I'm going to level with you.
This sugar freedom thing ... I can't do it.
I hope you don't feel that I've strung you along. It's been over a month (36 days, 25 posts) of education for me. I've benefited greatly, and I hope you have, too. I've learned a lot about biochemistry and I've learned a lot about how my body responds to sugar.
I've also learned a lot about my limitations.
Be it a lack of follow-through, a lack of discipline, a lack of character ... I just don't have it in me to do it at this pace (which, actually, is kind of what Kathleen DesMaisons has been saying all along .... Supposedly the "sugar-sensitive" biochemistry comes with a sort of all-or-nothing personality; we tend to jump right into things, give 150%, and expect results within 48 hours. So 36 days, really, is a kind of accomplishment.).
Don't worry, I'm not going to go have a big bowl of ice cream after I hit "publish" (although that does sound good). I've learned enough science and enough "me" to know that that would not feel as good as I think. I'm still going to aim for higher protein than what I used to get. Breakfast within an hour of getting up. Noticing how I feel and how it relates to what I've eaten. Shoot, I'll still probably have the potato (or apple, or toast) three hours after supper.
But I think I've learned that this journey does not make for very exciting play-by-play. It's not a 3-hour game. It's not even a marathon. It's more like ... mothering, or watching a flower unfurl. It goes slowly, by baby steps. Week by week, day by day, choice by choice. So, no more "sugar freedom" blog series.
Instead, I'll give you ordinary:
Tonight on the hammock, I whistled through my thumbs with a blade of grass for a reed, and my daughters finally caught on to the trick. We looked at the elderberry blossoms. Lil' Snip brought me a corncob, proud. He found mushrooms: "Have some!" (I told him no!) We turned cartwheels on the grass in a sudden shower. Back inside, they colored. Tumbled on the sofa and read books about cats and nature crafts and birds. My Farmer wrestled with an old doorknob somehow stuck on "locked." We sang and read and prayed and tucked them all in bed.
Life goes on, despite my success (or lack thereof) at sugar freedom.
What's new in your life?
36 days of NO sugar is very, very impressive to me! I'm sure even with a cutback you will still see differences (right?). We do not have much junk food around here, but there is still plenty of sugar in fruits and breads (I use honey in our bread...does that count?) and cereals (although I try and buy the no/low sugar types). I have DEF. noticed sugars and red/blue food coloring affect my middle daughter's behavior significantly, so we do our best to steer clear!
ReplyDeleteJeane, it might be more impressive if I hadn't "imbibed" a few times during the 36 days. But yes, it has made a huge difference - namely in mood/thought life and in my allergies, which disappeared almost immediately. Once I am reliably off sugar, I want to wean my children as well, and will be curious to see how/if their behavior changes. I would love for sugar freedom to be the magic bullet that turns me into June Cleaver (or better yet, Mother Teresa) and them into little cherubs, but we're not in Eden, here, sugar or no! :)
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