It's a Dull Existence without Sugar

Days 2 - 5

Because of how busy we've been getting ready for our move in 2 weeks, I haven't been to gym for 3 days - although I don't even know if I would have the energy to go.  I feel so tired - all the time.  I'm in bed early at night, feeling exhausted, and yet, awake at 4:30 - still feeling tired but just unable to sleep.

I've also been experiencing some headaches and mild nausea with a fair amount of irritability.  I'm so grateful my family are on this journey with me.  Yesterday Megs rebuked me for for being snappy with her and said, "I know you want sugar, but that's not nice!"  Gotta love her.

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I read (see the facts below) that to work out the number of teaspoons of sugar in something you should divide the number of grams by 4.  

By that calculation, the Woollies seed loaf we eat has 1 teaspoon of sugar per slice!  Seriously?  

Our healthy alternative seed bread is not even free of sugar.  Am I taking it too far?  That would be in keeping with my personality - an all or nothing type of addictive nature.  It works for me sometimes but not always.  I'm going to choose to believe it's working for me this time.  From what I can tell, there is nothing good about sugar (except what makes it bad) so I'm going to be ruthless.  

I might have to start baking my own bread, either using a sugar alternative like stevia or xylitol or even just omitting it completely.  Not that I eat much bread mind you, only a slice a day.  I enjoy a slice of toast with my egg and bacon in the morning.  But I enjoy it very much so it's worth it for me to find a long term solution.  

Now I have a confession to make - I suck in the kitchen.  It's not that I can't bake and cook, it's just that I'm not intuitive.  I can't put things together creatively or whip something up from nothing. I have a friend, Minette, who's a miracle in the kitchen.  Seriously, present her with an "empty" fridge and grocery cupboard and she'll create something delicious to eat.  Every time.  No jokes.  Some people just have that gift.  I don't.  For me, it takes planning and forethought.  And for someone who's not so hot at planning either, the whole cooking thing becomes a problem.  So maybe you're starting to see how much I am in need of a new norm.  I have a few VERY basic dishes I prepare often for the family and other times we just wing it or eat takeout.  In South Africa cooking is part of life.  Families here are kitchen families and we all cook - some of us better than others.  Obviously, it's time to make some changes.  Plan weekly menus and while I'm at it, I think I'll find a bread recipe that is really wholesome and sugar free to bake for our family each week.  I'll keep you posted.

Although I've had some sugar cravings (usually at night), what's surprised me the most, is my craving for junk food - Burger King specifically.  I didn't see that coming!

Also, we had our first dinner party since I've started my detox (and probably the last for a while because we're packing to move so our place is a bit chaotic) and I drank water the whole night instead of red wine which I would always normally have.  I faithfully sipped on my water all night while most everyone else drank wine.  I found that quite tough because of habit.  One of our favourite things to do is sip on a glass of wine while preparing dinner.  I caught myself thinking about that a couple of times during cooking.  I sure did miss my red wine.

Having said that, I'm convinced I would never make it through this if I continued to enjoy wine while coming off sugar.  A glass or 2 of wine and I would probably throw in the sugar towel.  This journey really is sapping deep into my self control resources.

I'm about to start Day 5 of my "goodbye sugar" journey.  I don't feel great, but I'm believing that soon I will.