On my sugar busting travels I’ve learnt a lot, not just about what sugar does and where it’s hidden, but what varying degrees of attachment people have to sugar and how this is perceived. This quick post will help you dive deep into your sugar thoughts and I’ll enlighten you with one of my own tales to bring it to life. Answer honestly and see how you do….
The questions…
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I did search far and wide for the densest, juiciest chocolate brownie picture I could find (sorry!)
Do you have sugary treats every day or at least every other day? (sweets, chocolate, dried fruits, cakes/pastries etc.)
- Do you often think you will feel better eating something sugary but then afterwards you feel worse?
- Does the picture to the right stir up any emotions or cravings in you? Could you eat it now?
- Do you have a hard time resisting dessert when it’s offered to you or when you are at restaurants?
- Have you ever, or do you eat too much sugar to the point of feeling sick?
- When you’ve started eating sugary stuff, does it make you want more of it?
- Do you have a hard time stopping at a small serving e.g. one chocolate or just one biscuit?
- Do you ever binge on sugar? i.e. scoff loads in one go
- When you eat sugar, does it seem like it’s beyond your control? You feel like you “have” to eat it?
- Have you ever tried to stop eating sugar for a period of time and failed miserably? e.g. lent, a month, or on a diet.
- Do you hide sugar from family or friends so they don’t know you are eating it?
- Do you feel an impulse to eat it when you see it, like you have to eat it and its drawing you to it?
- Does it feel like it’s never enough…. you eat it once and you want it over and over again?
- Do you feel ashamed or guilty when you indulge in sugar?
- Do you often tell yourself this is the “last time” I am doing this and tend to over eat because you “thought” it was the last time?
- Are you tired a lot?
- Do you also find you crave bread or other starchy carbohydrates quite often?
How did you do?
There are 17 questions there…
- If you’ve answered more than 12 with a ‘yes’ then hey ho sorry, I’d say you’re ruled.
- Between 5-12 then keep an eye on it. Some of the questions are more telling than others and you’re in danger of slipping down a sugary slope.
- Lower than 5 and you’re probably OK, but have a look at the questions you answered yes to to check they’re not bad ones.
My Story: Corporate Cake Time
I couldn’t find a clock showing 2:30pm but this is pretty close!
I’ll never forget a corporate training venue I used to go to where at about 2:30pm, they used to bring out different home bakes each day. I secretly used to get very excited about this, which I guess was kind of nice in a way, because when you’re learning super intensively, it’s nice to treat your efforts right?
However, low and behold if facilitator talked past 2:30pm. When you’re slightly panicking that all the other classes will go out before you and eat all the cakes, fearing that there’ll be nothing left, you know you’ve got it bad.
Chances are whatever was being taught post 2:30pm was not going in my head properly because I really did used to get agitated. Err hello Mr course facilitator.. cake break time, like NOW! I couldn’t understand how the facilitator was not aware of this fact and would keep starting to explain new points. Did he not know we would be the most perfect calm and attentive students once the sweet fix was in?
It was made 10x worse when you could see through the glass pane of the door the other delegates walking back with sheer delight and scoffing whatever the days treat was….OMG is it carrot cake, flapjack…what if it’s my favourite and THEY’RE EATING IT ALL!
It was only a matter of time before I concluded one day that this feeling was completely ridiculous I was a little bit ruled.
My former colleagues/course classmates will be laughing reading this, either because they know the feeling I’m talking about, or they think I’ve gone bonking mad. That is what this freaking crazy sugar does to you!
Finally…
Chances are you perhaps don’t have it as bad as I did, but chances are you do. A conversation I had with a personal trainer last week even implied that 7/10 people may struggle a bit with sugar. Don’t worry if the quiz deemed you are somewhat under the thumb, because I suspect you’re in the majority.
Take some action and sign up for Happy Sugar Habits and you can start changing. One little tip will deposit into your inbox each week and you’ll be able to download my free ’30 low sugar high protein snack guide’ which will help you find alternatives to 2:30pm cake time. OK a handful of nuts wouldn’t have eased my pain back then, but I’d like to think now I’d happily have an alternative and wouldn’t be sad.
If you’re brave, share your stories and leave a comment…but I know you probably might not want to because this stuff can get pretty personal.
