Sugar is evil.
 

Especially when it comes in the form of buttercreme frosted birthday cake.

We went to a friend's house for a BBQ. They surprised me with a buttercreme birthday cake that would just blow your freakin' mind! One bite and I was gone.

My first mistake was taking the first bite. The second mistake was taking it home with me afterward. But I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I spent most of Sunday in a sugar fog. Now I am spending today detoxing.

I can't do this anymore. Sugar is poison to me. But it feels like it has a stranglehold on my body and my mind. I keep coming back to it. It's like no other "drug". Unless I get it under control, this stuff is going to kill me.

I know what I should have done--say NO, NO, HECK NO!!. When will I learn that my health is way more important than hurting someone's feelings??

[/rant]

Jen, I too have a strange relationship with sugar. I battle it everyday and find that now, sugar in fruit is good enough for me. Now that being said, it was your birthday, you had slice and you are probably right that you should have not taken that cake home. You have to keep reminding yourself that hurting someone's feelings is better than hurting your own body. That will come, it takes time, but you have to put yourself first in that sort of situation.

I don't think you did that bad, keep it movin' and next time you will know better.

No! This stuff is not going to kill you because you are taking control. Today. Today is the day that you've learned to put your health first. Make a decision that you won't allow this to happen to yourself again. In this, you are truly in the drivers seat. I understand what it means to have this addiction and I have to learn to say 'No' too.

There's just nothing like it, is there? It's such a tough thing to fight.

I notice immediately now when I eat too much sugar and get all sleepy and feeling icky.

Well, it was one day. You're back on track and you know it's bad. And you know something you could've done differently to mitigate the damage (not taking any home).

Any way to just tell folks you're watching your sugar intake? I know people can be upset, but really, they need to get past it if it's something we're doing for our health.

Throw out the rest of the cake or give it away at work, and then move on- one slice of cake won't hurt- it's your bday and a nice gesture from a friend. Now just think it's one more year before it'll happen again lol.

I battle with sugar too! One bite gets me into this "I can eat what I want" mentality and then the coma comes later. I spend my weekends soooo lethargic, but I am not taking the steps I need to stop it!

Oh, one thing I do when I don't want to offend anyone---- I know this is going to sound bad and wasteful, but it is a waste in my body too. So, I take the item saying THANKS, and then toss it at a fast food or car wash dumpster on the way home! It does not make it through my threshold!

Tammy

I forgot to mention that I did give away the rest of the cake to others, so it is no longer around. But next time I will just say no. I'm worth it.

Yes, Sugar is evil.
 

You were in a hard spot. Yes, your health is more important than hurting someone's feelings but friends are important too.

I think that it is great that you gave the rest of the cake away. I really believe that I am addicted to sugar. One piece of cake would cause all types of cravings.

Next year, long before your birthday, tell your friends that you can not handle cake. If they see you turn it down on other occasions, they will get the idea and not have one for your birthday. Then even if they do get you one, they should not be surprised when you say, "I really appreciate you going to so much trouble, but I am afraid I can't have any. Everyone else enjoy it." or something to that effect.

BTW - Happy Birthday!

Mmmm. Buttercreme frosting...

Tough call on that one. I know we shouldn't eat something just to save someone else's feelings, but the cake was made for YOUR birthday. I think you did ok. Now, if you took the cake home and ate it all yourself, that would have been really bad!!!

I have often joked that I am addicted to sugar and that Betty Crocker is my dealer. Joke or not it is true. I can just have a little taste of sugar and I am on my "high" and just want more and more and obviously I have the addictive personality and do not know when to stop. I think you can not cut out sugar all together but in moderation it can be controled.. Good luck

When I was faced with the exact situation, I took a piece so not to hurt my (very dear) friend's feelings. I then mashed it up with my fork, made yummy noises, stirred it all around the plate, made a giant mess, and pronounced it delicious. No one knew that I hadn't actually taken a bite and everyone (including me) was happy. :)

Meg,
What a graceful way to handle the situation!

Not gonna even touch on the what I would have done in that circumstance. I will say this though. People know me well enough *now* to never, ever get me that kind of birthday cake ever again. My 2 past birthdays, the first was a gorgeous fruit platter. Gorgeous. My kids even made Happy Birthday Mom out of pineapple!!! This past year, I was given a fat free/sugar free ice cream cake.


I'm just thrilled that you've come to the realization that you can't have sugar in your life. It's a biggie to wrap your head around. Took me lots of years to come to that conclusion.

I had been hearing for years already that if I wanted to successfully lose weight and keep it off that banning sugar was the way to go. I figured, that's it. I'm doomed. No way on earth I can live without sugar. And then after more years of trying this and that and more years of being miserable and not being the best ME - I finally, finally realized that I can't live WITH the stuff either. So, after wanting to live my best life possible, I gave it a shot. And lo and behold making sugar an absolute NO, no should I?, shouldn't I, (very, very strict in the beginning) WAS the way to go!!! Like the true addict that I am, it was a tough 10 days - and then - it got SOOOOO much better. My wants/cravings/desires for it greatly, greatly diminished. I think you will find this true for yourself as well. I have never heard one person, not a single solitary one, upon removing sugar from their "diet", regret it. Not a one.

You CAN do this Jen. You CAN and you should. You too will not regret it. I'm absolutely certain of it. :hug:

Similar to Robin, I do not in the least regret eliminating sugar from my life. Quite the opposite, actually; I feel positively joyful to have given it up. And even when I do take a bite of something like cake now, my immediate reaction is, "This is just not tasty enough to be worth it."

Give it time, make sure to REALLY detox yourself and eliminate the cravings, and then you will be amazed how things will change.

A couple of years ago alcohol started to make me sick. Even a half a glass would make me really nauseous and give me a horrible headache. Alcohol was fun, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't worth it to me to keep drinking. I've recently sworn of junk, and decided to handle the situation the same way with sugar as I did with alcohol. Just say, "No thanks, that stuff looks great, but it makes me sick." Technically being obese does lead to illness and disease, so it's the truth. People really can't argue with that statement, it spares people's feelings, and easily drops the subject.