i quit sugar...

....and lived to tell the tale.

Be careful what you pray for my friends.

The end of last year I was feeling completely wrung out....physically, emotionally, spiritually. 

Gak.  

I knew in my heart of hearts what was wrong. 

Too much processed food.

Too much sugar.

Too much wheat.

For some people this isn't a problem, but every naturopath I've ever gone to has told me "Girlfriend, you can't eat sugar or wheat." 

So I'd get fired up, eliminate them from my menu and then once I felt better (in about three weeks), like a person with mental health issues who feels they're better and goes off their medication, I would re-introduce sugar and wheat.  

First in tiny amounts.  A little bit here, a little bit there but before long I'd be chowing down on toasted banana bread four times a week and treating myself with peanut butter and honey sandwiches at 4pm.  So the cycle would go on.....  

Anyroadup, I prayed at the end of last year for divine intervention {because let's face it, God Himself would be the only one who could come between me & a Reese's Peanut Butter cup} to control what I put in my mouth.  Too funny... I got the worst case of gastro almost immediately.  I was seriously not in a good way for about a week.  

I was so sick, the last thing I could think of was food.  This never happens.  Up until now I have never had a situation that I couldn't eat my way through.  You know those people who say "Oh I'm much too upset to eat"?  I've never understood that.   Even with the flu, I look upon it as a great opportunity to try out a new chicken soup recipe.

So here I am, two months sugar-free, wheat-free and feeling better. 

One phrase has helped me more than any other:

"You crave what you eat"

I read that in this book.  

It was a true blue epiphany.  Much as I hate the word "epiphany".

This book is all about the way we fill the void.  It is so, so good.  Highly recommend it.

Giving up sugar and/or wheat was not hard once a got over that initial stage.  I just ate as much as I wanted, as long as it was sugar-free and wheat-free.  Although I have stayed clear of stodgy carbs like rice and potatoes also as they convert to sugar as quickly as you look at them.

Welcome to my favourite new kitchen implement:

The julienne peeler.

This is how I now make spaghetti from zucchini and little bit of carrot.  

I also have zucchini spaghetti sauteed with bacon for breakfast.  Yummy.

Just yesterday I bought this book which is so beautifully presented and inviting:

You can buy it from KMart for $25 which I think is a pretty ok price for a book jam-packed full of nutritional information and recipes based on Australian seasonal ingredients.

Can't wait to read  more and experiment.  

You can not believe how virtuous I am feeling.  Me, the person with the backbone of an amoeba, has actually fought an addiction!  Woo-hoo.  

Of course, it can only be divine intervention.  I'm far too easily swayed by the smell of toasted banana bread to accomplish this under my own strength.  

I've lost a bit of weight, not as much as I originally hoped, but apparently if your body has been in a metabolic slumber for as long as mine, it's going to take a bit of time to fully wake it up.  That's ok.  It's not a diet, it's just how I eat now so my guess is that I'm only going to get better and better.

Now, if only I can conquer that exercise thingie that everyone keeps banging on about....

Love you more than my lavender room spray,

Meredy xo