Feeding Your Brain
Monday, many of you are joining me in saying, “I Quit Sugar.” 
You are tired of feeling sluggish, would like to loose a few pounds, and improve your overall health.
You might dabble with this idea of I Quit Sugar for a day, maybe two, and then stumble, if you are anything like me.
You might even find yourself a little scared.
I am Scared to Quit Sugar
This idea of being scared to quit sugar might seem ludicrous to some of you. But not to a fat person.
Yesterday, I found myself wondering . . .
What will I do? I will have more time on my hands. And more time means not escaping from whatever is stressing me out . . . driving me to make chai, steal an organic cookie from the pantry, eat an extra cheese stick.
Conquering the bickering children in the car and savoring the learning moments at a grocery store will have to be made a priority, not a quick fix from the Starbucks drive-thru.
Quite literally I feel vulnerable eliminating sugar. It may mean saying no to a birthday cake; which is like sitting naked at a table with a large sign around your neck, “Yes, I’m obese and I’m trying to lose weight.” We already knew the elephant was in the room. Let’s not give him our piece of cake, too.
I am scared to quit sugar.
What will I wear? Where will I hide? My world will be opened to so many new activities, things that I kind-of want to do, but still . . . sometimes my fatness allows me to remain lazy which can be nice.
Does anybody understand what I am saying? Being fat is miserable but yet a comfortable friend all at the same time.
A Word of Caution
So things must change.
Luke 11: 24, 25 says this,
24 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”
I share this with you because several weeks ago, I Quit Sugar. But my diligence wore off due to going to a conference and choosing to not take the time to prepare nourishing sans sugar food.
My lust for sugar returned with a vengeance. The angry candida that hadn’t yet died, quickly repopulated and cried out for more, more sugar. And I readily complied.
Because sometimes it feels good to eat sugar. For a very very brief moment. Likewise, sometimes sin feels luxuriously indulgent, until the consequences hit.
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26: 41
A word of caution: quitting sugar is hard. I won’t lie. But don’t give up. Email me if you begin to struggle. Send me a tweet. Resist temptation
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Saying “no” is like a muscle. It hurts at first to use it. You will experience longing for certain comfort foods that will ache like you just did 100 sit-ups. BUT the best way to get rid of sore muscles is to drink some water, and use that muscle again the NEXT day. The more you use this muscle, this tongue to say NO to the sugar that is robbing you of life, the stronger it will become.
Don’t buy the lie that you need sugar. God did not make us for sugar. In fact, it is only the last 100 years or so that sugar has become so commonplace. Ever read Little House? Sugar was a luxury! I doubt Jesus used much sugar or honey. Just saying. I can’t see that all this sugar is helping us out.
Feed Your Brain
I could go tell you what you should be feeding your brain nutritionally. But Sarah Wilson covers that just fine in her I Quit Sugar book.
I’m telling you that you need to feed your brain with quality thoughts.
Read your bible each time you have a meal. Don’t tell me you can’t do this because you are a mom. I have 4 kids and I can even do this. Read the Word to your children.
Listen to Audible books. Currently, I am listening to the below books on Audible:
Read quality books. On my nightstand (or Kindle) are:
As you can see, I have cut out my vacation reading purposefully. I find that my thoughts have improved. I am no longer wasting my time on the frivolous.
I am feeding my brain with quality ideas, with the intent of producing a change or rather a redirect of old habits into purposeful thoughts for a lifetime of change.
What Are You Feeding Your Brain?
So, what are you feeding your brain these days? I’ll put it on my list of “brain food.”
Won’t you join me this Monday? I have made such a big deal about this whole I Quit Sugar thing . . . I am committed.
Say I Quit Sugar for one day.
Then repeat the next day. Do this until you no longer crave sugar. And then continue to flex the no muscles just a wee bit longer.
Yep, two days in a row of reading my fave blogs : ) {but I’m done after I write this comment}
I was going to comment and ‘fess that I checked out/read some more vaca-reading last month – instead of spending the time with my worthy “supposed to be” reading pile — incl the Darlene Diebler book I began in April 😮 as well as Lies Women Believe for our summer Sunday school class…. ahem…
But what I *really* want to tell you is to look for books by Cary Schmidt (avail at Amazon). The first we read {several here have read the whole book, but not moi} is _Discover Your Destiny: making right choices in a world full of wrong_ Oh SO GOOD! And Mr. Schmidt is hilarious. Tim said he wanted a copy for our own bookshelf (it was a loaner), so I started looking at Amazon… bought a couple other great books too and wrapped them all up for Father’s Day! 😀 {PTL for swagbucks!} Tim’s reading _Hook, Line & Sinker_ aloud to us now. I think you can read some samples at Amazon.
My current reads are: The Core, 1775 (audiobook), Love Does, Nature & Walking (bookclub), Friday Night Knitting Club, and Farmer Boy (read aloud with Aaron)
Next month we’re reading The Hiding Place for book club! Hope you can come!!
I’m pondering this entire concept….not that we really use much sugar. Do you happen to know if there is a way to do this and still battle hypoglycemia?? I get very shaky and sick when my levels drop but would really love to learn another way to cope.
Coconut oil . . . look into the book, Eat Fat, Lose Fat. Sally Fallon talks about that I believe. Fruit . . . instead of candy. Umm, I am not sure what you use to deal with the hypoglycemia. You might even think of eating more like 5 small meals a day instead of the traditional 3. Thinking out loud here.
I have a bad habit with sugar and am addicted to Dr Pepper. I have tried several times to break the addiction and then the headache sets in usually about the time my kids find their second wind and I give in to stop the agony. I seen an episode on Anderson about habits and the experts on the show talked about how habits are usually created as a reward for something we do. In order to break the habit, you have to figure out what you are rewarding and either eliminate the cause or change the reward. You could always try exercise as a way to reward yourself instead of sugar. I started running a year ago and it is amazing how good it feels to get away from household chores and kids and have time to think by yourself. It is not as quick and easy a reward as chocolate but the results are more lasting. Good luck with giving up sugar. And if anyone has tips on how to break the caffeine addiction, I am open to suggestions.
Here is an article to help you out for the caffeine habit! http://www.healthhomehappy.com/traditional-foods/kicking-the-caffeine-habit
Oh, I feel you Jodi! I quit sugar (of my own devices) six weeks ago – it is still incredibly hard. It has to be intentional every day, for me. But I will tell you that 16 pounds down, I don’t know why I’ve been abusing my body all these years. My brain does work better, I have more energy, and I’m finally really here for my kids. My clothes fit better, my body doesn’t ache nearly as bad as before, and my skin looks amazing (for the first time in 20 years!). I’m still having fruit (no more than once a day) and cucumbers are my new best friends! I’ve encountered three birthday cakes and I’m still holding strong! I’ll be praying for you as you quit sugar tomorrow – you can do it!! As for the brain food, my reading has really been slacking – unless you count Beverly Cleary or H.A. Rey…I’m looking seriously at your list as a jumping point. As always, thank you for your brutal honesty and for sharing with us!
Oooh, yeah – forgot to mention, what is really helping is tracking what I eat each day – if I have to type it, I think twice about eating it! If you are not keeping track of your intake, may I suggest myfitnesspal.com? It tracks your goals, progress, and I have found it to be very enlightening!
I just got the app per your suggestions (last night). Thanks!!!
What an encouragement!!! Thanks so so so so so so much for sharing this!!!
I’m joining you in quitting sugar. I went grocery shopping and made a real effort to buy foods that didn’t contain any sugar. I’m doing it to help take off a few of those lingering baby pounds and improve my skin… not to mention that I think we eat way to much sugar around here. I’m only one day into it and it is a real struggle!
Angela, commit to one more day. I know it is hard. But persevere . . . the detox can be bad. You might consider going a bit more gradual and allow fruits or boost your fruits while you adjust to not having corn syrup etc. Keep me posted!