Today, after reading "The Sweet Poison Quit Plan" by David Gillespie, as recommended by Hong Kong-based Scottish mate, Xen Gladstone, I'm going to attempt to kick my sugar addiction.
When Xen was living in Manila in the 90s, he was a pretty hefty guy, so when Rosan and I bumped into him at the Chili Peppers concert in Hong Kong in 2011, I was surprised at how much leaner he'd gotten.
I found out recently that he'd been following a no-fructose diet and had lost 20 kg. since we last saw him in Manila. I messaged him about it and he pointed my towards Gillespie's book. Xen says he still drinks beer and wine, eats rice, potatoes, and pasta, but makes his own bread to make sure it doesn't have any sugar. According to him, quitting was "super easy" even if he "had a massive sweet tooth".
Intrigued, I downloaded Gillespie's "Quit Plan" yesterday (his second book after "Sweet Poison - Why Sugar Makes Us Fat") and, thanks to insomnia, finished it this morning. The book summarizes why sugar is bad for you, recommends how to quit it, and features some recipes at the end.
Gillespie makes a compelling argument against sugar. Then again, he is a lawyer. Not only does sugar make us fat, it may also be responsible for Alzheimer's and may be the second shooter on the grassy knoll. (Okay, I may have made up that last bit.)
If you do a search on the web, you'll find articles "debunking" Gillespie, but they sound like sugar lobbyists to me. But even if they're right, I can't see any negative in attempting to give up sugar. Plus you know how I like to conduct these experiments on myself. I'd like to try being sugar-free for at least one month. Will then do blood tests and let you know how my general health is.
Gillespie appeals to me because he doesn't advocate dieting. According to his research, the body has a natural mechanism that tells us when we're full. This mechanism, however, doesn't recognize sugar and has been skewed by the sheer amount of it that we've been ingesting, more or less, since we were born.
He insists that, once we've kicked the sugar addiction, this mechanism will return to normal and our bodies will naturally police our intake of food and we won't be inclined to overeat.
Gillespie also seems to recognize alcohol as its own food group. He only discourages mixers. Hubba hubba.
Gillespie encourages to write down habits that we associate with sugar.
I'm not really sure that I have any. I have my coffee black and never put sugar in tea and, even then, I'm not in the habit of drinking coffee or tea anyway. I only ever have dessert at restaurants, but I don't really have to have it. I don't snack when watching TV or movies. I've only started putting more tonic in my gin to discourage or, at best, delay the appearance of the Evil Twin. And I seldom have cocktails because I find them too sweet. I don't like sugar in savory food. But I do associate drinking soft drinks with greasy food like lechon, fast-food pizza, burgers, and fried chicken. Then again, I only ever have fast-food maybe once every two months?
Having said all that, I do have a sweet tooth and get very strong sugar cravings. So when I have a stash of anything, I will find it and I will eat it all until I am sick.
Because I am so seldom at a mall or a grocery and am a fan of instant gratification, I always think of what I haven't had for a while - like a tub of cookie dough ice cream or a Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - and will binge on everything I think I've been deprived of, long after I've stopped getting any satisfaction from it.
In Siargao, when I'm on a diet, the girls normally have pitchers of fresh coconut water in the refrigerator, which I drink throughout the day.
Now that I've eaten most of my stash of goodies, and unsweetened calamansi/lemon juice has replaced the pitchers of coconut water - and I am nowhere near a mall! - I may have a pretty good chance of kicking the sugar addiction.
Wish me luck!
(Good grief. I'm going to become incredibly dull, aren't I?)