Sugar! Oh honey honey!!

Well. This is an interesting twist I wasn’t expecting. 5 weeks down and 5 pounds up. I had read about the sugar craving effect of quitting alcohol. But I had no idea it would be this bad. Especially for ME because I’ve NEVER liked sugar…right? Wrong.

For as long as I can remember, I have never had a sweet tooth. Or at least that’s what I honestly thought. I was always idolized by friends and family for my complete lack of interest in anything sweet. Cakes? No thanks. Cookies? I’ll pass. Chocolate? None for me. I had zero interest. Fast forward to today. I am absolutely CRAVING sugar. And (over)indulging like a mad woman. Turns out I actually DID have a sweet tooth all along. But my excessive wine consumption quashed those sugar cravings before they even started. My desire for sweets is so powerful right now , it completely usurps any longing I may have for alcohol. I’m not even thinking about drinking alcohol these days – all I can think about is salted caramel chocolate chip cookies and lemon blueberry scones.

Some would argue this is good right? The part about not wanting a drink? Wrong. I am very self-aware this is transference – trading one over-indulgent compulsive behaviour ( drinking alcohol) for another ( eating sweets). All the quit lit I’ve read advises to be gentle with yourself in these early days of sobriety. I’ve read that I should expect the sugar craving but that I should not worry about controlling it at this fragile stage. Well my scale would beg to differ. And so would my overall physical energy. I feel bloated and blah and yuck. I’ve traded feeling shameful about my dysfunctional alcohol use for feeling shameful about gorging on cookies and scones and feeling shameful about my bloated belly.

So what to do, what to do…..hmmmm. Well, I guess the first step is admitting you have a problem. Ok, I admit I have a problem. (cue the long sloooooow exhale for dramatic effect). Great that’s half the battle! And now I’m releasing my new dirty secret by putting it out into the universe via this blog. To hopefully dissociate from it and lessen its power over me. And to be accountable to you my dear readers. ( side note: will anybody ever actually read this blog??)

As always, I will keep you posted.