Leilanie Stewart

It’s time for a health check in. I haven’t written a diet post since the summer. This is a really good time to include a sugar addiction post since, as the weather is getting colder, this is often the time of year when I pile on the pounds. There are several reasons for this: my desire for stodgy foods in winter comes to mind, as does the need for seasonal treats (Halloween candy) and festivities (Christmas meals with family, friends and colleagues).

It’s impossible for me to be completely strict with my diet; I am unable to stay low carb permanently. Travelling, for example, makes a low carb diet harder to manage, as it isn’t always possible to get suitable foods. Sandwiches are the most widely available food and at times I’ve had to resort to this high carb option rather than go without food. Busy times at work or while doing childcare have driven me to choose more widely available foods – and by widely available, I mean starchy. Having to grab high carb foods is something that I have no control over, if that is all that is available or convenient.

Having said that, there are other things that I do have control over, such as choosing not to eat sugary desserts and junk food. I’m proud that it’s now November, therefore month eleven, of me eating none of the following:

– Chocolate
– Ice cream
– Cake
– Biscuits
– Refined sugar desserts of any kind

I’m hoping that after a year of managing a sugary dessert-free lifestyle, it will become second nature. It isn’t habit yet; I still have a ‘reflex’ action to reach for a biscuit at work, or home, especially when an open packet is in front of me.

I suppose my sugar addiction is something that will always be there, waiting in the background for a moment to rear its ugly head. Maybe it’s a comparable situation to other addictions such as tobacco or alcohol, though I can’t say for sure as neither have affected me. I think it’s a case of needing to control my impulse to binge-eat sugary junk. I can’t control the desire, but I can control my actions – and it’s becoming easier to turn away from the ‘treats’ than to pick one up. A little. Little by little.