AlexSandra Lett "Lett's Set a Spell"

Lett’s Set a Spell:
Choosing the Sweets of Life

Thirty minutes before Lent began, I ate a big chocolate brownie and savored every morsel as I sealed my heavenly agreement to give up sweets. Many experts have said that it takes 21 days to replace a bad habit with a good one, so I vowed to implement a “no-desserts” diet for at least three weeks. Since Lent is about atonement I have a confession about food: it is too, too important to me. My Daddy, who was 6 feet tall and weighed 175 pounds, always said I could eat him under the table any day. Fortunately, my metabolism easily burns calories, so my weight usually varies from 112 to 118 pounds. When Daddy became bedridden in summer 2004, it was so gut wrenching I lost my appetite, and when he died I looked like skin and bones. Then I went to the beach alone, watched three movies a day, and pacified my grief with food, especially with ice cream and cookies. Flesh is dumb, and thus began a cycle of eating more sweets to numb my pain.

Meanwhile, Mama’s constant need for care intensified and my career demands increased. While eating lots of vegetables as usual, I turned to soft drinks, sweet tea, and chocolate candy to help me get through 16-hour days. I reached the highest weight I had in years—125 pounds. Mama’s death in June 2005 and a book deadline fed my stress so I continued to overuse mood-elevating foods. I became the poster child for “Stressed is Desserts Spelled Backwards”!

While sugar is sweet to eat, it is certainly not a treat for our bodies and minds. White sugar does not offer any nutritional value, and foods containing this slow poison are high in calories and low in benefits. Abuse of sugar is directly related to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar/overproduction of insulin) and diabetes (high blood sugar/lack of insulin). Excess sugar contributes dramatically to weight gain and tooth decay. More than half of all Americans are overweight, and widespread obesity is associated with many chronic health problems, such as arthritis, cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hemorrhoids, and gall bladder disorders.

Research indicates that refined sugar depletes many vitamins in our bodies, flushes out the B-vitamins (which are crucial for the central nervous system), and leads to fatigue, irritability, and headaches. Sugar burns off quickly and therefore does not offer any lasting energy. Natural sugars found in fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates can be more easily digested because they supply their own buffers in the form of fiber.

Early addictions to unhealthy eating often start with sugary beverages in baby’s bottles, creating an unnatural desire for oversweetened foods. When growing up my Mama even let me have soft drinks for breakfast because I didn’t like milk; eventually too much sugar and too little calcium led to toothaches and dreaded dental appointments. Drinking a high-sugar, high-caffeine beverage created a negative habit that became destructive to my well-being for many years.

Now in 2006 I realized this addiction had reared its ugly head again. Having written extensively about getting rid of stress I knew how to lose the pounds and to create balance but I couldn’t seem to get off the addict’s roller coaster ride.

Living what we know takes commitment and persistence.

My overweight body indicated more than a physical problem—this unnatural condition reflected psychic wounds and spiritual needs. For me craving sweets was really longing for the “sweets” in life like love, joy, peace, and acceptance. I believe that when we human beings overindulge in sugar and junk foods we are settling for “a quick fix” that eventually interferes with our lasting health and happiness. However, we can choose to change negative behaviors into positive patterns ... we can trade the sweets on our plates for the sweets in life.

In January I decided to view losing weight and getting well as a part-time job and a full-time commitment. As I have focused on implementing strategies to heal body, mind, and spirit, I have realized even more the power of intention. With transformation getting better is not enough—I choose the very best!

Like other nutrition-conscious individuals and health practitioners I believe we Americans need to cut back on sugar because we are eating too much and exercising too little. Through curtailing sugar-filled foods and replacing them with nutrient-rich items like apples, grapes, meat, eggs, carrots, and celery, we can have more energy, promote better health, and prevent many ailments. Eating more nutritious foods can lead to greater enjoyment of the sweet nectars of life.

With Spring’s enticing weather and Nature’s blooming beauty we are reminded of the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Just as bare trees bring forth buds and flowers break through the ground to display their gifts we must opt for greatness.