Anyone who spends time with me knows that I am addicted to sugar. Checkout this post from my birthday, when I was showered with lots of goodies. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say I am addicted to junk food. On any given day, I consume a Venti Peppermint Hot Chocolate and chocolate croissant from Starbucks, cookies and chips with lunch and for an afternoon snack, and plenty of ice-cream after dinner. The other night I ate a whole container of Ben & Jerry’s Cookies and Milk ice-cream and felt so disgusted with myself, I decided to go sugar-free and see what happened.
Here’s something about me: I’m game for anything. I signed up for a marathon on a whim. I like traveling and exploring new things. I enjoy supporting friends in their creative pursuits. I don’t mind eating out or having a drink by myself. I spent the night, away from my tour group, with the Maasai tribe in Kenya. They offered me a cup of cow blood to drink and I said no. You gotta draw the line somewhere!
I’ve read research indicating that one of the best things you can do for your health is to refrain from eating sugar. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try.
Today is day 8 of going sugar-free. I can’t say I feel any healthier, but it is nice to think of weekend plans that don’t revolve around dessert. I will say that so much of my diet is allocated to sugar and fat, that the first couple days I was practically starving. Entrees alone weren’t cutting it because I usually added dessert to every meal, resulting in me feeling faint by the end of the day. I’ve had to eat a lot of heavier items, like pasta and fried rice. I told myself I’d give it a go for a week and see what happens. At this point, I can go for another week.
Even though I am not trying to aggressively lose weight, I’ve lost 2 pounds in the past week. I gained 35 pounds with my pregnancy and figured if it took me 9 months to pack it on, I could give myself 9 months to lose it. It’s been 15 weeks since I gave birth and I now have 8 pounds left to go.
Going sugar-free for life is not an option for me. I love ice-cream too much. But curious how long I’ll stay down this path. Anyone want to tempt me with alfajores or red velvet cheesecake?
Would love to hear from anyone who has tried going sugar-free or who limits their sugar intake in the comments.
I totally need to cut out sugar and admit with guilt that I even ate some chocolate chip cookies that I bought for the girls. Trust me I know it is bad, but again if they are here I will succumb, because I have no will power. So proud of you though and like I said I need to take the amount of sugar I intake more seriously,.
Sounds like you are doing great on your weight loss. Maybe this is just the push that will help take off what’s left. I used to crave junk and sweets a lot but I found the more balanced my diet is the less I crave them. I made a point to balance the diet and cut the junk and then after a while I stopped thinking about junk all that much. It was like a miracle! Not that I won’t eat junk ever; it’s just not part of my daily routine or thoughts about what I’m going to eat. Protein is great for helping you feel more satisfied.
I do often wonder if this is in my future. I eat a lot of sugar during the day. At my old job I was awful. This was ten years ago, but I’d eat chocolates, cookies and large sugary coffee drinks all day long.
These days it’s actually less. Go figure. You have to remember that I have two young kids so I have to model good eating behavior for them.
Then sneak it in private. Er.. I mean. Yeah. I meant that.
Argghh. I wouldn’t be of much help in this because I’m into sweets too. I’ve never thought of a sugar-free diet even when I was pregnant but that was because the doctor didn’t tell me to diet so I’d actually eat anything I want. Lol. Hmm. Now, even though I love sweets and sugary things , I don’t think I eat too much of it so I guess everything’s well and good. Or so I think.
we share an addiction…
I’ve tried to give it up – I’ve learned that, like you, I cannot. I have however, given up added sugars – I don’t add it to coffee and avoid as much as I can excess sugary foods but I have days when I cheat because, let’s face it: I can’t give up cookies and ice cream either. 🙂 Hope you are doing well and that it helps! Take Care Catherine -Iva
I did a sugar detox in February – one week of no added sugar. It wasn’t as hard as I thought, but it didn’t last. I am more aware of how much I eat, though. And the one lasting change was eliminating sweetener in my coffee. I think I could give up gluten easier than sugar – I love my chocolate too much!
One of the weird side effects of not being able to have any dairy while I was nursing my last 2 kids was I no longer crave ice cream. I used to love it, and now I barely ever eat it and I only buy it for the kids. I never would have guessed that one! I have never consciously tried to go sugar free, but it would be a good thing for me to try. I can go whole days without eating a dessert though. I’d rather have salty stuff than sweet. Don’t take away my pickles!
I need to cut my sugar down.
I usually try to do the no-sugar during lent. I get about halfway through. Going to keep on trying until I get it,.
I was the same way, I ate sugar all day! I am pretty sure everything I ate from breakfast to dinner had sugar in it. However I am 30 days sugar free. Beginning of August I gave up all sugar and artificial sugar except fruit. I did not think that I felt any better until I ate a bite chocolate yesterday. Now I realize how much better I feel and am going to keep going. I don’t think I will be sugar free forever but for now I enjoy it. Good luck, and great job on 8 days!
I am currently trying (and failing) to curb my sugar and diary intake. I’m doing OK with the latter, but those funnel cakes and cookies really have a hold on me. When I feel the urge for a sugar fix I try to eat fruit instead. Le struggle.
Everyone I know who has done the sugar detox has good things to say. I’d have a harder time giving up salt!