Cutting out most added sweeteners
from my diet helped me stop "retaining food."
 |
| She can't possibly mean Peeps |
A
cartoon drawn by Marty Bucella going around Facebook these days depicts an overweight man on a scale with
his doctor. “No, it’s not water,” the doctor says. “You seem to be retaining
food.”
That
was me.
Yes,
it’s true, I write about food. And I generally do eat a healthy diet made up of
whole foods. In fact, most of my food is organic and locally grown.
But
there was one not-so-local food that was tripping me up: sugar. Sometimes
abetted by another: chocolate.
The
eggs and butter that went with them, those were all local. Sadly, that didn’t
make them healthy — or at least not in the quantities I enjoy eating.
I
retained some food during the six months I worked at a bakery and the year I
lived near a restaurant called Extraordinary Desserts.
I
retained more after my brother died and life seemed bleak. I decided my only
remaining earthly pleasure was food, so I ate tiramisu, fruit tarts, and that
cobbler I love so much until my pants didn’t fit.
Fortunately,
my days of retaining food are ending. My relationship with sugar changed last
summer. And my tush’s relationship with the couch changed too.
Recently,
I tried on a dress I haven’t worn since 2007 and it fit again for the first
time. To put that in context, I wore it to my cousin’s Bat Mitzvah, and she’s
now in college.
There
are many theories about health and fitness, and I tend to subscribe to the
ideas of Linda Bacon, author of Health at Every Size. She focuses
on eating well because it’s delicious and moving your body because it’s fun and
allowing your body to establish what size it should be based on your healthy
lifestyle. Don’t focus on the numbers on the scale.
I
thought I was doing that. I would hike three miles a few times a week (but then
sit on my behind the rest of the time). I ate lots of vegetables. I also ate
lots of sugar.
However,
in the context of the standard American diet, I ate a relatively normal amount
of sugar. I haven’t had much soda since college. But I like my treats.
Here’s
the problem: The “normal” amount of sugar people eat in our country isn’t
actually healthy. On average, U.S. adults eat more than twice as many
calories from added sweeteners than they should.
To
cut the sugar, don’t attempt moderation. Make rules for yourself. For me, that
means no more cupcakes. No milkshakes.
I
ruled out milk chocolate because I would eat the whole bar. I switched to very dark
chocolate — 80 percent — instead.
I’ll
also put honey or jam on a peanut butter sandwich. Along with a few squares of
dark chocolate, that’s my sugar for the day. Do this, and your cravings largely
stop.
One
more rule: Avoid “tastes” and “bites” of sweets. It’s easier to say no if you
haven’t tasted something than if you have.
Ending
my lifelong love affair with sugar wasn’t enough for me. My bottom also had to
break up with its true love, the couch. Now I am in a new long-term
relationship with hiking.
And
you know what? Now I love my body too. Not only does it fit back into that
dress, it’s capable of climbing mountains.
OtherWords columnist Jill Richardson is
the author of Recipe for America: Why Our Food System Is Broken and
What We Can Do to Fix It. OtherWords.org