Xylitol-sweetened gum

Question: I'm embarrassed/ashamed to admit that I've had a gum-chewing habit for years (it was transitional from quitting smoking long ago and temporarily was able to break it but find that it's still a source of comfort) and I successfully moved away from artificially sweetened sugar-free gums (e.g., Trident) to xylitol-sweetened gum (Epic Dental brand) several years ago. This product is considered good for dental health, and I've even mentioned my gum-chewing to my dentist without any problems. However, I'm concerned because, all of a sudden, I realized that perhaps I'm sabotaging all of my hard work and negating my wins in Macros 101 because I'm chewing lots of gum and not tracking it. Would this need to be counted as carbs or as anything else? I am embarrassed to to say that the number of pieces I chew throughout the day can be very high. When I think through the module exercises and consider the "worth it" idea and things I'm willing to give up vs. "non-negotiable" items, truthfully the gum feels like it's non-negotiable because it's such a source of comfort for me and feels like my vice instead of smoking or turning to something else. I feel like I'm using a lot of my mental and physical energy to successfully do the program (and parent/survive during quarantine, ha!) so I'm willing to give up other habits, etc., but this was one I was hoping to incorporate and not sure how without entirely giving it up. Hope this makes sense and thank you for any guidance!

Answer: Since it’s a non-negotiable and you're doing it daily and not tracking it, it’s not a big deal. You're essentially being consistent even if you're not tracking it because you're doing it daily. If you feel the need to track it you can or if the results you are yielding are not lining up with your goals then you can track it to determine how many carbs you are using with the gum.