Sugar

     It's true that sugar is addicting.  I'm sorry to say that I'm addicted.  I have had a hard time my whole life being addicted to this stuff.  Growing up, my mother had a treat drawer for the grandkids, I was always in it.  My mother always made donuts for Christmas, because it was a tradition!  Can't sway from tradition!  We always had gum in the cupboard, and when I was 3 years old I climbed up on the counter to get to the gum, fell and broke my arm.  I don't remember the pain from that fall, but I do remember the cast.  I remember walking to the neighborhood store to buy penny candy, and eating most of it even before I got home. 

     When I was a bit older in school we had a field trip to the Wonder Bread factory.  We each got a little loaf of bread, and a bottle of chocolate milk.  I was pudgy in my junior high years, and didn't really start losing weight until I got to high school and got a boyfriend, I guess I just lived on love and stopped eating.  However, there was 7-11 across the street where we would go to get sugar in the form of sodas, and cheap treats! 

     As I got a bit older, and got married and had my family, sugar has always played a roll in our home.  It's a cultural thing in our church.  Go to an activity, have a treat.  I baked quite frequently for my family.  Always had cookies in the cookie jar etc.  I was helping my children to become addicted, and it worked!  My kids also have a sweet tooth.  Vicious cycle. 

     It wasn't until I became a plant based eater that I really learned the truth behind sugar.  I love to listen to Chef AJ.  She talks a lot about calorie density.  That woman eats a lot, and is thin!!  This past week, I listened to a webinar that was posted to Youtube.  I don't think it's available anymore as this is what she uses for her plan, and it's her business.  She talked in great detail how calorie density plays a huge roll in how a body loses weight.  She demonstrates how many apples you could eat compared to how many M&Ms for the same amount of calories.  I had heard her say it before, but for some reason it caught my attention this time.  She also talks how sugar can be so addicting.  There is a pleasure center in our brains.  When we eat sugar or complex carbs ie breads, pancakes etc it turns on our pleasure centers on with dopamine much like drugs.  The more we eat, the more we have to have.  Isn't that how drugs work?  Very addicting!

     I have tried several times to quit the sugar addiction.  I haven't quite yet figured out how to overcome this problem.  I don't have a problem with meat, dairy or oils but sugar is a whole different problem.  I know, don't have it in the house, but I still work full time in a hospital full of nurses that like to bring junk to our break rooms, and a nurse that has chocolate in her office.  I have NO willpower!  If it's in front of me, I sir-come to temptation.  Then I feel badly with stomach aches etc.  When I pack my lunch for work, I pack good things to eat but then the sweet tooth comes to bite me in the butt.  I guess it all boils down to what you want to do with your health with your weight.

     I do know that when my hubby gets a job, I'm going to join Chef AJ and her program for ultimate weight loss.  I have seen people that have had great results working with her.  We all have our crosses to bear, and mine is sugar.