Sugar has been my go-to for feeling good since I was a child. I could devour an entire chocolate filled Easter basket within 24 hours as a child, and was blessed with a fast enough metabolism to handle it. By the time I was in my teens, however, access to my own money often meant binges on entire bags of chocolates and a reduced activity level with a body that was no longer growing, meant excess sugar was a problem, making my body cary an extra 10 pounds or more at any given time.

I gave up sugar when I was in my early twenties for several months and slimmed down to a very slender figure and had high energy levels--I'd never felt better! Then, I thought I could handle it back in my diet--big mistake, the weight slowly returned and by my mid thirties I was 60 lbs overweigt.

Healthly changes I've made in my life, such as increased activity, eating a 50%+ organic diet and leaving an unhealthy relationship helped me lose 40 lbs. Then, this year I took 2 rounds of antibiotics for unrealated health problems about 3 months apart--and my gut has felt irrated ever since. My sugar cravings sky-rocketed to teen levels and my eating behavior followed, increasing my weight by nearly 20 pounds since February.

Giving up gluten a few weeks ago, has meant lower levels of bloat and achiness and as it is frequently recommended for hypothyroid people like me, I plan to stay gluten-free. But, I need to reset my health and get it back on track in a more major way. Given my past success with how I felt on a no sugar diet, I'm going to give it a try again for this 30 day period. If successful, sugar may just have to stay out of my diet permanently too.