I lost one of my best friends recently. Sugar. Sugar has been there for me every day since I got sober from alcohol. In early sobriety, in rehab, I couldn’t get enough of Tootsie Rolls. Those little individually wrapped brown chunks of bliss. At one point, I had my mom smuggling them in to me knowing I wasn’t allowed to have outside food in the rehab facility. (Yes, I eventually told on myself. Imagine how ridiculous that conversation was!) And up until last month, after a long day, I knew whatever my current sweet fix happened to be, would be there for me before I went to bed. For a long time, I wondered exactly how I was going to stop eating so much of it. Once, I even asked an expert in recovery for advice after attending his seminar. His answer was, “When you find out, let me know.”
Now it’s been over a month since I’ve had a piece of candy or dessert. I have not had much in the way of processed carbs at all. I’m working a weight loss program that teaches a healthier lifestyle. I’m not sure why I chose now to start. I’m not a big resolution maker. I didn’t have any dire health issues that necessitated cutting out sugar. I just felt like it was time to try. I definitely prayed for the willingness to try. And now I’m soooo glad I did.
The weight loss so far is great, yes, but, if you can believe it, that’s not the main reason I’m excited. I now KNOW I don’t HAVE to eat sugar every day. I know that even if I don’t stick to this eating plan forever or even for much longer, I can eventually get my sugar habit under control. I now have HOPE.
HOPE is also what I gained from learning about and working through some of my codependency issues and that makes all the difference.
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