Walking. High on Sucralose.

~ Live & Learn

I walk.

1055 consecutive (almost) days on this daybreak walk at Cove Island Park. Like in a row.

43° F. Spring is in the air.  Heavy fog is lifting.  A runner, a pair of kayakers, the ever present Canada Geese to remind me where I came from, and me.

I walk.

I circle back walking the wind swept shoreline, and there are my footprints, my Heavy imprints.

“You’ve gained a few pounds since your last annual physical.” We’re both masked, she’s looking at me, and my eyes lock in on hers. I don’t bite on the “few pounds” slight, I know exactly how much weight I’ve gained, and I wouldn’t describe it as “few.”

“Could it be triggered by the medication I’ve been taking since December?”

“No chance of that,” she says, the response coming way too fast and way too confident.

There’s a moment or two of silence, my body temperature surging, I’m broiling in shame. I don’t respond.

She skims the notes from the last physical, “Sugar?” More silence. “I need you to try to abstain for 6 weeks, and then come back and see me.” There’s more silence.

“Like on weekends?” She doesn’t find it funny, and I turn away, her glare too heavy to carry. Why doesn’t she turn the temperature down in here?

That was Friday morning.

Friday lunch. PB&J, probably better described as J less the PB.  J was 4 heaping teaspoons of Stonewall Kitchen Mixed Berry Jam. That was chased by half a pint of Häagen-Dazs Pistachio Ice Cream, sprinkled with home made granola and three shots of Reddi-wip whipped cream.  Intra lunch and dinner included ZERO Sugar Snapple Half N’ Half Lemonade Ice tea which included potassium citrate, sucralose and acesulfame potassium.  And, and, and, there’s more. Bags (bags) of Welch’s Fruit Snacks, “All-Fruit” snacks. My eyes close as I chew the “all” fruit snacks, the fruit puree sending me off on a few second high. I stare at the empty snack packages, and the ingredients in fine print, and recall the searing scolding less than 24 hours earlier.

I stare at the footprints, the imprints an inch or two deep. Another 10 lbs up and I’ll be knee-deep here.

I’m walking back to the car, and craving a donut. Could very well be that Doc is wrong and sucralose is good for me. Think about the so-called experts on salt, and on margarine, where are they now?

Robert A. Heinlein: “The human mind’s ability to rationalize its own shortcomings into virtues is unlimited, and I am no exception.”

Day 1, of six weeks?

Victoria Chang: “Hope is the wildest bird, the one that flies so fast it will either disappear or burst into flames.”
Let’s hope not…

Notes:

  • DK Photo @ 6:00 to 7:00 am. March 25, 2023. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT. More photos from this morning’s walk here.
  • Heinlein quote. Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels.

69 thoughts on “Walking. High on Sucralose.”

  1. No need to tell you that sugar is like crack. One taste in your day and you are done for… Best of luck to you, should you choose to actually try…

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          3. It’s all you can think about, because you have told yourself you can’t have any. It’s in your mind. Do a few sit-ups next time you get an urge. Then a few push-ups 😉 DO something with yourself. Mind over matter and all that. (I really, REALLY understand, David. I’m fighting my battles, too)

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  3. I have decided that this post is a trap.
    A trap to get me to the place to self-combust!

    I, therefore, refrain from commenting. But I will check back in 6 weeks.

    I am very proud of myself right now.

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      1. Six weeks, we’ll talk in six weeks, David!!!

        Look at you. You’re a world renowned photographer. Who would have thought.

        Sugar-free David is not impossible.

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  5. The Heineken quote is the best…hope is stronger than reality – always has been, aways will be. Somehow we think we’re infallible, and regardless of our choices, we will be the exception. I share property with autoimmune disorders that show me regularly what I can’t do – my mind denies it. Sometimes denial works, sometimes it demands the alternative. I don’t believe that any chemical derivative for sugar, is any better than the real deal. It’s figuring out how live with smaller portions and/or treat yourself one day out of the week. Why am I writing all this stuff – you know it as well as I.

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      3. I get stuff like that very often…. and even worse: autocorrect chooses from 3 languages I always use. Sometimes, when (!) proof-reading, I can’t even see WHAT I was writing… 😉

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  7. Know the sugar addiction is a tough one…I live with a ‘half-pint a day of Talenti and a cookie chaser’ guy, so I watch the beast at work in real time. The struggle is real.

    A quick google did actually throw you a lifeline though, pal. According to this Cleveland Clinic doc, going ‘cold turkey’ isn’t really your best option. FWIW… https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-stop-sugar-cravings/

    Sending good juju (NOT juju beans, mind you) your way….

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  9. Our culture (or should I say the capitalist system) certainly deserves some (much?) of the blame here. (The capitalist system = “profit is more important than health.”) I wonder what percentage of the food on grocery store shelves is truly healthy? We are SURROUNDED by unhealthy temptation, and that certainly doesn’t help us live a healthy lifestyle.

    I’m lazy so I have a fair amount of packaged foods delivered from Amazon. Try, JUST TRY to purchase food on Amazon that is truly healthy! I think there’s some stuff out there… At double or triple the price of the unhealthy stuff. I assume it is much the same in grocery stores.

    Our culture sets us up to be addicted to garbage (basically) from birth. So eating healthy (really healthy!) is a real battle!

    PS: I bought some dumbbells this week. I wonder if I will actually ever use them.

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  10. Oh, gosh. I’ve done this a few times, and the longest I lasted was 12 weeks, but it’s always brutal. I do find eating fruit helps, and dates are basically candy so those are great, too. Try stuffing medjool dates with peanut butter and chopped almonds, it tastes similar to a snickers bar.
    It’s actually crazy to think about how much sugar is part of our culture, so it’s not just hard to resist because of the addiction but because it’s constantly surrounding us, it seems to be at the centre of every milestone celebration, every social event…
    Yeah I’m also craving a doughnut…

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      1. 😂😂 I recently adopted a different approach, what I think is more sustainable long term; maybe that would work better for you as well. Instead of depriving myself completely, I’ve done two things: one, I increased my consumption of natural sugar from fruit, so I need less of the processed stuff. Two, I’ve swapped in more healthy versions of my favourite treats, which equally satisfy my sweet tooth (and actually, I need less of them to feel satisfied!). Eg: Hu chocolate is incredible. Expensive, but so good and very clean ingredients!
        Good luck 🤪

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  11. My mom used to say, “Everything in moderation” — all foods, all bevs, all gambling/lottery tix, sex.. Well, she didn’t say that last one, but she implied it — and also that Canadians are supposed to weigh a little more bc it’s cold in Canada. 😉 Why are you so hard on yourself??

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      1. Something to work on. Maybe allow yourself a reward of a certain amount of something, or do without it every second day. I don’t know. Different tricks work for different people.

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  13. Oy. I feel for you. I have a wicked sweet tooth and am addicted to sugar too. I control it by allowing myself daily dessert after supper and nothing before. Starting sugar early in the day leads to more sugar the rest of the day so I save myself for the conciliation prize. My weakness is chocolate and I manage by eating really good quality dark chocolate (unlike the kind that tastes like cardboard). Dark chocolate satisfies the sweet craving to the point that you can not overindulge because it really isn’t that good. 🙄The 70% chocolate Lindt balls almost taste like milk chocolate. Honestly, having seen recent pictures of you, i don’t understand what all the hullabaloo is about. Do you feel healthy? Are you happy? If the answer if yes to both of those questions, you are fine. Kay sera sera … 🙂

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    1. Smiling. Yes, I feel healthy outside of the normal aches and pains for our age. But I wear my weight well. I could pack on 15-20 lbs and it not be all that visible. I like your plan Sharon. (Keep in mind you put me on PT – a non-believer I was – and today, i swear by it.) I listening to everything that you say…intently.

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      1. You’ll find a way to do this, I am confident of that. It’s easier to wean off sugar then come up with a plan that you live with. For me, a future without any sweets is awfully bleak. A future with dessert every night but nothing beforehand is less bleak. I also do intermittent fasting (16 hours Monday to Fridays) and never eat past 8 pm to keep the blood sugar in check. Diabetes is my nightmare disease and it is one of lifestyle that is preventable. I’m rooting for you, David. Keep us posted.

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          1. It’s tough starting out. I do it on days that I work because I am too busy to think about it. I fast from 8 pm to noon. 16 hours. Black coffee only until the end of the fast because I cannot manage without caffeine in the morning. Honestly, after the first couple of days with a mild headache, i feel much better. I work better and move easier. Then it becomes habit. You are a creature of habit and routine. I recognize that in you. I do not do it every day but rather on days I know I will be too busy to think about food.

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  15. OMG, that IS serious. I always thought that HH is the ultimate weakling for sweets’ cravings, but you beat him by far! One of our ‘solutions’ is that we no longer own a freezer (rental flat, no space). Now when he wants an ice cream, we go down to the ‘kiosk’ at the lake and buy ONE ice cream….
    We were abroad close by for a weekend, and he went twice to a huge ice cream palace in less than 3 hours… Now he’s again under his wife’s ‘control’ (not).

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  16. Don’t fall for the fat-shaming. I’ve fired doctors who use that as the primary indicator of my health. It’s a number. Also, cutting all sugar out will be difficult. Try for Stevia if you can because sucralose isn’t a great alternative.

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    2. I use stevie powder since forever. Lasts an eternity, doesn’t age or ‘foul’, has no bytaste. Can only be recommended! Use sparingly though.

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  18. The doc was kind. I have up all sugar, flower, peas, corn in any form, bread (yes flower) and so many other evil things that had ingredients I could not pronounce never mind figure out if they were good for me 😦 what happened to our food? Well, I now live on 2 meals a day, fast for 16 hrs. and dropped 50 lbs. in just over 3 months men lose faster I hear so best of luck David!

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