Prompt 2 – Vices: Did you slip back into any old habits that you wish you hadn’t? Did you gain any new habits that you wish you would have walked away from? This prompt may sound dark and dreary, but we’ll be back to our sunshine selves tomorrow. Take today to reflect on a vice that you’d like to give up in the new year.
This one is, unfortunately, easy to answer. Sugar is my vice. Not salt, not fatty foods. Sugar.
I read once that a lab test was done on rats. Group A was given sugar, Group B was given crack cocaine. Guess who worked harder, longer and faster for their next hit? Yep – Group A. And with the withdrawals I can sometimes experience, I know this to be true.
Throughout my whole life, I have always been a sweets person, opting for dessert any time over “real food.” And then in 2007, like any other bad habit that needs to be kicked, I went cold turkey. It was the best decision I had ever made. I felt great, had more energy, and–what’s more–I realized that craving fits for sugar only occur if I you have sugar in your diet already. If you don’t have sugar, you don’t have cravings.
Yet slowly, over the course of the past 2 years, I’ve let the vice back into my life, and today I find myself back to being a full-blown addict. It doesn’t sit well with me. And this time, I recognize how differently my body feels, specifically, the ups and downs are more noticeable. I have headaches. I feel sluggish. I don’t have a taste for most other foods. Yet I can’t stop…or I don’t want to stop. This is what scares me. And this is why sugar can be as harmful as an illegal drug. The issue here is that my drug is perfectly legal, and in many cultures–including ours–is encouraged, desired and celebrated. The drug then takes an even more dangerous turn, incorporating a mental and emotional attachment to it.
I’ve made the pledge to myself to quit cold turkey again. It’s a shock to the body, but only for a few days, similar to eliminating coffee (or caffeine in general). From what I can recall, the payoff of feeling good is worth the sacrifice of giving up chocolate…So, the question becomes, then why is it so hard to break free of that cycle?
I very much relate to your post. Sugar is a big problem in my diet as well. Funny how I didn’t think of it when I did my vices. I simply put food because it seems to be my biggest problem right now. You have me thinking/dreading that I really need to consider quitting sugar myself. I cringe at the thought. It is soooo ingrained in everything. I must ponder it some more.
Thank you for this very insightful post.
Blessings,
Morgan
Thanks for your comment, Morgan. There are all things we can do to probably tweak our diets, and mine is far from perfect. But I know that sugar is the pervasive issue for me. It’s everywhere and in everything, and it’s what I can’t seem to say no to.
Thanks again for posting, and best of luck to you.