Friend of Julie: Sweets

I've always been curious about people who consistently stay the same way and always say no to desserts. I wondered if they didn't like dessert or if they were health nuts who didn't eat sugar. Today, I think the later is closer to the truth: they were health nuts. Today, I am a member of the health nuts club; I don't eat sugar.

This is what sugar looks like in my life today: sugar snap peas; yummy.

At my high school reunion last weekend, I noticed that my response to being asked if I would like some desert has changed. The answer is always the same, "no thank you." What's new is how I feel when I say no to such offers. I don't feel deprived. I don't stare at the sugary deserts and wish I could. I don't think about the dessert for days to follow. I just say no. Inside, I feel the same way I feel when offered okra; I have no interest.

I'm not sure when this switch happened, but I had my first awareness that desserts just didn't appeal to me at my reunion when the desserts came to us on large silver trays and again at the end of the evening when asked if I wanted to take some desserts home. Both times I felt repulsed at the offer.

Sugar no longer knows my name. I don't crave it. I don't miss it. When I see something sweet I don't feel sorry for myself that I "can't have it." I may pause for a moment and look at it's beautiful presentation, but the pause is not for one moment a contemplation about eating it or not eating it. I credit this change to Julie's suggestion: nothing sweet to the lips.

Last night I had dinner at Thai Place with my friend Cordia and for a moment I looked at her diet soda and paused. This was curious to me, as I never really liked the taste of soda and I was not much of a soda drinker. It was an odd moment, but I realized was it wasn't the sugary drink that called to me, it was the was the bubbles and the lemon and lime. I get this when I drink seltzer with lemon and lime, so the moment came and went, but I appreciate I was able to pause and understand what was going on in my mind in the moment. Again, I was appreciating the presentation.

It's natural to crave sugar in the summer, as nature produces sweet fruits and veggies. I  admit I have had a sweet tooth from time to time this summer; sweet corn to the rescue. Siggis yogurt helps too; even if we can only have it twice a week. I'm not sure Siggis yogurt fits into the sweet category, as it's more tart than sweet, but it does the trick. Making Popsicles with it works too, but I have to watch my fat intake on those days. I don't have it every week and in fact sometimes weeks and months go by when I don't have the yogurt.

Last night I was talking to a friend about this program and she asked about having sugar with coffee. "I gave up coffee for three months" I told her, "and then I had a cup of coffee with foamy milk and I was able to drink coffee without sugar".

What about the rest of you? Do you sometimes have a sweet craving? What do you do when it happens? Have any of you found you no longer desire sweets?

Here's a fun quote by Jay Leno:

Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you've met your New Year's resolution. -- Jay Leno