Status of Kicking Sugar to the Curb

Well... what to say. I did pretty well in January and February, not so good in March and horrible in April! My goal was to limit by consumption of Starbucks hot chocolate and to reduce my sugar intake. I haven't been doing so well on either front.

I know that sugar is an addictive substance... and I seem to be living proof of that! I like my peanut M&Ms. If I don't go to Starbucks, I make my own hot chocolate, which has sugar in it... and sometimes even have two of those in a day. I come up with all sorts of excuses.

• I've been working hard
• I deserve a reward
• It's just one packet of M&Ms
• It's just one hot chocolate
• I'll turn over a new leaf tomorrow

A small part of the sweetener section at Superstore.

But tomorrow never seems to come. The funny thing is... I've been here before, many times actually.

I used to drink quite a bit of Coca Cola... up to 3 or 4 cans a day. Every once in a while I would go cold turkey and suffer the effects of caffeine and sugar withdrawal for a week. But then I would slowly start drinking Coke again - a can at 2 pm... then 1 pm... then 10 am and another at 2 pm. And so it would go.

I quit Coke many times... but always started drinking again. Until, one day, I did actually stop. It was July 7, 2009. It wasn't easy. I had cravings for months afterwards. I had trouble watching other people drink Coke. I would look at it longingly through the glass doors in the convenience stores. But... eventually... I got over the hump, and I've been good ever since. And that gives me hope.

Part of the problem with Starbucks hot chocolate is the ambience here. I like the comfy leather chairs. I like the sombre paint colours (brown, beige, grey). I find it all very soothing. And that is probably part of the problem. I'm not just addicted to the hot chocolate and sugar, I'm addicted to the environment at Starbucks. And the addictions go hand-in-hand. I've tried to come to Starbucks and have a tea... it's not the same. I have created a ritual with my Starbucks visits and deviating from that ritual doesn't satisfy me in the same way.

So, perhaps it is time to alter my morning routines/rituals. Particularly on the weekends when I am most susceptible to the siren call of Starbucks. I get up early, grab my laptop bag and head out at 5:30 in the morning. It is calm and peaceful here and I can get some writing done. But perhaps it is time to try something else... get up early, grab my camera bag and head out at 5:30 a.m. to get some cool early morning pictures. I used to do that... but I don't anymore. So, if I am going to eliminate Starbucks, I need to replace it with something else, something that is soothing and brings me joy.

Looking back over the last 6 years, all I really did was replace my Coke habit with my hot chocolate habit... replaced one sugar addiction with another. I suppose at some point, I just have to make the decision and stick with it. And be alert to the other ways in which sugar might try to sneak into my life.