I remember my first sugar binges at around 4 years old. I would walk to the local grocery store with older neighbor kids and get tons of candy! Candy cigarettes, wax candy lips, and candy necklaces were among my favorites! I would imitate my female role models as I indulged in the incredible sweetness! By the time was 7 years old, every bit of my allowance or savings would go to sugar binges. My family drank Kool-Aid with tons of sugar every day, along with sugared breakfast cereal, Popsicles, soda pop, and always dessert after dinner. This continued through my teen years until after my first daughter was born. I had 60 pounds to lose, and I did it! I was an active young mom and wife and was cooking and eating well. I fed my baby healthy baby food too. As a working single mom, eventually, sugar became a regular part of my diet again. I discovered flavored coffee creamers and that was off the hook! Then, of course, blended sugary coffee drinks. Oh my gosh. No surprise I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in my 40's! After a couple of years on medication, I was ready to deal with it. I was 70 pounds overweight, diabetic, exhausted, bloated, and in terrible pain from inflammation and structural issues. I reduced my portion sizes and learned to eat clean and drink more water. The most significant change though, was getting sugar and gluten out of my diet! The change in my body was incredible! I had not felt that good in my entire life! I walked a lot for exercise, but perimenopause arrived, and my metabolism began slowing down. I discovered Yoga and that was the perfect addition! Now, I'm postmenopausal, so my metabolism is much slower. Over the last 3 years, like many folks, my weight crept up and was getting dangerously close to my highest weight from years before. It took me a while to be ready to take on this challenge but, I just got tired of being tired! I'm on my way! I'm now close to halfway to my goal! Something that I'm more aware of and knowledgeable about this time around is the psychology of it all. I realized that my main reason for holding on to the weight was that subconsciously, I was trying to protect myself. I had a subconscious belief that if I
I was thinner and more in shape, I was more attractive, and I didn't want to be attractive because then, I would be vulnerable (but that is for another blog!) Now, this was not something I was aware of, but it controlled my life! I was on my way to diabetes and who knows what else? I felt horrible! Just after losing these 25 pounds, my energy level has already increased tremendously, and my inflammation is barely detectable! I use the help of self-hypnosis and a Keto 2.0 lifestyle. I'm back walking every day and have ramped up my personal Yoga practice as well. I am enjoying the sweetness of a full life instead of the poor substitute of sugar!
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