Two months….It’s been two months since I have had any refined sugar in my diet and Good Lord, it has made a difference in my life. It hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns but not as bad as I thought it could be. However, there have been some very interesting “experiences” I have had in these past two months that motivate me to keep going.

Over the next couple of days I will share some of the biggest changes I have experienced so far. I don’t know if you will experience the same things if you decide to “deep six” sugar but….well, there is no but. It either will or won’t happen to you.

Part 1 – Suck it, Adult Acne!

So, the main reason I quit refined sugar was due to a fungal infection under my boobs and in my groin area. The pain was a BITCH! Felt and looked like I got stung by a hundred fire ants.

 

The first doctor I went to gave me the standard “…take AF creams, keep it clean and dry, wash all you clothes/sheets/stuffed animals in hot water. It’ll clear up in a couple of weeks”. I did everything he prescribed. For weeks, I was in agony.  You know how a blister on the back of your ankle feels as it rubs up in your shoe but you can’t take your shoe off  – it was like that EVERY TIME I MOVED. There was no relief. By the end of week four I got so desperate that I went to a walk-in clinic just for the hope that they would give me some strong pain killers so I could at least sleep for more than 3 hours at a time.

The new doctor took one look at me, my screaming red rash and ordered a blood sugar level test. I’ve met with fatophobia before in doctor offices where the advice didn’t seem to fit the issue (Me – “Doc, I think I broke my finger”. Doctor -“Have you tried losing weight?” Me – <death rays shoots out of eyes>) and it does irk the sh*t out of me but I was at a point if this doctor said I needed to eat the heads off live chickens, I was down with it.

OK – so the test came back a little elevated – 306 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). A little surprising since my last blood test I took only four months before was at 92 fasting. This was bad. The nice doctor explained that this could be caused by stress (I had just moved to a new city,started a new job and been in constant pain for a month) and pre-menstruation (my “shark week was due any hour). Besides making sure this was the case with my primary physician (and it turned out to be those very things) to cut refined sugar from my diet and the rash should clear in a couple of days. Plus, he gave me some happy pills to help  with the pain – god bless him!

Honestly, I don’t know if I went through any sugar withdrawal symptoms during my forced detox. I had been through so much physical suffering at that point – any relief was good (And I get it. There are so many people out in the world who suffer for years without any relief that my experience would seem like a walk in the park to them. This is just the first time in my life I had been through anything like this for such a period of time. Also, this is my blog and I get to whine if I want to).

Four days into my “sans-sugar” life, the rash and the pain really started to dissipate. (Praise Jebus!) In ten days it was pretty much gone. But to make sure it stays away, I keep going on being “sugar free”. Well, refined sugar free. I still eat fruits (not fruit juice – the whole damn apple), veggies, dairy and whole grains.

Now, next to the rash clearing up on my skin, I also noticed other things clearing up – most notably my adult onset acne goatee.

I had been lucky throughout jr. high and high school not to have any acne. Maybe a stray pimple here and there but nothing that would be considered catastrophic even by teen-age standards. In college however….By Odin’s Hammer my lower face was a friggin’ mess! It didn’t matter how much I cleaned, moisturized, chemically peeled, chowed on oral medications, my chin was plagued by Cystic acne, blackheads, and whiteheads for 20+ years.

I give up sugar for a couple of weeks and now my skin has been clean & clear for the first time in my adult life. Seriously, it ridiculous. Its not just on my face either. Other areas (and yes, I do mean my ass) have cleared up as well. Plus, looking a bit younger or at least refreshed. Made my day when I got carded the other day and my younger sister didn’t.

If only I knew about this earlier, would have saved me thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in facial treatments, doctors visits and embarrassing internet “tips” (Morning Urine Regimen – I’m looking at you…bastard).