I get hate mail.
I get hate Facebook posts.
I actually understand.
I’m not condoning that behavior, but I do understand.
This cultural icon we call sugar is so deeply embedded in our culture and our psyches and we are just now scratching the surface of our understanding of its effects on the human body.
It’s going to be a long road.
There are a lot of parallels to the cigarette’s journey into and then, slowly still, out of public favor.
You did know that back in the day doctors were used to advertise smokes right? Lots of doctor ads – true story.
So the question of:
How do you quit sugar “today” without feeling deprived?
Let’s examine the word “deprived” in this context for a minute.
Does deprived mean left out of the social activity that everyone is doing say over the holidays or when the dessert cart comes around at a restaurant?
Does it mean not indulging in something we enjoy?
Or does it mean having to be “a little different” than everyone around us, maybe even our own family?
I think it means the later, and we know from experience – that scares people more.
I think we, at least I did, struggle with the idea that since everybody else is doing this thing that everyone sees as so normal and now we can’t, or don’t want to, that we are now somehow outsiders.
That my friends is a bad feeling all the time.
Being left out.
Not being “in the group.”
Being different.
I personally seem to suffer even more than most when I feel like I’ve been excluded.
But let me share a little secret and I’ve written about this before.
One of the traits that a lot of the people I’ve worked with over the years, that have found success, share is that they are a little mischievous – a little rebellious.
And almost all of them are pioneers, in some form or fashion, in their families, and in their original social groups.
They are the first ones to do LOTS of things. First ones to go to college. First ones to leave their hometowns, on and on, many, many firsts.
So if any of these folks sound like you – here’s what you have to weigh.
Do you like being healthy more than you like being a part of X group?
Do you like being thin more than you like being part of X group?
Do you feel like you’ve done enough research to make a life decision like this today?
Now this by no means excludes you from doing things with your family or friends. That would be crazy.
But I’m sure, if you’re one of those pioneers or rebels, you’ve done something your family or social group hasn’t exactly approved of up front but came to both accept and MAYBE even join you! Think about that one for a minute.
Also, I want to stress that these days, with the maturation of the Internet, there are groups that are doing EXACTLY what you want to do, no matter what that is.
Even something as wild as quitting sugar for a time to see if your body reacts any differently or heals up any!
Don’t think about what you’ll lose if you give up or learn to control sugar in your life.
Think about what you will gain!
Think about life as a normal body weight person, filled with energy and vitality.
Think about your brain fog clearing up.
Being able to swim with your kids in the pool.
Fitting into that bridesmaid’s dress.
Simple things, little things that you have had to put off or postpone.
We want you wild rebellious ones!
We thrive on you.
I don’t want to say I have an all new group of friends because I still have my old ones and few have even joined me. But my new sugar-free friends support me in a way that I can’t even describe.
When the going gets tough and I want to reach for my go-to comfort treat – they understand and talk me through it.
If you feel like it’s time to reach out to someone new then check us out: Quit Sugar Now.
Don’t think of it as losing something anymore.
Think of it as gaining something huge:
Your Life Back.
Forget the cravings, forget the withdrawals. Forget feeling deprived. Forget that you won’t be able to eat such and such a treat.
Think of living the dreams you’ve had all your life as soon as next month.. Quit Sugar Now.
