How I stopped using sugar

Catherine Gordon

This is where I share how I stopped using sugar, cigarettes, and Chardonnay to ease boredom, frustration, and pain.

Just this month. I completed my WISE U Peer Support Specialist training. I'm going to be using my core competencies and ethical standards of peer support specifically to guide what I share in my blog from now on.

Peer support specialists share hope with their lived experience, so that is what I offer here. I started using food when I was six, right after my father passed away.

I struggled with compulsive over-eating until I started smoking regularly at age 16.

Then, I agonized over my smoking until my husband and I wanted to have a baby.

After my son was born. I managed my emotional fear and pain with ever increasing amounts of Chardonnay.

I didn't start my recovery until I was 43.

It truly started with resistance and interval training, and one of the oldest sayings in the world of physical fitness is:

"Nothing out of a bag or a box."

I've spent the last 18 years learning to eat:

1. Adequate unprocessed protein

2. Carbs from vegetables that grow above the ground and low sugar fruits

3. Natural fats like butter and olive oil oil.

I also respect my lived experience when it comes to my personal carbohydrate tolerance. I won't tell you what to eat. I will share studies from scientific journals, and content from medical doctors who have informed my personal eating practice. I will always state that your own health care professionals are the ones to consult when you're considering changes to your health management routines.

After I learned how to eat and train, I stopped using food to ease pain and provide entertainment.

I learned that sharing what worked for me makes me feel even better than consuming junk food ever did: without the painful side effects. I found that being of service is good for my well being and sense of purpose. On top of that, I finally learned why it's so essential for me to keep acting, singing, dancing, and playing instruments.

I may crave sugar, but I love acting and teaching the performing arts. Modern times are full of challenges, but they also offer something new: a platform for performing that's available to billions of people through their smart phones. I want to encourage people to use new technologies to express their creativity and talent if that is their heart's desire.

My experience with peer support training, plus my recent confirmation that I have late diagnosed ADHD, makes it clear that I need to do what I love in order to maintain focus and motivation. I want to give hope to people who experience cravings for things or behaviors that cause them harm. I'm here to demonstrate how creativity can be part of overcoming cravings.

Two years ago, a new personal motto came to me:

"More happiness, Less harm."

By practicing what I love instead of consuming what I crave, I experience many more good days. That is the lived experience I want to share with you.