EXPERIMENTS
First, I asked myself what I was doing well. For starters, I had already been educating myself on what contains high fructose corn syrup and have eliminated many of those foods in my home. I was selective about mostly eating sugar foods that I truly enjoy and not the ones that were just mediocre to my taste. I could pass through the grocery store aisles and say no, no, no, to many of those sugary treats and to added sugar foods that was packaged be visually appealing.
What I still had to work on?
- Once bitten into something that proved to be enjoyable to my taste, it was really hard for me to stop eating the divine delight. Going back for seconds, thirds, and Uh- oh! fourths occurred as a common theme (Ouch)!
- While I walked through the grocery aisles and can pass on most foods, there were a handful of sweet nourishments (can I call it that) that really made it difficult for me not to go home without it. Three of those foods turned out to be the chocolate chips cookies, a certain brand of brownies, and a few brands of vanilla bean, rocky road, and peanut butter ice cream. What was worrisome was that sometimes in one setting, my sugar consumption exceeded the recommended monthly intake.
What I did not know that I had to work on?
- I devoured more sugar than I thought I did when I was under stress. It was used as a crutch, a rescuer, a quick escape, a pause from the day, and a way to get through.
- I am a taster. I like to try most goodies. If I liked any new goodies, I took myself shopping and would buy a good supply of those and keep them stored in a cabinet.
- Lastly, what I knew but did not really hear or let sink in: How sugar can really affect health?
Eating lots of sugar can raise insulin levels. Your body is going into sugar highs which means your pancreas has to work hard. Over the long term, this is not good news for the pancreas, the pancreas gets worn out and is not able to release the insulin hormone and can put you at risk for developing diabetes. In addition, most sugar foods I eat are known as “junk” foods and are mixed with butter and oil, and the combination of these ingredients on a regular basis can lead to cardiac issues and obesity.
Knowing my new strengths, I decided to quit eating foods containing added sugar cold turkey. A day later, my mouth ached for even mediocre sweets. I wanted to suck on peanut coated and milk chocolate covered almonds even if it tasted unexceptional. I wanted to drink sweet bottled juices, even though I prefer fresh squeezed. 
I wanted a bite, just a small bite of that rich, cold chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. I wanted to take the big slice of carrot cake home, and maybe, just eat the frosting on the German chocolate cake, even though I hardly desired frosting alone. Even foods that I don’t normally have cravings for appealed to me. I hungered and I wanted to just inhale whatever that was near me. Who cares about taste? Who cares about labels? My cranky and exhausted body and mind re-examined my purpose of this undertaking. During my cold turkey transition, my deprived state would make me look further. Sometimes, to the point, I felt I was kind of asking for permission to eat a cookie. I did this by asking co-workers, “Do you think eating a cookie a day is bad?” Some would laugh say, “Ahh No! I eat a chocolate bar a day, and I am 55. That is one thing I enjoy. There is nothing wrong with that.” One lady told me that her mom could easily go without sugar for years. Years, I could not think of that time span in my head. Barely three days without added sugar, and fighting to keep my hands off the sugar cabinet. Come to think of it, even a stale cookie may be not so bad. A STALE cookie. EEEW (gross)! My, have I gone mad?
To distract myself on the weekend, I went to the park. I was sitting in the park on the green grass on a glorious sunny day, eating my juicy bite sized mango squares from my Pyrex container.
The aroma of the mango was not only irresistible to me but also to the wasp that was buzzing around my head, around my arm, around my succulent fruit. I placed the dark blue lid on the glass bowl because I hoped to eat without the company of noisy stingers.
Suddenly it was not interested in me, and it buzzed away.
But I did see something else in the sky, a little ruby chested bird glittering and fluttering its wings, hovered right over me for few seconds and bolted away faster than lightning.
Hummingbird, I thought, “What do you do all day?”
I presumed eat or drink nectar. Nectar has sweet flavor like sugar but it comes directly from the plant, way more phenomenal than processed sugar. There it went again over a red bloom. Another sugar addict!
I got a little amused with this tiny bird and distracted myself with its habits for the next couple of hours.
Can humming bird live on sugar alone? According to humming bird society, they like to eat insects like fruit flies and small spiders.
Does the hummingbird ever have to worry about cavities? Articles found on Google reported yes, they do. They can “get beak cavities,” if the human fed nectar (in this case sugar liquid) is not in correct proportion, 4 parts water to 1 part pure cane sugar.
Did you know the hummingbird has to eat/drink frequently; otherwise it might starve? I guess I had been consuming sugar like a hummingbird, and now I am having my own no-added nectar withdrawal. The tiny bird exercises the sugar calories out immediately. I don’t. I guess more of the reason for me to eliminate added sugar from my diet.
To continue to the next part 6 After seven distressing days click here