It’s been a while since I posted, there is a lot going on in my head, as well as the usual full life generally.
Recently, I’ve come to a few significant (for me) decisions… I guess they deserve a page each, so I’ll do that.
Generally (as this blog testifies) I’m trying to cut down on unnecessary and especially disposable plastic. As an experiment, I thought I’d try, for all of September, cutting out anything with added refined sugar. So, for me, that includes: cakes, biscuits, ice cream, sweets (candy), chocolate. (Wine is probably worth including, though I have so little it was no issue.) There is no nutritional value at all in these things, and you can’t call them a ‘treat’ when they are part of every day. Probably as bad for me as if I’d been drinking every day.
Now, I’m not diabetic (not even close) but I suspected these things as a major source of plastic. And so it proves. When not buying and stocking these things, the rate at which I collected difficult plastics (the wrappings) was dramatically cut.
I did have fruit and plain yogurt most days, which helped. Sometimes sugar-free jelly (Jell-o). I didn’t exclude bread or crackers, and I cook from scratch so I didn’t really have to worry about all the sugar in ready meals.
OK, I admit it, I have a sweet tooth. If you don’t, maybe it’s not a problem for you – maybe it’s crisps, or take-aways. Or wine. And while I wasn’t specifically dieting, it did effectively tackle the areas I need to tackle. Crisps are not my particular weakness, but I decided against buying them because it would be adding to the plastic, and possibly setting up a new habit I didn’t want.
How’d I do? It was OK. What I find is that not having sugar means I am *less* hungry. I didn’t bother with counting calories or weighing everything – savoury stuff (for me) seems to have built-in limitations! I had a ‘day off’ in the middle of the month for my wedding anniversary, and had a glass of wine with dinner and a dessert after the meal.
The ongoing effect of this, since the end of September, is trying to NOT restock on these things. Digestive biscuits are fine – they are not particularly ‘more-ish’ – but best not keep anything with chocolate around the house! I’ve lost about 10 lbs in the month, so it was useful from that perspective.
I’ll continue making my sugarless fruit loaf, which is nice with a cuppa, but I’m unlikely to have seconds. I might have a more exciting piece of cake occasionally – I’m not being rigid about this – but sugar has to stay out of my normal, every-day eating. With any luck I’ll avoid diabetes altogether. Having started, I’ll endeavour to continue.
But the big revelation was just how much plastic in our lives is down to *junk*! The things we can totally lose without damaging our health (and probably improving it). Save loads of money too – which gives us a little more space to afford the plastic-free options in other areas. Sure, have ‘the occasional treat’ – but how occasional are treats in your house? They were certainly routine in mine! Whether it’s crisps, or wine, or chocolate.
Guess I should move to another page for the change in our meat-eating…