Re: Sugar-Free (long reply)

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

I don't know if you have ever attended a 12 step program. They

have a basic philosophy that your program should be taken one day at a

time. The theory behind this is that most of us can stay on a program

for one day but may not be successful at it if we had to do it for a life

time.

So lets apply this to sugar. I can do without sugar for one day.

I know this from experience. So if I decide this morning that I will

not have sugar today and not worry about tomorrow, I can usually get

through the day. By the same token, if I do indulge in sugar today, I

know that tomorrow I get to try again. It is so much easier to commit to

one day then to commit to a life time.

The concern I have about you deciding to make a life style change

is that it sounds like the old diet mentality. My old diet mentality

never worked. It was as if I was setting myself up for failure and that

is exactly what happened everytime. By choosing to make a change for one

day, if you don't succeed today you get to try again tomorrow.

Now, let me give you a success story here. I am a recovering

alcoholic. I have been sober since December 19, 1986. I am just shy of

17 years sober. If you had told me 17 years ago that I could be alcohol

free for 17 years, I would have told you that you were crazy. After all,

what was mexican food without a margarita? Or a weekend without a wine

cooler or two? I did it for the first couple of years literally one day

at a time. It took a long time for it to be a habit.

I am not saying that you should not try to go sugar free. What I

am saying is to break down your goal into something that is more easily

obtainable. You have a long term goal of being sugar free for life. So

break that down into short term goals that will help you get to that

goal.

I hope this makes sense. Good luck with your journey.

Lori Owen - Denton, Texas

SRVG 7/16/01

Dr. Ritter/Dr. Bryce

479/356/hoping for close to 200

On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 11:54:38 -0500 " "

writes:

> I have been struggling with the fact that I love

> sweets way too much. So I decided to try a test

> this week. My test was to try to go sugar-free for

> the rest of my life and see how I did. Here are my

> results....

>

> I managed to go for 5 days sugar-free and was

> totally ANGRY about it. I did fine during the day,

> but at night after dinner.... when I was used to

> having something sweet.... that was when I started

> to get angry.

>

> But yesterday, at the office, we had a birthday

> celebration which included a BIG COOKIE. I did

> not make it through the day without eating some of

> that cookie.

>

> So now... I am going to try a new test. For the next

> month or more, I am going to try to go sugar-free

> and low carb for six out of seven days. Fridays are

> going to be my special treat day. I believe that

> perhaps I can go six days a week without sugar

> and low carbs, if I know I can have some at least

> once a week.

>

> So, for those of you who try to live without sugar in

> your life and low carb, what is your feed-back on

> this idea?

>

> Thanks,

> kathy

[Guest guest]

> I am not saying that you should not try to go sugar free. What I

> am saying is to break down your goal into something that is more easily

> obtainable. You have a long term goal of being sugar free for life. So

> break that down into short term goals that will help you get to that

> goal.

And Lori, I'll venture to say you didn't stay sober six days a week and

drink on one day. You had to make it every day for it to last 17 years. It

will always be one day at a time, but it can't be part-time, or most of the

time, or it won't work. I think sugar may be that way too.

~~ Lyn

[Guest guest]

You are so right. It meant being sober every day, one day at a time for

17 years. Overeaters Anonymous applies the same philosophy to our

trigger foods. Sugar, being one of my trigger foods, is a big problem.

There are things that help. I often get things that are sugar free/fat

free like pudding. I don't seem to feel nearly as deprived. I have had

to truly grieve over the loss of my best friends (alcohol and some

foods). I have had more practice with the alcohol and not so much with

the sugar. But it is the same thing, same steps, same program.

Lori Owen - Denton, Texas

SRVG 7/16/01

Dr. Ritter/Dr. Bryce

479/356/hoping for close to 200

On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 10:35:59 -0800 " Butterflye "

writes:

> And Lori, I'll venture to say you didn't stay sober six days a week

> and

> drink on one day. You had to make it every day for it to last 17

> years. It

> will always be one day at a time, but it can't be part-time, or most

> of the

> time, or it won't work. I think sugar may be that way too.

>

> ~~ Lyn