I haven’t eaten any sugar in 11 days.
As best I can remember, I haven’t had a “no sugar” streak of 11 days since I first discovered sugar in England… as a 6-month-old. I am estimating, of course. I don’t have many memories of the first year of my life.
Okay. I don’t remember anything from that first year. I must not have been paying attention.
At the beginning of this week, I finished reading Superfoods by David Wolfe. In my review of the book, I announced publicly that I was running an experiment on myself.
I have gone vegan. I have given up meat, dairy, and especially sugar. I am still drinking coffee. One of these days I may consider giving up black coffee. When I am dead, perhaps.
As I said, this is an experiment. I am not recommending this change for everyone. I simply want to see what will happen to me.
Food is a touchy subject. Touchier than politics in my opinion. In fact, politics seems to be a great topic to use if you want to avoid real conversations.
Theology also provides this kind of conversational cover. Remember the conversation Jesus had with the woman at the well? I am paraphrasing:
Woman: “I’d like some living water.”
Jesus: “Call your husband.”
Woman: “I don’t have a husband.”
Jesus: “True. You’ve had five. And, you are not married the current guy.”
Woman: “Time to change the subject. Let’s talk religion. Are we supposed to worship on this mountain or that one?”
See what she did there? Politics and theology are fantastic conversational deflection tools we all use to avoid the important conversations we should be having.
I don’t like what you are saying. Shields up. How about Trump these days, huh?
Anyway, food is a touchy subject. I am not afraid of touchy subjects. But, keep this in mind as you read. I am not telling you what to eat. I am telling you what the results of the experiment are looking like so far.
I have suffered from terrible heartburn for years. I have been vegan and sugar free for 11 days. The heartburn is gone. It is not just getting better. It is gone.
I have suffered from mild acne for years. Embarrassing. 11 days in, the acne is gone.
I run on too little sleep. I do not recommend this. No matter your diet, I do not recommend running on too little sleep. The studies all point in the same direction. Get more sleep. Nonetheless, I run on too little sleep. As a result, I have suffered from the afternoon slump for years. Not much has changed here. I am still getting sleepy in the afternoons. It is better. I do have more energy, but eliminating sugar and going vegan has not eliminated my need for a 20-minute power nap in the afternoon.
I am also working out six days a week these days. I have noticed that I am recovering quite rapidly from workouts. This was not the case when I was eating sugar, meat, and dairy. Quite the opposite, actually.
I have suffered from allergies for years. For the last 10 days, or so, I have had no allergic symptoms. Of course, the worst time of the year for me is May. Tennessee is a notoriously bad location for those who suffer from seasonal allergies. I was in Colorado during the month of May. It may be that I simply skipped allergy season. I will have to wait for next May to determine if eliminating sugar, meat, and dairy altered my allergies.
Again, I am not recommending this approach. I am experimenting. It is my goal to go 90 days. I will be tracking my progress here.
