My Name is Michelle, and I’m a Sugarholic!
There, I said it. Cute, cheeky, but oh-so-true. I’ve tried to quit sugar more times than I can count. Sixty-day resets, fasting experiments, swearing it off for good and yet sugar always comes back around, batting its sweet little lashes and owning me all over again.Diabetes runs deep on my dad’s side, all the way back to the 1960s. I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and now, lucky me, I’m officially pre-diabetic. My numbers aren’t where they should be, no matter how many times I try to hit the reset button.
Just last week, I even did a 36-hour fast. I dropped 3 pounds overnight and got one of my best blood sugar readings ever. And yet, the cravings still whisper. The pull is always there. Sugar owns me in ways broccoli never will.
And here’s the kicker: I’m not alone. Diabetes has exploded in the past five decades. In the early 1960s, only about 1.8% of Americans had diabetes. Today? Over 11% of the U.S. population, nearly 38 million people, are living with it, plus another 97 million with prediabetes. Globally, the numbers have doubled since 1980, climbing from 200 million to over 800 million adults.
This isn’t just “a sweet tooth.” It’s an epidemic. And it’s one I feel in my own body every day.
Why Sugar is Addictive Like a Drug
Sugar doesn’t just “taste good", it hijacks the brain’s reward system in the exact same way illegal drugs do. When you eat something sweet, your brain releases dopamine, the same feel-good chemical that spikes when someone uses cocaine or nicotine. On top of that, sugar triggers opioid receptors in the brain, just like heroin does.
The pattern is eerily familiar:
- The High → You get the rush, the satisfaction, the “ahhh” moment.
- Tolerance → Over time, you need more sugar to feel that same buzz.
- Withdrawal → When you cut it out? Headaches, irritability, mood swings, anxiety — just like detox, only dressed in sprinkles.
That’s not willpower failing. That’s biochemistry. The only difference? Cocaine and heroin are illegal. Sugar is sold in family-sized packs and handed out at kids’ birthday parties.
The Body Toll: Sugar’s Silent Wreckage
Illegal drugs get attention because they can kill fast. Sugar is sneaky. It kills slowly.
Here’s the body damage sugar racks up while we tell ourselves it’s just a “treat”:
- Insulin resistance & type 2 diabetes → Sugar floods the bloodstream, your body drowns in insulin, and eventually the system breaks down.
- Chronic inflammation → A root cause of almost every modern disease, from heart problems to depression.
- Brain fog & memory decline → High sugar intake is linked to cognitive decline and even brain shrinkage.
- Fatty liver disease → Not from alcohol, but from soda and sweets.
- Weakened immunity → Sugar depresses immune cells for hours after you eat it.
All of this without the social stigma or warning labels. Just a cute cupcake on Instagram.
The Bigger Picture
So is sugar exactly the same as heroin or cocaine? No. The dopamine spike isn’t as violent. The withdrawal isn’t as deadly.
But the long-term health impact? At scale, sugar kills far more people. Heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and dementia together dwarf the death toll of illegal drugs.
And because it’s legal, celebrated, and cheap it might just be the most dangerous addiction of all.
Call to Action
If this stings a little, good. It’s supposed to. Because the solution isn’t guilt or never eating cake again. It’s awareness. It’s cutting back where you can. It’s retraining your brain to crave what actually nourishes you.
Think of it this way: sugar isn’t just dessert. It’s a drug. And every time you choose differently you’re breaking free.
Want to learn more? Here are a few powerful reads you can check out:
“Your health matters more than any craving, any quick fix, or any excuse. It’s time to embody your health -- to live it in your choices, in your rituals, and in the way you care for yourself every single day.”Did you enjoy what you read here? If you did, share it with a friend.
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Menopause. Perimenopause. Two words that can send women down a Google rabbit hole at 2 a.m., looking for answers that never seem to quite fit.Here’s the thing, menopause is natural. But “natural” doesn’t always mean “good.” Arsenic is natural. Certain poisonous mushrooms are natural. Hurricanes are natural. So let’s stop pretending that just because our bodies were designed to do this, the way it’s showing up for us now is the way nature intended.
I’ve been talking about this more lately, and honestly, one of the biggest gifts of this stage is the sisterhood that comes when women finally speak openly about it. I was recently chatting with another woman and my man, and somehow, we went deep into menopause frustrations. He just sat there listening, really taking it in. Later, in the car, he said, “I’m so glad you have women you can talk to about this. I know how annoyed you are with what’s happening to you.” That kind of support? Priceless.
Menopause vs Perimenopause: Clearing the Confusion
Here’s a little clarity:
- Menopause is one day — the day you’ve gone 12 months without a period. The next day, you’re technically postmenopausal.
- Perimenopause is the hormonal rollercoaster leading up to that point. It can last 4–10 years and comes with most of the symptoms people blame on “menopause.”
This confusion has left generations of women blindsided. They thought they were “too young” for menopause when they were actually deep in perimenopause.
Why It Feels Worse Now
Women have always gone through menopause — so why do the symptoms feel like they’ve been cranked up to Mordor-level lately?
- Chronic stress from our always-on lifestyle
- Environmental toxins that mess with our hormones
- Lower nutrient density in modern diets
- Altered hormone history from long-term birth control and later motherhood
- Medical neglect - we still get handed antidepressants or birth control instead of real hormonal care
We also live in a world where youth is valued over wisdom, and productivity over presence. In past generations, menopause was a respected rite of passage. Now, we’re expected to work full throttle while our bodies are screaming for rest.
The Symptoms No One Warned Us About
Hot flashes that make you feel like you’re melting in public. Night sweats that soak the sheets.
Sleep disturbances that turn you into a zombie.
Brain fog so thick you forget your own point mid-sentence. (My man now speaks fluent brain fog, decoding my hand gestures and half-sentences when the words won’t come.)
Weight gain that happens seemingly overnight. I went from 145 pounds to 170 in just three months, eating and exercising exactly the same way. And joint pain? I crack like a bowl of Rice Krispies every morning before coffee.
It’s Time to Rethink “Normal”
One of my biggest frustrations is how the medical system defines “normal” hormone ranges. My normal might be your chaos. When I was a teen, my periods were easy. My friend missed school every month from pain. We were both “normal” on paper.
We should be testing hormones from the first period to establish a personal baseline. Then, when things start to shift, we can catch changes early instead of waiting until symptoms are unbearable.
Reframing the Transition
Menopause and perimenopause are not the end. They’re a transition into a phase of life where you get to live unapologetically in your wisdom and power.
Yes, we may be struggling. But we can also embody this change as a gift — freedom from cycles that once dictated our lives, freedom to choose what works for our bodies now, and freedom to speak our truth without apology.
This isn’t the slow fade into invisibility. It’s the start of a powerful, unapologetic new chapter.
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear your story. You can DM me on Instagram or join the conversation in the Embodied Living FB Group. Because when we share our truths, we take away the power of silence for ourselves, and for every woman who comes after us.
Watch Episode 8 of Embodied Living below.
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