Thank you for the feedback on yesterday’s post about keeping things simple.

I started the process of eating 3 meals a day after reading two books from Kathleen DesMaisons about sugar addiction. I realized I wanted to try her simple plan after reading these books:

Potatoes Not Prozac: A Natural Seven-Step Plan to: Control Your Craving

Can’t say no to fattening foods, alcohol or compulsive behaviors?
You’re not lazy, self-indulgent or undisciplined; you may be one of the millions of people who are sugar sensitive. Many people who suffer from sugar sensitivity don’t even know it; they continue to consume large quantities of sweets, breads, pasta or alcohol. These foods can trigger feelings of exhaustion and low self-esteem, yet their biochemical impact makes sugar-sensitive people crave them even more. This vicious cycle can continue for years, leaving sufferers overweight, fatigued, depressed and sometimes alcoholic.
Now there is a solution: in Potatoes Not Prozac Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons gives you the tools you need to overcome sugar dependency, with self-tests to determine your sugar sensitivity as well as an easy-to-follow, drug-free program with a customized diet high in protein and complex carbohydrates. Join the thousands of people who have successfully healed their addiction to sugar, lost weight and attained maximum health and well-being by using Dr. DesMaisons’s innovative plan.

The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program

Building on the science of nutrition that she outlined in her bestselling book, Potatoes Not Prozac, Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons now presents the first complete, in-depth dietary plan for living with–and healing–sugar sensitivity. She explains exactly how you can free your mind and body from the tyranny of sugar and shake off the exhaustion, mental fogginess, and mood swings that sugar dependence causes. Revealing the various ways sugar addiction affects both men and women, and the unique methods for healing it, Dr. DesMaisons encourages you to custom-tailor her simple program to fit your lifestyle and includes information on

• How to integrate a “slow-carbs not low-carbs” strategy into your diet
• Why regular protein is essential and how to get it with every meal
• What to eat when a sugar craving strikes
• How to get the nutrition you need on the run–even at fast-food restaurants
• How to find an exercise program you’ll enjoy
• Ten breakfasts you can prepare in a flash
• Menus and recipes for every lifestyle and taste

Practical, hands-on, and reader friendly, The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program will transform your life by helping you eat right–starting today! 

I downloaded both of these onto my Kindle months ago (and I have physical copies too! ha! should that be the next giveaway?) but only actually decided to read them in December. It was such a good decision because I felt like they offered insight into something I’d never really thought deep enough about before.

Why I’m Trying The Sugar Sensitive Plan

Basically I recognized myself in these books when she described sugar sensitivity and sugar addiction.

That was unfortunate since sugar has always made up a huge part of my diet! I recognized that last year especially I frequently fell back into binging, drank too much alcohol, ate too much sweet things and generally fell off the rails. I noticed at the same time that was happening my anxiety was at uncontrollable levels that led me to use medication.

Reading those two books was a bit of a wakeup call. It made me realize that many of my extreme mood swings and more negative emotions and habits could be a result of the shitty diet I was eating rather than a default in my character like I sometimes thought.

I figured since she had me nailed in the initial description it wouldn’t hurt to follow through with her plan and see how it could help me. If there was a way to eat healthy and stabilize myself so that I didn’t need medication, then there was nothing to lose, right?

So far I’ve only progressed a few steps into the 7 step program:

1. Eat protein with breakfast. This one was easy for me because I love eating breakfast but for a good chunk of last year I skipped it and instead drank coffee with creamer and sugar. I got myself back into the habit of eating a protein rich breakfast last month.

2. Track meals by writing it down. I got into this habit and still struggle with it but it helped a LOT in the beginning of this program because I had to track the emotions and physical feelings as well as food. I noticed some bad patterns and

3. Eat three meals a day with protein. This is where I currently am and I have to say it’s been good. I have lost weight by eating 3 meals a day and I feel like I’ve already stabilized my moods a bit by being more regular with my meals.

The rest of the steps are a bit more involved including an eventual detox from sugar. I know that is something I eventually want and need to do but for now I’m building a routine of eating my 3 meals a day with protein. I’ll move along to the next stages eventually but I’m doing well keeping it simple and staying where I am until it’s routine and I’m more stable.

I plan to continue documenting my experience with this and my eventual move to the next steps including giving up and backing away from the sugar. Ultimately it’s going to be something that I think transcends the idea of weight loss and goes further into making my entire life better.