I’ve been on vacation with family to the beach and found it all too easy to give in to sweets others had, and paid for it. My sleep was shot for most of the time, and I felt joint pains I thought were history. I was talking with my husband today, after we got home, about why we did what we knew we would regret. We concluded that 1) just this once, is a lie, and will lead most of us down the garden path of much more, 2) having food around you don’t at home makes the temptation quotient far higher, 3) the addictive properties of sugar, starch, artificial sweeteners do not go away after you quit eating them, at least not for a long time (In Life Without Bread, Lutz and Allan, noted that after about 12-18 months of no sugar, people would cease to want it.), so if you start, you get sucked it quickly. I remember a line from diet guru Stephen Gullo, who had this mantra: If I don’t begin, I don’t have a problem. He talked as well about the F-Q Principle, which I believe I’ve mentioned before, that states that you may leave certain foods alone for a long time, but if you start up again, then soon the frequency, then the quantity will increase. Believe me, I have lived out the F-Q Principle many times, including just last week.
Today we are back on track, our vacation family members have gone home, so we can get back to our healthy, no sugar-starch-faux sweeteners routine. A slip is disheartening, but it is something to learn from. I am disappointed that I let myself cave to carrot cake, but that is not a reason not to keep working at my goals to stay sugar-sober. With some hard work and luck, I won’t have to report further struggles for a good long while. I would like to say never, but while I live in hope, I also know that the possibility exists.
Like I heard years ago it’s not what you do 20 days a year, it’s what you do the other 345 days of the year; I now have high hopes for the grand total of sugar sober days.
I have a nice tan! And, I enjoyed time with family. So there is almost always a great take away from vacation.
Working on my remaining days for this year, and will keep chanting: If I don’t begin, I don’t have a problem.
Yours in the struggle,
Nan aka Sugarbaby
Sugaraholics 