Thursday, April 29, 2010

First Things First

I blame my father. Well, I couldn't possibly just come out and say I have absolutely no control of sugar, could I? My dearest memories of my father are those of him baking cookies, sweet breads, cupcakes...you name it. There were always sweets at his house, everyone knew that.

Not only did I inherit my father's love of baking, I'm pretty sure I also inherited his sweet tooth. I eat something sugary at least once every day. Now, when I refer to sugar, not only do I mean the simple white stuff found in candy and desserts, but I also refer to the less-obvious sugars found in white breads, rice, and pasta as well as the hidden sugars in nearly everything else.

I'm one of those women who always has cold hands and cold feet. The other day, however, I just happened to look down at my bare feet only to see ten purple toes staring back up at me! I couldn't believe it! I'm not diabetic and the natural pink color did return to my toes shortly after, but all I could think about was a future of diabetes and the plethora of diabetic complications that awful disease encompasses.

That was my proverbial "wake-up call."

I've always enjoyed reading about nutrition and despite my own intake of the white stuff, I'm very well aware of how much damage too much sugar can cause to our bodies. It took my purple toes to finally do something about it.

The purpose of this blog is to journal my way through kicking the excess sugar habit while journeying toward a more fit lifestyle. I would love any and all input of those bloggers out there who either struggle with sugar addiction or have been able to overcome it. There is no end of valuable (and not so valuable) information on the subject and I will share some of that here. I am not a doctor and will not endorse any particular diet plan or dispense any medical advice. Rather, I'd just like to share my journey with others and hope to learn from you along the way.