Sugar Addicted Mom (SAM)

Watching Weight of the Nation as part of an October/November accountability group, and researching red dye as an obsessed mom who is trying to help her son (without medicating him)… has me thinking about sugar.   

Sugar is an addiction. I know, I was addicted.  One of my favorite combinations included red licorice and Diet Coke. Another included peanut m&ms and Red Bull. A third…Grape flavored Venom and Snickers.  At one point, I remember having to stop at a gas station on the way to the gym to get combination number two before I worked out. I just craved it so much!

Remember books like Beyond Sugar Shock? Sugar Busters? – They are not something to roll your eyes about (I did, but I don’t anymore). Recently, another study reports that seeing ice cream triggers the same parts of the brain as cocaine.  I know you are laughing and thinking I’ve lost my mind.


Dr Kyle Burger, from the Oregon Research Institute, in Eugene, said that overeating "high-fat" or "high-sugar" foods appeared to change how the brain responded and in turn downgraded the mental "reward", the Telegraph reported. "This down-regulation pattern is seen with frequent drug use, where the more an individual uses the drug, the less reward they receive from using it," said Dr Burger, the study's co-author.

The very same thing happens to me when I eat sugar-laden carbs. As recently as this week (Anybody? The relatives are in town? Anybody?), it happened to me. Take the last several days, for example. Monday morning at work, a precious friend brought me a Starbucks scone. It was chilly outside, the cinnamon smell from the scone wafted up into my nose like a blanket of sun—and I ate it.  Fifteen minutes later, I was already hungry and tired.  Lunch was provided that day, too.  Subs from a local restaurant.  Since I had already indulged, I thought (or did I crave?)…why not? I ate not only my portion of the sandwich, but some of my co-worker’s, and a bag of crunchy salt and vinegar chips.  I felt bloated immediately, but hungry again only an hour later, and tired.  Dinner that night was the ringer.  The ringer? Where is that saying from? My relatives wanted to go to the Olive Garden (breadsticks, fettuccine, and Alfredo).  Triple Carb dinner. 

Today I woke up with a swollen face, felt slow, tired, and unable to move in my normal patterns. I’ve been agitated, irritated, and easily annoyed.  I attribute it all to sugar. Sugar in the processed foods. Sugar in the carbs. Sugar in the choices I made yesterday. Oh, and one more thing. I woke up with a cold sore. Zane and Beaudy both work up and wanted either pancakes or French Toast. They, too were craving sugar and carbs because of yesterday.  It happens, it is real. It is not in my imagination.

 So, stop rolling your eyes. Invest some time in reading, researching, and implementing healthy changes for yourself and your family. It’s not easy, it does not happen overnight, and it takes hard work.  Please, consider it! I can help.