I never really understood how powerful sugar was (that white sparkling stuff that does magical things to desserts) before I stopped consuming it.
The day after Christmas 2012 I said goodbye to sugar. I had eaten countless desserts over the holidays, feeling sluggish, and macrobiotics was calling to me (had been inticing me for a few years) on so many levels. I ditched sugar without thinking twice. It hasn't been a clean break though. See there was my birthday in January with those vegan cupcakes and then Valentine's Day with some more vegan cupcakes and lastly yesterday with my husband's birthday celebration. Absolutely delicious cake!
Also the reason I woke up at 3 o'clock this morning and was inspired to share my thoughts. I'm wide awake for no reason (except that sugary one) because I'm actually really tired, but filled with that sugar awakeness that I can only now recognize due to my difficult breakup with sugar.
I remember reading about sugar in The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone a few years ago and she states:
Alicia goes on to explain why sugar is nasty to your body (leaches vitamins, suppresses immune system, that rollar coaster sugar ride, etc.) I highly recommend reading her book even if just to stop in the library, read a few chapters, digest what you read about sugar, and process it for a while...like I did.
A few years ago, I didn't get what Alicia meant. I'm still in the middle of the learning process.
When I started my vegan journey, I did nothing to eliminate sugar because I felt fine. The thing is when I was riding the sugar train, it was incredibly difficult to understand enjoying a train ride (or a life for that matter) without sugar.
I really get it now though. Having decreased my sugar intake drastically overnight, the effects of sugar for me personally are now so apparent when I do eat sugar. Now when I eat sugar I can expect to have a restless night sleep with vivid, sometimes scary dreams. I look tired the next day and my face has a puffiness to it. My energy is drained. This is all a new revelation for me.
Ok, so you're probably thinking I'm crazy right now even mentioning the idea of a life without sugar (if you have any sort of sweet tooth like I do - insatiable at times), but life without sugar by no means = life without desserts and delicious sweets.
There are amazing substitutes like rice syrup, barley malt, and maple syrup. I plan to post more desserts involving these sweeteners.
Have you ever gone without sugar? I'm so interested in your experiences!
What are your thoughts on sugar?
Sugar is crack! I like that. I do still eat sugar but I have found lately that my stomach has issues with it. I do try to substitute now with alternative sweeteners like maple syrup or bananas. I am really glad I found your blog. I am excited to see what you post!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I bought some bananas today thinking they would be a good sweetener. Thanks for checking out my site! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat Post. I always feel so much better then I take sugar breaks. It is very hard and requires a lot of home work and home cooking. I actually dont have sugar in my kitchen unless its Christmas time!
ReplyDeleteSome people will read this and say well everything is good in moderation. But thats like saying a cigarette every now and then. Its addicting, enough said!
I totally agree! Sugar and me just do not work well together. It starts out all fun and then turns ugly - like a sleepless night! Moving on to other sweeteners for sure. Thanks for your post!
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