Hello, my name is Tiffany and I am a sugarholic...

Clever title, eh? Joking aside, I am a sugarholic...and it was not until recently that I realized how much of an addiction it truly is.

Going through all the articles and videos regarding the diet/lifestyle change that we are doing, one, constant, issue that is brought up is the amount of sugar we all consume on a daily basis. I have heard it in the past but just shrugged it off and used the excuse that "I have a sweet tooth, I can't help it!". But I can help it. Is it easy? No way! And it sure doesn't help that I work in a bakery surrounded by cookies and cake each day. All you need is will power right?

I actually started typing this blog entry about about a week ago, when I decided I was going to have the will power and motivation to cut out the unneeded sugar I was consuming so much of! And I would love to tell you how it has been over a week since I have had any cookies, or cake, or chocolate...but I would be lying. Again, I truly feel this is an addiction! I made it 8 days without; I stopped using artificially flavored coffee creamer, stopped eating little goodies at work, and had nothing in the house to indulge in for 8 days! I was pretty proud of myself, and within those 8 days, I was able to look at the cookies and cakes at work and mentally tell myself, "you don't need that" or "is it worth it?". I also kept some fruit or nuts out, while working, so if it was a hunger urge to eat something sweet, I had a healthy alternative. Sounds perfect right? Well, today, 8 days into my sugar-sobriety, I relapsed. And it wasn't just a bite of a cookie to satisfy the temptation, I binged, big time! I wont go into detail because, frankly, it is embarrassing! But I definitely made up for those 8 days!

When I originally researched how to cut sugar, as successfully as possible, out of my diet I came across some articles through Sutter Health. The one I was going to add to my entry was this one: "13 ways to beat your sugar cravings". I found this article helpful! But as I was browsing this website I came across another article that I didn't really relate anything to until now. The article is about emotional eating. Of course it has been mentioned to me that, perhaps, I go to food, and unhealthy food, when I am having a bad day. I always followed that thought with, "who doesn't?". But there are people who do not need a pint of ice cream to make their bad day better. And today, in the middle of stuffing my face, I realized that, not only am I addicted to sugar but, I am also an emotional eater!! Wow! How many issues can one girl have? (haha).

Without dragging this blog entry on and on, I will sum it up with saying, I feel I am one step closer to handling these issues since I now see that they are issues. I believe that is the first step, right? Admitting you have a problem? Unfortunately, I can't end this with a fairy tale ending of stopping the sugar addiction and/or knowing how to control my emotional eating. My only advice would be to truly listen to that voice that tells you, "you don't need that". Because you don't!

D.I.Y. Chemical Free Fruit Wash

Just because it is organic, does not mean it is clean!!

As most people, my fruit/vegetable washing routine was to just run the item under some running water and it was good to go! Now, that isn't necessarily untrue however, you never know what has been sprayed or washed over your fruit and vegetables, even in the organic fields (keep in mind, certain items only have to be a certain percent organic to be labeled so). 

Because of all of that I decided to give a D.I.Y. fruit and vegetable wash a try! It is so simple and inexpensive, you don't even need to think about buying those fancy bottled brands!

All you need is:

• 1 cup of distilled white vinegar 
• 2 TBSP baking soda

And of course a clean sink filled with cold water!

I swished (yes, swished) the ingredients around with my hand until I could see that all the baking soda was dissolved, then added my fruit and vegetables. Let them sit for about 10 - 15 minutes and then give each item a quick rinse before letting them air dry (I used a baking sheet lined with paper towels to aide the process).

I was quite surprised by the hue of the water once the fruits and vegetables were taken out! I felt like I probably miss a lot of "junk" left on the items just by doing my tradition "quick rinse" in the past....glad I read up on all of this :)