I'm Quitting Sugar

Ah, another Easter day has come and gone. We all got to jump up and down with joy at how much Jesus loves us, and... we got to eat candy. In my case--lots of it. There were egg hunts galore--one of them even beeped! We participated in a beeping egg hunt at the blind school near us. Darling Son #2 is visually impaired, and these blessed souls over at Perkins School for the Blind and MAPVI (Massachusetts Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments -- say that ten times fast) host a hunt with beeping eggs so kids who can't really see eggs can still scrounge around for sugary treats just like every other child.

Last time, I shared with you my deep, passionate love affair with chocolate, and let me tell you--it's deep. The problem with Easter chocolate is that pretty much all of it doesn't meet the standard for healthy, medicinal chocolate as outlined in my last post. But having a little not-dark-enough-and-too-sweet for a few days isn't so bad... or is it?

Well, according to a lot of smarter-than-I-am people, it is.

I started researching sugar because I was a little alarmed by how often I was dipping into the boys' Easter baskets. I figured since I gave them life, they can give up a few treats at Halloween and Easter (right?), but I started to go into binge-mode, and it wasn't pretty. I also felt like kind of a jerk. You know, taking candy from my babies and all that. (Please tell me I'm not the only one? Jerkiness loves company? Anyone??)

I came across this book by Australian journalist Sarah Wilson:

Wilson wrote this book after giving up sugar in response to her diagnosis of Hashimoto's Disease, an auto-immune disorder that affects the thyroid. I found Wilson's story intriguing, because while she admits to having been a sugar addict, her diet appeared quite healthy.

Like me, much of the sugar she consumed was 'healthy.' She took honey in her tea and yogurt, ate lots of fruit and... wait for it... dark chocolate. Like me, she was hardly chugging Coke or schnarfing down Oreos, but like me, if there were some yummy treat in the house, she'd eat the.whole.thing. I don't know if she has kids, but I bet she'd have taken a pretty hefty Mommy Tax on Easter. Just like me.

So I bought Wilson's book and have started her 8-week program. Normally, this is not something I would ever do. Philosophically, I don't believe in eradicating any category of food from my diet, unless there is a medical need to do so. I don't believe the food I eat, or don't eat, makes me 'clean' or righteous. What I just celebrated on Sunday has made me so. But I can't deny the pretty scary stuff I'm reading about sugar. And unlike some other diets that eradicate essential macro-nutrients, I don't need sugar to live. And I think I just might live better without it, or at least with a lot less of it.

So I'm quitting sugar. And I mean, really quitting sugar--no balsamic vinegar, even. (For a few weeks, anyway.) I'm absolutely certain I will eat sugar again. I'm absolutely sure I'll eat cake again... someday. But for the next eight weeks, I'm on the wagon. Expect to hear a lot more about what I'm not eating in the future...

In the meantime, what do you think? Have I taken leave of my senses? Have you raided your kids' Easter baskets, too?

*********************

In other news, I wanted to let you know that I am not done with the Mummy Tummy series. The Darling Husband went out of the country for work for many weeks and I need him to take pictures! I suppose Darling Son #1 could take them... he's actually a decent photographer for a six-year-old. Still, they'll probably come out better with DH behind the camera, so stay tuned...