40 days without sugar begins now.

I’m giving up sugar for Lent. 

There. I said it.

It’s public and out for all of the internets to see.
I’m accountable now.

I was browsing the Etsy forums and someone mentioned they were giving up browsing the forums for Lent. The poster commented that she will be more focused on working on her shop, be more productive, and hopefully more successful.  I started thinking about what I should give for Lent.

I have lapsed in the past few years and haven’t given anything up in a while. When we were kids, it was most often chocolate, or potato chips. One year it was gum.
 
I remember the year I tried to give up liver.


Ma said that wasn’t the point and I had to pick something I actually liked.
I also remember the year I gave up coffee…let’s not go there.

I decided when I was eating the mini-baking chocolate peanut butter cups that I needed to give up sugar.
I crave something sweet after dinner, almost every night. I don’t know where this came from, because we were never a dessert-every-night-after-dinner family.

I know exactly where it came from.
Me.


Here are my rules for the next 40 days:

• No refined sugar; white, brown, raw or otherwise
• No chocolate, cookies, pie or candy
• No ice cream (sorry D)
• No pop (not even diet)

Honey and Agave syrup are acceptable as is Splenda in my coffee
Naturally occurring sugar i.e. fruits are acceptable

I’m doing this for me. To bring back my focus, take control of my health and show my strength. 
Lent is about many things, and I don’t necessarily believe it has to be entirely religious.  I can choose to give up something at any time, for any duration. 
I’m choosing to start today because I want to.  I have a start date, and an end date- Easter Sunday.

I also am curious to see what other benefits I will get out of this.  I expect to have more energy, be clear headed and hopefully lose a few un-healthy pounds.

I just looked at my list of rules and realized that I should clarify: I don’t have a completely unhealthy diet.  I don’t eat pie or ice cream on a daily basis (but I’d love to).  But the chocolate chips in the granola bars, a cookie here and there…it’s adding up.

So here we go.
40 days without sugar begins now.

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