From The Meriam-Webster dictionary: Recidivism: a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior… We get asked all the time… (in addition to: “Do I have to do this for the rest of my life?”) “Do I have to start over counting my days if I slip?” In this world of tracking everything, knowing how long you’ve been “off” something you have deemed harmful to you… is a big deal. I’m sure it originated with the alcohol and nicotine/tobacco quitting programs. Where your “clean or sober” time is meticulously tracked, and you have defined bragging rights… “I’ve been sober X years” or “I haven’t had a cigarette since January 1st, 2001…” Heck, I’m just as guilty. When you’ve been sugar-free for 34 years, you get a lot of Wow’s! And Really’s? ...It feels good. But with sugar, especially in the early days, we find it might be a stumbling block to long-term success to focus on counting your days… First off, with cigarettes and booze, you can - “put the plug in the jug” - meaning avoid the stuff altogether… BUT... With today’s food supply having 75+% of it tainted with sugar and having to eat three times a day - you have to let that tiger out of the cage and walk it three times a day. See the difference? We have been training our emotional management systems to get that dopamine hit (and about a million other feel-good chemical manipulations) since birth via sugar. It’s genuinely a different deal. But we’ve found that after a couple of “slips” (more on those in another article) folks feel like they have failed and seem to fade away and give up. We know this because folks come back all the time and tell us! Personally, back in the day, when I quit sugar, it took me almost two full years to get 100% abstinent. From the time I became aware and started to try - to the time I was successful was a long time. Back then, there was no one to talk to about this stuff... So how have we avoided that in our successful folks? How do you stay on track?

Mike lists Plain Yogurt on approved food list. These appear to have about 5-10 grams sugar. Comments?

You know what? This is really feeling right with me. I'm eating better, sleeping better, feeling better and taking other positive steps toward my health (like exercise!)

Been sidetracked from the group for a few days. Great to have a landing spot like this when I need a refresher course in loving life...without sugar. Didn't know the cravings would return, but now I think I'm phasing in and out of them. Wondering "why?" So I checked some labels. Aha! 7 grams of sugar on a staple in my diet. Thought I had that one all figured out long ago. Well, so much for that favorite. I'll finish it off like I did all the others, keeping my intake the same until I'm done with it. I like to use my brain on it at this point. If I just toss it out I feel bad for wasting the $$ and that's a big negative. Instead, I'll think about how non-important this is to me on my future bites and come out positive when it's all gone. By then I'll have come up with a healthy alternative.

I "quit" sugar beginning of March this year. I've done really well if I do say so myself! The first few weeks included horrible sugar cravings...I do mean horrible...but I made it across the finish line. I must confess I had a bite of my Granddaughter's graduation cake...but just a bite. I'm good with my success...down about 10 lbs or so. Glad I'm in the SugarAddictionClub and going for it once and for all 😊 Let's do this!