I QUIT SUGAR: WEEK 6

NOW is a good time to start playing with some sweet-tasting ingredients such as low-fructose vegetables and fruits, and safe sugar substitutes, but use in moderation, as sweeteners can give you sweet cravings the same way that sugar does.

Rice syrup, glucose syrup, stevia, dextrose and xylitol are safe sugar substitutes, according to Sarah Wilson (though I'm a bit dubious about stevia - see last week's post, in the I Quit Sugar thread).

Hello and thanks for stopping by. This is the end of my Week 6 of the 8-week I Quit Sugar program. Two weeks to go!

This past week was reasonably successful in terms of sugar-avoidance, but I can't claim it was perfect. I am still making an effort, but not being stringent, which I'm a little disappointed with. There was the 3am orange juice squeeze-athon (though I already mentioned this last week), Monday's croissant (I justify that by pretending I'm a skinny French lady?) and also some sips of sweet wine, here and there (for which I blame the Hunter Valley). Oh... I also had some wonderful blueberries; they were sensational.

On the whole, not horrific. Miraculously, I have managed to mislay 3.6kg since the start, despite my sugar allowances here and there (and everywhere for those couple of weeks in the middle). The scales have been particularly friendly this week. This is really interesting, in fact, because in the Week 5 chapter, Sarah Wilson talks specifically about the detox process, writing, "Some of you, around about now, will be nauseous, dizzy, constipated (nice), have aching kidneys and joints. This means that you're withdrawing and detoxing... your body is ejecting toxins from your fat cells and they're swirling around your system on their way out".

Now, I'm a bit skeptical about this. Had I stuck to the program vigilantly I could have felt that I had earned this mighty detox, but because the middle 2-3 weeks were pretty murky for me, I'm not sure it makes sense that my body would detox? I don't know how that works. Having said that, what I can tell you is that on Saturday afternoon just gone, I felt extraordinarily nauseous for no good reason for three hours. It was very unpleasant, to the point that I wanted medication and didn't want to move from my bed, save to reach for my laptop to diagnose possible life-threatening medical conditions. After a few hours, unmedicated, the feeling passed and then I was fine (you can relax!). I can't put it down to anything else, and then this week, the falling scales... so maybe my fat cells are doing swirly-outy things, after all? Tata then, fat cells.

Sarah writes at the front of Chapter 6, "most of you will find you're no longer craving sugar, or sweetness". Not true for me, Sarah, and maybe that's because I stuffed up in the middle and was only ruthless at the start, therefore haven't given myself the chance to reach that elusive magical pinnacle of being sugar-craving free. Or maybe, sugary treats are just delicious and they are EVERYWHERE, making it very hard to avoid and get out of your psyche. For instance, at lunch today I walked past a bakery and made deliberate and prolonged eye-contact with a tray of handsome peppermint macarons. Are you trying to tell me I am supposed to have no feelings for said macarons? I just can't see that happening anytime soon. It truly does make me a bit sad. I just wish this stuff wasn't everywhere, so readily available. I wish I didn't love to bake them so much! The things that were once special treats are just, everywhere.

Having said that, Sarah Wilson started off her IQS journey hoping to break her reliance on honey, fruit, a piece of dark chocolate after lunch (did she mean piece, or family block?) and dessert if she was out. With all due respect: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. She wa'nt addicted to no cakes and bikkies. Maybe her reliance was just an itty bitty easier to give up?

Anyway. I'm still craving sweet things... I just feel like I have a little more control when it comes to dealing with those cravings. I'm more clear-headed to be able to take a mental pause, ask myself if I really want it, if this particular treat is worth damaging my health for, and how I will feel after - and then ultimately I'm able to decide (albeit a little sadly sometimes) that I won't have the treat this time. I should mention that this 'pause and think' process is happening automatically; it doesn't  involve me having to stop and write in my journal for 5 minutes - win! This is no small feat for me. Before IQS, it was like: Thought pops into head for chocolate/cake/whatever --> realise there's a possibility I'll regret it but have to get the chocolate because if I don't get it I might regret *that* and might go crazy! That's crazy talk! I have some clarity now, to think it over and make a decision based on a few things, and to know that I certainly am not going to go crazy if I decide to go without. It works a lot of the time. Sometimes it won't. Sometimes, after this IQS, I will make a very deliberate and happy decision to eat sugar and to have that sugar do its damage. It's just nice to be able to make a choice.

Anyway! I am reasonably happy with my efforts this week and keen to give the last two weeks a red hot go... through EASTER. Argh!