My name is Rachael and I am a sugar addict.
I have always been a sugar fan, devouring sugar cubes meant for my sister's horse and stealing cans of condensed milk from the kitchen when I was a kid. My pocket money was spent on caramel buttons.
I collected sugar cubes served with coffee, and loved the crunch as I caught them between my teeth. As a former bulimic, I devoured sugar as my binge drug of choice, usually slathered with high-fat, high-gluten ingredients to help dull the pain throughout my 20s.
But after reading David Gillespie's anti-sugar tome Sweet Poison, I learnt how fructose is the problem - and 50 per cent of sugar is fructose. Put simply, fructose converts to fat and bypasses the "I'm full" prompter in the body, which is why I could eat two tubs of ice-cream in one sitting and still want more.
Then there's the addiction aspect. As Gillespie related, mice bred without the sense of taste, then given a bowl of cocaine water and a bowl of sugar water became addicted to - you guessed it - the sugar water.
To help with my sugar ban, I enlisted the help of a nutritionist/naturopath. I started eating protein and vegetables, or vegetables and grains - but no protein and grains together. I ate fruit, but only two serves a day, and always berries or a pear.
But it wasn't easy avoiding sugar in a world obsessed with sweet treats. Here is how I fared the first seven days:
Monday Cleared cupboards of added sugar. I had been pouring agave syrup on my porridge, convinced it was holier than honey or sugar. Silly me, it has a 90 per cent fructose level.
Tomato sauce? Second-biggest ingredient is sugar. Kidney beans in a can? Added sugar. Plain yoghurt? Not so plain. But boyfriend was pleased beer could stay; it has no fructose, just maltose that converts to glucose.
Tuesday Dreamt of sugar. A giant flowing hot chocolate fountain with marshmallows.
Cafe lunch: the gluten-free bread looked amazing. Waiter said it contained no sugar.
I didn't believe him so rang the supplier. Waiter was right. Ate gluten-free bread.
Wednesday Discovered macadamia nuts. They kept sugar cravings at bay, but I suspect a whole tub is considered unwise. Took in online writing from sugar-free gurus such as Dr Robert Lustig. Found sugar-free recipes and vowed to buy stevia, a natural sugar substitute. Headed to shop, bought stevia, tried it, threw it out.
Thursday Spent time in organic supermarket wondering what made me think that just because organic dark chocolate is organic it would have no sugar. It's full of it.
Friday Became an "I quit sugar" preacher. On Facebook, posted links to Sugar: The Bitter Truth on YouTube and the BBC's The Men Who Made Us Fat. At a Thai restaurant, ordered stir fry. First bite tasted like a sugar cane exploding. Told by waitress they use palm sugar in every stir fry; I sent it back.
Saturday Migraine.
Sunday On Facebook, declared myself a week sugar sober. My sugar-loving friends either commented that I'd be back on it in no time or asked me for more information.
After a further three weeks, I was eating half my normal amount - my hunger was less and my sugar monster had relocated to terrorise someone else's body.
After eight weeks, I am still sugar sober.
I have lost four kilograms without exercising or reducing my food portions. I no longer fall asleep at 3pm each afternoon. And I have not binge eaten once - trust me, that's a first.
From: Sunday Life
Rachael Oakes-Ash is the author of body-image book Good Girls Do Swallow (Random House). At time of print, she says she is still sugar-free and doesn't miss it.
