Yesterday there was a Christmas lunch at my new workplace. Everyone brought food, including an incredible array of desserts. There was everything from pavlova to cheesecake, strawberry moose to cupcakes, as well as Christmas pudding and custard. All home made by staff.
I used to love cheesecake and pavlova, but this week, I wasn't even tempted! When I was asked why I wasn't having dessert, I patiently explained that I don't eat sugar. I'm becoming accustomed to the reactions now - they range from the innocuous to the intense looks that suggest people think you are weird and the mocking statements. These statements usually sound something like, "You can't give up sugar!" or "Come on! It's Christmas! A little bit won't hurt you!" or "Oh yeah...is that some strange new diet fad?"
I'm refining my reaction to this. Sometimes a polite refusal is sufficient. With some people this just puts more fuel on the fire. If I've been asked a question, I usually ask the other person whether they are interested in my rationale for giving up sugar. If they say they are, then I'll give them a quick summary of why sugar is bad. If they're not interested in finding out I'll usually just shrug and remind them that I'm not questioning or judging their food choices.
So there I was, surrounded by sugar and it wasn't even difficult to resist! It's seven weeks since I've had sugar and it's very exciting and reassuring to know that my body and my mind have adjusted and I just don't want it anymore. Interestingly, probably the hardest thing for me to resist were the juicy fresh cherries!
It would be difficult to quit sugar just before Christmas and be in the first two weeks of withdrawal right now. I think I may have caved in and tried a piece of cheesecake if I'd been in that situation. I hope I wouldn't, but I think I might. Anyway, that's not the situation I'm in and that's good. My challenge is that I will be through the 8 week quit program and technically will be allowed to reintroduce sugar if I wish. I aim to stick with the cherries and avoid the pavlova.
What's your Christmas sugar avoidance strategy?
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