I have been on a journey of health consciousness for many years. My choice of profession also lends itself to this subject since I am a nurse. I see the effects of ill health each day that I go to work and have chosen to walk a path that will allow me to have a healthy life as best as I am able. Not unlike many, I went through my own years of maybe some not so optimal choices in terms of health and nutrition and also have experienced high levels of stress which is a predominant factor in our health status. (That's a whole other blog post) I have come to recognize for myself what choices I need to make in order to live my best life and feel the best I can. One of the issues I was dealing with on a very large level several years ago was my unending levels of fatigue. I had never felt so tired in all my life. It was the kind of tired that wasn't going to be better after a night's sleep or even after several night's sleep.I would wake up that way and carry it with my throughout my day and then take it to bed with me to awaken the next day not feeling any better at all. I was feeling like I was never going to be rested again and I was moving through life feeling very depressed about this since I still had to carry on somehow. I lived with this for many, many months and only when I linked a couple of experiences together did I recognize what was maybe the problem.
I was at work and there was a staff appreciation celebration where they were offering free ice cream. Well, who turns down ice cream! I went along with my co-workers and had a half portion of what they were offering (since I do try to be portion aware). It was delicious and within 30 minutes I was ready to sleep. And I mean I was ready to curl up in a little ball anywhere possible and sleep the rest of my shift away. The tiredness I felt was almost unexplainable.It is a tiredness that is unbearable. A couple of days later I was having lunch with my daughter at home and for dessert we decided to share in a butter tart. She had a half and I had the same. Once again, within 30 minutes I was over-the-top tired! Now, I had felt these kind of tiredness episodes before since I had been feeling this fatigue for so long, but it was on this day in particular that I put it all together and had an 'aha' moment. I connected both of these situations in terms of the sugar content in the ice cream and the butter tart. I decided then that I needed to know more about the effects of sugar in a persons diet. I know a lot about diabetes since I deal with that in my job on a daily basis, but I felt that this was somewhat different. I decided to eliminate sugar as best I could from my diet and wait to see what happens. I read and researched all that I could in terms of the effects of sugar on the body. I could tell from my resarch that sugar had to go. So all sweets were now off limits, which isn't too hard for me since my sweet tooth is not dominant for me, but there were times when a cookie might have been tasty. Remarkably I found this to be easier than I thought it would be. Partly because as I mentioned I don't crave alot of sweets and the other was the fact that I knew how I would feel if I did eat anything with sugar in it. That was enough to keep me away from it. The feeling of fatigue day in and day out was excruciating. Putting one foot in front of the other with large levels of effort because I always felt so tired was wearing me down. I needed to find the answer and this was maybe it. I have been reading food labels for years, but now was looking at where the sugar content came into play on the label. Where was it in the hierarchy of ingredients? The higher up on the radar it was, the further away it was in my diet. Fructose, glucose, sucrose, lactose, HFCS are just a few of the ingredients that I look for. I also had to look at foods that have starches that are then converted to sugar in the body. No more soda biscuits for me. The change that the elimination of sugar from my diet came to have was huge. I believe that I have a sugar sensitivity. It affects me personally in the way of fatigue and if I eat something with sugar in it now not only will I feel fatigued but I will feel crummy for maybe a couple of days. None of that is worth it. I do eat small amounts of fruit, but have stayed away from fruit juices. I have learned what to do in terms of my sensitivity and I feel very fortunate to have found my answer to all of this. I do have times where this is reinforced for me and yesterday was one of those times. I treat myself to a chai latte every now and then and did so before an appointment I had. I took my book to the local cafe and there I sat and sipped my treat. By the afternoon I felt tired and mentally flat. I had noted it's sweetness immediately but since it was my treat and I had had a latte here before I thought it was all good. To my dismay it was not. I'm not sure if they have changed something or my sensitivity was especially in high drive. I do know this.....I can't have their chai latte anymore and I looked online for a recipe that included agave. I will try it soon.
This discovery was a part of my journey of self-care. What do I need to do to feel and look my best? That involves many things and some that I continue to work on each and every day. Some I have a bettter handle on than others and some at times will fall into the background, while others will take center stage. It all balances out for me. All in all I know that looking after me is something that I neglected for a long time and put others first for many years. As a mother that was almost predictable, but now as a woman who essentially has only herself to look after I have no excuses to not feel and look my best. If it doesn't happen I am the only one I can point my own finger at and then move forward with what I know I need to do.
So, sugar is not my friend. We had to part company almost two years ago. I only miss the sweetness in rare moments.......otherwise, I enjoy the feeling of wellness much, much more.
Have a healthy day.
Blessings..............
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