Sugar? The Struggle is Real!

Sugar? The Struggle is Real!

 

A common staple in our lives in the South is a big bag of sugar. We make preserves, candy, cakes, ice cream, cake icing, homemade breads, and baked goods with it. We put it in iced tea, and we put it in all of the healthy things we can find to make them, well, BETTER! But not so fast! 

That was true for my grandpa Smyly, whose favorite song was "We'll Work 'Till Jesus Comes". He meant it too! The same for my granddaddy Piggott, who was a blacksmith by trade. They never knew an "easy" job, nor could they be accused of being lazy! They burned more calories in a day than most of us do in a weekend! I'm talking "butt crack of dawn" until the sun dropped it's drawers on the horizon in the west, they were knocking it down! Peddle to the metal! That was how one scraped a living out the land, and the world around them. There was none of this, "I better get to the office, so I can sit and stare at a computer in an air conditioned building, or talk on the phone crap." So, they could easily afford lard in their biscuits, milk with cream straight from the cow, bacon grease in the beans, and sugar in the fried pies, traditional pies, cakes, and candy that were made at home!

Today, however, we have perpetual access to hoards of new candies, cookies, cakes, toppings, ice creams, baked goods, soft drinks, etc. with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and all sorts of other "garbage" that allows manufacturers to mass produce the most unhealthy, destructive, tooth rotting, digestive system destroying, and DELICIOUS empty calorie foods imaginable! Whew! That was a long sentence. So, don't check my grammar. It tastes good! Hershey's with Almonds! Just saying it makes my mouth water! M&M's! Snicker's! Gummi Bears! Hell, I don't care! I'd steal it from a little fat kid, if it was the last one! (Well, I might give him a piece. A little piece.) 

If I were in a post apocalyptic scenario like The Walking Dead? I'd be the dude with all the candy. I'm just being honest! I'd be so fat when I died that I wouldn't be able to walk off and eat anyone! Nobody would have to shoot me in the head. But seriously! We have so much access to processed foods of the worst kind, that taste good, the odds are stacked against those of us who have a hard time passing on what we have come to call the "simple pleasures" of life! 

Almost 11 years ago, I quit drinking. Cold turkey! I knew that one of the things that my brother really wanted was for me to quit drinking. After he passed away, I just said, "I'm done.", and I walked away from years of hard, heavy drinking. Now, compared to that, this is monumentally more difficult. I've built a world around loving sweets, and making them! So, my mindset has infused sugar into travel adventures, family activities, friend gatherings, work activities, and even relaxation! Sitting down to watch an MMA fight on Friday night with a big glass of Milo's Sweet Tea, and a few of my snacks of choice is a no brainer! I did it instinctively! 

So, it's easy to see my reluctance! I have never been one to go from diet to diet, to fad diet, and up and down. My journey has been pretty straight forward. Health issues have played a big part in getting me up to 300lbs., and so have medications, and poor choices! I take responsibility for all of it. Still, I felt in my mind that I had given up vices (not cussing), so, I "deserved" to be able to eat what I wanted, when I wanted. Not accepting that my health issues will NOT allow for that sort of thinking is a bad idea. 

This thinking of justification just compounds the problem, but it is certainly easy to do! I really only answer to me, after all! It is a matter of identifying the battle ground. It is a matter of realizing where the struggle, and real conflict takes place. When I accept that those few inches behind my eyes, and between my ears is where all the struggle takes place, I believe that I should be able to conquer my greatest adversary to date. I will give my brain, and subsequently my body what it needs for a change, and not just what I want. Just because everything (and I mean everything) is at my fingertips, it doesn't mean that we should allow ourselves to indulge in ALL of it, or even most of it! So, how do I win this "battle"? (That's an important word, and I'll explain why later.)

Well, I take back my "never dieted" statement. I forgot that I did go for several months without gluten, and I lost some weight. However, I found that gluten really wasn't my problem, and justified getting off of the diet, because I craved the cinnamon bread, and rolls even more! See? I made an excuse! The "diet" wasn't "perfect enough", which translated means, "It doesn't let me eat EVERYTHING!". My brain didn't rewire itself to healthy eating, it simply omitted a target! Gluten! And for me, I have found that that is not enough. Why? 

Let's look at what we jokingly call a "sugar addition", and compare it to drug addiction. 

What is drug addiction?The accepted model of drug addiction is described in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and is characterized as:

• Loss of control of consumption
• Increased motivation to consume
• Persistence of consumption despite negative consequences

Does that sound like how I eat? Abso-damn-lutely! That is me in Spades! I don't consume things that I love to eat. I devour them! I was attending a baby shower for one of my coworkers at a hospital I worked in during my time in Mobile, AL. He and I had worked together for years. His name was Stan, and he is a black guy, for reference. He was my height, tall, and muscular build. We worked in a job where we both depended on one one another in life and death situations. So, we were close friends, to say the least. 

We were eating at the old T. P. Crockmeir's in Mobile, AL, and we had ordered the chicken wings for the table. Those things were good. Covered in a sweet, tangy BBQ, and cooked to perfection. So, I was in my zone! I was oblivious to other people around me, and I'm devouring my basket full, when I realize someone is staring at me. It's Stan! He is across the table with his wife, and looking right at me in disbelief, and says, "Damn Stephen! Does your wife feed you? You eat chicken like a black man! Look at those bones! There ain't a shred of meat on 'em anywhere! They look like they dried up in a desert!" We all fell out laughing, and had a great time. But that is how it starts! You see? Back then? I was young, and buff! I wasn't fighting weight gain, and I could afford to indulge more. 

Now, fast forward to today! I'm 53! I'm no longer 20 something! My metabolism, and my activity levels are lower than they were back then. Besides this, there is another component that we often overlook. There is also a chemical addiction to sugar that takes place in our bodies, and like any other chemical change, some of us are more prone to it than others. I happen to be one that leans toward the addictive side, and here is where it gets really difficult. 

I won't go through all of this, and recreate the wheel, as it were. Instead, I want you to read a short piece by someone who has already put pen to paper on the subject. It is a short, concise article by Written by Kris Gunnars, BSC on September 23, 2014 in a newsletter called Healthline. The piece is called "10 Similarities Between Sugar, Junk Food and Abusive Drugs"
         Here is the link: 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-similarities-between-junk-foods-and-drugs 

Did you get to the link? If not, let me know! This is well written, and documented. It's a short, easy read too. This is important to know, if you share my affinity, or obsession with sweets, including breads, and starches. Why? Because in my personal opinion, sugar addiction is the most widely accepted chemical addiction in our society, today! 

We can talk about the opioid crisis in American all day, and people will agree that it is a monster. I know first hand what those drugs can do to your mind, from my time on them. Having Crohn's Disease, is to have an incurable disease that impacts all aspects of my life. It damaged more than just my intestinal tract. My joints, and my nervous system have been damaged as a result of both the disease, and the medications they used to treat what is a sever case. It is painful. I still live with pain, but I do not take opioids for pain anymore. I believe they should only be given for one week, and that's it. The only people who should have an option to take them are those who are terminally ill. The meds like Oxycontin, and Hydromorphone, and Fentanyl, et al., were made for people who were dying in pain. Still, we see people every day who take them like vitamins, or even Tic-Tacs! I can not for the life of me understand why they don't make Cannabis legal, because it is non-addictive, and many strains are effective on various types of pain. BUT that is another rant, for another day. Suffice it to say that there are many dangerous addictions that live among us. By far (in my opinion), the worst one is still the addiction to sugar. 

This can be said of sugar, because of how tolerant we are of it! Sugar doesn't just make us "fat". In quantity, it can destroy our body, and it can cause our body to rewire it's processes in an unhealthy manner. Think about it! We laugh about being fat, and make jokes about it! (Well, I do!) Yet, the reality is that I'm not laughing on the inside. I'm struggling. I'm conflicted, because people see me this way, and they accept it! Yet, for me, I have come to see that as a form of enabling that is far too pervasive in our society. We will gather for an intervention with someone killing themselves with drugs, but we will ignore the friend who is killing himself with food. This is a real crisis in this nation! I'm not talking about being "overweight". I'm saying that my chart at the doctor's office states "morbid obesity", and THAT should not be popular, or commonplace. Now, I joked with my doctor, and said, "That's really harsh!" She said, "Well, you meet the criteria!" To which I replied, "No shit!" 

So, this is the battle I'm up against. It has been a decade since I have even tried to cut back on anything intentionally, and I am now in the beginning stages of my journey. So, I am looking at it this way, "I am not 'cutting back'. I am changing the way I eat, forever." And you know what? In our country, there are so many options for EVERYTHING! It isn't like it was in the 70's, 80's, or even 90's! There is a whole world of food out there that is delicious, filling, satisfying, and capable of replacing things I have always enjoyed. But I can not overlook the brain chemical changes I've experienced. My wife is seeing me go through it, as she starts her journey as well. It is very noteworthy, and I will clue you in on what it has been like in my next post. Withdrawal. Recognizing it, and pressing onward with my plan is a choice at some point. It is in my control, and right now, at this minute, I'm winning. 

Last week, I received my First 5 lb. weight loss "metal". (For women, they call it a "Charm"), This week, (Yesterday), I received my 10 lb. weight loss "metal!" So, I am excited! I picked up a 10 lb. bag of sugar at Walmart, and smiled. To be quite honest, I cried in the aisle of Walmart, and a woman came by and patted me on the back. She was a heavy set black lady. When I laughed through my tears, and told her why I was crying, she hugged my neck. She shared the struggle, and knew exactly what I was feeling. It's a monumental step for me, and I am proud of myself. 

My 5 lb. and 10 lb. Weight Watchers Metals

#Oprah #WeightWatchers #Winning #Smyly 


A special Thank You to my beautiful, and Amazing wife, Cherie'. I could not have done this, without your help, and most of all, your support.