Aug 10: Sugar is the Devil

............ The cold spoon slides between my lips.  I run my tongue over the top of it and the flavor of the ice cream deluges my taste buds.  The overwhelming sensations, the sweetness, the coldness, the texture like melting satin in my mouth........Again and again, I dip the spoon in the carton, revelling in the sugar, the glorious sugar........................

Sugar, my friends, is the devil dressed up as Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Antonio Banderas, all rolled up into one enticing, decadent package.

One bite and you just want more and more...........the cravings don't stop.  Insatiably, I want more sugar. It's two of the Seven Deadly Sins, Gluttony and Lust, rolled up into one big fat temptation that is nearly irresistible.

Why?  Why is it so hard to resist?

Well, refined sugar causes the same effect on the human brain as heroin! Sugar and heroin both cause the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that causes stimulation in the brain that feels positive. In animal studies, scientists have discovered that the lab rats will perform nearly any task when rewarded with dopamine. Dopamine is key in the treatment of drug addictions.

So once you invite it back into your life, it's like a bad house guest - it leads you astray and is nearly impossible to kick out.

My goal this week is NO SUGAR.  I need a week long detox to get rid of the horrific sugar cravings coursing through my body.  I'm actually "jonesing" for sugar.

I also need to cut out my artificial sweeteners again.  When we ingest artificial sweeteners, it confuses the body.  Our body goes searching for the easily digestible calories of sugar, can't find them, and in turn, this  triggers feelings of hunger.

I had decided that now that I'm maintaining, having a bit of sugar here and there would not be a problem.  Then here and there became here and here, and I was eating sweets every day.  A cupcake one day, ice cream another day, a handful of jelly beans the next.  And suddenly, I was back at square one with the sugar, craving it constantly. 

I'm thinking that "occasionally" must mean just that.  "On Occasion". 

Occasion: n, [əˈkeɪʒən] 1. A significant event. 2. Something that provides a reason or justification; a ground..  3. A large or important social gathering.

Supper is not an occasion.  Because it's free is not an occasion.  Because it-looks-really-good-and-I-haven't-had-that-in-a-long-time is not an occasion.



Sugar is the devil.  I'm sending it back to hell where it belongs.