Kimberly Garrison: To drop a bad habit, focus on why you're quitting

DAILY NEWS readers really identified with last week's column on my personal struggles with sugar addiction. Specifically, inquiring minds wanted to know precisely what I did to overcome, or should I say "manage," my addiction to the sweet stuff. Well, here are the juicy details.

Initially, I gave up sugar COLD TURKEY - the same way I gave up cigarettes! Surprised? That's right, I was a cigarette smoker. Generations of women smoked in my family, so quite naturally I took up this bad habit, too. Despite the warning on the label, I was convinced in my youth that there must be something wonderful about smoking - otherwise, why would my mother and grandmother be doing it?

I smoked cigarettes for about 10 years. I'd light up as soon as I left the gym.

Then I read an article about how the tobacco industry targeted black women in magazine advertising, selling images of success with menthol cigarettes. I, like 90 percent of African-American smokers, preferred mentholated cigarettes such as Kool or Newport, which are even more lethal than nonmenthol cigarettes. The article also illustrated how cigarette companies targeted the black community with sponsorship dollars for community and civic events (events now largely sponsored by pharmaceutical and fast-food restaurants).

That article enraged me so much that I vowed to never buy a pack of cigarettes again. That was a pledge I made to myself, and one I have never regretted.

When I decided to get serious about kicking the sugar habit, I began with prayer and meditation work. I asked God to kill my cravings for the white stuff and replace them with cravings for the right stuff. I recited the Alcoholics Anonymous "Serenity Prayer":

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Before eating or drinking anything, I consciously thought about whether it would honor my body. Thinking about food this way made the decisions easier. Cakes, cookies and candy: A no-brainer; none of these nonnutritious foods honored my body.

I also used creative visualization. Every time I was tempted to eat a sweet, I would imagine the sugar cruising thorough my bloodstream, wreaking havoc on my insulin and puffing up my fat cells like the Michelin Man. It was a compelling image for me.