As one who is addicted to sugar…as one who one-day-at-a-time has been blessed with a reprieve from sugar addiction…
Halloween used to be one of my High Holy Days of disordered eating. Maybe prior to October 31 I had enjoyed a couple of days, weeks, or months of abstaining from sugar. But once those little miniatures were poured into the candy bowl, it was all over for me. And the sugar binging would last until New Year’s Day. And beyond.
But I don’t expect to repeat those behaviors today. Nor did I last year. And possibly the year before. I honestly can’t remember the last time I ate candy…or birthday cake…or brownies at a picnic. Once I got honest with myself and identified sugar as an addictive substance, I removed it from my life…one day at a time.
We have candy in our house today. After all, we plan to feed the trick or treaters tonight. And hubs doesn’t have issues with sugar, so there’s always a stash of dark chocolate (his fave) in our fridge. Thankfully I don’t crave it. Hopefully, I went through my last withdrawal years ago and, one day at a time, I don’t have to go through that ever again.
During my first attempts to kick sugar I relapsed…many times. I wasn’t honest with myself. Clearly I was/am addicted, and I would make excuses such as “one bite won’t hurt” (it hurt), “just this once,” and my favorite, “I’ll do better tomorrow.” Liken it to alcoholics. Some need several stints in rehab before sobriety “sticks.”
I’ve returned from relapse before, but I honestly don’t know if I have another come-back in me. So this Halloween I choose to abstain from sugar. My recovery from disordered eating is too important to take a risk. And I know that relapse is not required.
482gr8 