Hi, my name is Faith and I'm a geologist. I'm tired of carrying excess trunk weight and not being able to loose it. I already try to adhere to a healthy whole foods diet in many respects but was shocked to discover that standard items like tinned tomatoes, bread and 'healthy' cereals all contain hidden stuff and that even the recommended fruit consumption is a lie

When I was a child I was diagnosed as 'overactive', a slightly watered down version of ADD. My Mother put me on a very strict diet limiting sugar and preservatives; the best way of avoiding temper tantrums. It was a good foundation. As an adult, I had a fairly limited sweet tooth and a strong lean towards cooking foods from scratch rather then from a jar. I did however become addicted first to coke and then when that stopped being packaged in glass, iced coffee. It took me years to kick that habit. Even though I knew how much sugar was in it, I still couldn't seem to find the will power. The crack-like cravings for it were overwhelming. Even now I still occasionally indulge.

I'm married now and have watched my husbands health degrade in a very short time. Migraines, mouth ulcers, muscle cramps, mystery pains and poor sleep. He's a vegetarian and while I don't cook all the time, when I do it tends to be fairly healthy or so I thought. He of course has no stop valve and is in possession of a raging sweet tooth. An unrequited love affair with chocolate and whatever happens to be wrapped in it, coke, chips anything to get that short term pleasure. I am also guilty of being at times, a prodigious cake and sweets cook. I love cooking and like to challenge myself- so no help there. 

So I've reached a cross roads. I want my family to be healthy. While I don't personally find the sugar pull too difficult to overcome generally, I did not realize how much was hidden in the day to day essentials that I use. This is day one for me so we shall see just how strong the pull really is as I proceed. My husband however is another story, there will be a lengthy and unpleasant withdrawal there. I guess the question here for me is why suddenly in the last few years have our bodies given up pretending? We are both in our forties, my constitution is still pretty damn good and my husbands was, not too long ago, fairly bullet proof also. But we are both now carrying weight around our middles and backs that neither of us ever really had previously and I suffer regular bouts of fatigue.Why when for me if anything I consume less sugar than I used to is my body producing fat? Why is everything going haywire in my husbands system when his diet overall is vastly improved from that of his former life?

Thanks John! I had decided to start cooking more with whole foods and came across the no sugar story from a lady in the UK Nicole Mowbray. After reading her book 'Sweet Nothing' it just made so much sense. I continued researching and ended up watching 'That Sugar Film' where I came across David's name. I quit sugar the next morning after watching that. I was so shocked at the overall degradation of the person who had introduced sugar whilst eating what are commonly deemed healthy choices. There was something about the reverse scenario that really struck a cord - we only usually ever see the unwell to well story. I have ordered one of David's books and am busy consuming everything I can read on his websites. Being a researcher by nature the one thing I am liking about this whole thing is that the message is consistent across the board.

Unfortunately the snap decision did not allow me time to record what I eat on a daily basis but I quickly recognized that my 'healthy' muesli or pears and honey on my porridge breakfast choices were out. Morning tea biscuits were done along with afternoon melon/grape snacks. I think the biggest contribution for me would be coke, smoothies, milkshakes and the occasional iced coffee. My diet was probably lower then the average in sugar anyway but I leaned heavily on fruit. I'm third day in now and not really feeling any detox symptoms which is awesome. I'm mostly just eating green vegies, poached eggs and tuna salads. the big thing was trying to find a breakfast replacement. Its a tricky meal for me, but I think plain yogurt mixed with roasted nuts and seeds is the go for now.

The best thing is my husband watched the movie and saw many of his own mystery symptoms that have now been given a source. He is looking fairly committed to the change :)

Thanks so much John I will get onto the resources you mentioned  I have one of Davids books on the way as part of my membership deal, cant remember which one  It was That Sugar Film. I will look up Dr lustig as soon as I can ☺

Cheers Faith