Before:
I remember adding 3 large spoonful’s of sugar to any hot drink I had made. Stirring it and smiling in greedy delight to accept the sweetness I was about to deliver to myself.
Sugar was my thing!
Sugar ringed doughnuts, sugary sweeties, sugar sprinkled over pancakes and the more sugar the happier I felt – or rather thought I was at the time. I mean, it certainly made me smile for a minute and it made my tongue dance to the buzz it gave to me.
However, I never considered it to be the cause of great sadness. Once I finished eating/drinking the sweet food, I would feel incredibly sad. I would remember that I did not look great in a bikini, or any kind of swimwear. I recalled the horrible names family members labelled me with – such as Fatso.
More often than not I would tumble into bed and cry myself to sleep, with tear-filled prayers asking God to make me skinnier and prettier for this world to be happy with.
Today:
I have switched from white bone char mixed sugars to brown vegan sugar. I no longer add any sugar to my porridge and I have 1 small teaspoon with English tea or no sugar with herbal teas.
Today, I do not have a stash of unhealthy snacks anywhere in my home. No food is hidden, and everything is visible to my visitors.
Yes, I still consume sugar in various forms, but consumption has been reduced immensely. I recognise that sugar and salt inflame my period pains. Sugar brings me up and then sends me crashing down into a sombre mood. I admit, for many years I have been ignorant of the way sugar triggers such emotional events in my life. I always blamed other factors, like myself for being too greedy, or just overdoing it with the amount I ate.
I had never stopped creating excuses as opposed to identifying reasons for my poor attitude towards sugar.
Forward:
I’ve reduced my sugar intake and will completely leave it out of some meals. However, from a realistic standpoint, I can’t see myself eradicating it from my life forever. I love baking and some things made sugar free, do not taste as scrumptious to me.
I will not sit here and lie to you all, for the sake of a healthy blog post! I will commit to continuing to reduce sugar from my diet and encourage others, positively to do the same.
During my period I have recognised that my body loves avocado! All fruits contain the sugar fructose, and this is a natural sugar. Hence why I could never become completely sugar-free – I love fruits and my womb loves them during menstruation.
For those of you that are looking to reduce the amount of sugar that is currently present in your diet. Here are some of my top tips:
- Switch to vegan sugar, as other sugars contain bone char from animals.
- Reduce the amount of sugar you usually add to your cereals.
- Avoid cereals that contain frosting – they are not beneficial to you at all.
- When presented with something sweet ask yourself and I want you to consider the answer to this, ‘What does this mean for me?’ For example, my answer to this may flow along the lines of, ‘This food is unhealthy, my body will not appreciate this in the long run.’
- Try other alternatives such as agave sugar.
Above everything, please remember to live a healthy life.
Love
Unique Fatso
Unique Fatso 