David Gillespie calls people like me “Sugarholics” and I agree.  I think I am addicted to sugar.  I really enjoyed David’s book ‘The Sweet Poison Quit Plan’ and recommend it as a way to quickly read why sugar (specifically fructose) is so bad for you and how to go about getting rid of it from your diet and from your life.

I am now reading the second book I bought called ‘Pure, White and Deadly,  How Sugar Is Killing Us And What We Can Do To Stop It’.  John Yudkin wrote this in in 1972 and this is the new version with an introduction by Robert H. Lustig.  John Yudkin was a British Physiologist and Nutritionist and one of the first scientists to claim that sugar was a major cause of obesity and heart disease.  It is a more serious and weighty tome than David Gillespie’s book but I am enjoying it.

“Sugar also resembles alcohol and tobacco in that it is a material for which people rapidly develop a craving, and for which there is nevertheless no physiological need” (Ludkin, 1972).

I completely agree with that statement and accept that I am a sugarholic.  You will be very pleased to hear I have managed another sugar free day so I actually classify myself as a “recovering sugarholic”.

I was woken up this morning by what sounded like a monsoon.  Incredibly heavy rain.  That always poses a challenge for those of us who park in the free car park at the station!

This entrance was completely flooded.

I had bought breakfast the day before and it was in the fridge waiting for me when I got to work.  A mushroom and goat’s cheese frittata.
I ate one for breakfast and it was very tasty.  Plus it kept me going all morning with not even a hint of hunger.  I had the other one for lunch with a similar salad I have made the previous 2 days with the remaining Tzatziki and humous. I had to go to a different office this afternoon for a course and I enjoyed the walk there as it took me past some places I have never been to before.I was in the office I worked in at the beginning of the year and it was really good to be back there in a familiar place.
I really enjoyed the walk back to the station too and was struck yet again by the variety of architecture in the City.  The buildings on this street created a tower of glass on either side. Whereas the Barbican is chunky concrete. The Bank of England is a stunning building.There is so much history here.
Near Cannon Street station is this fascinating mixture of very old and very new, small and tall. I was home earlier than usual so decided to start one of David Gillespie’s rules which is to throw out everything that contains sugar.  His rationale is that if it isn’t there, you can’t have it.  He also encourages you to rid your house of sugar for the benefit of all your family too.  I am not sure my family are going to appreciate this benefit too easily so I am keeping quiet about the sugar clearance.  Today I cleared the door of the fridge.

I have been looking in shops for a sugar free mayonnaise and have not found one!  I don’t use mayonnaise very often at home so I am happy to throw it out.  It does make me appreciate how much hidden sugar I have eaten because so many ready made sandwiches and salads, which I do eat when at work and travelling,  have mayonnaise or salad cream on them which means they all contain sugar too!  The salad creams were nearly empty so that was an easy throw away but the Mayo’ was nearly full which was annoying. The first ingredient in the mango chutney is……..sugar !!!!!! As if mangoes aren’t sweet enough.  So that was out.  Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce is also heavily laden with sugar.  In the bin with both of those. The jam was nearly finished so that was not much of a sacrifice.  The Jalapeno jelly was harder because I really liked it with roasted red meats and BBQs and I bought it in America and don’t think you can buy it here. Oh my goodness, just look at those ingredients.  The first 3 ingredients are forbidden sugars.  So this too is in the bin.  What a relief to clear out that lot. For supper I cooked up a batch of brown basmati rice and some bacon.  I set the bacon on some kitchen paper to absorb fat and stir fried veggies in the bacon fat left in the pan.  I cooked an onion, a green pepper, lots of mushrooms, half a large head of broccoli and then wilted half a large bag of spinach over the top. All served together to make one yummy supper. The portion size is quite modest apart from the bacon – this is 4 rashers.I have another portion exactly like this in the fridge ready to take to work for breakfast.  This sugarholic is determined to recover.