Giving Up Sugar

If I listened to the Food Police

I wanted to give up all sugar the other day.

It was one of those days — the kind where I overdid it. After binging on baked goods, chocolate, cereal, and ice cream, I could practically feel sweet, gooey particles coursing through my bloodstream. My brain was foggy. My belly was just too full.

“If I just don’t eat any sugar, I wouldn’t feel this bad again,” I told myself.

That familiar black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinking loop did a few circuits before I caught a whiff of it.

Aha, I thought. “We are not doing that again!!!”

You see, at least three different times in my adult life, my New Year’s resolutions included eliminating a specific food.

One year, I gave up chocolate — all forms of it.
Another year, it was muffins. Cupcakes included.
And once, I went gluten-free for an entire calendar year.

Avoiding certain foods felt like I was doing something healthy for my body and disciplined for my mind. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something hard, while also giving myself a break from foods that seemed to hold too much power over me. And yes — I hoped it would help keep my weight at bay.

Looking back now, I can see that I was trying to create control in places where I felt deeply out of control. This was all before I learned about the Intuitive Eating framework — before I understood that there is a healthy, sustainable way to be in relationship with food, with the body, and ultimately, with myself.

What makes this especially ironic is that I grew up loving food — growing it, cooking it, and eating it. That’s still all true, by the way. And yet, like so many women, I was deeply influenced by diet culture, which created both an external and internal food police. Over time, that influence turned into food noise and all-or-nothing thinking about what to eat, when to eat, and how much.

If you have been there, too, you know that it can be exhausting!

There was a period when I went on what I now call an “accidental diet” to lost ten pounds — just to see if I could. It turned out to be one of the most unhappy times of my life because I deprived myself of the simple joy and pleasure that only food can provide.

Even worse, the diet eroded the trust in myself and put me at war with my body. The mental anguish it created far outweighed any perceived benefit.

In Chinese Medicine, this is a textbook example of Shen and Yi falling out of harmony.

Our relationship with food is shaped by the interplay between these two forces. Yi is the part of the mind that thinks, plans, analyzes, and decides. Shen, housed in the Heart, is our spirit and nervous system — it governs presence, emotional safety, pleasure, and trust.

When we eat with ease, Yi and Shen are working together.

Dieting and food rules tend to overwork Yi while unsettling Shen. Control, restriction, and “good vs. bad” thinking may feel disciplined, but they often create anxiety and disconnection. When Shen doesn’t feel safe, Yi thinks harder — leading to food noise, obsession, and all-or-nothing patterns.

Intuitive eating helps restore that balance by calming the mind and re-establishing safety and trust in the body — so eating becomes less about control and more about nourishment and satisfaction.

Enters perimenopause and menopause — a life transition where hormonal shifts naturally impact every part of our inner world, including Yi and Shen (and yes, Po, Hun, and Zhi are in the mix as well).

If diet culture and food noise were already present in your head, this chapter can make our relationship with food and body feel even more confusing.

If you feel unsure about what to eat, when to eat, or how much, you’re not failing or crazy — you’re tracking the signals of a system in transition.

My intention for 2026 is to continue practicing intuitive eating as fully and honestly as I can — you know, 88% perfectly. Not only does it help me feel better physically, it reminds me of my sovereignty. And because of that, I will feel holistically healthy.

Chocolate, muffins, pasta, and bread get to stay on the table — and in my mouth and belly. Thank goodness.

I’m inviting you to come along for the ride!

In my experience, our relationship with food can be one of the most powerful gateways into caring for ourselves and being present in our own lives. The principles of intuitive eating help rebuild self-trust, restore satisfaction, and support a deeper, more authentic kind of health — especially as we move forward.

Are you in?

I hope so!

More to come in the next post.

Until then:
Eat all foods.
Not too much.
Not too little.
Mostly what satisfies you.

With love,
Kit

P.S. Holistic Acupuncture can help you balance all the your Chinese Medicine spirits (Po, Hun, Zhi, Yi and Shen)!