THE AIM IS NOT PERFECTION...
This post is in response to a PM I received about small amounts of added sugar in food and making choices.
Becoming sugar-free is a major commitment and not easy to do in our current food culture. Sugar is EVERYWHERE, slipped into seemingly non sweet foods to give it that extra 'addictive' factor that keeps us hooked. Of course it is also there to balance flavour and to make food keep for longer.
So how possible is it to avoid sugar completely and utterly; in truth very difficult! We all have busy lives and sometimes have to rely on convenience foods, processed foods to get through.
So here are my occasional compromises that keeps me going on my overall sugar-free path.
- With processed food if it has a tiny bit of sugar in, for example on the ingredients list, the last, or second to last, listed.
- I am eating out and there is a sauce with the meal which is bound to contain sugar. I either don't have the sauce or have only a small amount. I don't spoil the moment of eating out by asking for ingredient lists etc, I just make a decision to go with it and enjoy the 'sweetness' of having a meal cooked for me.
- Medications that contain sugar. I'm very blessed with good health but occasionally take a homeopathic remedy, those sugar pills are super sweet but I'm after the vibration not the sugar.
- Occasional flour based savoury food when eating out. For example a top notch pizza is delicious, I've one in the last year or a cheese scone with a cuppa.
- I make Kombucha with sugar and even after fermentation there will be a little sugar remaining. Kombucha is full of healthy gut loving probiotics so this comes under the 'food as medicine' category.
- Honey for medicinal purposes, I keep this to a minimum but may still have it for a sore throat as a home made tonic.
My commitment to myself is that I remain as sugar-free as possible. My non-negotiables are:
- No dried, blended or juiced fruit
- No flour and sugar together; these are the most disasterous for me!
- I don't drink my sugar in any way.
Each of our sugar-free journeys are going to be different; we have to find the 'sweet spot' (sorry for the pun) where we avoid being hooked back into the sugar cycle but we can run our lives and relationships without too much stress. The more addicted and 'addictable' we are the tighter our commitment to ourselves has to be, especially at the start of our journey. When I first started I was absolute for about 6 months so I could clear my body, reset my brain and hormones and take a fresh look. Now I know my weaknesses and stress points I can sometimes be a little loser apart from my non-negotiables.
So lovely sugar-free explorers, one step at a time, one day at a time, one meal at a time. Become more conscious everyday of how food is affecting you and the path ahead will become clear.
For support you are welcome to join my free Facebook group 'My Sugar-free Journey' HERE
Lots of love to you, Carol xx