Something sweet

I am a self-proclaimed and accurately diagnosed sugar addict and I would choose dessert over dinner 90% of the time. There's just something sweet about all of life's lekkertjies...Did I mention that in February when I gave up social media, I also gave up refined sugars? Sure I didn't because that did not go nearly as well or last nearly as long.

Yesterday, after enduring a kid's birthday party, a visit from a sister with a Cinnabon and the remnants of the Easter Weekend, I wasn't sure if I'd wake up this morning from my self-induced sugar coma. Scary! So this morning - after realising that I had in fact woken up (and given thanks for it) I decided that I have to make some guidelines for myself...and possibly go and get a few health assessments done after.

In order to not make it blatantly obvious how I try to justify why diets are unrealistic, I will mix them in to the paragraphs - like a fruit cake...oooh....

A little bit of sugar goes a long way: 
Studies show that eating the comfort food of the movies like ice cream by the tub or chocolate bars by the slab, will only make you feel better for a short period before sending you crashing into a deeper collapse of discomfort. I can believe that. Yet it doesn't discount the fact that it still helps you feel better! But seriously, consider that cup of tea and a biscuit on a cold Sunday noon while waiting for lunch. Or the drop of custard on that jelly cup at a birthday picnic...There's a place for just a little bit of sugar in all of us.

Meals not only give us nutrition, but also create opportunities for engaging:
Ask any teacher, preacher or parent - somewhere along the line, someone would've told them or they would've recommended to someone else that they make the most of the time spent around a dinner table to catch up and connect with their families. And we've tried it - it works. So how could one replace that time rather sitting there, grumpy-faced, separating carbs from protein-less-fats-and-sugars and honestly say "yum, I'm having a great time"? I reckon it is possible to enjoy whatever is being served so that the biggest gain is in relationship building not calorie counting.

Let them eat cake, with friends!
Safety in numbers, the husbands like to say. And I'll go with that. For me, a real danger is binge eating when I'm alone. But if you take yesterday's Quantum load of 12 two to eighty-five year olds out for the afternoon...I was way too busy keeping kids strapped in and managing crowd control to even think about luxuries, let alone over eat it. So I think it's safe to say that it'll be okay to enjoy something festive like cookies and cupcakes when we're in the company of friends.

The truth is: we are living in a sugar loaded society and there are many, many worthwhile exercises to help limit the amount of added, refined sugars and preservatives - that do more harm than good. Try them! Be aware that your body is so used to them though and that cutting it out will cause headaches and mood swings of note. But it's also nice once in a while to realise that you can do without it! And think of how happy your dentist and favourite jeans fitting will be?

Okay. What did you expect? That I was going to blatantly berate everything from praline pancakes to pear pastries and feel that I was being honest? My name is Ashleigh and I have a sweet tooth. Now to just moderate how I live with it.