Just Say “No” to Sugar? Yeah, Right!

Thank goodness it’s January and the cookies, chocolate, Christmas logs, eggnog and candy canes have disappeared. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Not exactly. Every day since the holidays have ended, I’ve snuck at least a bite of some form of sweet. Why? It isn’t exactly as though I lost any weight over the holidays. (In fact, while cutting a second slice of Christmas log, I guiltily joked that my goal was to see how big my rear end could get by December 31). My brain knows better, but my body doesn’t care. I can’t help myself.

So here’s what’s happening. Physiologically, the recent increase in sugar and carbs of all sorts caused an imbalance of good-to-bad bacteria in my colon. Bacteria have to eat too, and as a result of feeding the ‘bad’ strains, there are now more of them. And those little buggers are hungry. The result: sugar cravings. Luckily, I can fix this. Taking probiotics each day and night and eating probiotic-rich foods such as kefir, organic plain yogurt and sauerkraut will help rebalance the microflora.

Secondly, there’s an emotional connection. The holidays, my favorite time of year, are over. What is there to look forward to now besides bad weather? Summer seems so far away. A warm oatmeal chocolate chip cookie always knows how to cheer me up. Luckily there’s an easy fix for this one, too. Eating several times a day, I mean every three hours and making sure there’s some protein at each of my meals to stabilize my blood sugar will help a lot.

If that doesn’t get rid of my cravings and help me to feel better at the same time, I can take melatonin. I use it for extreme cases (only because I like to think I have more self control than I actually do have) but it works like a charm every time. I’ll update you on my progress in a couple of weeks.