The great office temptation

It’s day two of me quitting sugar and alcohol for a year. I’ve done a month no sugar once before - I remember it being difficult for the first couple of weeks, then once you get past the insane withdrawal headaches and the insatiable cravings it gets a lot easier. I was ultimately successful in proving that I could do it for a month, but as soon as the month was over I jumped straight back on that wagon with an enormous slice of cake and I haven’t looked back. I feel quite positive going into this experiment this time around, but I’m quickly realising there were some things I hadn’t thought of. When I quit sugar the first time round I did it in the middle of the year rather than immediately after the Christmas holidays. I also work a 9 to 5 office job and figured that going back into the office wouldn’t be any more difficult than it normally is after nearly two weeks off. That was until I wandered through the doors this morning.

Everyone who came back to work today was a bit bummed out that they weren’t still on holiday, and there was a general underlying sense of tiredness throughout the place. I contributed towards this for sure - I basically became a nocturnal creature over the Christmas break and so my alarm going off at 6am this morning was much like being hit over the head with a comedy frying pan. But less funny. The lack of energy in everyone meant the urge to reach for a sugary snack was a communal one and so pier pressure was the main thing to navigate today. By 11am I really needed a pick me up and desperately wanted to put a sugar in the sub par coffee they serve in our canteen just to make my caffeine fix more palatable, but I resisted.

It also doesn’t help that everywhere you turn are people’s leftover sweet treats that they’ve brought in. They’re sick of filling their faces with tins of sweets and panatone at home and so are giving the gift of sugary snacks to their co workers. On any other occasion I would have loved this show of generosity, but today it was just another obstacle in running the gauntlet of snack avoidance. The pier pressure is incredible here too as people try like desperate drug dealers to push their unwanted chocolates onto you, regardless as to how many times or how nicely you say no thanks.

I was concerned that I would do that thing today where I forget that I’ve quit sugar and absent mindedly eat 6 mince pies, but luckily having to tell people that I’m doing this challenge for the year has kept it front of mind. Most people though are questioning the length of time that I’m quitting for. The idea of a year seems to terrify people, and most have tried to talk me out of it. A lot of people are doing dry Jan and are off the booze for the month, but the thought of getting through an entire year without the hard stuff seems to baffle people. I think the idea of enjoying a summer in the city without a glass of something is just too much for people to comprehend. But for me this is exactly why I want to take on this challenge. I want to see whether there’s anything in people’s scepticism and fear, and whether there’s a reason that we all hold on to these vices for emotional support.

And one final thing, if you read yesterday’s story you’ll be pleased to know I didn’t cave and reach for the left over Milk Tray. I may take them into work tomorrow.

S xx