Legalized Drug = Refined Carbs

I have literally gone 11 days without refined sugar, sucrose, whatever you want to call it.  Amazing since even the "natural" peanut butter I put in my shakes had sugar listed as number two on the ingredient list.  I would drink vanilla flavored creamer in my coffee every morning.  What about the Luna Bars that I would eat on a daily basis?  The white bread....oh man do I love BREAD. Then there is the artificial sweeteners that I would intake to have the things I love but without the "guilt" (see the latest study for why this is just plain dumb).  Boy was I on a sugar overload and my body was paying for it.  I was eating items that were wreaking havoc on my metabolism.

I can see how it happened too.  I was a working long hours, intense stress and moving up fast.  I needed brain power and the brain LOVES that quick fix.  Refined sugars and grains are easily broken down to glucose (brain food), giving you a quick fix and a lovely high (due to increased serotonin levels).  If you are like me, when moving at a fast pace, I forget to eat throughout the day (say every 2-2.5 hours) and suddenly feeling weak and looking for something fast, I grab an energy bar or even run to a fast food joint for a burger, fries and a diet Coke.  Done, feel good, ready to go again.  Problem is that your body processes those simple carbs quickly and once they are done with them, you feel the crash and need another "hit". Now, if I had also been eating plenty of protein and fiber with my meals, which SLOWS the digestion of carbohydrates, I would have fared much better. But, did I mention that I rarely ate vegetables and meat as well???? Ugh!  Anyways, the resulting insulin/glucagon imbalance, which could of resulted in TYPE II diabetes eventually, was quickly causing increased belly fat, fatigue and a host of other issues, like chronic pain and inflammation. 

I have used Stevia, which is basically sweet leaf. It is a "sugar substitute" but it has a negligible effect on your blood glucose levels and therefore does not cause the cravings that would you would otherwise experience from both refined carbs and that "guiltless" consumption of diet soda.  I just recently tried a high cocoa (72%), dark chocolate which was bittersweet and because of the high level of cocoa had very little beet sugar in it and did taste a little bitter.

At this point, I am a little afraid to even TRY to eat any of the sweet things I enjoyed in the past.  I mean, I have struggled through the cravings for the last several days and what if I get sucked back in again?  Should I be going to a "sugarnon" meeting to work through these issues????  

Yes, Sugar Ray Leonard - LOL

Guess what?  I have lost 8 lbs and 3 inches thus far!  Yay me!