I love to see kids dressed up in their cute costumes at Halloween! I don't have many neighbor kids, but I invite those from the neighborhood for special treats that I make each year. And, as you may guess, I try to find some that aren't total sugar. It's been a long time since my kids were little, but this past week I witnessed the not-so sweet side effects of Trick-or-Treat bags filled with candy.
I may have mentioned that I'm helping at the local school in first grade. The teacher in my classroom has been teaching for many years and can reign those kids in when you think chaos is taking over. She is truly a professional! This week, too, has been testing her and leaving us wonder just what has taken over these sweet, little kiddos.
Tuesday was Halloween, and it's been an exciting week! Monday was the anticipation of wearing costumes to school and participating in the Fall Festival the next day. The energy level was high! Tuesday morning was the Fall Festival, where the kids played games to earn "money" to buy prizes. The event was really quite fun and well organized with a lot of parent volunteers making it all possible. The kids had a hard time staying focused that afternoon, but we got through the day with few instances. Wednesday was a different story.
First, let me take the opportunity to apologize to my kids' teachers all through elementary school! I was not completely aware of what I was sending to school the day after Halloween. We were cognizant that they were not going to get to bed at their regular time, yet we tried to make sure it wasn't too late. And, we did allow them to eat more candy than they ever were allowed on any other day. This was a one day a year event. We were lucky, too, because we had friends that invited us over after trick-or-treating for a warm meal. It had to have slowed down the sugar overload, don't you think?!?
Back to Wednesday.... I wouldn't say the kids were awful, although exhausting definitely comes to mind. I know a later bedtime can affect kid's behavior as much as coming off of a sugar high can. I have witnessed with my own kids the lack of self-control, the high emotions, and lack of focus without enough sleep.... not to mention my own issues! I'm not trying to totally blame all of the behavior issues on sugar intake. But, I'd like to take this time to talk a bit about sugar.
The maximum amount of added sugar - "added" equates to sugars that don't exist naturally in foods - for females is 25 g (6 teaspoons) or 36 g (9 teaspoons) for males each day. Can I just say that that is still quite a lot?! 2-3 tablespoons of sugar!! Yikes! And, that is for grown adults, not children. I found several articles stating kids consume as much as 3 cups... let me repeat that... yes, THREE CUPS of sugar between parties and candy on Halloween Day. Ooohh, mylanta!!!
There's more! It turns out the "sugar hangover" is real. The results of large amounts of sugar are brain fog, headache, gas. bloating and cramping. Basically, feeling yucky. Then, it causes your body stress, which causes the body to release cortisol, which prevents the release of our feel good hormones, serotonin and dopamine. In addition to all of that, when you eat sugar, you crave more sugar. It's all a vicious cycle.
It's no wonder that not only that we feel so crappy after eating a lot of sugar, but also why our kids act so crazy the day after Halloween! That's not to say that we shouldn't enjoy some sweet treats now and then. But, when we can't stop even when we want to, that's a problem. Some might say an addiction. Well, that's what it is. None of us are immune to it. Our bodies were designed to survive, and during the times when food was not so plentiful, sugar was a way of staying alive - quick energy. It's also the first craving we have as babies. So, it's not too hard to understand why it's so difficult to overcome.
Thankfully, we can do it. For some it's harder than others. When I find myself getting to the point where I feel like I NEED sugar and can't stop eating it on a daily basis... or maybe perhaps several times a day... I need to go cold turkey. I have to stop eating sugar altogether. Once I make that decision, it's time to clean house. I make sure I don't have treats laying out where they're easily accessible, and I don't allow myself to have some of my favorites, like pb and honey toast (You can read more about that in last weeks post, I'm a Carb Lover!). My main focus is on the added sugars, so some of my favorite sweet alternatives, like dates and apples with pb, are still allowed. Usually after 1 week I'm feeling pretty good about things, but I like my "cleanse" to be for at least 2 weeks. After that amount of time, I can get back to having sweets about 1-2 times a week. I don't know about you, but I'm starting TODAY! With the holidays quickly approaching, I need to get things under control tout de suite!
I also have a free 7-day guide to help tame temptations. That link is available here. It takes more than willpower, and the guide walks you through relying on God's will for the real power to overcome temptations. You can always reach me through my website, www.incourage-health.com, too. With the holidays fast approaching, this may be the perfect time to work with a health coach. Change is hard, and there's no reason to do it alone.
Comments