All Food Is Poison

I heard it for the first time chaperoning at Winter Fest with our youth group. Since that time the song “All Food Is Poison” has been played at multiple youth events. I strong recommend finding it on YouTube cause it is pretty funny.

My husband and I, went sugar free and white flour on Monday of this week. Since then this little ditty “All Food Is Poison” is resonating in my head. Everything in the vending machine, except peanuts has either sugar, flour or both. Don’t even get me started on the plethora of ingredients I cannot even pronounce. So much of what is easily available is a level of poison to our bodies.

THM

I have been playing with the Trim Healthy Mama (THM) plan for a few months. Trying recipes and testing it to see if I could abide by the way of life long term. I really believe we can. I do not feel like I am really missing anything…except for one granular exception. We have addressed before my sugar addiction. I have seen worse, but it is a pervasive passion for sweets, especially when things are bumpy. Tuesday was the worst. My body craved sugar to an extreme. I am talking about wanting to dip a stick of butter in sugar and calling it a day. (Before you say yuck that is 2 main ingredients in frosting…just saying.)

This is day 5 and we are doing it. I’ve had a couple of convenience foods that did not follow all the rules. By and large I have stuck to this all week long. It may be no big deal to you, for me this is celebration worthy.

Bye-Bye Sugar

This is not me saying I will never have another Oreo. This is not me saying I will never indulge in ice cream, tiramisu, potatoes and pie. I very much look forward to having those items in the future. Right now, I have to do what is best for me and this girl has a serious issue with sweet stuff. We all know it is not healthy. We all know using chemical sweeteners in their place are as bad if not worse. (Plus they are gross.) Along with saying bye to sugar, white flour is exiting as well.

Sunday evening, my husband and I got rid of every ounce of flour and sugar in the cupboards. Yes, I did want to cry a little. We got rid of syrups and flavorings. Everything that would potentially trip me up is out of my house. (Even the couple of hidden, emergency sweets that no one knew about it.) It is all gone. I felt such a sense of loss at those items being tossed out which made me realize that I want to be free of that addiction. (I have not missed them once this week either.)

Join Me (There are still cookies on the sugar free side)

In my detox frenzy on day 2, I started researching sugar addiction. Ironically the first article I come to tells me that Oreos are bad. There is a Forbes’ magazine article that states that Oreos are more addictive than cocaine or heroin. (Maybe Oreos are off the list.) Another article I found talks about Sugar being not only a drug but goes so far as to say it is the most dangerous drug of our time. I have talked about my sugar frenzy being like an addiction but I realized only recently that it was true statement.

Kicking the white stuff is not just a fad. The more I am reading is the more toxic I am finding it to be. Right now I am trying to eliminate as much sugar as possible, when I start enjoying sugar again - it will be natural options...mostly. When the holidays come I will eat the yummies, but it will be a treat - not a way of life.

Let’s Talk About Day Two

I started to write this on day 2 of my sugar surrender. It came to an abrupt end. Let me explain. The brain fog and exhaustion were almost unbearable. I was dozing off a little at my desk. I had a mild headache. In general I just felt gross and sleepy. Writing when you are sleepy is generally a bad idea.

So how do we do it…kick the sugar (and all unhealthy stuff) to the curb. We quit and we go through detox. Detox symptoms can vary and very much resemble quitting drugs. I think the psychological impact is worse than the physical reaction at least for me. I kept trying to read scripture and I listened to worship music throughout the day – more than usual. At one point I reached out to my husband and told him I was starving and he encouraged me. (This week he has been sending Proverbs 18:10.)

12 Steps?

I have never been through an addiction program, but we have all heard about the 12 steps. The steps talk about surrendering to God, admitting you have a problem and accepting help. Here is my point. If you look at those steps. You need God, you need support and you need to admit your issues. Like all types of addiction, you need help to kick sugar and junk to the curb. You need someone to say no to ill-gotten food gains at the grocery store. You also need a plan. My plan involves utilizing Click List at Kroger. I order my groceries from home and avoid temptation. I need my hubby to help me just say no to stuff that is bad for me. I am fortunate. Many spouses have to go it alone in their homes. Praise God, not me. Joe is on board with me to be healthier, happier and maybe a little lighter too.

So an adventure begins. We have a lot of great recipes in the arsenal and I have plans to tweak several family favorites to be more THM (Trim Healthy Mama) friendly. This is not a diet, it is a new way of life. This is one of MY MOUNTAINs and through faith it is being moved.