Today is the day I can eat ice cream again.
For Lent, which began March 1, I gave up refined sugar and have been steadfast in my resolve: no cereal, no sauces, no fruit juice and definitely no sweets.
As expected, spending the past 46 days sans sugar has led to a couple of small observations — and one big revelation.
First, I learned that sugar is sneaky. It is in almost all processed foods, including most yogurts, peanut butters and premade soups.
Second, I found that giving up sugar was actually not that hard. I wasn’t tempted by my co-worker’s jelly bean stash or to cheat with sugar-free dessert options. The only food I truly pined for was ice cream, and only when I was stressed. That was my main takeaway: I am a stress-eater.
Limiting what I could eat made me more conscious of my choices. In the time it took to read a food’s ingredient list, my moment of weakness would pass; then it was easy to substitute sliced watermelon for that chocolate-drizzled energy bar.
So what happens now? Do I just go back to the goodies? Nope; I have decided to extend my sugar fast, with one tweak — every week, I get a cheat day. Now bring on that bowl of ice cream.