A noxious little white substance?

Tomorrow I plan to quit cold turkey and the reality is that I will probably be a grumpy ol' cow by this time tomorrow night. My lucky, lucky family will just have to live with me.

So what am I giving up? That noxious little white substance called - Sugar.

I watched a story on one of our news shows tonight and I've considered this for quite a while but the facts are scarier than I realised. I'm astounded and amazed by how bad it apparently is for you. Do you know that sugar supposedly affects the brain in much the same way as cocaine does - or so the research says.

I gave up smoking 356 days ago. Those first few weeks were some of the longest weeks of my life. How hubby and I didn't kill each other I'll never know because he gave up 2 days after me. In place of nicotine though, I tripled my intake of caffeine and sugar.

So coupled with giving up smoking and increasing my sugar intake, I've put on one or two (read that as lots) of kilos. I'm as heavy as I was following the birth of my boys. I can't really call it baby fat when the youngest is now 15 can I?

So tomorrow is D-Day, out with all sugar. The list is kind of daunting when you read what has sugar in it (and understand how many of these things I eat and thought were reasonably healthy) Things like bananas and watermelon and fruit juice - I eat or drink all three of these things every single day, yet they are extremely high in sugar, and the bad kind - fructose.

I possibly have 5 - 6 cups of coffee with at least one heaped spoon of sugar each cup a day, then a hot chocolate before bed. A muesli bar (full of sugar) a day as well. So seemingly healthy but not really healthy at all. Processed foods are another big trap, as are sauces and dressings.

I discussed what I'm doing with youngest son and recommended he should do it as well. No extra kilos for him to lose but a large consumption of sugary food and a strong family history of diabetes on his fathers side of the family. So our whole family diet is about to change.

They are going to simply love me - not! I'll take it kind of gently with them ~ big grin. I won't bore you all stupid with my entire journey but will keep you all up-to-date on progress or any subsequent near murders that I engage in.

My one saving grace is that I don't eat chocolate or lollies and too much sweet stuff actually makes me feel sick. They just showed the clips from tomorrow's news show and they have a story about the bad things which go into the milk you drink. I think I'll avoid watching that one. One thing at a time and ignorance is sometimes bliss.

So, have you made any big changes to the family eating habits, or just your own eating habits for that matter?

I may not eat chocolate, but my weakness - I just swallowed my last mouthful of hot chocolate for what should be a while. Wish me luck

Cheers, Fi