When I was six years old, I decided I didn’t like pepperoni anymore, and declared to my parents, “I’m a vegetarian now.” My parents rolled their eyes, and my dad bet me it wouldn’t last. I am so competitive that I made a vow to never eat meat again. I haven’t eaten one bite of any sort of meat product in over eight years.
Now, I don’t have much of a choice. When you stop eating meat, your body loses the enzymes it needs to digest meat, meaning reintroducing meat to the diet can cause extreme adverse effects.
Then there was the sugar bet. I really need to stop betting my dad things, it never ends well. In 2021, my dad told me I needed to eat healthier, and I ate too many carbs. For a while, I tried to cut carbs out of my diet. The Keto thing was supposed to work great, but I was undernourished. Growing children need carbs to function. Added sugar, however, is not a necessary part of the diet. I could go on and on about the problems caused by sugar, but long story short, I stopped eating added sugar because once again, I made a bet. I still eat fruit and natural sugar, but I stopped craving sweetness, so I don’t have issues with breaking my sugar-free diet.
I have noticed huge benefits from the way I eat. I have much more energy than other teens, and I never feel sluggish from malnutrition. I’m not shaming anybody’s eating habits, but for me, cutting sugar and meat from my diet has completely changed my life. I feel so energetic and free from the worries of consuming too much “junk food.”
One thing I really want to note, is sugar replacements, both chemical and natural, have their own side effects. Stevia, which is commonly used to replace sugar as the “healthiest” alternative, can mess with the digestive system and sap energy. Every single sweetener has its issues, and I honestly recommend treating sweeteners just like sugar.
As my mom says, “everything in moderation, including moderation.”