Sugar Free

Hello, my name is Sunny, and I am a sugar-holic.  (This is where you say, "Hi Sunny.").  Seriously.  Sugar, to me, is like tobacco to a smoker, like alcohol to a drinker, like heroin to a drug addict.  Sugar is my addiction.  And like any addiction, it controls.  It limits.  It enslaves.  It wasn't until fairly recently that I realized the seriousness of this.  I always knew I liked sweets.  A lot.  And there have been times when I've decided, "I'm going to stay away from sweets until I lose X amount of pounds, or for a whole month, or I'm going to have just one sweet a week.". And for a time it would be okay.  Until I gave in, thinking, it's okay, just this one.  But that one sweet was the end, and I was back to eating even more than before.  It was a viscous cycle.  Until about 4 weeks ago.  I realized just how addicted I really was, and I decided to make a change for LIFE.  And yes, I DO have to be that drastic.  Maybe you are one of those lucky people who can eat one brownie and be satisfied.  You can control yourself at parties, or even harder, at home when no one else is around to tell you not to eat the whole batch of cookies.  Well, I am not that way.  For me, it's ALL or NOTHING.  And I am finally choosing the healthier, liberating option of NOTHING.  FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.  There.  I put it in writing.  It's official.  I now have someone else to be accountable to. 
So, this is how it has been for 4 weeks now.  No sweets, no candy, no cake or ice cream or pie or brownies, no hot chocolate, nothing.  Nada.  I can honestly say it is easier to go cold turkey than to "tease" my taste buds once in a while and keep that craving alive.  I do still have cravings, and maybe I always will, but I have found some coping methods.  Sugar free chewing gum, fruit, water that has been lightly sweetened with stevia, and some knock-off desserts, like black bean brownies.  (YUM!). So, I'm making it work, and I fully intend to do this for life.  I hope I will lose a little weight, but even if I don't, I still feel better.  Especially knowing that I am conquering my addiction.