Our Family's Healthy Pursuit - An Update

The last three weeks of being on a low-sugar lifestyle change have been eye-opening, to say the least! Saying no to the old way of eating (mindlessly, mostly) and bringing in the new way (completely, constantly mindful) is not easy. It’s even more difficult when feeding four snack-addicted youngsters, and to further complicate the transition, we’re doing it all on a tight budget! Well, at least we’re figuring out that it can be done.


It has taken a large amount of creativity, little dose of patience, and a well-deserved and strategically planned cheat or two to make something like this work for the whole family. For example, tonight my thoughtful husband got us out of the house and over to McDonald’s, one of our family’s favorite haunts “pre-low-sugar diet.” I had a sugar-free cappuccino, which curtailed my annoying sweet tooth, and the girls and I shared frozen yogurt sundaes. Not too much damage done, while my growing obsession with something sweet is quenched.

Gigi, my bread lover, still gets to eat her carbs, just less of them. She is finding the transition smoother than she first thought it would be when she stood horrified as I threw all the “crap” that was in the pantry into the trash three weeks ago! She is relieved that I am finding creative solutions to meet her bottomless need for all things carbohydrates, even as I sneak more protein into her previously sugar-infested diet.

The variety in our diet as a family has not been eliminated; in fact, we are finding that we are getting more creative with the foods we are allowed to eat. We eat more “colorful” food now, beautifully full salads and soups, loaded with such delicacies as avocado, cheeses in all forms, and crisp, fresh nuts. I was also so happy to get guiltless permission to enjoy my occasional bacon again, and the once a week red meat serving in the form of a juicy steak is always a pleasure!

So, as we are finding, in the deprivation there is reward, similar to walking closer with Christ, right? As we die to the flesh, we find less really is more, and the small things matter more. The taste of some pure chocolate now, in a small bite, is more fulfilling to my palate than a full size candy bar used to be; that sinful treat always leaving guilt as an aftertaste.

As we enter our fourth week as a low-sugar, low-carb eating family, we have renewed commitment and an excited expectation as our waists are shrinking and our energy levels increasing. No more rise and fall all day long, of sugar levels and emotions! More stability, less irregularity. We can do this!