My name is Becca and I am addicted to sugar.
#hiBecca
I was listening to an interview with JJ Reddick this morning on sports radio and the hosts of the show were razzing him a little about how controlled and meticulous he is. He said something that made me stop and think hard about my life. He basically said, “I control every one of my choices. If there’s something that’s not going to aid in me being a better basketball player, I’m not going to do it.”
Food is fuel, he said.
Deep down inside, every one of us knows that food is fuel, of course. We understand the basic concept. But for many of us, food is more than fuel. Somewhere along the line, some wires got crossed in our head, and food became primarily about comfort or love or pleasure, instead of just fuel.
I have long known the dangers of over-consumption of white sugar, and I did do Whole30 last year (during which time there were several near-misses in the homicide department), but I went back to sugar after the 30 days was up.
You see, for me, sugar is about more than just good tasting food. Sugar is comfort. Sweets, specifically, are comfort. I have some wiring crossed in my brain somewhere, because when I was a kid, I learned that food was the best way to seek comfort. I’ve known this about myself for a long time. I went through a couple of years of therapy trying to unravel and re-program all those wires in my brain. I learned how to be gentle with myself, because that’s what I had learned about life as a kid.
But it’s time to start saying no. On some level, that gentleness is leading me back down the sugar path over and over again, and I need to learn some new habits.
So my friend Krystal and I are going to be doing a #deathtosugar challenge. We’re committing to two things:
- Walk 20 minutes a day
- Don’t eat refined sugars
Baby steps. What I don’t want is to make some giant, huge, over-arching commitment that I’m not going to be able to keep. I can tackle other health issues later. But for right now, I need to get moving and I need to get off sugar. So this is my commitment.
Krystal and I are going to report to each other every day. We’re going to tweet and blog our way through this. I know I’m going to HULK-OUT and be short-tempered, because I’ve done a sugar fast before, and I know I’m addicted. But I’ve got to do this.
I am going to walk every day. I am going to cut out refined sugars. I’m going to learn how to live a healthier life, and apply the things I know to be true.
I’m choosing the Highway to Health.
This is my first exit…. will you take it with me?
