I was aiming to eventually take the steps to cut excess sugar from my diet several months from now. Granted, earlier would be better, but I’m already making so many successive dietary changes (while trying to lose weight, gain muscle, and get ready for a marathon) that it’s not wise to add much more to the list.

My (more realistic) goal is to make shifts every 2 months. I’ll be out of meat in the house by next week, so my plan is to make vegetarianism a habit between September and November, go vegan in November, and then mid January (after the marathon) is when I’d tackle sugar.

Sugar is definitely addictive for me. I’d do okay for a few days without it, and then it would be a binge-trigger. I’d feel terrible, sluggish, but my taste buds would be happy… at least for a little while. The one good thing I’ve noticed about getting older is my body doesn’t really want sugar as much as it used to, so hopefully the transition will get easier.

I’m not going to be obsessive about it, simply because so many things that are going to be in my diet will have natural sugars, or sugar might be needed for baking purposes. But deliberately adding sugar to drinks or having sodas is something I will hope to avoid in the future. Table sugar is going to go out the window for me, and I’ll be looking for healthier substitutes (though I already know stevia is something I just can’t stand).

I’m going to have some major withdrawals over time. I’ve been out of sugar in the house for over a week and I’m so used to adding some to my coffee each morning. I am trying to get used to the taste and grow to like it, because coffee is the most common use I have for table sugar. At least I’ve done pretty well in cutting down, but I’d rather do without entirely.

There are many things I enjoy that I’ll have to cut back on because my issue with sugar boils down to this: there’s no such thing as moderation to me. I used to binge on a whole sleeve of cookies, or a whole bag of powdered donuts, stuff like that. I’d feel awful, but my cravings demanded more. I’d rather learn to do without sugar as much as possible, at least as an additive.

Some “sugar” items I’ll end up keeping, such as fruit juices I use as bases for my smoothies, or jam that I put in my oatmeal. I’m going to find recipes for the jam that will minimize the amount of sugar. I like the sweetness in my overnight oats, but I’m thinking about cutting the serving size in half and adding some dried or fresh fruit for some extra fruit and sweetness without all the sugar.

I don’t think my willpower is strong enough to peruse the nutrition labels and ingredients and cut everything out in extreme fashion. Sugar is too pervasive an additive, but as I gravitate more toward whole foods and home cooking (and perhaps some home-baked bread, tortillas, etc.), I’ll naturally start to cut sugar down in my daily diet.

For me, that’s good enough. Enjoying my dark roast coffee with some non-dairy creamer and (eventually) NO sugar will be a helluva win to get me ready to cut the rest in a few months. I don’t want to cut sugar out too much before the marathon because I’m going to have to test those carb gels and learn about “carb-loading” techniques and recipes my body will digest well when heading into race day. At least I know I like some sugar-free stuff I use when I work out, like the Ultima electrolyte powder.

Perhaps I can find ways to stave off the headaches in the meantime. That’s what’s stopped me a half-dozen times before. Research time!