So Far, So Good....re: Sugar Addiction

I can be quite superstitious sometimes. I never thought I'd really break my mother's back if I stepped on a crack, but years of walking to school on sidewalks chanting that must have affected my psyche. Case in point: I think that if I say I'm doing well at not eating sugar then the next thing I know, I'll be plowing through mounds of it. That somehow pointing out a victory is sure to bring on opposing troops. (Years ago I read a book that theorized that Satan can't read our thoughts but he can hear our words, so be careful what you say because you'll just be giving him ammunition. I now see that's absurd, but the thought does occur to me.)

All that aside, I'd like to report that all is going well. My track record with resolves is abysmal, so I'm marveling at the fact that I've had so little sugar for more than two weeks. But this time it wasn't really a resolution. I just was graced with a tall, strong wave of resolve and I'm riding it as far as I can. Pat asked if I'd been praying to God for help, and I acknowledged that I hadn't, but that I've been thanking Him every day for the help that I know has come from Him.

My addiction to sugar mirrors my life. I want only the sweet, without the bitter. I want a constant flow of pleasure, of distraction. I want substitutes that are cheap and easy. I don't want what is really better for me because what's better tends to be so FIBROUS! I'm truly a product of the age in which I live, where the goal seems to be uninterrupted pleasure. I was seeking that in my former habits with sugar.

But my tastes are changing. As I've been choosing other foods, I'm finding them so much tastier than I did when my taste buds were jaded. Where I used to use 3 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee, now 1 is perfect, something I consider a treat, for which I'm thankful. The maple syrup on waffles yesterday was pure bliss, but will not be something I indulge in every day because I know where that will lead.

I made a cake yesterday and realized that before, when I made sweets, I probably consumed about 5 teaspoons of sugar just in the making. It's instinctive to lick your fingers, the spoon, the knife, and I did so yesterday without thinking, but quickly stopped myself because I could see how easy it would be to mindlessly start feeding the sugar monkey again.