Of all the weird things about me the one that seem to provoke the strongest reaction is that I don’t like sugar, sweets or really carbs. Yes that includes chocolate (cue the shocked gasps)! I’ve always been like that. My Mom is the complete opposite and routinely asks “Are you my child?” She loves sweets and intentionally doesn’t keep them in the house because of that reason. She is also a general carb lover (not just sugar) which I kind of understand, but the carbs I love are delicious because of the fat on them (hello buttery croissants!)
Maybe my Mom ate too many sweets when I was in her womb and my body freaked out and made me actively hate it. In my research on sugar and carbs it seems like the opposite is usually the case: if a mother has high blood sugar while she’s pregnant the baby will have high blood sugar and crave sweets. They think that level is normal and acceptable. I’ve gone the opposite way.
When I smell refined sugar it literally makes me feel sick: cakes, sugary desserts, cupcakes etc. When I have tried it the food gives me almost an instant stomach ache and sometimes a headache. I seem to be pretty sensitive to sugar – specifically since I’ve become older. I used to down Sprite like it was water on a hot day, but now it tastes like I’m drinking liquid sugar cubes.
I feel grateful that I dislike sugar, but there is one sugar-containing food that I love: wine or more specifically alcohol. My Mom couldn’t care less about it. I’ve tried to figure out why this is the case. One aspect of it seems to be how much we think. I’m constantly thinking about our world, usually mostly dark topics (yes I’m a pessimist :)). My Mom has told me she never does this: never thinks about this life or contemplates the larger questions of the universe. These are my normal bedtime thoughts. After questioning a few people I’ve anecdotally found this to be true of every one I know who likes to drink: we think too much and alcohol helps temper that. To cut down on my carb count I’ve been trying to switch from beer and wine to liquor. Despite my love of beer I’ve been completely successful in that regard. It simply has too many carbs to even contemplate the idea. Wine has been harder to shake because I prefer the feeling of drinking wine to liquor both in the taste and the feeling it gives. Liquor’s feeling is more harsh, but I’m still using Ed Sheeran as my inspiration.
Despite my alcohol consumption shockingly not negatively effecting my weight loss I’m working to drink less and find other methods of stress release. Though I know to take all health guidelines with a large grain of salt (I’m looking at you unproven science that fat causes heart disease) I feel the need to decrease my alcohol consumption. Carbs and alcohol are both broken down in the liver and destroy your liver overtime. While I work on that I’m hoping my lack of carbs will at least help a little bit 🙂 . I’m not sure what a good level will be for me, but the fact that these days I usually drink not becaue I’m stressed, but because I enjoy it was quite a revelation. I’m not sure how to solve this, but I’ll keep you posted.
Another good one.
My one protest is that I’m someone who doesn’t crave booze, but who DEFINITELY thinks too much. About everything. All the time. I’m just also a control freak, and I dislike the feeling of an altered mind state. I think this is why I like to run and meditate–both are activities that somewhat shut off my brain, but leave my thoughts intact. 🙂
Lol – glad you liked it! And no protest – More Booze For Me 🙂 ! I wish I was more of a control freak in that I didn’t like the altered mind feeling, but alas I do. I’ve tried running and meditation without success (so far?). Maybe the problem is that I don’t want to leave my thoughts intact… 🙂