History lesson: in a lab years ago, some guy sought to create a drug for treating ulcers. While he worked, some of the substance must have stuck to his fingers because later -- rumor has it while he flipped through the pages of a book -- he licked a finger and discovered that what he hoped would become an ulcer drug tasted really sweet.
Today, we know it as aspartame.
Aspartame is the ingredient in NutraSweet and Equal that inspires so many people to pour it into coffee without reservation. It's also in a newer artificial sweetener called AminoSweet. I did a little digging this morning and on AminoSweet's website, I found a press release posted by its maker, Ajinomoto, about its defense of aspartame. In part, it read as follows:
"Products sweetened with aspartame help people to control their weight. At a time when the health profession and the government are seeking ways to combat overweight and obesity, it is unconscionable that ASDA should try to villify a safe and beneficial food ingredient."
To ASDA (a European grocery store), villify on! There has been lots of controversy over aspartame for years, and lots of people who speak out against it: like DORway, and a documentary called Sweet Misery and a list of 92 side effects reported to the FDA by the countless who swear the sweetener has hurt them. Personally, I'm a believer. But beyond the complaints about the synthetic sweetener causing health problems, the real reason I encourage ASDA (and the rest of the world) to put up a fight against aspartame is Ajimoto's defense of it.
It basically says products sweetened with aspartame help people control their weight, and at a time when ways are sought to combat obesity, how dare the world trash talk aspartame.
Bull. How dare aspartame (and the people behind it) sleep at night? Yeah, there may be some truth to its ability to help a person control his or her weight, but that means squat to me. Aspartame is an enabler. It's another excuse humans can use to live one way and look like they live another. It's nutritional narcissism. It's another step away from behavior modification and another step toward a weak and helpless human race. And that, friends, is what is unconscionable.
I find it funny that when somebody has diabetes (it runs in my family) or wants to lose weight, so many are quick to cut out sugar and even quicker to replace it with artificial sweeteners. They give up soda, but drink diet soda daily. They don't put sugar in their coffee anymore -- instead, they use Equal.
It's typically American that we'd convince ourselves we need soda so much that to give it up altogether is absurd, and to replace it with drinks that are laced with what should have been an ulcer drug makes sense.
If you want to control your weight, you have to control yourself. And aspartame doesn't promote that ability.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sugar and the brain.
Friends, grad school is hard.
By hard, I mean time consuming. Brain stretching. Challenging. But totally awesome, with the exception of midterms and finals. (Those will always stink.) Yesterday, while I quizzed myself with flash cards for a test in Human Growth and Development, I noticed something interesting.
Apparently, my memory is amazing.
Now, I don't mean to brag. I mean to express the following: WHAT THE CRAP IS HAPPENING TO MY BRAIN? But, you know, in a good way! While I studied, I sincerely, repeatedly surprised myself with how quickly I recalled what I hadn't read about in weeks. I assure you that this has never happened before. I'm not a bad student by any means (3.7ish undergrad GPA, represent!), but studying has never been my strong suit.
Anyway, I almost blogged about it right away, but I didn't want to jump the gun and bomb the test. So tonight, I took the test and -- once again -- I surprised myself.
The test, mostly essays with some matching and multiple choice, was simple until I got to page four, where two essays were worth a combined value of 18 points (out of 100). My heart sank because I hadn't studied either topic. I really had no idea. So, I wung it. I went with answers that seemed feasible and moved ahead. Afterward, unable to take the suspense, I checked the textbook. As I skimmed for something relevant to the second of the two essays I was sure I bombed, I vaguely remembered reading the chapter.
Weeks ago.
And when I found the answer, I surprised myself again because at least 2/3 of what I wrote was exactly what the book advised (and the other third should count as well, according to my mom who already has a master's degree in what I'm studying). How, pray tell, did I pull it out of my brain without a reminder of it between learning it and being tested on it? And how is any of this relevant to my sugar free year?
Well, I can't help but wonder: is there a connection between sugar and memory? Could it be that my breaking up with sugar has given my brain new powers?
Clearly, I haven't done the research. Yet. But so far, I think I'm a believer.
By hard, I mean time consuming. Brain stretching. Challenging. But totally awesome, with the exception of midterms and finals. (Those will always stink.) Yesterday, while I quizzed myself with flash cards for a test in Human Growth and Development, I noticed something interesting.
Apparently, my memory is amazing.
Now, I don't mean to brag. I mean to express the following: WHAT THE CRAP IS HAPPENING TO MY BRAIN? But, you know, in a good way! While I studied, I sincerely, repeatedly surprised myself with how quickly I recalled what I hadn't read about in weeks. I assure you that this has never happened before. I'm not a bad student by any means (3.7ish undergrad GPA, represent!), but studying has never been my strong suit.
Anyway, I almost blogged about it right away, but I didn't want to jump the gun and bomb the test. So tonight, I took the test and -- once again -- I surprised myself.
The test, mostly essays with some matching and multiple choice, was simple until I got to page four, where two essays were worth a combined value of 18 points (out of 100). My heart sank because I hadn't studied either topic. I really had no idea. So, I wung it. I went with answers that seemed feasible and moved ahead. Afterward, unable to take the suspense, I checked the textbook. As I skimmed for something relevant to the second of the two essays I was sure I bombed, I vaguely remembered reading the chapter.
Weeks ago.
And when I found the answer, I surprised myself again because at least 2/3 of what I wrote was exactly what the book advised (and the other third should count as well, according to my mom who already has a master's degree in what I'm studying). How, pray tell, did I pull it out of my brain without a reminder of it between learning it and being tested on it? And how is any of this relevant to my sugar free year?
Well, I can't help but wonder: is there a connection between sugar and memory? Could it be that my breaking up with sugar has given my brain new powers?
Clearly, I haven't done the research. Yet. But so far, I think I'm a believer.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Label happy.
Since learning about sugar's several names, I've gotten a little label happy. I read labels like my life depends on it (and in some ways, it's starting to seem like that's possible).
Even when I have no plans to consume what's inside the box, bag or container, I find it all really interesting. For instance: Friday night, while some family members sat around the kitchen table sipping coffee, I read the back of their powdered, non-dairy -- I repeat, non-dairy -- creamer container.
Among the ingredients? Milk.
Who do these people think we are? And how much longer are we going to take it? If I'm starting to sound like a renegade eater, ready to forsake convenience for the sake of my health, it's because I'm probably on the verge of becoming one.
The more I look into what we are being fed (both literally and not-so-literally), the more inspired I am to steer clear of the standard American diet. And the easier my sugar free year starts to feel.
Even when I have no plans to consume what's inside the box, bag or container, I find it all really interesting. For instance: Friday night, while some family members sat around the kitchen table sipping coffee, I read the back of their powdered, non-dairy -- I repeat, non-dairy -- creamer container.
Among the ingredients? Milk.
Who do these people think we are? And how much longer are we going to take it? If I'm starting to sound like a renegade eater, ready to forsake convenience for the sake of my health, it's because I'm probably on the verge of becoming one.
The more I look into what we are being fed (both literally and not-so-literally), the more inspired I am to steer clear of the standard American diet. And the easier my sugar free year starts to feel.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Study snacks.
I should be studying.
In fact, I should have been studying all day, when instead, I surfed the Web, braided my hair, watched three Lifetime movies and caught up on my Google Reader. (In my defense, my uterus hurts and this is what I do when my uterus hurts.) (Is that TMI?)
Now that night has rolled around, I managed to get myself to turn off the TV and my flash cards, text book and notes are a few feet away. Still, something is missing.
Study snacks.
I like to crunch while I cram. Whenever I study, I get the munchies. But during my sugar free year, I am having the hardest time finding easy snacks. So far, popcorn is all that really qualifies. And as mesmerizing as it is to stand dangerously close to the microwave to watch the miracle of popcorn unfold with the bag that holds it, it's getting kind of old.
There's always the concoction -- bananas, walnuts and honey -- or, as I discovered this weekend, a spoonful of all natural peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts and salt. I love it!) plus honey. But... is there anything else?
I am open to ideas.
In fact, I should have been studying all day, when instead, I surfed the Web, braided my hair, watched three Lifetime movies and caught up on my Google Reader. (In my defense, my uterus hurts and this is what I do when my uterus hurts.) (Is that TMI?)
Now that night has rolled around, I managed to get myself to turn off the TV and my flash cards, text book and notes are a few feet away. Still, something is missing.
Study snacks.
I like to crunch while I cram. Whenever I study, I get the munchies. But during my sugar free year, I am having the hardest time finding easy snacks. So far, popcorn is all that really qualifies. And as mesmerizing as it is to stand dangerously close to the microwave to watch the miracle of popcorn unfold with the bag that holds it, it's getting kind of old.
There's always the concoction -- bananas, walnuts and honey -- or, as I discovered this weekend, a spoonful of all natural peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts and salt. I love it!) plus honey. But... is there anything else?
I am open to ideas.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
a letter to the American food industry
Dear food industry,
First and foremost, thank you.
Thank you for existing. Thank you for filling our grocery shelves, shopping carts and stomachs. Thank you for funny commercials, free delivery and fabulous selection. Thank you for saving time for parents with Hamburger Helper, frozen dinners and fast food restaurants. Thank you for turning lunchtime into Food Heaven for kids (most notably with Luncheables, Handi-Snacks and Squeeze-It). Thank you for dollar menus and dollar-off coupons and under-the-cap contests.
While I thank you for the ways you have supplemented American life, I would be remiss not to thank you for even more of what you have done. So, thank you also for clogged arteries and obesity. Thank you for cancer, heart attacks and the bypass surgeries you inspire. Thank you for the fat that fills the spaces between our vital organs and the rest of our torsos, especially in people who have pot bellies. (And thanks for not fear mongering, as you would have been if you hadn't refrained from warning us it would happen. Way to go!) Thank you for diabetes, for cavities and for cankles.
We appreciate it.
What's that, food industry? You're feeling a little misled by my first paragraph? And it hurts? Well, DON'T DISH IT OUT IF YOU CAN'T TAKE IT. But that, food industry, isn't my only suggestion.
For starters, be honest. Don't act like we know what maltodextrin is. Unless you tell us it's sugar, we can't know (Oh, snap! The secret is out!). And speaking of secrets, define natural flavors. Don't act like anyone knows what it is.
And care, for once, about something other than the bottom line. Your dishonesty causes death.
You don't need to exchange morality for money. You can have both, if it's what you really want. Need I remind you what country we're in? If you tell us what your food has that we don't need (and why we don't need it) and what your food doesn't have that we do need (and what will happen if we don't get it), there are millions of lazy Americans who will still buy what you sell. If you want to get really crazy, forsake the things in your food that we don't need and sell us real food instead. If that's a step you aren't willing to take, then for the sake of the ones who care, stop acting like what you have to offer is exactly what we need.
It is evident, by the way, that you have partnered with the diet industry, the medical industry and several infomercials. But don't get excited. Several of us are aware that you cannot be healthy if all you eat is "healthy" frozen meals. We know that even a little fast food does hurt. We realize you cannot keep the results of working out if you eat anything you want and if exercise is easy, it is clear that you are doing it wrong.
But, I digress.
Finally, I also suggest you put a lot of thought into whether you will be able to live with the chest pains caused by eating what comes from your line of work, and with the stents that are sure to follow. (It might be wise, too, to consider whether you can handle knowing you caused that and worse in several million other people.)
Sincerely,
Arleen Spenceley
---
Notes to readers:
1. No offense to people with pot bellies. It's important that American eaters know that as fat distributes in the body, it is more likely to show up surrounding vital organs when a person has a large stomach.
2. I have never had a cavity. Heck yeah!
First and foremost, thank you.
Thank you for existing. Thank you for filling our grocery shelves, shopping carts and stomachs. Thank you for funny commercials, free delivery and fabulous selection. Thank you for saving time for parents with Hamburger Helper, frozen dinners and fast food restaurants. Thank you for turning lunchtime into Food Heaven for kids (most notably with Luncheables, Handi-Snacks and Squeeze-It). Thank you for dollar menus and dollar-off coupons and under-the-cap contests.
While I thank you for the ways you have supplemented American life, I would be remiss not to thank you for even more of what you have done. So, thank you also for clogged arteries and obesity. Thank you for cancer, heart attacks and the bypass surgeries you inspire. Thank you for the fat that fills the spaces between our vital organs and the rest of our torsos, especially in people who have pot bellies. (And thanks for not fear mongering, as you would have been if you hadn't refrained from warning us it would happen. Way to go!) Thank you for diabetes, for cavities and for cankles.
We appreciate it.
What's that, food industry? You're feeling a little misled by my first paragraph? And it hurts? Well, DON'T DISH IT OUT IF YOU CAN'T TAKE IT. But that, food industry, isn't my only suggestion.
For starters, be honest. Don't act like we know what maltodextrin is. Unless you tell us it's sugar, we can't know (Oh, snap! The secret is out!). And speaking of secrets, define natural flavors. Don't act like anyone knows what it is.
And care, for once, about something other than the bottom line. Your dishonesty causes death.
You don't need to exchange morality for money. You can have both, if it's what you really want. Need I remind you what country we're in? If you tell us what your food has that we don't need (and why we don't need it) and what your food doesn't have that we do need (and what will happen if we don't get it), there are millions of lazy Americans who will still buy what you sell. If you want to get really crazy, forsake the things in your food that we don't need and sell us real food instead. If that's a step you aren't willing to take, then for the sake of the ones who care, stop acting like what you have to offer is exactly what we need.
It is evident, by the way, that you have partnered with the diet industry, the medical industry and several infomercials. But don't get excited. Several of us are aware that you cannot be healthy if all you eat is "healthy" frozen meals. We know that even a little fast food does hurt. We realize you cannot keep the results of working out if you eat anything you want and if exercise is easy, it is clear that you are doing it wrong.
But, I digress.
Finally, I also suggest you put a lot of thought into whether you will be able to live with the chest pains caused by eating what comes from your line of work, and with the stents that are sure to follow. (It might be wise, too, to consider whether you can handle knowing you caused that and worse in several million other people.)
Sincerely,
Arleen Spenceley
---
Notes to readers:
1. No offense to people with pot bellies. It's important that American eaters know that as fat distributes in the body, it is more likely to show up surrounding vital organs when a person has a large stomach.
2. I have never had a cavity. Heck yeah!
Go Jamie!
As a longtime appreciater of nutrition and English accents, I am stoked to share the following quote, which comes from a guy who promotes both:
"My wish is for you to have a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again and to empower people everywhere to fight obesity ... This is a global problem. It is a catastrophe. It is sweeping the world. England is right behind you [America], as usual ... We need a revolution." -Jamie Oliver, a.k.a. The Naked Chef.
The quote comes from a CNN story about the celebrity chef's recent win of the TED Award. The prize is given annually to a different speaker at the TED Conference, a gathering of good thinkers who share ideas that could probably rock the world. Each winner gets the honor and a cash prize, plus the chance to share a wish for the world. According to the story on CNN,
"My wish is for you to have a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again and to empower people everywhere to fight obesity ... This is a global problem. It is a catastrophe. It is sweeping the world. England is right behind you [America], as usual ... We need a revolution." -Jamie Oliver, a.k.a. The Naked Chef.
The quote comes from a CNN story about the celebrity chef's recent win of the TED Award. The prize is given annually to a different speaker at the TED Conference, a gathering of good thinkers who share ideas that could probably rock the world. Each winner gets the honor and a cash prize, plus the chance to share a wish for the world. According to the story on CNN,
"Oliver outlined a number of specific steps to help America get back to local and fresh foods and to combat obesity. Among them, he said:
• Every child in the U.S. should learn to cook 10 meals before leaving high school.
• Supermarkets should appoint 'food ambassadors' to explain to customers how they can prepare local, fresh and seasonal foods.
• Food companies should make education a central part of their business.
• Food labeling should be improved to accurately warn people about unhealthy food. He called America's current food-labeling system a 'farce.'"
• Every child in the U.S. should learn to cook 10 meals before leaving high school.
• Supermarkets should appoint 'food ambassadors' to explain to customers how they can prepare local, fresh and seasonal foods.
• Food companies should make education a central part of their business.
• Food labeling should be improved to accurately warn people about unhealthy food. He called America's current food-labeling system a 'farce.'"
So I think I speak for all of us when I say, "Go Jamie!" Now, go watch the video of him featured with the story on CNN. It's only a little over 2 minutes long. Bask in his wisdom and his accent.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Duped.
I can't say I didn't see this coming. But just FYI, on a daily basis, we are duped. All of us. Swindled. Hoodwinked. Made victim of cold hearted corporate trickery! Read on and I will explain.
On the way to work this morning, I stopped at Publix to replenish my workday snack supply. Since starting my sugar free year, I'm an avid reader of ingredients lists while I aimlessly wander the aisles waiting to spot some deliciosity. Today, I spotted it quickly. A can of wasabi-soy covered almonds. Love them! [insert celebratory air guitar solo]. Buy one, get one? Don't mind if I do! I cradled the nut cans and decided I'd check out the Cheez-Its. While I walked toward the cracker aisle, I read the ingredients on the almonds.
Three ingredients in, I got de-nied. Almonds, canola oil, sugar.
Oh come on! So naturally, with a heavy heart because I love any and all combinations of wasabi and soy, I put them back on the shelf. I replaced them with the much less exciting but sugarless salt and pepper nut mix and moved on to the Cheez-Its. I chose Italian Four Cheese, paid for the snackage and went to work.
When I got a free minute, while stuffing my face with Italian Four Cheese Cheez-Its, I decided to do what I've been putting off: look a little deeper into alternative names for sugar. I knew there were several substances that hide in ingredients lists. They lay low like nothing's wrong when what's really, really wrong is that they are sugar masquerading as things you've never heard of. Some are actually sugar under a sneaky name, and some are basically sugar under a sneaky name. Either way, it is best that I avoid them.
So tell me how horrible it is that both the nuts I bought this morning and the Cheez-Its are wolves in sheep's clothing.
Yeah, that's right! Planters Salt and Pepper Nut Mix sits there in the can, acting sugarless, not even telling you about maltodextrin! And you think there's no sugar in Cheez-Its? How about they have both dextrose and corn syrup solids?
Like I said. Hoodwinked.
It looks like I'll need to step it up a notch or several for the rest of my sugar free year. I'll put some thought into what snacks are safe and report back later. In the meantime, courtesy of trainer Dustin Maher, here's a list of what you might see in an ingredients list that may as well say sugar.
1. Barley malt
2. Barbados sugar
3. Beet sugar
4. Brown sugar
5. Buttered syrup
6. Cane juice
7. Cane sugar
8. Caramel
9. Corn syrup
10. Corn syrup solids
11. Confectioner’s sugar
12. Carob syrup
13. Castor sugar
14. Date sugar
15. Dehydrated cane juice
16. Demerara sugar
17. Dextran
18. Dextrose
19. Diastatic malt
20. Diatase
21. Ethyl maltol
22. Free Flowing Brown Sugars
23. Fructose
24. Fruit juice
25. Fruit juice concentrate
26. Galactose
27. Glucose
28. Glucose solids
29. Golden sugar
30. Golden syrup
31. Grape sugar
32. High Frustose Corn Syrup
33. Honey
34. Icing sugar
35. Invert sugar
36. Lactose
37. Malt
38. Maltodextrin
39. Maltose
40. Malt syrup
41. Mannitol
42. Maple syrup
43. Molasses
44. Muscovado
45. Panocha
46. Powdered Sugar
47. Raw sugar
48. Refiner’s syrup
49. Rice syrup
50. Sorbitol
51. Sorghum syrup
52. Sucrose
53. Sugar (granulated)
54. Treacle
55. Turbinado sugar
56. Yellow sugar
On the way to work this morning, I stopped at Publix to replenish my workday snack supply. Since starting my sugar free year, I'm an avid reader of ingredients lists while I aimlessly wander the aisles waiting to spot some deliciosity. Today, I spotted it quickly. A can of wasabi-soy covered almonds. Love them! [insert celebratory air guitar solo]. Buy one, get one? Don't mind if I do! I cradled the nut cans and decided I'd check out the Cheez-Its. While I walked toward the cracker aisle, I read the ingredients on the almonds.
Three ingredients in, I got de-nied. Almonds, canola oil, sugar.
Oh come on! So naturally, with a heavy heart because I love any and all combinations of wasabi and soy, I put them back on the shelf. I replaced them with the much less exciting but sugarless salt and pepper nut mix and moved on to the Cheez-Its. I chose Italian Four Cheese, paid for the snackage and went to work.
When I got a free minute, while stuffing my face with Italian Four Cheese Cheez-Its, I decided to do what I've been putting off: look a little deeper into alternative names for sugar. I knew there were several substances that hide in ingredients lists. They lay low like nothing's wrong when what's really, really wrong is that they are sugar masquerading as things you've never heard of. Some are actually sugar under a sneaky name, and some are basically sugar under a sneaky name. Either way, it is best that I avoid them.
So tell me how horrible it is that both the nuts I bought this morning and the Cheez-Its are wolves in sheep's clothing.
Yeah, that's right! Planters Salt and Pepper Nut Mix sits there in the can, acting sugarless, not even telling you about maltodextrin! And you think there's no sugar in Cheez-Its? How about they have both dextrose and corn syrup solids?
Like I said. Hoodwinked.
It looks like I'll need to step it up a notch or several for the rest of my sugar free year. I'll put some thought into what snacks are safe and report back later. In the meantime, courtesy of trainer Dustin Maher, here's a list of what you might see in an ingredients list that may as well say sugar.
1. Barley malt
2. Barbados sugar
3. Beet sugar
4. Brown sugar
5. Buttered syrup
6. Cane juice
7. Cane sugar
8. Caramel
9. Corn syrup
10. Corn syrup solids
11. Confectioner’s sugar
12. Carob syrup
13. Castor sugar
14. Date sugar
15. Dehydrated cane juice
16. Demerara sugar
17. Dextran
18. Dextrose
19. Diastatic malt
20. Diatase
21. Ethyl maltol
22. Free Flowing Brown Sugars
23. Fructose
24. Fruit juice
25. Fruit juice concentrate
26. Galactose
27. Glucose
28. Glucose solids
29. Golden sugar
30. Golden syrup
31. Grape sugar
32. High Frustose Corn Syrup
33. Honey
34. Icing sugar
35. Invert sugar
36. Lactose
37. Malt
38. Maltodextrin
39. Maltose
40. Malt syrup
41. Mannitol
42. Maple syrup
43. Molasses
44. Muscovado
45. Panocha
46. Powdered Sugar
47. Raw sugar
48. Refiner’s syrup
49. Rice syrup
50. Sorbitol
51. Sorghum syrup
52. Sucrose
53. Sugar (granulated)
54. Treacle
55. Turbinado sugar
56. Yellow sugar
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sweet!
So I'm 39 days into my sugar free year. Is it just me, or does it seem like it's been longer? Anyway, for those who are just now joining me, a recap:
In the last month and a week, I've already had a couple of sugar snafus: twice I ate sugar accidentally. And during a bout of what may or may not have been the plague, all I could (and sometimes couldn't) keep down was Jello and Gatorade. So we're going to have to cross off that week. According to some, we should rename the blog: my almost sugar free year.
But that just isn't as catchy.
Aside from the aforementioned failu--- No. Incidents. We'll call them incidents. Aside from them, things haven't been so bad. I rarely crave sweets and when I do, I can usually quench it with fruit or quell it with distraction. Except for once.
I can't remember what my parents were parading around -- brownies, cookies. Something like that. (I've repressed it.) But I needed something sweet. So, I raided the kitchen. And this -- totally legal in terms of my sugar free year -- is what I came up with:
In the last month and a week, I've already had a couple of sugar snafus: twice I ate sugar accidentally. And during a bout of what may or may not have been the plague, all I could (and sometimes couldn't) keep down was Jello and Gatorade. So we're going to have to cross off that week. According to some, we should rename the blog: my almost sugar free year.
But that just isn't as catchy.
Aside from the aforementioned failu--- No. Incidents. We'll call them incidents. Aside from them, things haven't been so bad. I rarely crave sweets and when I do, I can usually quench it with fruit or quell it with distraction. Except for once.
I can't remember what my parents were parading around -- brownies, cookies. Something like that. (I've repressed it.) But I needed something sweet. So, I raided the kitchen. And this -- totally legal in terms of my sugar free year -- is what I came up with:
1 banana, sliced.
a handful of crumbled walnuts.
a teaspoon (or two) of all natural honey drizzled across the top.
I call it... the concoction. And it was delish! Hit the spot totally, and I haven't really craved sweetness ever since (at least not to the extent that required my raiding the kitchen).
Saturday, February 6, 2010
I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
WARNING: Some of the following might be TMI for those who have vivid imaginations. But suck it up. You can handle it!
Wow it's been forever. My apologies for keeping you out of the loop! What's kept me from blogging was horrid. If I had enemies, I wouldn't wish it on them. And it forced me to put my sugar free year on pause. Time to disclose!
On a recent Monday, I spent all day trying to study for the class I'd have that night. But, friends, it just wasn't happening. I had less than no appetite, so I barely ate a bowl of soup and for the entire day, that's all. When I'd read, I'd fall asleep. When I'd sit up, I'd feel weak. When I'd walk, I'd get dizzy. And when four o'clock rolled around, I ignored it all and headed off to school. (So studious!)
By the time I got there (it takes an hour one way), I could barely hold my head up. My skin hurt. My joints ached. I experienced eye socket sensitivity. (Crazy!) And as long as my eyes were open, I was woozy. Class clearly wasn't going to work out for me. So half way into it, when the the prof gave us our ten minute break, I told him, in other words, that I might be dying so I needed to go home.
Somehow, undoubtedly by the grace of God, I made it home without stopping to spew. But what followed was horrible. Dizziness. Weakness. Couldn't keep food or liquids up (or down). (Is that TMI?) Dehydration. Delirium from the fever that fought the sickness. (That part was funny.) I didn't go back to school at all that week, and I didn't go back to work until Friday. And all I ate --- confessions! --- was Jello, and all I drank was Gatorade. Clearly, friends, these items broke my rules. But my mom made me do it (in effort to avoid extreme dehydration). I complied.
But by Friday of that week -- when I could finally keep food both up and down -- I began, once again, eating real food and ever since, all of it's been sans sugar.
Coming soon: what to do when you can't eat sugar that doesn't naturally occur but you are craving sweets! I found the ultimate solution. Stay tuned!
Wow it's been forever. My apologies for keeping you out of the loop! What's kept me from blogging was horrid. If I had enemies, I wouldn't wish it on them. And it forced me to put my sugar free year on pause. Time to disclose!
On a recent Monday, I spent all day trying to study for the class I'd have that night. But, friends, it just wasn't happening. I had less than no appetite, so I barely ate a bowl of soup and for the entire day, that's all. When I'd read, I'd fall asleep. When I'd sit up, I'd feel weak. When I'd walk, I'd get dizzy. And when four o'clock rolled around, I ignored it all and headed off to school. (So studious!)
By the time I got there (it takes an hour one way), I could barely hold my head up. My skin hurt. My joints ached. I experienced eye socket sensitivity. (Crazy!) And as long as my eyes were open, I was woozy. Class clearly wasn't going to work out for me. So half way into it, when the the prof gave us our ten minute break, I told him, in other words, that I might be dying so I needed to go home.
Somehow, undoubtedly by the grace of God, I made it home without stopping to spew. But what followed was horrible. Dizziness. Weakness. Couldn't keep food or liquids up (or down). (Is that TMI?) Dehydration. Delirium from the fever that fought the sickness. (That part was funny.) I didn't go back to school at all that week, and I didn't go back to work until Friday. And all I ate --- confessions! --- was Jello, and all I drank was Gatorade. Clearly, friends, these items broke my rules. But my mom made me do it (in effort to avoid extreme dehydration). I complied.
But by Friday of that week -- when I could finally keep food both up and down -- I began, once again, eating real food and ever since, all of it's been sans sugar.
Coming soon: what to do when you can't eat sugar that doesn't naturally occur but you are craving sweets! I found the ultimate solution. Stay tuned!
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