Oh the sugar shame of it all

Last weekend I had my biggest fall off the sugarfree bandwagon in over 3 months. My (adorable) nephew's birthday cake (of which I was in charge of making) was my undoing. 

Getting the cake right took 3 attempts. My first attempt didn't even require willpower. All the mixture made it to the tin. Any leftovers were scraped clean into the bin (oh I do tell I lie... I had two little munchkins at my side who licked their fair share from the beaters). But for me: no spoon licking, no taste testing, nothing. 

When cake numero uno failed however my emotions rose and my willpower dropped. By the time I'd dragged two kids to the supermarket to get yet another 3 boxes of cake mix, another thing (what is the noun for...) of butter and another half a dozen eggs, I was in no state to be strong. Cake number 2 found me having a taste test and another and another and just a little bit more.

THEN, by the time cake 3 came out (and successfully turned out of the tin) I was onto the icing. Pure icing sugar, mixed with butter, vegetable shortening and green colouring. I was slurping up slops and inhaling icing. It was messy. It was ugly. It was undignified.

But I paid for it and I paid big time. Later that night I was bloated and uncomfortably hot. I was on the verge of vomiting. 

I had a sugar hangover.

It was even more sickening to calculate that what I'd taken in over the prior 24 hours was a drop in the ocean compared to my life before #IQS (I quit sugar). In the past, that indulgence would have been forgotten as soon as I'd left home for the party. Pre IQS me would have continued the day with a glass or three of soft drink, sauce on my BBQ meat, a few man-sized handfuls of M&Ms, a snack size milky way and probably more than one slice of birthday cake (all of these things were on offer, but thankfully I avoided: apparently my willpower switch wasn't completely defunct).

Despite being very physically uncomfortable after my sugary binge, it was somewhat comforting to know that I have changed the make up of my body in someway. I've shifted the boundaries. I have cleansed my system. Rather than being complacent, my body now rejects sugar overloads.

Happy Birthday Max !

I was cured for Christmas

At Christmas tables all around the world many a folk, lean back, maybe unbutton their strides, rub their bloated bellies and exclaim how full they are. In the past that has been me too - but I was always lying. 

I very rarely get that feeling of fullness, of extreme over-indulgence. It's possible that after years of conditioning myself, I'd successfully reached a point where I could always eat  "just a little bit more". And a little bit more. Usually after Christmas lunch, I continue picking at the nibblies still on the table, I have another cup of punch, I contemplate opening the box of chocolates that "Santa" gave me.

But Christmas 2011 was different. After our delightful and traditional Christmas lunch I was genuinely full. Even erring on the side of nauseous. 

I'd relaxed, maybe a little too much, on the sugar free stakes. As I mentioned in my previous post I intended to allow in some sugar filled treats for the festive season. I avoided (easily) soft drinks and sauces, but couldn't hold back when the plum pudding and struesel cake came out. And that is what I paid for. I was bloated, I felt ill. I was craving some herbal tea to settle it all down.

Dollen

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And that's the point of difference. That is how I know I was cured for Christmas, because rather than going on to crave desserts, lollies and fizzy drinks, it was my sugar free foods that I longed for. I was craving my lunch time salads, chia seeds and coconut oil.  It's ironic that these have become my comfort foods. 


So, in sugar-free terms, I wasn't great at Christmas. But I wasn't nearly as bad as I have been in the past. But I've left it behind. It was Christmas. It was indulgent. It was abundant. And I have a healthy 2012 to look forward to.