Back in 1995, when I finally decided to give up the demon tobacco for good, I thought I’d actually bested the toughest addiction the world had to offer. Little did I know that quitting smoking was a walk in the park compared to the one I’m currently fighting.
For those of you waiting with bated breath for the tell-all of the century, sorry to disappoint, but the evil I’m battling this time is a common enemy. It’s insidious because it’s readily available, cheap and, like any addiction, the more you get, the more you want. What is this nefarious substance, you ask? It’s the monster of our times – sugar.
My grappling with this pervasive enemy began in childhood. Along with many others, I was rewarded for eating the things that were actually good for me with, wait for it, dessert. So not only did a spoonful of sugar make the medicine go down, but the promise of a giant brownie helped even the hated green peas go down.
However, growing up, there weren’t nearly as many temptations as there are now. My frugal mom rarely allowed us any breakfast that came directly from a box into a bowl. Instead we were raised on oatmeal cooked on the stove top or the delightful Sunny Boy cereal that looked and tasted like hot bird seed. (There’s a reason birds are all teeny critters and I was a skinny child; bird seed and Sunny Boy both come out in about the same consistency they go in.) At any rate, when we had cold cereal (that we considered the treat to end all treats), it was generally corn flakes or something similar. Never, ever did we eat pre-sweetened cereal.
So how did I come to replace one addiction with another? It was amazingly easy. First of all, I needed something to keep the hands busy. What better than baking every day? And since I could no longer reward my hard work with a cigarette, why not munch a humungous piece of fresh-from-the-oven cake? Soon my scale and I became mortal enemies, but my addiction didn’t stop then.
What became a wake-up call was a mild health scare and the equally frightening thought of replacing my entire rapidly shrinking wardrobe. So here I am struggling as many do to nix the sweet stuff from my diet. In many ways I consider myself lucky. I never did develop a taste for sugary drinks. I don’t do pop or pseudo juices or even real juices. But there are more than enough temptations out there to make up for my one virtue. So wish me luck – and until the problem is licked, it’s one sweet day at a time.
