3 Weeks Sugar Free -Reporting In

Well, I've been sugar free for over three weeks, and reduced gluten intake to less than once/week.

Well, if I had relied on the advertising, I would be expecting every area of my life to have done a complete turnaround -my skin would be glowing, I'd be sleeping all night, my mood swings gone the way of the dodo, my home immaculate from nightly visits by house-elves, and my bank account overflowing.  I should have lost 60 pounds by now, too!

Because refined sugar and wheat are the devil, right? 

There were moments I was white knuckling it, I promise you.  A bad day at work traditionally means self-comforting through chocolate.  One day I was literally CRYING because I wanted cookies so bad.  I promised myself I could have ANYTHING for dinner, anything at all -pizza, Cajun BBQ, mac n cheese, ANYTHING that wasn't sugar.  After I got home and cried some more, I decided to just eat what I had in the house, which is all very practical and "clean" as the trainers say.

So, this very un-pretty addiction I have is pretty hard to break.  Sometimes I have to breathe through it.  Sometimes I have to just Feel My Feelings, being unable to numb out in sugar and junk food.  Feel. Acknowledge. Release.

As with every junkie, I want it most when I am hurting, lonely, sad or overwhelmed.  I spent all last year relying more on sugar to get through my life than God, and my commitment for this year has been to reverse that.

So there I am, feeling slightly stupid as I offer up my anger, hurt, sadness, disappointment, craving for sugar, and say, "Jesus, I got nothing.  I know you are here.  Thank you for everything and everybody I have in my life.  Help me rely on you."

So here is what I see developing in my life as I walk away from this addiction and toward the person God created me to be:

My mood swings are fewer and farther between.  I have better control over my raw emotions.  I have better control over my asthma, rarely needing my rescue inhaler.  I do not know if I have lost weight, because I gave up weighing, and instead am measuring progress by obedience to the plan.  But I feel better, calmer, more energetic.

Still waiting on the house-elves.