Hi Bobbi,
Boy, did this post ever confuse me. I did indeed kick the sugar habit just last week. I posted here "A question about sugar" on Oct 6, and had a bit of a conversation with, among other people, a Bobbi who no longer eats sugar. After a bit of going back and forth, I believe you are not the same Bobbi?
My advice for dropping the sugar habit is to think really, really hard about what you're going to use as replacements for when you crave something sweet. It will take a few days for your taste buds and your body to adjust to a sugar-free diet, but I can tell you from experience that you will be glad you did. My strategy was to have lots of fruits and vegetables around, and every time I wanted sugar, I ate a fruit instead. I intend to continue to use honey or molasses in baked goods, but to look for recipes that do not use sugar (glucose or sucrose). I also had to get creative about the condiments I use on food, as all the ones I'd been using were sugar based. I have two cookbooks that containing low-fat, sugar-free recipes which I've been using. We had Thanksgiving here in Canada this past weekend, and I made a Spicy Pumpkin Pudding for dessert, from one of these books, rather than pie. It is sweetened with fat free evaporated milk and all-fruit apple butter. It was super yummy, and didn't make me feel deprived.
My appetite has become much more controlled, I have more energy, and hunger is no longer accompanied by fatigue. My taste buds have become adjusted to the lack of sugar, increasing the flavourfulness (is that a word??) of all my food. Plus, while I have only lost a pound or so the past week, my waist and stomach have deflated considerably.
I hope some of this is helpful to you.
Sandra
