Ever since I was little I have been addicted to sugar. Whether it was candy, cookies, cake, you name it, if it was being offered I was having it. My family is from Cincinnati, Ohio so growing up Graeter’s was an institution and anytime you wanted ice cream that’s where you went. Can you fall in love with ice cream? If so, that would have to be my first crush. So many good flavors and the small town charm of their stores helps me to remember where I came from all those years before moving to the big city of Chicago.
Speaking of Chicago we have some amazing places to get a sugar fix and boy have I been a good customer. Candyality, Dylan’s Candy Bar, Ghirardelli Chocolate Co, and Hot Chocolate in Bucktown (just to name a few) have all been favorite places to stop and get something sweet. The problem is that I never walk out with just one thing. If I go into Dylan’s for chocolate covered gummy bears (I know it sounds gross but they are so delicious) I end up walking out with a bunch of other candy and spending an embarrassing amount.
So many people have asked me why can’t I just take one piece or have just one bite and be satisfied. That logic makes sense if you are someone that doesn’t have an addictive personality towards food and sugar in particular. I can’t really explain it but my mind doesn’t work like that. If I take a bite of something that tastes good I am going to want another bite. I think that logic makes more sense. I hate that saying “you can’t have your cake and eat it too”. Why would I have cake in my possession if I couldn’t eat it? That’s crazy. Why would cake even exist if not to eat it? I am slowly getting the concept of not eating the entire cake but c’mon let me at least have a slice.
All jokes aside giving up sugar was the best thing I could do for my health because at the rate that I was going I was one step away from becoming a full-blown diabetic. I was most likely consuming over 100 grams of sugar daily and just the act of ingesting sugar would make me crave it more and more. Today, if I really want something I will have it but in much smaller amounts and I’ve learned a few tricks along the way so that I don’t sabotage all of my hard work.
- When ordering ice cream I order a kid’s size cup – even if I eat the entire serving it’s usually only a ½ cup, which if you’ve read the back of a pint of ice cream a ½ cup is typically a serving of ice cream. By ordering a cup instead of a cone I’m cutting down on the extra sugar (and carbs).
- When the topic of dessert comes up at a restaurant and I’m with friends we’ll share a single dessert (even if there are 5 of us) so that way no one feels guilty afterwards.
- When I go to the movies I bring a small bag of peanut M&M’s and a bag of popcorn that I cooked in coconut oil. It’s a lot less sugar than the fun size bags at the theater and the popcorn isn’t slathered in butter.
I would love to know some of your tips on keeping your sweet tooth under control. Until next time!
Heidy