Sugar makes my body hurt really bad and it makes me sluggish.

I know how a drug addict feels. Your mind works on you and you fall short. I am a recovering sugar addict. A 5-pound bag of granulated sugar used to last us a week and that was crazy for 4 people. When we realized that granulated sugar was not good, we switched to brown sugar. Brown sugar is still sugar and it does the same thing to my body like granulated sugar. I feel stiff and my muscles hurt. I don’t wish that pain on anybody. For breakfast Harold, Paul and Sarah drank iced cold water with their meals. My breakfast used to be a cup of coffee with evaporated milk, condensed milk, and I would eat any sugary bread; Coffee cake muffin, cinnamon raisin Thomas muffin, cinnamon raisin bagel, pancakes, French toast, or Crix with peanut butter and jelly.

My family drinks water. Every now and then they would have juice or soda. My eating and drinking habits was a different story. The foods I prepared used to have sugar in it. I would make grapefruit juice, lemon, lime or passion fruit juice and it used to be sweet. Although Harold, Paul and Sarah would drink a little juice they would end with a large glass of ice-cold water. I would drink a large glass of juice.

My knees started hurting and used to throw me down. My left leg got stiff and I couldn’t move it. My body used to shake, my left leg used to be stiff and sometimes wobbled. I couldn’t raise it to walk and I used to get Charley Horse very often. An alcoholic cannot smell or drink liquor. Just one drop of sugar can make me relapse. I used to wonder how I was the only one in my family feeling sick, so, I started drinking ice-cold water for breakfast, but was still having any one of the sugary breads. I started to detox myself off sugar and wheat that was hard. I no longer have pain and stiffness. Although I am no longer in pain like a real addict, I would add some honey to my coffee but after I drink it, I would feel tired and shaky. From the moment my family see me they would say, ‘you had something sweet’. I would not answer because that was the truth. It is hard but for the past month, not one iota of sugar goes into my mouth. No pain, stiffness or Charlie Horse. Thanks be to God for Strength and courage.