This past month I decided to give up sugar. I have never been much of a sweets lover—until I had my son. Then I went on a KitKat kick. No other candy interested me, but I ate a few of those snack-sized KitKats every day. Then, one day, Peppermint Patties became my new love.
When I was nursing my son, I could justify it. I’m not saying it was good for me, just that I justified it in my head because I was a nursing mother and a few extra calories didn’t really matter (or did they?) But I hadn’t nursed my son in over a year—and I was still eating Peppermint Patties.
So I chose Monday, June 18th, as my stop date. I waited until after my brother’s birthday (June 17th) because I planned to send him cupcakes from Crumbs Bakery in NYC, and I was hoping to snag one. Hmm. Maybe Peppermint Patties weren’t my only issue.
On the morning of June 18th, I was visiting my sister and her family at their vacation home on Martha’s Vineyard (yes, it’s great to have family that live in excellent locales). My son and I went to the Morning Glory Farm, about a mile down the road, and I got a cup of coffee—with a teaspoon of sugar in it—and three pints of fresh-picked, organic strawberries. When we got home, we had some strawberries with our lunch and then I cut up the rest of the strawberries after my son went to sleep. I wanted to make strawberry shortcake, so I found a container that looked like sugar, but I tasted it to be sure. As I tasted the sugar granules on my tongue, it hit me—I wasn’t supposed to be eating sugar!
Only a few hours into my sugar-free life, and I’d already failed. What should I do now?
Try again, of course.
I have noticed that, often, when I say I’m going to do something, it gets screwed up somehow. That used to bother me a lot. Now, I just notice it, tell myself I’m not perfect (duh!), and move on.
That sounds really simple, but I used to torture myself whenever I made the tiniest mistake. I’d spend so much time berating myself, I was miserable—which of course made me the life of the party!
That day, I just moved on. I didn’t have any Peppermint Patties all week. No candy, no cookies, no doughnuts. No sugar on my cereal.
But one day I did have a piece of pound cake with fresh strawberries (mixed with a little sugar) on it. Hey, how often do you get homemade strawberry shortcake made with organic strawberries picked a few hours before you bought them?
I wanted to stop mindlessly eating Peppermint Patties (and any other foods that I was eating in an addictive way), not deprive myself of a special once-a-year treat.
So far, so good. Not perfect—but good. Isn’t life sweet?
I just found your blog and I could have written a version of this post except that I haven’t mustered the courage to drop the sugar – again! I’m stuck on Junior Mints this time. It’s always something. I stop and get a box every time I’m out. Don’t you love that they sit right there next to the check out registers? And if they don’t have that, it’s the Peppermint Patty.
I felt so much better in so many ways when I wasn’t eating sugar. So, I commit again. No more sugar. I look forward to reading your blog.
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for your comments. You really could have written this post! It’s been over 2 weeks now, and I’m doing okay with it. I thought I would crave my “fix” longer, but the craving just seems to have gone away. I still have the urge to reach for something sweet when I get in the car by myself, but then I remember I’m not eating sugar anymore. If I’m actually hungry, I go find something healthy to eat and if I’m not, I drink my water. Good luck to you with your new commitment! Let me know how it goes.
Warmly,
Diane