tying to quit sugar

I kissed sugar goodbye, sort of

About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and prescribed a weekly injection of some brew aimed at taming my allegedly overactive immune system. Later, the docs had me sitting in an infusion chair for 8 hours every six months or so.

I didn’t like the idea of strange chemicals swirling inside my corpus, and they had some weird side effects, so I rebelled for a couple of years, got off the meds, and avoided my rheumatologist. The disease advanced and began to attack other parts of my body.

On a solo camping trip one fall, I began to experience severe eye pain. By the time I got home, I couldn’t open my eyes. An emergency visit to the ophthalmologist revealed that my arthritis had “melted” part of the cornea in my left eye and could possibly take aim at something more vital. Back to the Rheumatologist it was for a mild tongue-lashing and another 8 hours in the infusion chair.

When COVID hit, I rebelled again, refusing to navigate pandemic America with a heavily compromised immune system. It was during that time that I quit drinking and began to experience a common side effect of the NA life: extreme sugar cravings. At the time, I didn’t realize that there was a correlation between sugar and immune system disorders, and my self control has never been stellar, so I replaced my booze habit with a different one, for a little while.

I’ve never had a great relationship with sugar. It’s everywhere, and makes things taste really nice. But when I quit drinking, something happened to my psyche, similar to what happens to spoiled children when a reasonable adult forces a few boundaries on them. I began to question other areas of my life, including this new relationship with sugar. A few months into my NA journey, I decided to put some massive boundaries on this habit too.

I immediately noticed a tangible shift in my joint/eye/etc. pain.

As with my alcohol journey, there have been some cheats; some days I say “screw it” and pound sugar like a good average American, and always hurt the next day. If I do that for a few days, I’ll experience eye pain again, get scared, and take a few days off. Consistency’s always been difficult.

No offense to the world of Rheumatology professionals, but in my almost 5 years of being an arthritis patient, I’m wondering why nobody mentioned that too much sugar can screw with your immune system. Sure, I’ve heard that a proper diet can help, and I’ve tried that, but nothing has affected my lowly state like saying a hearty “Quack YOU!!!” to the white stuff.

It makes sense. Sugar’s good for nobody. Humanity has spent 99% of its existence far from the intake that we perpetrate today. Our bodies aren’t used to this; pounding sugar on a daily basis – like we all do – isn’t something we’re genetically accustomed to. Go figure that the problems it can cause are legion: weight gain, depression, sleep problems, bad moods, cancer, inflammation, general discomfort, and others are listed by many as common side effects of the average American’s excess sugar intake, said to be 77 grams per day.

If you do the math, that’s 60 pounds of sugar a year, or 112,420 calories.

If you’re trying to get in shape but fail to put a big clamp on this, you won’t get far. One pound of body weight is equal to 3,000 calories.

Our average yearly sugar intake equates to 37 pounds a year.

Ugh.

When I quit booze, I didn’t notice any significant changes; I lost a little weight and my mood improved a little. But the benefits of quitting sugar have been much more tangible. I immediately lost about 10 pounds, slept better, and maybe said a forever goodbye to the infusion room.

What’s more, saying no to yet another monkey on my back has further convinced my spoiled self that I’m the one in charge: I don’t need a bunch of external garbage to feel happy, and unneeded consumption isn’t the way toward the life I’m looking for.

But the hardest thing about quitting sugar is similar to the hardest thing about quitting booze. Not only is it everywhere, it’s in the places where I tend to have the most fun: watching movies, road trips, hanging out with kids/family/friends. Those are dear to me, and have always been attended by a sugary drink or some other heavily loaded sugar bomb. How can I have fun if I’m not simultaneously eating/drinking sugar?

I’ve heard many people say that their addiction is the only thing they truly love. That’s been true for me; the hardest thing about beating these relationships is the sense of life that’s associated with them. Laughter, connection, hope, etc. all have intimate ties to booze and sugar.

But I’ve been off booze for almost a year now, and that connection is not nearly as strong as it used to be. Not so for sugar. If I can get some distance from it, I’ll begin to imagine life without it, much more convinced that it’s not a need, and that it might just be keeping me from the life I’m looking for.

For now, that box of sugary cereal that I bought for the kids is calling my name. Lash me to the pole, for I cannot resist her (Lucky) Charms ™.

Photo by Jamie Albright on Unsplash

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