I Quit Sugar 3 Months Ago

Here’s what has happened.

Photo by Elena Leya on Unsplash

I have a sweet tooth. I enjoy cookies, sweet tea and and a couple of tea spoons of sugar in my coffee. I have even been known to add sugar to a bowl of ice cream. I love chocolate in any form, mostly O’Henry bars and Smarties. I am not big on deserts but will not refuse a helping of a rich chocolate cake or a large slice of Pavolva for desert. Ice cream bars and sandwiches have also been a go-to for my sweet tooth addiction.

i never met a bag of brown or golden sugar I didn't like.

That all changed three years ago, when I suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple by-pass surgery. Thanks to my genetic background, I do not suffer from being overweight and I exercised on a regular basis walking between 7,500 and 10,000 steps a day. Due in no small part to these healthy advantages and a healthy diet, I did not die during the heart attack and these pluses also played a major part in my recovery.

I now have an exercise regime that includes a 30–45 minute daily workout session. Post by-pass, I now average 12,000 walking steps a day that I keep track of with my Samsung health app on my phone and an Excel spreadsheet. At the grand old age of 81, my blood pressure reading averages 122 / 78 which I help maintain by sticking to the exercise, a low salt diet and half a dozen prescription…