One — Doing Things My Way
Doing things my way, not only gives me more freedom over how I ‘do’ healthy, but it also gives me back my confidence in myself.
Striving to be sugar-free might well be the best thing for my hormones, but it’s also the worst thing for my mind.
Whenever I broke the rule by calling in at the shop on the way home for a packet of chocolate buttons, it felt like yet more evidence against ever being able to sort myself out.
I stopped setting rules around food and set myself up to win instead, with simple agreements for what I really wanted, when and how often.
Two — Restriction
We all know that the more you restrict something, the more you want it.
What I didn’t realise though, was that by trying to cut out sugar, I was also restricting my ability to just do something without overthinking. One biscuit is just a biscuit. It’s not a declaration of my inability to stick to something, or of my life going down the drain (unless I decide it is).
Definitions are important, and they can become a real problem a long time before you realise you’re using someone else’s.
Three — Sugar
As I found my way to a more sustainable relationship with sugar, I was also more willing to look at other areas in my life where boundaries and definitions were an issue.
Things about myself that I hadn’t really considered tackling before – with work, personal relationships – I felt in a stronger position to be able to consider doing these ‘my way’ as well. As I built up a bank of self-trust around things that had previously kicked me in the ovaries, this new confidence leaked into other areas of my life. Once I realised it was happening, I actively encouraged more of it.
I get that removing refined sugar out of your life is likely one of the best things you could do, when it comes to addressing anxiety, low energy, disrupted sleep, hot flushes, skin, digestive health, and there’s tons more I could list.
I know all the science behind it.
If you want to do that, to remove it completely – I’ll support you all the way.
What I’d love even more, is for you to find and establish your own boundaries with it.
What’s acceptable, to you?
What feels right, for you?
What fits with your self respect?
What’s sustainable, for you?
Of course we all know that sugar is the devil and is more addictive than cocaine, or whatever it is they say. But if you ask me, the feelings you have towards yourself after you’ve just tripped head first into a family bag of maltesers, are far more destructive than eating the sugar itself.
I know that was true for me.
So the problem isn’t all about the sugar, then?
Until you define yourself without food or sugar, you’ll always be letting your drug of choice define you.
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May 2020