Sugar Addiction and how I Overcame it

I come from a family where we all have a bit of a sweet tooth and I used to pride myself on my ability to consume sweet delights in wedding parties (ice cream with soda, gulab jamun and jalebi with rabdi to name a few favourites). So when my friend one day commented that I am having too much sugar in my bubble tea (thanks Wayne) and tried to convince me about the addictive and harmful nature of processed sugars ~ I was unconvinced. I told him that as someone who does so many outdoor activities having a bit of sugar was not really an issue. However that conversation led me to do my own little google research about the processed sugar industry and I was SHOCKED. Turns out that processed sugar is highly addictive (the brain is hardwired to crave all high energy foods like sugar) and leads to all types of imbalances in the body (excessive processed sugar is directly linked to obesity/diabetes/heart disease). 

I decided to cut down on processed sugar all together for one month. The starting couple of weeks were the hardest. I allowed myself to have as many naturally sweet products as I wanted and went ham on bananas and sweet potatoes and all sorts of fruit. I cut down all processed sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup etc) including in my drinks. I was still having juice at that point of time and later realized that juice (specially processed) is the same as sugar (without any fibre) and has a high glycemic index. Then I deleted juice while increasing the amount of raw fruits in my diet. After a few weeks things became easier and I kept reducing sugar over the course of the next few years. I reduced my intake of white rice (to brown/red rice and millets), breads, pasta and eventually most processed food. Today if something is coming in a plastic bag (processed food) I ask myself if I really need it. I became a vegetarian (started after I started practicing yoga). I learnt about the milk industry and how milk is being produced today and now avoiding milk and milk products (not exactly vegan but my milk consumption had dropped by more than 90%). I learnt about the plastics issue that is plaguing the planet today and learnt that many of these issues are connected. 

Controlling my sugar addiction was the start in the journey to control, train and purify the mind, to remind myself that I am not just the body, reminding myself that life is not just about the fulfillment of desires of the mind and bringing a balance in the health of my physical body. I have managed to lose weight and I look and feel younger than I have in years.

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