[Amarantha2]

Demon Refined Sugar Fighter Dame Amaranth Hawanders has issued a challenge to all comers to swear off and refrain from association with the Demon Known as Refined Sugar until the Noble Day o' St. Valentine's Day, which, as all knoweth falls on February 14 this year (well, every year).

This call to arms from the noble dame was prompted by a stroll through various stores yesterday, a mere three days after the New Year's holiday ended and finding that THEY (the Evil One's helpers) are STOCKIN' THE AISLES WITH FLUFFY PINK BOXES FILLED WITH DEMON REFINED SUGAR, the better to entice the unwary to associate the DEMON with LOVE and HAPPINESS!

So if anyone wants to take the pledge, please post it here and report how it's goin' from time to time. There is no prize, EXCEPT the satisfaction o' knowin' that DEMON can't fool us with his PINK BOXES! Ugh! What a crude and ineffective tactic. Does he think we are IDIOTS?

This is just for fun and fitness, not meant to compete with any other threads. There are some RULES (sigh, that's life): 1) each challenger defines individually (not necessary to post) what REFINED SUGAR means to them, there are many differing thoughts on this ... I personally define it as all derived sugars but not the sugar naturally found in foods like fruit, vege, dairy, etc., and I also don't worry about incidental amounts of even refined sugar necessary to, say, make healthy whole grain bread or other healthy products, though I try to eliminate these ... but I know others have different guidelines; 2) No one LOSES the challenge if they slip up but remain committed ... this isn't meant to be a 21-day or other number of consecutive days challenge ... just a commitment to swear off the till February 14, after which time if one wanteth to go for the pink boxes, enjoy!

That's the challenge. Anyone w'me! WE'RE ON THE MARCH (to eliminate DRS until February 14).

[Amarantha2]

Very well, Dame Amaranth, I will take up the fight against DRS until February 14. It fits with the 365 day no refined sugar challenge I am personally doing! I have been so far refined sugar free in the new year and WILL BE HAPPY TO CONTINUE THIS UNTIL ST. VAL'S DAY!

Like a damn fool, I went shopping the day after Christmas and was shocked to see the Valentine's day stuff out already. I do go all wistful over those satin-covered boxes because I never received one. When I was a kid, my teenage sister used to get a ton of them and I thought they were the very pinnacle of elegance!

Except for one indiscretion I've been sugar-free for 15 months and I love it [as you know], it just makes my life soooo much simpler.
Here's the sweeteners I will allow: brown rice syrup, stevia, fruit juice concentrate, maple syrup, a little honey, barley malt, and like you, the bit of sugar neccesary in making those little whole grain bagels I've grown so fond of! And maybe, every once in a while, splenda---maybe!

Last Valentine's Day, Garry bought me 8 big fat honey-sweetened truffles. A roamntic gesture, but I've forbidden him from doing that this year--because they did trigger me and I wanted to eat them all at once!

[Amarantha2]

I DID hope ya'd be w'me on this, E, as thou be knowest to Dame Amaranth Hawanders as one o' the greatest Demon Sugar Slayers o' all time.

Sorry thou didst not receive those boxes in childhood, but they aren't all they're cracked up to be. My dad bought me one every year and you can see where that got me ... now if only I had used the boxes as storage vessels and NOT eaten the inside, I'd be ok when I see them in the store now.

Yea, it be a SCARY world out there now that the s, s and the other Sugary Hoi Polloi hath clothed themselves in red 'n pink satin 'n gold ribbons and oh the PERFIDY o' puttin' a humble in a red foil wrapper and callin' it LOVE! Ugh! There is no EVIL these s are not capable o' ... but we will shun them!

WE'RE ON THE MARCH!!!

Will anyone JOIN us?

Originally Posted by Eydie

Like a damn fool, I went shopping the day after Christmas and was shocked to see the Valentine's day stuff out already. I do go all wistful over those satin-covered boxes because I never received one. When I was a kid, my teenage sister used to get a ton of them and I thought they were the very pinnacle of elegance!

Except for one indiscretion I've been sugar-free for 15 months and I love it [as you know], it just makes my life soooo much simpler.
Here's the sweeteners I will allow: brown rice syrup, stevia, fruit juice concentrate, maple syrup, a little honey, barley malt, and like you, the bit of sugar neccesary in making those little whole grain bagels I've grown so fond of! And maybe, every once in a while, splenda---maybe!

Last Valentine's Day, Garry bought me 8 big fat honey-sweetened truffles. A roamntic gesture, but I've forbidden him from doing that this year--because they did trigger me and I wanted to eat them all at once!

[Amarantha2]

NO REFINED SUGAR TILL VALENTINE'S DAY, TRA LA!

Hurrah!

NO REFINED SUGAR TILL VALENTINE'S DAY, TRA LA!

Hurrah!

Eydie's signed on 'n is singin' this song.

Dame Amaranth is here 'n givin' the cheer!

No one else is, but that's their biz!

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Sis boom 'n bah!

Hurrah!

No candy heart, no sweet tart!

That's how we do our part!

It's an art!

Hurrah!

That last doesn't rhyme, but that's fine!

'Cause we're NOT eatin' reFINEd sugar till Valentine's Day!

Hurray!

[nighthawk]

Sugar No More!!!
I swore off all refined sugar Dec 28 and am still ticking along without. I define that as you do Dame A. Sugar and caffine are my addictions if I stay off of sugar my whole food plan is stronger.

Lori

[Amarantha2]

Originally Posted by nighthawk

Sugar No More!!!
I swore off all refined sugar Dec 28 and am still ticking along without. I define that as you do Dame A. Sugar and caffine are my addictions if I stay off of sugar my whole food plan is stronger.

Lori

Hi, Lori!!! Nice to hear from another party here. I also find that when I stay off the Evil One (just my lil word for refined sugar), my whole plan, in all things, is strengthened. I did many months last year before the backslidin' began and intend for 2006 to be completely refined sugar free, as defined above. But a step at a time and that's why I wanna do this challenge ... turn the SEASON O' SUGAR to the SEASON O' COMMITMENT!

Feels great to be refined sugar free again.

I am on Day 7 of this new streak.

Eydie, how beist thou today?

Hi Amarantha and Welcome Nighthawk!

Doing well with avoiding sugar. Had a sugar-free brownie from a health food store yesterday that was sweetened with chicory syrup. It was great, a nice treat. Of course I don't know exactly what chicory syrup is, so I'll be researching that, but the label proclaimed 'no sugar'.

Nighthawk, what made you make the decision to stop eating sugar? I made my decision when I finally realized that I was addicted to the stuff, and that I was unable to have just a taste of something and stop.

[Amarantha2]

Well, the slug above tells my tale, even though cals were not particularly low, although better, I dropped back into the 130s, and that, my friends, was due to the better insulin levels produced by, you guessed it, NO FREAKIN' REFINED SUGAR!!!

Yo, E, you're doing great!!! Was the chicory syrup sweet tasting? I think they used to use it to make cough remedies ... also chicory was once used as a coffee substitute ... I think? Interesting ...

I have to get lots of the payin' work done, so ... huzzah!

WE'RE ON THE MARCH AGAINST THE DEMON!

What Demon, you ask?

Demon Refined Sugar!

We shun him.

[Amarantha2]

In the interest o' reportin' in on this challenge, I am cross postin' an excerpt from my anti sugar (anti everything) blog, which somewhat chronicles the adventures o' the Refined Sugar Demon Fighter Dame Amaranth Hawanders, which is so tacky (cross postin') but I'm not feelin' well and gave up working for the day, BUT ... ... the good news is that Dame Amaranth Hawanders is ON THE MARCH!

That mean ol' Refined Sugar Demon hasn't been seen in Diet Town Square or anywhere else in the environs the INTREPID DEMON FIGHTER known as Dame AH frequents for more than a week.

Huzzah! The agents o' the Universal Dietary Law Consortium have warned the good dietary law citizenry to remember that the entity known as RSD (Refined Sugar Demon) is armed and dangerous AND that any citizen found givin' aid or shelter (or pantry room) to this Arch Criminal will be subject to heavy fines (in the form of paying for future trips to the doctor trying to fix a screwed-up body) and other consequences too DIRE to mention.

"We're on the March," saith the UDLC agent in residence, also known as Diet Mistress Hagawanda! "Don't be lettin' us find ye harborin' that bad boy RSD! Ye'll be sorry! ... Er, loves, in the meantime, come and have some o' this nice Mediterranean chicken with plum tomatoes and 'shrooms your sweet ol' Hagawanda hath made for ye."

[nighthawk]

Greetings Amarantha and Eydie,
Another sugar free day 12 in total.
Eydie I am the same as you the more sugar I eat the more I want and the more I eat the more the whole " I'll pig out today and diet tomorrow" mind set starts and the the scale just creeps ever upward.
The last time I swore off sugar I went 2 months and lost about 15 lbs in a sane healthy manner then along came Christmas all was lost,actually all was gained lol plus a Christmas bonus. Fortunately the longer I go the less I want it.
Have a really great Sugarfree day
Lori

[Amarantha2]

Congratulatons on Day 12, Lori!!!

[Amarantha2]

This is a sugar-free "bread" recipe I adapted from a poster's tortilla recipe on another site. I'd "cite" the site but don't want to violate any policy and anyhow the recipe is now MINE!

Fry Bread Recipe:

1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt (or less)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 cup canola oil
1 cup water

Combine ingredients in a bowl, knead dough with wet hands and divide into four sections, forming a ball with each. Pat into pancake shape, fry in hot no stick skillet that has been sprayed with a no cal olive oil type spray or oiled with some of the canola, about 1 minute per side or until dough is no longer wet.

These are 160 cals each.

[nighthawk]

Still hanging in there! Hope you are too.
It is getting easier as each day passes.
Thanks for the recipe.
Lori

[Amarantha2]

I'm hangin' and doin' great, Nighthawk. It's my birthday tomorrow and that's how I know it'll be Day 11 o' the no refined sugar!

Congrats to you for the "hangin'" as well.

How beith though, E!?