The sweet, sweet ballad

I took a bite. My mouth exploded. The world slowed down, my eyes closed. I didn’t process a single sound in my neighborhood for the next ten seconds. The feeling vanished too quickly. Alas, the last piece was gone. “Oh, just another tiny morsel!”, my tongue craved, my mind raved. And so I had another. And yet another. And then a few more. In the subsequent battle between the stomach and the heart, emotion won yet again.

I woke up to an empty packet of cookies on the floor the next morning. I deserve one night of bliss in a week, don’t I?

I woke up to one and a half empty packet of cookies on the floor the next morning. Meh, two days in a week is manageable. Surely this shan’t be repeated. I’ll just eat the other half so I don’t feel tempted tonight.

I woke up to yet another packet of cookies on the floor the next morning. Sigh, since today is the end of the week, I’ll just give myself one last day to sin, and then completely stop eating sweets from tomorrow. ..And induction.

If you have had a similar experience, then you, my friend, are battling a sugar addiction. This is at least as harmful as an alcohol or drug high, if not more. Weight gain is the last thing to worry about. Of course, you can possibly damage your organs and end up with diabetes, that in extreme situations can be life threatening. But more importantly, this sweet poison will slowly seep the life out of you, leaving you severely temperamental, and incapable of finding joy in anything else.

I have been a sugar addict for several years now. Being at home and eating with my parents helped control my urges a bit. One fine morning, the bird left the nest. A whole new delightful world came into sight. She stared in awe at the lollipop sun. The adventurous bird traveled far and wide – the choco lava volcano, the milkshake river, creamy Iceland, the red velvety marshes, etc. One fine morning, the bird yearned to be back home. Unfortunately, she had flown too far and lost her path. This is the ballad she sings to passersby, cautioning them about this beautifully toxic world.

If you think you are a food lover who doesn’t care, then now is a good time to stop reading this article. This is only for food lovers who recognize that there is a problem, and want to do something about it. This is definitely not for non-food lovers, your existence to me is a mystery.

I would not suggest putting a full stop to eating sweets. It might cause major mood swings, but more importantly, the rebound may make matters much worse. The trick is to trick your mind. I would recommend exchanging the sweets for other (possibly healthier) slightly less sweet food options, such as fruits, dry fruits and dates. Even in chocolates, you could choose the chocolate coated rice crackers instead of full bars of chocolate. That satiates the craving, with a much smaller quantity of sugar. You could also utilize this opportunity to experiment with your taste buds and try foods of different flavors, broadening your perspective and diverting your mind from the usual ‘boring’ options.

Of course, never force your body to eat more than it wants. In fact, dieticians suggest keeping your stomach three quarters full at all times, instead of filling it to the brim. A good way to trick your body into feeling full is by drinking loads of water, and eating slowly. I have personally noticed that I feel less appetite when I have a glass of water every half hour. Every time I eat, I try to take half the size of the previous mouthful. I then try to chew it as much as possible, and extract all possible flavors from it. Having a patient friend in such times can be quite helpful. If you talk more, you will be forced to eat slower. If you’re having a tasty dessert, you can share it with them, and they will end up eating more of it while you talk.

The next thing I would recommend is actually cooking/baking your own sweets. You will then realize how much sugar and butter actually goes into the production of these sweets, and how much sugar you are pumping into your body by consuming them on a regular basis. I did this several times. Initially, I would lap it all up very quickly. Then exhaustion and laziness came into play, and I would start rationing out smaller portions. In fact, I even worked in a bakery to learn new recipes. Unfortunately, this one had pre-frozen goods that just had to be melted and baked(this is more common than you might think it is). I lost my appetite completely for the few items that I baked from scratch.

Do try and get as much exercise as you can. Not only will this help with digressing your thoughts, it might also supply the endorphins(the happiness chemicals) that your brain obtains from sugar, and hence will reduce your craving for it. The high is longer lasting and healthier for your body.

If none of these help, you could go to nutritionists. Or go stay with your parents for a while. Or make eating dessert a social activity. Or become broke. The last option is the solution to most problems in life, isn’t it?

Her ballad spread far and wide. Each morning, she would alight with a renewed vigor, stopping nowhere except for sleep. She wanted to get as much distance between herself and the lollipop sun as possible. And that was all the direction she ever needed.