Trying to Give Up Sugar? & A New "Life Lines"

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Way back here I posted on giving up sugar. My initial reason for it was to see if my migraines lessened. Although I have had a couple of episodes, (If you've ever had a migraine, it is an episode!), I have definitely had less headaches.

My thoughts were to limit my sugar intake to birthdays and holidays. I bake a cake of choice for One Fine Man and our 3 kids on their birthdays. Past cake choices have been carrot cake, coconut cake, red velvet cake, chocolate chip cookie cake and spice cake with caramel frosting (ooooh that one's fabulous).


I prefer to make the cakes and frosting/icing from scratch, and "No, that doesn't mean I 'scratch' the box!"


Also, I usually make buttermilk pies for Thanksgiving and either carrot cake or red velvet for Christmas. Bella~Mella's kitchen gets to smellin' good, now! Are you salivating yet?



But seriously, I made the decision to give up sugar for long stretches of time and limit sugar on those "special occasions" for great reasons! My health. My thighs. My head. And the "D" word ~ disciplining my flesh!


Remember this praline cake that One Fine Man ordered for Father's, I mean, Mother's Day?

And this coconut cake I made for Easter?

Yes, I had a piece of each! It was a special occasion after all. But then I gave some away and froze the rest.

Since I posted about "My Sweet Life" in February, I have seen lots of bloggers writing about their sugar addictions so I thought I would post some encouragement for you.

~Bella~Mella's Tips to Outsmart Your Sweet Tooth~

#1 Use your words.
Repeat after me. "I don't eat sugar." When presented with an opportunity to eat sugar, just say these words aloud. You know there is power in your spoken word, right?



See this baby shower cake? When it was cut and ready to be served, one of the ladies brought serving sizes to our table.
I simply said, "No thank you. I don't eat sugar." I greatly admired my friend Natalie's expertise in creating this masterpiece for a baby shower last week but I didn't need to taste it to appreciate it!

(Yes, this is really a cake, even the dress and shoes!)

#2 Win the battle in your mind and flesh over sugar by fasting from it for 4 - 5 days. In my experience that is all it takes to retrain your taste buds and your brain.

#3 Eat fruit like blueberries and strawberries. Freeze a peeled banana, then thaw it until soft enough to "cream." It really is good like ice cream. I like to eat frozen fruit slightly thawed with some real whipped cream. Even though there is a bit of sugar in the cream, it is so minimal that I don't overload on it.

#4 Don't substitute with artificial sweeteners. Research I have read says it doesn't really work to keep you from wanting something sweet. Besides, have you done the research? They are not good for you. Really. On the other hand, stevia is good and good for you. It's herbal. If you need a sweet drink like tea or lemonade, try stevia. Your taste buds will adjust if you are willing to give it a try. Do you like your coffee sweet? Years ago I added splenda and cream to my coffee. Then I decided to give up artificial sweeteners and started using 1 T of 1/2 and 1/2 per cup of coffee. I love it like this now!

I fix fresh lemonade by the glass.
Juice one lemon. Press and roll it on the counter so it will release its juice.
I use a 12 oz Tervis and fill 1/2 way with ice. Add 1/2 a glass of filtered water (a necessity if you live in Florida), and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. I add a packet of stevia and mix. This is really delicious and no guilt involved. The fresh lemon juice is good for you and so is the herbal sweetener. Lemons are inexpensive at Sam's Club.

I am 6 lbs. thinner since my post in February!

Do you have any tips for cutting out or at least cutting down on sugar? Do Tell!

Coming soon: There is a cool new TV show I just saw for the first time last week. It has to do with cooking. I'll be posting on it soon!

~~~~~

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