My Sunday night ended with my hand at the bottom of a bag of chocolate almonds.

Yes, the entire bag. Yes, nearly 2,000 calories of crap in one sitting. No, I didn’t share.

But let me explain. 

For the three weeks leading up to that night, I had eaten nothing but whole foods. I was tracking my macros and total calorie intake on Cronometer, trimming away a little body fat, and building back some strength and endurance after nearly two months of travel.

I felt really good, attributing it to the fact my diet consisted of only clean whole foods. 

I was putting premium fuel into my engine and it was thanking me for it by returning light, clean, and sustainable energy all day long. Plus I felt my desire for junk food slowly whittle away. I started seeing packaged processed crap less like food and more like chemical compounds you might find on shelves at The Home Depot.

The Sunday I faltered was a high-output day.

I ran over 19 km (11.8 miles for my American friends) in the morning and went on a long walk in the afternoon racking up 37.5 km (23.2 mi) and over 40,000 steps for the day.

As I picked up a few things for dinner that night at the store, I thought “Hey why not, I deserve it, I’ve been moving a lot today and will be under my calories.” So I grabbed a bag of chocolate-covered almonds.

Moderation is not something I do well. Or at all, if we’re being honest.

While my girlfriend can take a bowl the size of a pool ball, put three chips and a piece of chocolate in it and flutter off contently, I either eat nothing at all or keep eating until there’s nothing left. My anti-junk food strategy is not willpower. It’s the power to keep it bloody well out of my cupboards.

So I downed the entire bag in thirty minutes.

I know, I know. Blood sugar spikes. Insulin response. It’s horrible for me.

Shortly later I went to bed, twinges of gluttonous regret dancing in my head. The next day, I woke up sick with a cold.

Congested. Soar throat. Foggy head.

This is not a scientific diagnosis but I believe those damned chocolate almonds played a role. Whether the sugar weakened my immune system to open the gates for a virus I picked up somewhere or somehow congested my system sans virus, I don’t know.

But for the weeks prior, my body had become accustomed to running off high-quality energy sources. Then I threw a handful of rocks into my gas tank and expected the car to run perfectly. I quit drinking well over a year ago so the closest I’ve been to hangovers since then is when I eat sugar the night before and wake up the next day with a headache. This time was like that except I got a full-blown cold it took me a week to fight off.

And I didn’t even enjoy eating them that much.

My tongue and the inside of my cheeks were raw from sugar like the first layer of skin had been burned by acid. Plus they barely tasted like real food. I much prefer the peanut butter and honey¹ on toast² I had been having some nights as a snack.

Sugar has had a vice-like grip on me since I was a kid. Whether or not consuming that junk made me sick, I’m telling myself it did as propaganda in a campaign to kick sugar out of my life.

I’m slowly learning how noticeably disruptive sugar and junk food are to my body and, like alcohol, how much better my life is without them.

Sugar Strategies

• I’m going sugar-free for April. I need black and white rules to enforce good habits so 30-day challenges work well for me. For me, no sugar means no baked goods, candy, chocolate, chips, crackers, cake, pie, honey, jam, dried fruit, BBQ sauce, or any other junk food or added sugar. If you want to join me, drop a note in the comments!

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• Trying to quit sugar?

  • Split your day into quarters

  • Use this four-step process to break destructive behaviours

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Lots of love,

Jack

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