Sugar Addiction

In June I came to terms that I have a full-blown addiction to sugar. I realized then that the only way I was going to be able to control my sugar intake was to never have it again. Like an alcoholic or a drug addict, I "abuse" sugar after just the smallest attempt at keeping measures sane. I'll go to lengths to hide the addiction--only eating stuff I buy from the vending machine and not telling David. A little bit is never enough. I read in an article about Keith Urban's alcoholism recently that another country singer (name I can't recall) who was also an alcoholic said, "One drink is too much and a 1000 is not enough." That's how I feel about sugar. In my time I could eat a piece of cake for dinner...it would have to be a large piece of cake, but I could eat it and feel satisfied that I'd had food for dinner. I could also rationalize some sugar intake--it wasn't much, or it was only this one time, or a single cookie isn't all that bad. I also realized this time that "fake" sweets are "gateway drugs" for me and will lead me back to eating the real stuff simply because they taste good but not quite good enough.

I say all of this to justify that sugar can really be an abused substance. The main problem is that it is available everywhere you go. In the cafeteria there's a whole section devoted to desserts. Grocery stores have multiple aisles with sweets on them in all shapes and sizes. We love our Starbucks specailty coffee drinks, which are really glorified syrups with caffeine. Whereas an alcoholic can begin to gain control over their addiction by not going to liquor stores or bars, a sugar addict cannot simply quit living, hide out at home and hope no one stops by with a birthday cake or holiday pie. At our office, we celebrate every little ordeal with a bakery cake. For most people, this isn't a problem. They have their piece and then take some home to the family, but I know if I have one itsy little bitty bite it will send me into a spiral...So, just like I can have several glasses of wine on Friday night and not have any more for a month and not think about it or miss it, some people can eat a piece of cake and then not want anything else sweet again or think about it.

I can also look back over my life and see that this has always been a problem for me. I am glad that I've finally gotten control over it--almost 6 months now I've been sugar free and I intend to stay that way for the next 60+ years of my life.

But, when I mention to people that I don't eat sweets, they always say "why not" with that tone that says "I can't believe anyone would give this up!" And I reply that I have an addiction that I can't control, and they always look at me askance. For some reason, it seems more "justified" to be addicted to something that will completely and utterly destroy your life and those around you, but to be addicted to something that "just" makes you fat and grumpy is silly. I guess there needs to be an awareness campaign or something. Maybe something along the lines of the "tobacco kills"...we could say "sugar kills...slowly...but it kills."