All or nothing!

I have learnt about myself on this Sweet Poison sugar-aware journey. I am definitely an all or nothing person. This last week, I blogged that I ate the whole 110gm Cherry Ripe egg, with 51.9gm sugar per 100gms. I said I would give away the small bag of tiny Crunchie eggs. Well, I mostly did. On the same day, I wrote that blog, I still ate some. I ate 4 out of the roughly 20 you got in the bag. It's the old not wanting to waste your money, and also, I just had to know what they tasted like. They tasted a heck of a lot better than the Cherry Ripe egg and were thoroughly delicious. Gave the rest away to my offspring, which is really a terrible thing to do in leading them astray.

That has always been a big problem, which Stew never really liked. I'd buy chocolate and then share it with my 3 older kids (we only added on the babies in the last couple of years) so they were getting very addicted along with me. That's why I'm so proud of Brooke, who is trying very hard to do this too. Adam said he'd start in May, after his April b'day and Easter. Ethan, is not too keen, thus far, but he's only 12. Mind you, he'll find it increasingly hard to get sugary stuff here so at least  his exposure will be limited.

However, I still lost weight in the last week and am now in the 75kg range. Last Monday, it went up 200gms to 76.9 but has been 75.9, 75.6, 75.6 and 75.8 for the last 4 days. That can lead you astray if you focus on the weight only, which I sometimes do. Although I set out to do this for health reasons, thinking lost weight would be an added bonus, I sometimes get so caught up in the pleasing weight loss that I forget what this is all about. So, you can start to think, "See, I didn't gain weight from having sugary treats so having some regularly won't hurt etc" It's not just about weight!!!

I did an Inter-Library Loan on a book called "Suicide by Sugar: A Startling Look at Our  #1 National Addiction. Why our sweet tooth may be killing us" by Nancy Apppleton, PhD who is American, I assume. I think she's a nutritionist etc who learnt in the 70s that sugar was killing her but didn't have the benefit of the recent research to make people believe her. Have read the first chapter, as I only started it today, and it is interesting. Written in 2009. She's also written books like, "Lick the Sugar Habit". She's in her 70s and has been on a big journey of discovery. She lists 140 reasons why sugar is ruining our health though she is compiling more, all the time. Many will echo what Gillespie says, of course. A lot she gets from the Harvard medical publication. I plan to share some with you, each time I blog.

The first 10:

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.
3. Sugar can cause juvenile delinquency in children.
4. Sugar eaten during pregnancy and lactation can influence muscle force production in offspring, which can affect an individual's ability to exercise.
5. Sugar in soda, when consumed by children, results in the children drinking less milk.
6. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses and return them to fasting levels slower in oral contraceptive users.
7. Sugar can increase reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage cells and tissues.
8. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, inability to concentrate, and crankiness in children.
9. Surar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
10. Sugar reduces the body's ability to defend against bacterial infection.

Number 4 makes me wish I'd known to cut down on sugar in pregnancies. I always meant to but never did as I didn't know how. Willpower doesn't work for me. It's almost enough to make me wish I could have another pregnancy just to do it right, this time, and be healthy for the baby's sake.