have my blood re-checked. Ready for those long-stringy things to be gone, I am determined to see just how good my health can get.
Why am I sharing this with you?
Because yeast is a huge problem. Maybe people don’t even know they have a systemic yeast infection. It’s a parasite called candida albicans that is invading our bodies and stripping us of our power and lives.
There are ways to test for it through alternative doctors and live blood analysis. You can also take a quiz from a popular book called The Yeast Connection and see if you have the symptoms.
Note: The above quiz is for females. If you want a generic one appropriate for men, visit this page.
Do you already know that sugar is a problem for you?
I’d love to hear in the comments below. This isn’t something to be embarrassed about, but rather something to transform. I’m here to help. Ask me anything.
Standing up for your body and life.
Love,
Paula
P.S. Be sure to take the quiz and see symptomatically if yeast is affecting you. If you were given a fair amount of antibiotics or medication growing up, chances are it is. A yeast-free diet includes removing more than just sugar, but sugar is a biggie!
