If all these people could do it...

...then surely I can go without sugar for a month!

Thus began my lifelong passion for cake...

 

Going without sugar for a designated period of time is not exactly an original idea.  Okay, it is totally NOT an original idea.  A lot of people give up sugar in one way or another for one reason or another, and a lot of people blog about their trials and tribulations during the process.  And a lot of these people are much more informed and articulate than me in explaining the difference between refined and unrefined sugar, relating all the potential health problems caused by excess sugar consumption, etc.  Lastly, some of these bloggers are blogging rock stars, posting frequently, tweeting, and with lots of links to relevant articles, websites, and so on. 

Since I'm only focusing on avoiding ASF ("added sugar forms") for the month of January in my Operation Consumption Liberation, there is no way my blog can come close to reaching some of these blogs in terms of prolific sugar-busting investigative journalism. I'm okay with that.  But perusing the superior content of these people's blogs IS inspirational for me when my willpower threatens to waver.  

The sugar eaters are falling like dominoes. Wa ha...

Here are three blogs that have inspired me lately to keep curbing my consumption of added sugars.  Explore away!  

• My Years Without Sugar: Wow, this gal has pretty much been off refined sugar for THREE years.  And she covers it all: uncovering hidden sugar in french fries, pizza sauce, and cereal; breaking down the glycemic index; the nutritional value of cane juice and other so-called unrefined sugars and artificial sweeteners; advice on how to quit sugar and curb late night munchies; and providing lots of recipes using her preferred 100% natural sweeteners.  

• Stop Being Sweet: This fellow has been living a life of sugar restraint for five years and has turned his blog into a sugar addicts support community and even has put together an ebook to help you quit sugar.  He also has weekly sugar challenges (drink more water!) and a handy quiz to help you determine how hooked on the sweet sugar you are.

• A Year Without Candy: Dana Kennedy was a legitimate journalist before she started blogging about her trials with giving up candy and cake, and she's written a few pieces along the way for the Huffington Post. (She's approaching her one-year mark February 28, 2011.) While her blog does wander off the topic of candy consumption (though she tries to keep things sort of related in her rant about the saccharine quality of Rachel McAdams' performance in "Morning Glory"), she has a pretty great sense of humor about the whole thing.  Today, I particularly relate to this post.

Thinking back to my soda post on Friday, today I stumbled onto this video from the New York City Health Department. I think it is pretty effective, and gross. And it has chipper music! 

Just thinking about watching the campaign's other spot, titled "Man Drinks Fat," makes me nauseous--seriously, I'm reaching for sparkling water with ginger juice and lime already. But if I were a soda pop addict and if I needed to lose 10 pounds, I'd definitely consider the campaign's alleged claim that "drinking one can of soda a day can make you 10 pounds fatter a year" to help lead me towards a little weight loss.

My Lasik-corrected eyes are pleading for relief from the computer screen, so I'll have to write about all these eating-sugar dreams I've been having later!