Hi Lindy,

That's an astute observation. And very brave of you to write.

My experience with this program is that even after giving up sugar, there are still ways to eat comfort foods and even still eat emotionally. The foods just aren't sweet. But there are all kinds of yummy comforting foods still available.

Then there's the emotional work of letting feelings go through us, which is hard work. It's certainly been easier for me to do with the clear head that comes with step 7. The emotional lows aren't as dramatic. Grief, loss, helplessness become simpler to feel when not clouded with sugar addiction.

The structure of the steps makes it easier to know when I want to eat emotionally. The time when that has most happened is in the evening after dinner. Sometimes I feel loss or lost, and the grounding of food is easy to turn to. What I've learned to do instead are things like write in my notebook, talk with someone, rest. And if I want to eat, well, there's always nut butter on rice cakes or sweet potato muffins. And I'm gentle with myself if I choose to comfort myself with food-and also compassionately aware of what I'm doing.

I just want to say that following these steps makes life so much better overall. Don't worry about losing sugar. By the time you're on step 6, you likely won't miss it. I decided to try step 6 for 6 months and see if I liked it. I gave myself permission to go back to sugar after that if it wasn't working. I haven't looked back in over 10 years.

But for now I'd recommend focusing on the step you're on and trusting that these steps are about recovery of the body and mind and emotions.

JoEllen

: Evenings are the most difficult for
: me. Sugar has been such a big part
: of emotional comfort for me that
: not having it feels like
: withholding love.