Kicking my Sugar Cravings...Kind of

For a month, I (alongside my younger sister) decided to limit my sugar intake. This meant no sweets, no sugary drinks, no ice cream, no chocolate, no cookies, cakes, brownies, or anything of the sort. Now anyone who has been anywhere near me, understands that I would give my right hand for a good cheesecake, and my Instagram more commonly features oatmeal cookies than videos of me singing. So why did I do this?

Exams. Alongside studying, I was eating Starbucks cookies and Domino's pizza in place of real food, I was feeling a little bogged down. ​On top of the stress from exams, I was chocked full of all the guilty-pleasure foods. I kept rewarding myself under the pretense that "exams are stressful". Which was fine, but my food choices were reading a lot more Michelin Man than Michelin Star. So needless to say, I wanted a break. I wanted what can casually be referred to as a "detox". I mean, I had and still have no intentions to go full vegan, organic, keto, paleo, whatever-you-want-to-call-it. Just clear out my system a little bit after three weeks of treating my body like crap. 

So May 1st, the journey began. It started off really nicely. I wasn't necessarily sugar-free (for example, I'm still eating ketchup, bread because who has the time/money to figure all that out). Also, I wasn't doing this to make a point, but more to just make sure I'm keeping my "themes" for 2019 (See post below), one of which was to be just a little bit healthier. 

2019 Post

But then, I kind of hit a hump. In Vancouver, I buy all my own groceries so prior to May I had finished up anything sugary and didn't buy anything else. But when I got home, I was at the hands of my sweet tooth family. Different types of Ben and Jerry's, chocolate covered almonds in a bowl on the fireplace mantel, and a drawer dedicated to "fancy chocolates". Things got more complicated. Plus I was going out more, seeing more friends, meeting at coffee shops filled with pastries that I had committed to not eating for the month. Man, I know they say sugar is addictive, but I really had no idea until I tried. 

But around mid-May, I had grown slightly more accustomed to all the temptations my house was filled with. Plus my sister and I were in it together. Bananas and raspberries became dessert and "treat foods" were more often savoury like pizza. It's not that I wanted to become this healthy life guru person, it doesn't really work with my over-dramatic personality. But I'm reaching the end and here are a couple of things that I've noticed: 
1) I'm sleeping better
2) My skin is clearer 
3) I don't crave it as much
4) I used to eat WAY more treats than any single human needs
5) There are ways to reward yourself that aren't food (p.s. online shopping has become slightly more prominent in my life...maybe I've just traded one monster for another...)

Now, as June rolls around, I am not sticking with this over-bearing, psychotic life choice but I hope that in some way I think a little bit more about the things I'm eating. 

From me, with love, to you, 
-Victoria