Mental growth!

I've been doing this for 3 months today, 14th May! Yay! So glad I began it. The thought of giving up sugary food, particularly chocolate, made me so anxious but it's been much better than I thought.

I've said here that I've never dieted properly before ie. followed a strict eating plan etc However, there were many times when I'd try and get rid of 'junk' food from my diet. For me, that was chocolate, sweet food etc However, after a week of being 'good', I'd weight myself and it would be no better, or little better, so I'd give up in disgust and eat junk food again.

So, I've been amazed at how I've not given up this time. Gillespie's message has struck my core being and I've had the strength to say, "Well, the weight is going up and down but I'm just sticking to this, no matter what!" My health matters and, weight aside, I'm still much better not eating sugar.

Stew and I have a bit of a tummy bug at present. No vomiting or diarrhea (in my case) but some awful tummy pains and nausea. This week, the weight has gone, starting Monday: 76.5, 76.5, 75.8, 75.4 and today (Saturday) was 74.8kg. Amazing how much it can fluctuate! Let's hope by Monday, the day I officially go by, it's much less than 76.5, like last Monday!

Next 20 reasons sugar is bad for you, so we're up to 80:

1. Sugar intake is associated with the development of Parkinsons's disease.
2. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
3. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
4. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
5. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
6. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
7. Sugar is the number one enemy of the bowel movement.
8. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
9. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
10. Sugar can make tendons more brittle.
11. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
12. Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women.
13. Sugar can adversely affect children's grades in school.
14. Sugar can cause depression.
15. Sugar can increase the risk of gastric cancer.
16. Sugar can cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
17. Sugar can increase the risk of developing gout.
18. Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in the blood much higer than complex carbohydrates in a glucose tolerance test can.
19. Sugar reduces learning capacity.
20. Sugar can cause two blood proteins - albumin and lipoproteins - to function less effectively, which may reduce the body's ability to handle fat and cholesterol.

As a teacher - well, when I'm not on maternity leave, like at present - numbers 13 and 19 are very concerning. When I do yard duty, I often say to kids, even before I read Gillespie's books, "That's quite a sugary treat you have there. You wouldn't eat that everyday would you?" They usually say that they wouldn't and I reply, "Oh, that's great because that's only 'sometimes food', isn't it?" I got the idea that, especially when talking to kids, you should call junk food 'sometimes food' as we all eat it sometimes but shouldn't be eaten everyday/week etc Rick Kausman's book, 'If not dieting, then what', is good about that. He goes into that well. Gillespie's version of this is, "Party food is for parties".

No. 8 is also relevant to our family. Stew is short-sightedness and Ethan is starting to go down that path so he's currently having eye drops that dilate his pupils etc to try and slow the developoment of this down.