One year and counting for Stacya.

An enviable milestone, and cause for celebration! As someone who has struggled with a serious sugar habit in the form of ice cream, I can appreciate all the hard work that went into getting through an entire year without one single dessert, or anything with sugar. Occasionally Stacya would have date bite and she ate a few pieces of fruit like an apple or berries every week, but that was it!

Many people say it takes thirty days to break a habit and certainly the sugar craving diminishes somewhat by then, but I’ve gone a month without sugar on many occasions only to find myself with a Haagen-Dazs pint comfortably in my hand the following month. (That’s true even though I have lupus and can feel the adverse effects of eating sugar the next day–inflammatory aches were not enough to keep me completely clear of sugar.) AA requires attendance at 90 meetings in 90 days. But even more than getting through a calendar milestone of 30 or 90 days, or a full year, the science tells us change is much more likely to be lasting with the help of another person. 

Check out our post on “Make a No-Sugar Pact with your BFF” to see how Stacya and I implemented our plan. As of August, 2016 I am at 8 months without sugar and 3 pints of Haagen-Dazs Cherry Vanilla ice cream sit undisturbed in my freezer. Cheers to the support and encouragement of a good friend!

 Here is Stacya in August 2016, 18 months sugar-free. (She skipped the wedding cake– but had a great time!)