My first celebrity endorsement …

By November 23, 2008Uncategorized


… well not really, but I thought I’d mention the article in today’s Body+Soul lift out in your local Murdoch paper (Sunday Mail, Telegraph etc).  In it Elke Graham (you know – the Olympic swimming medalist) describes what it is like to go cold turkey on sugar.  

Her description so closely matches what I went through that I couldn’t help but sympathise.  I have no idea whether she has heard of Sweet Poison or whether she just made it up herself but either way the outcome is the same.

Graham, a two-time Olympian and multiple record holder, had two options. She could gradually cut back on the substance she was addicted to or she could go cold turkey.

She opted for the latter and, while quitting was a struggle, today Graham is 100 per cent “clean”. What was the substance that had her in its iron grip? Sweet, sweet sugar.

“It wasn’t easy, but I kicked it,” says Graham proudly. “I struggled at first, particularly with coffee.

When I first started drinking it without sugar it tasted so strong, very bitter and unpleasant. Even the way it smelled bothered me.”

Graham’s first sugar-free days were rough. She was desperate for the sweet stuff and several times found herself involuntarily reaching for it, but in the end she held strong. And eventually she found she had turned a craving corner.

“At first it was awful, but then I started to adapt,” she says.

“I started to feel cleansed and I kept reminding myself that the short-term pain was worth the long-term gain. And I liked that I felt more consistent. I didn’t want the false high of sugar. I’d rather get my high from exercise.

“Plus, I began to see that you spoil the taste of a good coffee when you put rubbish like sugar in it.”

See, even celebrities find it difficult to unhook from sugar.  Over on the forums a few people have described exactly the same experience, so I thought there might be a bit of interest in Elke’s description.  For all of you in the throes of going cold turkey, draw strength from the fact that the pain does end and it is worth it.
The other part of that conversation on the forums is whether it’s possible to still have a little bit of sugar (to sort-of give up).  The consensus appears to be that’s kind of like being a little bit pregnant – unfortunately you have either given up or you haven’t – there is no in between.
After you finish reading Elke’s bits you can use the article to line the budgie’s cage.  The rest is commentary from a dietitian which is full of not quite rightness (from a Sweet Poison perspective).

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