I am addicted to sugar. I’m not just saying I have a sweet tooth or I’ll never say no to dessert. I’m saying I literally have some type of chocolate or sugary something every day. I feel like I need it and I have a really really hard time saying no to it, even if I don’t feel well. I’m not proud of that nor am I comfortable with it. And then I read this. Regardless of how I feel about Gwyneth Paltrow morphing into some type of lifestyle expert, I recognized myself in this newsletter.

So of course I deleted it right away. Who needs Gwyneth Paltrow telling you you’re doing something wrong?

Starting this morning, I’m taking matters into my own hands and cleansing myself. Not Gwyneth-style, but Joanna-style. I’m going on a sugar fast for 30 days. Here are my (totally arbitrary, can-be-reasonably-tweaked) guidelines:

• No unnaturally occurring sugars. And I can’t use the excuse that sugar in a cookie is “naturally occurring” since I put the sugar in it. (Although it’s only natural it would be where I put it, right?)
• I am giving myself special dispensation to eat breakfast cereals. I never eat super-sweet ones anyway and I can’t handle the pressure of constantly making breakfast. That would turn this challenge into misery.
• No drinkable sugars (as in the hot chocolate I drink every other day or so).
• No maple syrup or honey, you cheating cheater.
• If sugar is a very small part of a savory meal (pancakes, for example) and it’s not a food I would eat to satisfy my sugar craving (again, pancakes), then I can eat them (I just really like pancakes).

I’m going to do my best to give a short daily update here. Wish me luck!