How Do You Break Up With Sugar?

You've been going out now for quite a while. You've been close, you've had disagreements, you've had good times and bad times, but it's over now. You know now that it's not good for you. You know it's time to leave. So, how do you break up with sugar?

Sugar addiction is tough. Breaking up with sugar is no easy task. It takes a lot of discipline. It takes a lot of courage. But it can be done.

I remember as a child eating things like Twinkies, huge chocolate bars and spooning spoonfuls of sugar onto my breakfast cereal. Sugar was very natural for me to eat. I was skin and bones so no one thought it would matter if I ate just one more sugary treat. Then, as I grew, sugar stayed prominent in my life, as I went through the stages of becoming an adult. Sugar played a huge part when I met my husband and we decided to get married. We would celebrate our connection by picking up a 3-pack of Dove chocolate ice cream bars and go to a local park. There we would talk about our future, be in love, and of course, eat Dove chocolate ice cream bars - we split the 3rd bar!

Sugar and I started to disagree when I went through postpartum depression after the birth of my first child. I started to think that maybe sugar wasn't so good for me. But sugar battled back and won. I stayed a victim for 8 more years, during that time becoming more and more addicted, during that time becoming more and more overweight, during that time becoming more and more hormonal, depressed, obese, helpless, miserable. I blamed everything - my metabolism, my hormones, my husband, becoming a mother, the environment, the President, everything. Nothing could make me happy, but my sugar.

Until the day I gave it up. Talk about a power struggle.

After seeing photographic proof of what my body looked like, that's always fun and a good wake-up call, I rebelled and started to question my relationship with sugar. I tried to cut back. I tried to quit. I tried to have just a little bit. I tried many things to break up with sugar. But, sugar didn't want to break up with me. I did it anyway. It wasn't good for me. Period.

So, how do you break up with sugar? [your options]
• Cut back. Do you really know how much sugar you are consuming? Look at the food labels of what you are eating each day. How much sugar is it? Are you eating packaged foods? Are you adding sugar to foods? You can cut back by monitoring what you are currently eating, and cutting back on the sugary foods and drink. Sodas and chocolate are the biggest culprits of sugar, but don't be fooled. Breakfast cereals, bars, juices - all can have high levels of sugar as well. Just cut back in what you normally consume.
• Go cold turkey. Eliminate sugar from your nutrition completely. This one is hard. Have I done it? Yes, absolutely. Very hard to do, but great results. This option is for the very disciplined or very pissed off person. You get mad at the sugar. You see what sugar has done and you refuse to let it near you. You go through a few days of withdrawal, but you get over it and you start thriving physically and emotionally.
• Have just a little bit. You don't eat sugar during a normal day. You don't eat processed foods, but you get your sugar from natural sources, like fruits or honey. You occasionally have ice cream or something sugary, but immediately go back to a healthy nutrition plan. You can have just a little bit, but it does not consume you, the desire to have sugar.

Which option is best for you?
Depends on you!

Which option worked for me?
All of them!

I started out with cutting back. I eliminated the foods that were high in sugar and kept the ones I just couldn't give up. I educated myself on what foods had hidden sugar and stayed away from those. Then one day, I had to go cold turkey. I was in a contest and wanted to win. I just gave it up. It was hard, extremely hard, but I was mad and it worked. I did it for 12 weeks. Then I had just a little bit and went back to cold turkey and went back to having a little bit.

Today, battling with sugar is still there. It hasn't gone away completely. I do go cold turkey a couple of times of year and you know what, it's not a big deal now. When I am preparing for a contest or event, I won't eat sugar. You cannot pay me to eat sugar, because that's how much my discipline has grown. But then when the contest is over, I will have a little bit - a little bit - but then I go back to a healthy nutrition plan with no added sugar. Sugar is still in my life - but it plays a much smaller role, and now I am in control. I like having control over my metabolism, my hormones, my moods, my energy, my life. Now there's no one to blame but me if I do something wrong.

It is possible to break up with sugar. Are you mad enough to try?