Because I don't eat sugar.

OMG I love dessert. I do believe I am a sugar addict. But I know better. I know sugar is not good for me, especially in the quantities I consume. I have been thinking for months about going on a no-sugar diet. There are rules that need to be defined for such a diet.

1) Does sweet fruit count? It is sweet and does contain sugar - but it is natural sugar. So it's ok, right?

2) Does juice count? Similar to fruit, it has a lot of sugar in it naturally (bottle of grape juice in the fridge says 40g per serving!)

3) Do I limit my no-sugar diet to only include foods that do not have sugar on the label? 100% Fruit juice, for example, does not have _added_ sugar... So then I could still eat things that are sweet... but does that defeat the purpose?

4) What if I only have sugar on the holidays!

Well, let's see what that would look like for the year 2012 (since 2011 is already half over).

Jan 1 - New years. Wouldn't be the same without french toast for brunch!
Jan 23 - Chinese New Year. Fortune cookies?
Feb 5 - Someone's birthday. Cake! and maybe the Superbowl with snacks galore.
Feb 7 - Tu B'shevat (jew holiday like arbor day). Fruits and nuts - often covered in chocolate
Feb 14 - Valentines day. Huge box of chocolates!
Mar 8 - Purim. Homentaschen! (cookies with fruit in the middle)
Mar 17 - St Patrick's day. There's sugar in alcohol, right? Probably only the kind I drink.
Apr 7 - Passover. Haroset (apples, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon) and whatever dessert to complete the huge holiday feast.
Apr 8 - Easter. Cadbury eggs! Chocolate bunnies!
May 5 - Cinco de Mayo. More importantly, my wedding anniversary. Cake! Or chocolates! Preferably both!
May 13 - Mothers day. More chocolates? Maybe breakfast in bed which probably will include something with syrup on it. Please, boys.
May 24 - My birthday. Cake!
May 31- Another birthday. Cake!
June 17 - Father's day. I guess I could skip the sweets on this day.
July 14 - Bastille Day. Orangina, anyone? (childhood memory)
August - Nothing! What!
Sept - Nothing! What!
Oct 31 - Halloween. I don't even need to say.
Nov 22 - Thanksgiving. Pie!!
Nov 30 - Another birthday. Pie! I mean Cake! 
Dec 9 - Chanukah. Gelt! every night for a week.
Dec 25 - Christmas. Cakes, pies, marshmallow yams, fruit loaf, etc etc.
Dec 31 - New Years Eve. I ask again, sugar in booze, yeah?

Ok, so if I really kept the sweets to ONLY the days above, then you could argue that's 23 or so days out of 365, which isn't that much sugar. However! For most of these holidays, we don't eat sugar on only the day itself. Halloween candy is in stores a month before the holiday, and you buy it early in preparation and munch on it until the day of, and then you eat whatever the trick or treaters don't take, so it is probably sitting around for another month at least. Same goes for the other Hallmark Holidays like mother's day, father's day, valentine's day. A box of chocolates should last a week or two, not just one day. A lot of the other holidays are huge feast celebrations, again, with leftovers for a week or two. And since the holidays only have a couple weeks in between, our exposure to holiday sweets is fairly constant. The only break I see is roughly June-Sept. So if I am going to try a sugar-free diet, my best chances of staying on it, free of Holiday Temptations, would be to start after that May 31st birthday, and see how long I can go. Maybe I will be lucky and kick the craving after a month or two so that when Halloween rolls around, I won't be so tempted to sneak my hand in my kid's treat bag. (that doesn't sound quite right, does it.)

Anyone else want to go sugar-free with me starting on June 1?

-NinaMama