The "Consume Less Sugar" Round-Up

Over the course of the past month, I’ve had quite a few questions about how this No Added Sugar Products month has been treating me, how it is going, etc.  Now that I’m at the end of the line, I’d like reflect on my total experience and answer some of them here. 

So how did a month without sugar treat me?  How did it go?  It went pretty well.  It wasn’t always easy, but it wasn’t that hard either.  And it treated me pretty dang good.  I feel good, though on some days, I felt like I tried to make up for the absence of sugar with more fat in my diet than really was optimum.  It is true; meat, nuts, and cheese have been my go-to defense this month.  I can’t even tell you how many bags/jars of almonds I’ve inhaled. Still, it is entirely possible that my diet before this month was lacking in the protein department: craving sugar or carbohydrates often is a sign of such a protein deficiency.

My lovely Almonds, I wouldn't have made it without you.

Also, while my goal in giving up sugar was NOT weight loss, I will say that I’ve shed the 3-4 pounds I put on over the holiday season.  That may be a result of my sugar fast.  It also may be simply because I’m not eating and drinking like a pig now that the holiday season is well behind us, and because my exercise routine is a little more stable.

A lot of people have asked me if I missed sugar.  The short answer?  Hell yeah, I did.  It got easier to say no to sweets; it got easier to navigate around hidden sugars in the supermarket aisles and in restaurants.  But I did and do miss the luxury of splitting some awesome 2500-calorie dessert after a nice dinner out.  And when I walk by Whole Foods, and the vents from the bakery unleash the aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies onto the sidewalk—yeah, I die a small death somewhere deep inside.  

Sometimes I just want to shout it from the hilltops. Artwork by Benek Kuleczka.

Some friends also assume I’m going to go nuts with the sugar come Tuesday, to make up for lost time.  Of course, it is tempting to run out and spend my Groupon for a dozen Cupcake Royale cupcakes and have a cupcake-gorging session, as one friend suggested we do this week.  That isn’t going to happen.   Still, I’m excited to be able to relax and enjoy certain foods and drinks that typically have sugar added in, like dried tropical fruit and tonic water and wheat bread.

However, here’s the thing that I’ve reminded myself daily all month long: these sweet luxuries are not going anywhere.  Sometime in the future, there will be another nice dinner out where there will be other gorgeous-looking-sounding-smelling-tasting desserts on the menu to share. And if I pass on dessert three times out of four, the discomfort of not quenching my desire for sweet doesn’t last very long—maybe 20 minutes at most. I have never laid in bed thinking, “If only I’d ordered that torte.”  I have however laid in bed thinking, “I shouldn’t have eaten that torte,” because I feel like my gut is going to bust and because I’m hyper from the sugar.  When I do indulge in dessert that one time out of four, I’ll appreciate that sweet delicacy all the more.

...so can I go lie down?

It is nice to have discovered some new treats this month that don’t use any added sugar and don't taste like poo.  I made these yummy cookies* Friday night without any sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, or Splenda.  There is more than enough sweetness from the naturally occurring fructose in the bananas.  Sure, they were more like nuggets of banana bread than cookies, but it was just as satisfying as baking chocolate chip cookies—the sweet baking smells, removing the cookies one by one from the baking sheet to cool on the rack, eating one or two or five while they were still warm, eating one or three for breakfast the next morning.  But they’re actually kind of healthy.  CRAZY!  Try ‘em out.

 

Five minutes ago, I still had two cookies left to eat.

*     *     *

So…that’s it.  My month of No Added Sugar wraps up tomorrow.  I plan to stay mindful about hidden sugars, be modest in treat consumptions, and to use natural “healthier” sugars over the old white granulated crack in my home cooking/baking endeavors.  I should have ample opportunity to put this last “better sugar” habit into practice during the coming month.  February is the first of two months in Operation Consumption Liberation which are devoted to consuming less goods and services to curb my frivolous spending. Over the next month, in “Frivolous Spending: the Eating/Drinking Out edition,” I will (you guessed it!) abstain from going out to eat and for drinks.  If you can believe it, I think this challenge will be even harder than going without sugar. 

*Chewy Banana-Oat Cookies Recipe by Nancy Burrows, found in Get the Sugar Out by Ann Louise Gittleman.

Oh, the temptation!

I hosted my writing group's monthly meeting last night. As always, it was a delight to talk about words and craft with the smart individuals who make up the group.  And I am so grateful for their attention and help last night with the short story I'm currently working on.  Pre-meeting, I'd thought my biggest writing group challenge this month would be getting a portion of the story together enough to merit submitting.  Then writing group member Liz showed up at my door with four of these babies from the Macrina Bakery:

Photo from Yelp member Share W.

Photo from Yelp member Veronica J.

Oh, how I love cupcakes, and in my home.  And these were truly beautiful (and huge) cupcakes from which I had to abstain--the torture!  Upon seeing them, I rudely blurted out something like, "Oh no!  Not cupcakes!  It's no sugar January!"  Poor Liz, of course, had no idea about that--she just wanted to share these beautiful, yummy cupcakes with the group.  Luckily, the rest of the group was not on a sugar fast and happily partook in cupcake revelry. 
 

I must say that it IS easier to resist the cupcake when one has a publicly-announced Sugar Fast going on.  On a normal day, I might think, "I really shouldn't eat that gorgeous sugar bomb," but you can bet your bottom dollar I would still eat that gorgeous sugar bomb.  But by publicly proclaiming, "I shall not eat sugar," I have a hard line that I cannot (knowingly) cross without feeling ashamed and like a failure.  Or lying, which is one thing I'm not ashamed to say I fail at every time; if you're looking for the world's worst liar, she's right here.

Because I am crappy at concealing anything, here's a list of my sugar indiscretions this past week.

• A friend made me a vodka tonic Sunday night with sugar-free tonic water.  It was great.  That's partially because while the tonic was free of sugar, it wasn't free of agave syrup.  In my defense, I didn't look at the bottle until after drinking said vodka tonic.   
• I went out to breakfast on Friday morning and ate bacon.  On reflection later in the day, I realized bacon is almost always cured in sugar or maple syrup or something.  Oops.
• After this bacon realization on Friday, I knowingly partook in bacon while brunching at a friend's on MLK Jr. Day.  Uhhhh, oops?

At least I didn't eat bacon candy.  EWWW.

That's all I can think of!  The good news?  I'm more than half way through my month of consuming less sugar.  The bad news?  It takes more than eighteen days for sugar cravings to vanish.  I'm not sure this will ever get "easy."  But I can deal with that.  I think.

Oh, before I forget, the SLEEP report!  Remember, I wanted to add something to my months to balance out taking something away, and this month, that added thing is sleep.  I'm happy to report that I've been getting an average of 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep a night, in comparison to my typical average of 7 to 7.25 hours.  And yes, I'm loving it.

Reverse psychology

In the last week, I have had THREE dreams about eating sugar.  I binged on a whole bunch of chocolate chip cookies in the first dream, and then slapped my forehead and said, "OH SHOOT!  I forgot this is no sugar month!"  The next night, I dreamed I picked up a peppermint upon leaving a restaurant, popped it in my mouth, and then slapped my head and said, "OH SHOOT!  I forgot this is no sugar month!"  I don't remember what sweet confection I ate in my dream the next night, but I'm reasonably certain that Dream Jess slapped her forehead and said, "OH SHOOT! I forgot this is no sugar month!"

Luckily, I haven't eaten anywhere with peppermints at the door.  And I haven't been tempted with fresh baked cookies--if you want to see me slap my forehead, though, all you have to do is show up at my door with a plate of them.  I confess, I am craving the sweets right now.  I experienced a pang of longing, like an arrow in my heart, while walking past a package of Duncan Hines cookie mix at Bartells tonight.  And I never do those box mixes--those would never call my name seductively if I were currently on the white stuff.

So I decided to try to beat the cravings with a page from Psych 101.  Or maybe straight from an episode of "The Simpsons" or just about any other TV comedy:  Reverse Psychology.  The TV Guide blurb would read, "In this episode, our over-sugar-consuming heroine tries to convince herself that she doesn't want cake by looking at images of disastrous and offensive cakes."  

There's only one place to turn for that, my friends: Cakewrecks.com.  Here are some of my UN-appetizing finds.  Enjoy! (Mwahahahahaha!)

Exhibit A.

 

 

What is this made of, tuna?  BTW, those are naked babies on there.  DON"T eat babies!

Exhibit B.

I first read the name as "SPERM," not SEAN.  In case you weren't already horrified.

Exhibit C.

There's only one thing more terrifying than Alf, and that is a cake of Alf.

Lastly, Exhibit D.

It just isn't good manners to eat an extinct species OR the son of God.

Has the reverse psychology worked on you?  Or are you now calling up your nearest bakery to order a cake with Moses kissing a unicorn on top?  I wonder what kind of dreams these cakes will inspire tonight... 

"Jessica enjoying her cake."

Thefork
Originally uploaded by mambinki

This is a picture I rediscovered of myself on Flickr today, from my friend M's 30th birthday party almost three years ago. According to my friend's caption , I was enjoying that cake.

Now you better believe I licked every last bit of frosting off that fork before relinquishing it.  But did eating that sugary cake make me feel good? I don't remember, so it must not have been transforming. I look happy about eating it...or maybe it was all those cups of the special birthday punch I drank. Now those, I remember, though not exactly in a good way. Hmmm.

If all these people could do it...

...then surely I can go without sugar for a month!

Thus began my lifelong passion for cake...

 

Going without sugar for a designated period of time is not exactly an original idea.  Okay, it is totally NOT an original idea.  A lot of people give up sugar in one way or another for one reason or another, and a lot of people blog about their trials and tribulations during the process.  And a lot of these people are much more informed and articulate than me in explaining the difference between refined and unrefined sugar, relating all the potential health problems caused by excess sugar consumption, etc.  Lastly, some of these bloggers are blogging rock stars, posting frequently, tweeting, and with lots of links to relevant articles, websites, and so on. 

Since I'm only focusing on avoiding ASF ("added sugar forms") for the month of January in my Operation Consumption Liberation, there is no way my blog can come close to reaching some of these blogs in terms of prolific sugar-busting investigative journalism. I'm okay with that.  But perusing the superior content of these people's blogs IS inspirational for me when my willpower threatens to waver.  

The sugar eaters are falling like dominoes. Wa ha...

Here are three blogs that have inspired me lately to keep curbing my consumption of added sugars.  Explore away!  

• My Years Without Sugar: Wow, this gal has pretty much been off refined sugar for THREE years.  And she covers it all: uncovering hidden sugar in french fries, pizza sauce, and cereal; breaking down the glycemic index; the nutritional value of cane juice and other so-called unrefined sugars and artificial sweeteners; advice on how to quit sugar and curb late night munchies; and providing lots of recipes using her preferred 100% natural sweeteners.  

• Stop Being Sweet: This fellow has been living a life of sugar restraint for five years and has turned his blog into a sugar addicts support community and even has put together an ebook to help you quit sugar.  He also has weekly sugar challenges (drink more water!) and a handy quiz to help you determine how hooked on the sweet sugar you are.

• A Year Without Candy: Dana Kennedy was a legitimate journalist before she started blogging about her trials with giving up candy and cake, and she's written a few pieces along the way for the Huffington Post. (She's approaching her one-year mark February 28, 2011.) While her blog does wander off the topic of candy consumption (though she tries to keep things sort of related in her rant about the saccharine quality of Rachel McAdams' performance in "Morning Glory"), she has a pretty great sense of humor about the whole thing.  Today, I particularly relate to this post.

Thinking back to my soda post on Friday, today I stumbled onto this video from the New York City Health Department. I think it is pretty effective, and gross. And it has chipper music! 

Just thinking about watching the campaign's other spot, titled "Man Drinks Fat," makes me nauseous--seriously, I'm reaching for sparkling water with ginger juice and lime already. But if I were a soda pop addict and if I needed to lose 10 pounds, I'd definitely consider the campaign's alleged claim that "drinking one can of soda a day can make you 10 pounds fatter a year" to help lead me towards a little weight loss.

My Lasik-corrected eyes are pleading for relief from the computer screen, so I'll have to write about all these eating-sugar dreams I've been having later!

Just a spoonful of sugar...

This must be from The Onion...

Yesterday I had refractive eye surgery a.k.a. Lasik.  It was a really hard half hour of surgery.  Afterward I could barely keep my eyes open and I was pretty dang whiny while my mother and I stopped to pick up prescriptions for Lorazepam (to knock me out) and Vicodin for pain.  Finally, we got home, I shoved down some string cheese and then the two pills, and then Mom taped plastic covers over my eyes so they were protected while I slept.  

What does all this have to do with sugar?  Well, not much, except that, like codeine, Vicodin makes me feel nauseous and puke-y and sick.  When I feel that way, only one thing sounds good--a fizzy sweet drink, better known as soda pop.

HFCS = the nectar of teenage love.

Even before going off sugar, I wasn't a big soda consumer.  Soda is for when I'm air-, sea-, or car- sick or just sick-sick, and occasionally as a mixer in a drink. 7-Up, Sprite, ginger ale--these are my "sick" drinks. So in my post-surgery, kind of blind, super fussy, and borderline vomit-ous state, I didn't know what to do.

In case you were wondering:

• A 8-ounce serving of 7-Up has 25 grams of sugar = 3.125g/oz.
• A 12-ounce serving of Sprite has 38 grams of sugar = 3.167g/oz.
• A 8-ounce serving of Canadian Dry ginger ale has 25 grams of sugar = 3g/oz.

The top two ingredients for all three of these sodas? Big surprise, they are carbonated water and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). From Coca Cola's handy online ingredient glossary: "A sweetener derived from corn, high fructose corn syrup is a mixture of two simple sugars, glucose and fructose."  Now we know, and knowing IS half the battle.

Well, what about DIET soda then?  Looking at the labels of diet forms of these sodas, it is true, each contains 0 grams of sugar per ounce.  Instead, they all contain aspartame, also known as NutraSweet. As I said in my No Sugar Consumption month rules, fake and unrefined sugars tempt me to eat more of the big bad stuff, so they're on my Not-Going-To-Have-It list too. But it is also worth noting that there are a lot of unanswered questions about the safety of consuming aspartame.

Why, yes, that is Donald Rumsfeld lurking there.  Learn more about his link to aspartame here.

While there's no conclusive evidence that it leads to cancer, lupus, or increases the symptoms of multiple sclerosis as some have alleged, aspartame does present health risks for certain individuals. As nicely summarized by Dr. Andrew Weil on his website:

We do know that people with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU), those with advanced liver disease, and pregnant women with high levels of the amino acid phenylalanine in their blood have a problem with aspartame because they do not effectively metabolize phenylalanine, one of aspartame's components. High levels of phenylalanine in body fluids can cause brain damage. For this reason, the FDA requires that all products containing aspartame must include a warning to phenylketonurics that the sweetener contains phenylalanine.

Hmm, sounds a little sketchy to me.  Besides, I've noticed that diet soda often makes my tummy feel bad, acidic, sort of hungry.  If I were to drink a diet soda when I felt car sick, it is entirely likely that,

A.) I'd still feel crummy, though maybe in a different way, and

B.) I'd want to eat something to quell the sensation, regardless of whether I was hungry or not. (Perhaps this is why some claim that diet soda can make you fat!)

I could go on about aspartame for a good, long while, because it's in all sort of things (I better check my toothpaste, for one) and there is a lot of speculation and disagreement about its benefits/dangers.  However, let's get back on track to my post-surgery Vicodin-provoked nausea and my yen for a carbonated sweet beverage to soothe my belly.

EXACTLY.  (image by Allan Sanders Illustration)

After Mom had taped my eye protectors over my eyes and I was set for the prescribed 4-hour nap, I asked my mother to go get me some sugar-free seltzer water or club soda and to doctor it with a wedge of lime and some of the Ginger People Organic Ginger Juice I just happened to receive in my Christmas stocking this year.  Ginger juice ingredients: Organic ginger, citric acid.  Perfect.

A few hours later, my mother delivered a glass of murky water to my bedside.  I sipped at it tentatively.  Ginger?  Check.  Lime? Check.  Bubbly?  Wait a second.

"Hey, Mom, what did you make this with?" I asked.

"The club soda I found in your fridge.  It did look kind of flat, " she told me.

I laughed.  "It should, because I refilled that bottle to reuse with tap water God knows how long ago."

Despite the lack of fizz, the ginger and lime water did a pretty good job on their own at relieving both my desire to puke and my desire for a sweet drink.  I did, however, purchase club soda and some natural sparkling water today for more bubbly sick drinks.

On a not-really-related note, I had a Vicodin-induced nightmare last night that I was eating chocolate chip cookies, one after another.  After about five cookies, my dream self went into a "OH SHOOT!  I FORGOT ABOUT NO SUGAR MONTH!" panic attack.  When I woke, I was so relieved to find out that my sugar indiscretion was a dream.  I wonder if I will have more dreams about eating sugar as this month continues.

The Lasik update?  My vision is a little blurry and will continue to fluctuate and improve for awhile still, but I tested at 20-30 today and, legally, I'm okay to drive, though both the doctor and I think it's better to hold off a few more days.  The clinic presented me with a coffee mug full of Seattle Chocolates to reward me for my bravery under the laser--ha!  I've stuffed them in a Ziploc bag and shoved them in the back of the freezer for now.  If anyone would like to take them completely off my hands....

My Problem with Sugar

Hot Cocoa, my sweet...

I have a sugar problem.  The sucrose and glucose and high fructose corn syrup and beet sugar and honey and artificial sweeteners and so on… I love each and every form of sugar so very much.

My passion for the sweet isn’t a problem most of the time.  But every so often, I go on a sugar rager to end all ragers. I mean, if I want sugar, and a product in my kitchen has sugar in it, I will eat it, even if that means I’m just eating spoonfuls of jam or maple syrup.  It doesn’t matter if I’m hungry or not; once I start this sugar sucking, I can’t stop.  Because of these periodic pig-outs, I almost never have any goodies at my place. I can’t have a box of cookies around without eating half the box at once.
 

Lots of things can trigger my sugar frenzies. Depression, lack of willpower, not eating enough protein, not eating enough in general, eating the wrong kind of carbohydrates, consuming too much salt, not sleeping enough, ADHD, and so on.  And the holidays are always good for a few fantastic sugar binges. 

Thus it comes as no surprise that last week I went hog-wild on Christmas cookies, chocolates, candies, and ice cream for five or six straight days.  Sugar! Consequently, when I came down from that extended sugar high, I felt heavy and slow and strung out and all together not so good. And grumpy too.  Growl.

Oh, Sugar Mountains Majesty...

Since my system clearly could use a good cleanse from the sugar bug, I’ve decided to begin Operation Consumption Liberation with the challenge of abstaining from sugar.  Here are my rules and stipulations for the month of January:

1. I will abstain from eating straight spoonfuls of sugar, syrup, honey, etc. Duh.
2. I will abstain from consuming prepared foods and drinks with added sugar, and adding it to home cooking.
3. Added sugar includes refined sugar in all its forms. (glucose, xylitol, HFCS, beet sugar, and so on…)
4. Added sugar also includes unrefined, raw sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, molasses, agave, etc.) Yes, these ARE healthier, but my yen for sweetness does not discriminate bad sugars from better sugars—once I indulge one, the other will follow.  Along the same lines…
5. I will abstain from artificial sweeteners. (Aspartame & saccharine, I mean you.) However...
6. I will NOT abstain from eating fruit.
7. I will NOT abstain from dairy products, though it has naturally occurring lactose.
8. I will NOT abstain from eating starchy sweet potatoes, beets, bread, pasta, but I will make an effort to eat mostly complex carbohydrates and whole foods.
9. If I go out to eat, I won't order dessert and I’ll do my best to avoid hidden sugars. That said, I’m not going to give the chef the third degree about a dish's ingredients. Likewise…
10. I will make my choice to avoid sugar my responsibility only, and not the burden of friends and family if they want to have me over or go out to eat. 

This 23-by-29-inch "Sugar High" print can be yours for $25.65

There are two more things that I want to address for this challenge.

FIRST, I am not abstaining from sugar to lose weight. I am content with my weight as it is.  However, one of the many reasons I’m abstaining from sugar is to avoid gaining weight.  I don’t want to be skinner, but also I certainly don’t desire to be larger.  If I keep eating sugar the way I’ve been eating sugar, I will quickly go up two dress sizes. 

SECOND, if I’m going to take something that I enjoy (albeit to the point of excess) away from my life every month, I want to add something to fill that space, so that I feel less like abstaining equals punishment.  Something that is good for me. Something that is not overly tasking, but is reasonably enjoyable.  This month, I am adding more sleep to my days.

Oh, sugar, sweet white death, I’ll miss you, but my teeth and my immune system and my butt will not.  Here’s hoping that come February, I can use you with more discretion.

P.S. Thanks to Erika for my hot chocolate loving photo!

Mission: Consume Less

con∙sume: verb \kən-΄süm\

 -transitive verb

"Too Much Catnip" Shirt.Woot t-shirt by Spiritgreen

1 : to do away with completely: DESTROY

2 a: to spend wastefully: SQUANDER

   b: USE UP

3 a: to eat or drink especially in great quantity

   b: to enjoy avidly: DEVOUR

4 : to engage fully: ENGROSS

5 : to utilize as a customer

 -intransitive verb

1 : to waste or burn away: PERISH

2 : to utilize economic goods

“The proximity of a desirable thing tempts one to overindulgence. On that path lies danger.” 

–Frank Herbert, Dune.

There is a butt-load of human consumption transpiring at any given second on planet Earth . No, I can't exactly quantify "butt-load;" I'm no statistician. But think about it: we’re consuming oxygen, we’re consuming energy, we’re consuming calories, and we’re consuming alcohol. We’re engaged in all-consuming TV shows, all-consuming jobs, all-consuming arguments, and, if we’re lucky, all-consuming sex. We’re using our consumer power for new shoes at Nordstrom’s, new apps for our iPhones, and trash cans at Home Depot to transport the waste of our consumption to the curb, where it will be picked up by a gas-consuming truck and toted to a space- and natural resource- consuming landfill. Yep, there is a whole lotta consumption going on.

Now there’s nothing wrong with consumption.  In moderation, that is.  But the American culture isn’t much for moderation.  You don’t have to look very hard to find evidence of this society’s penchant for overindulgence.  Alcoholism, early onset obesity and childhood obesity, credit card debt, overfilled landfills, smog alerts, our over-consumption leads to so many negative outcomes.  There IS such thing as too much of a good thing.

For the year of 2011, I’m resolving to consume less.  I'm breaking free of the manacles of Too Much.  Call it Operation Consumption Liberation.  

Every month, I will abstain from or minimize my partaking of some thing or practice in which I feel my overindulgence has a negative impact, be it on my personal well-being, or on the well-being of the human race and planet Earth. My mission is NOT to permanently eliminate any of these habits and dependencies, but rather, in eliminating/reducing my consumption of them for a month, to lessen their overall prevalence in my life.  I like wine, but it wouldn’t hurt my liver to drink less.

Below is a rough monthly schedule of the twelve reduction/elimination challenges I will take on over the course of the year. The order of the challenges is subject to change, but not the content. Each month on this blog, I will clearly define the monthly challenge’s rules and stipulations, explore the impacts of overindulging in the identified item or behavior, and write about what I experience and learn as I leave it behind.

 Operation Consumption Liberation: Monthly Challenges

• January: Sugar (processed & added)
• February: Frivolous spending (the Eating/Drinking Out edition)
• March: Alcohol
• April: Gasoline (planes, trains, and automobiles)
• May: Frivolous spending (the Goods and Services edition)
• June: Caffeine 
• July: Electricity/water
• August: Superfluous web browsing (Facebook, etc.)
• September: Food & goods from outside 300 miles of my person
• October: Watching TV, Hulu, Netflix, etc.
• November: Meat
• December: Paper and other waste (packaging, etc.) 

Please follow me on Operation Consumption Liberation! AND if you recognize anything on this list that you feel your life would benefit from going without, feel free to join me on that challenge of this journey.  I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments section.  Likewise, if you are planning any similar challenges for the year or for a month, let me know, and I'll link to you.

Wish me luck as I kick off the mission with a well-needed sugar cleanse in the Christmas cookie aftermath!