I can remember distinctly the day I decided to cut all processed sugar from my diet. It was around noon on January 8th 2012. I really had no idea how positively the move would affect my life. First and foremost I must confess I love sweets. I love the idea of sweets, the smell of sweets, sharing sweets and eating sweets alone. I love candies, cakes, pies, puddings, chocolates, donuts and cookies. Ice cream is a passion, yes I said passion.
At close to age 50 my overall health is good. I am active and while I could stand to lose a few pounds my weight was not out of control. I exercised around 3 times a week, watched what I ate to a degree and drank plenty of water. Energy was an issue but I blamed it on my age and really assumed that was just a part of getting older. I also had issues with bloating. Often after a meal I would feel extremely bloated. I really can’t remember when I first noticed the bloating but it had continued to worsen. In addition I had developed acid reflux and my doctor placed me on Nexium. Nexium addressed the acid reflux and also seemed to alleviate much of the bloating I had experienced. While the solution of taking one pill a day to alleviate the reflux and bloating was acceptable, I really do not like taking any medication unless it is absolutely necessary. I had stopped the Nexium sometime ago and started using a homeopathic aloe based supplement which did a pretty good job of managing the acid reflux. I took the supplement two to three times a day every day.
Then on January 8th 2012, I started a 21 day diet which excluded all processed foods, all animal by-products and all meats. Sugar was at the top of the list of items that had to be removed from my diet. Almost immediately after starting the diet I noticed that all the bloating I had experienced seemed to disappear. My energy level actually dropped when I initially started the diet and for about 2 weeks I really struggled with low energy levels. After about 2 weeks my body must had adapted to the new diet and my energy level seemed to improve. On January 30th I reintroduced eggs, meat and fish into my diet, but I decided to continue to exclude all sugar from my diet.
I have continued to exclude as much sugar from my diet as possible for over 3 months now and I must say the results are amazing. My energy level has improved dramatically over the last 3 months. In addition, the bloating and discomfort I often felt after meals has practically disappeared. I no longer regularly use the aloe based supplement that I had been using for acid reflux. I feel better than I have in years. I had no idea when I started this journey over 3 months ago the positive effect this diet would have on my health and my life.
