Tuesday 20 April 2010

Sugar Begone!

I haven't had sugar for almost a week now and I feel fantastic! I never thought I would see the day, but it finally came. The day when I am actually repulsed by that grainy white stuff that it is as desirable to me as eating raw sewage. The day when I can have my cereal without sugar and not feel like I was chewing  on cardboard. I would completely delete it from my grocery list if M (The Darling & Totally Devoted Husband!) wasn't still into it. All I can do for him now is hope my secretly projected brain waves for sugar hatred have an effect on his grey matter.

To say I had a sweet tooth was an understatement. I used to be a sugar addict. As a kid and well into my teens, I would routinely stuff my face with sweets. I loved them so much I didn't do it one at a time like normal people. No. I would stuff five to ten at once, until my cheeks were as rotund as a saxophone players' and my jaws ached from chewing.

Even I knew I had it bad. So much so that I didn't enjoy drinking pap or garri or custard because I know if there wasn't a 3:2 ratio of pap/garri:sugar, I wouldn't enjoy it. Same goes for tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

I must say it has taken me a while to get where I am today. I didn't just wake up one morning and slash sugar in the throat and watch it bleed to death at my feet. It was a gradual process. One that was fought with many headaches and cravings. I eliminated the foods that required me to marinate them in sugar before I could enjoy consumption. Doing so spun my my view on food around on it's head. Because I now eat food that are wholesome and flavoursome and hence, more natural, less processed and healthier. I no more wolf it down because it tastes good. Also, because I value what goes into my tummy, I only eat what I need.

I can't help but wonder if my sugar addiction set the stage for the advancement of PCOS. Because when I was a sugar chumping teenager and young adult, I was also physically active. But when my activity levels dwindled and my sugar consumption didn't my body began to rile against me. 

I highly recommend this video Sugar: The Bitter Truth by Dr. Robert H. Lustig. It really opened my eyes. It also made me appreciate being a geek in uni and not snoring away during my classes in metabolic biochemistry. If you found yourself patting yourself on the back for actually  understanding the bit about metabolic pathways, raise your hands up! 

If you have PCOS and indeed if you want to loose weight and lead a generally healthier life, PLEASE drop sugar from your life. Drop it like a pair of shit stained underwear and I promise you will never look back with regret.

2 comments:

  1. That's a huge step! Sugar is evil INDEED. The funny thing is that after a while you'll really enjoy coffee, tea, cereal, yoghourt etc. sans sugar and eventually you'll HATE the sugary versions. Trust me!

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  2. Thank you. I'm getting there. At the moment I only enjoy green tea and other flavours of tea except black because it still tastes too bitter. But I'm sure my tongue will acclimatize.

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