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.

Update on the Book-buying and Hot Chocolate Addictions

First the good news! I haven't bought a single book this year! That's a definite step-forward. I have been regularly borrowing books from the local public library and that keeps my book-cravings in check. The fact that the books have a deadline (3 weeks) also means that I am a bit more intentional about reading them. On the other hand, my tendency to read more than one book at once means that I sometimes have to send books back without having finished them. Sometimes that is due to the fact that I tried to read too many books at once. Other times that is simply due to the fact that the book wasn't all that interesting and I got bogged down in it.

It's also true that sometimes I put in too many requests and they all get delivered the same week and I find myself swamped in books. My eyes are sometimes bigger than my mind it seems. So many books - so little time!!

So, that's the good news. The bad news... well, although I have been able to keep my Starbucks visits down to the weekends, more or less, my hot chocolate addiction hasn't shown any signs of improvement in other areas. I have been making home-made hot chocolate using sugar, cocoa, milk and the microwave. Every morning, after the rush is over, I make my hot chocolate and savour it as I get into the routine of my writing. But... some days I want a second one... and sometimes I make a second one. Which is not good! The point of Kicking Starbucks to the curb was to: (a) save money and (b) cut down on the sugar and (c) lose weight. So far, I am only ticking the box on (a).

So... I've been doing a bit of research into sugar... and realizing that I am a bit of a sugar addict. As a result... as of Easter Tuesday, we are going to go on a serious sugar fast. Which means cutting out my weekday hot chocolates. Sigh... so sad! I did an experiment the last couple of days and instead of having my hot chocolate, had water with lemon in it. Not the same. Not at all. But apparently the lemon water will help my taste-buds to reset. Ugh.

Kicking Sugar to the Curb

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.