Yup, it's early January and 'tis the season when New Year's Resolutions pop up like daffodils in the minds of millions of well-intentioned folks. The most common resolution is to "lose weight", which is usually a combination of "eat less" and "move more". Some people want to quit smoking. Others want to drink more water or spend more time with family.
All of these are praise-worthy resolutions and almost everyone starts off with the best of intentions. Yet only 5% of people succeed in their resolutions, which is a pretty sad figure. Yet every year, despite the failure rate, scores of people make more well-intentioned resolutions. "This year it will be different". For some it is... for many it is not.
I'm not sure what it is about January 1 that makes this day carry the burden of people's resolutions. Any day of the year would serve equally well. The spring equinox would work. Or the summer solstice. Even a birthday or other anniversary would stand duty for new resolutions. But on January 1 we recognize that, however arbitrary, a new leaf has been turned. A new, pristine year lies ahead of us. We put up new calendars. We look down the corridors of future weeks and know that the new year lies full of untapped potential. All we have to do is... tap it.
I, am making resolutions this year. I should mention right off the bat that tackling more than one resolution at a time lowers my chance of success quite drastically. Apparently it is always better to tackle one new resolution and make one new habit at a time. So perhaps it is better to say that I am making 12 resolutions for this year, one for each month. You could say that they all fall under the umbrella of "living healthy".
So, the resolution for January is... Kick Sugar to the Curb. Some studies suggest that sugar is as addictive as cocaine, particularly refined sugar. Pure white bliss. Food manufacturers have encouraged sugar to sneak its way into many processed foods. Just type "sugar addiction" into your browser and prepare to be stunned. The overall picture is a bleak one and some scientists are beginning to suggest that sugar is the culprit behind the astronomical rise in obesity and diabetes.
Five years ago I kicked Coca Cola to the curb. I drank a lot of Coke. I would periodically go cold turkey, suffer the withdrawal headaches and then slowly introduce a can or two or three back into my day. At which point, I would go cold turkey again. I figured that once I got to the point where I was drinking a Coke at 8:30 in the morning to stave off the "lack-of-caffeine" headache... it was time to quit again... for a while. But in 2009 I decided that enough was enough. I had my last Coke on July 7 and have never gone back. Certainly I have looked over my shoulder, particularly during that first year. "Just one can! I could have just one can! And then I'll stop." Not likely. Through trial and error, I know that once I decide to stop, I need to stop. I want my experience of cold turkey to be a linear path, not a circular one. One where I move forward into new realms instead of treading the same path over and over again.
A couple of years ago... more likely about four years ago, I discovered the joys of Starbucks hot chocolate. I would take my laptop to Starbucks, connect to wifi and happily work away while sipping on a Grande hot chocolate with whipped cream and mocha drizzle. Do you see the problem? I may have kicked sugar to the curb by avoiding Coke but sugar had snuck back into my life rather quickly under a new guise. Tricky. Very tricky. In case you're wondering, a Grande hot chocolate as described packs about 400 calories, give or take. Which isn't bad if you're only having one a week but make that one a day and... well... the amount of sugar intake is quite large.
Let's look at some numbers. Starbucks helpfully posts the nutritional information for their drinks on their website. A Grande hot chocolate as described packs 43 grams of sugar which works out to 8.6 teaspoons of sugar. That is more than one can of Coke (35 grams). And... in case you're wondering, the daily recommended dosage of sugar is... 6 teaspoons. So... with my one morning hot chocolate, I have overshot the mark on sugar.
So, as 2014 was wrapping up, I decided that it was time to kick sugar to the curb once again. This time, it will be in three concentrated forms: (1) hot chocolate, (2) sweets and (3) alcohol. These are the Big Three for me and if I consider an average day during which I have something from all three sources, I am consuming an extra 800 calories. Which is astounding given that the average person should consume 2000 calories per day. No wonder I am slowly packing on that extra tire.
Yesterday was January 1 and I didn't have a hot chocolate but by mid-morning I felt increasingly anxious and irritated. So I had some Christmas chocolates, which helped to settle me down but opened my eyes to the larger problem. Kicking sugar to the curb is not going to be easy. I am going to have go through withdrawal... but once I am out the other side... things should get better.
This morning, January 2, I am back at Starbucks. My partner and I had decided that we would turn over our new resolution leaf this coming Sunday, since we are going to visit friends for dinner and drinks on Saturday evening. Well... whew... I could have a hot chocolate this morning, couldn't I? I debated the decision the whole way here and ended up ordering a mint tea, much to the consternation of my regular Starbucks baristas who asked me if something was wrong! One guy said "May our troubles be as short as our resolutions." Ah yes... the 5% success rate. But I am going to be in that 5%.
I know that sugar lurks in many foods, everything from peanut butter to bread to pasta sauce to flavoured yogurt to noodles and potatoes (starch converts to sugar). I know, however, that the majority of my sugar intake comes from the Big Three - Alcohol, Sweets and Hot Chocolate. So I will start there.
Other Reading
The story of a woman who kicked sugar to the curb overnight... and succeeded.
An interesting book: Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants hooked us by Michael Moss.
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