Awe…. Sugar….

I get stress.  I get inflammation.  I get allergies.  I get weird rashy leg bruises.  I get swollen ankles.  It’s a routine thing.  It’s annoying.

Last time the crazy leg bruises were there I was losing hope as doctors’ only answer to me was steroids.  Like that’s a long term solution.

Randomly, my dad read an article talking about artificial sweeteners and how often times people will have reactions to it and not even know.  They sometimes had diabetic symptoms as their body was treating the false stuff as real stuff, so I started reading labels and I cut it out of my diet… and the bruises went away.  I felt GREAT!  It’s been ages since my legs looked like blood clot central.

I miss Diet Coke.

Anyway… a few weeks ago, or 7, I felt the familiar pain of a crazy leg bruise coming on… and it’s stayed.  I have one of those damn painful burning inexplicable doohickies on the back of my left calf and it’s bugging the crud out of me.

Since I’m still staying away from artificial sweeteners, I’ve been researching inflammation (closely related to allergies) to find another possible culprit and have found that it might be good for me to give up sugar.

SUGAR!

Bear in mind that I’ve already had to pass on artificial sweeteners… not that I’m missing them much… but Sugar?!?!?

There are people into sweet, and some into salty and I am the former.  I like ice cream, candy, chocolate, bars, baked goods, caramel, things that are gooey, brownies… did I mention ice cream?

Coffee flavored, strawberry, dulce de leche, Thin Mint when it does it’s seasonal round via Edy’s.

My weight is easily explained.  I eat and I don’t like to sweat.  It’s no secret.  There is a reason for my jiggles.

As a child we always seemed to have a big brown tub of Schwan’s ice cream in our basement chest freezer… if we were out of spoons upstairs that would be the first place to look.  This affair with sugar has been going on much of my life.

So… this posting is a bit to make me accountable.. and a bit to get myself geared up…

I want to try a month without sugar and just see how it goes.

Now, yes, it’s the holidays coming up… but what better time.  I’m hugely curious how much better I could feel if I actually were eating better consistently.

They say it’s best to quit cold turkey and that there will be some withdrawal symptoms.  I’m doing a little more inquiring to my doctor to find out what I should be avoiding and what is still okay.

I’m guessing that Caribou’s Caramel Toffee deliciousness ice cream is not on the list of “go” items.

So… here is me… writing this post to the 2 people who read it to say… I want to cut out sugar.   I want to do it for a month.  I want to start on Sunday, November 16th.

I’m apologizing to the sugar gods that I have worshiped my entire life.  I am going to betray you, but I promise I will not like it.

Ugh.

Says me.

S.