My goal for January is no sugar.
It is not without coincidence that I chose this intention for what will end up being the shortest month of the year (because of my late start). For me giving up sugar will be one of the hardest things I do. I absolutely LOVE it.
My last taste of sugar – homemade chocolate chip cookies.
However I noticed as I zipped around through the month of December that often I was relying only on sugar and coffee to get me through the day. I had absolutely no problem with grabbing a cookie for breakfast, eating a few granola bars throughout the day, having a few sugary snacks before dinner and then finishing the night off with a super sized, good quality chocolate bar. I wondered to myself what I would actually eat if sugar wasn’t part of the game plan.
Well I’m starting to find out. The hardest time for me is around 3:30 – 4:00 pm and the evening. So far, I’m filling those sugar craving hours with green smoothies and tea. I’m also allowing myself 1-2 medjool dates a day. Is this allowed?
Which brings me to the kind of sugars I’m cutting out. Mainly the refined kind so no added sugars of any kind. I’m allowing myself fruit but that is about it.
Have you ever gone without sugar?
Photos and Styling – Emma Reddington
23 Comments
I love sugar. I take my coffee with 4 sugars. I know its terrible, but I just love it. I tried to cut out sugar a couple of years ago and I was a complete bear. You’d have thought I had quit smoking! I felt terrible for my co-workers and spouse!
I have recently been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and had to give up gluten. It strangely hasn’t been that bad. Perhaps because it isn’t a choice I’ve made, but a necessity for my health.
Good luck on your sugar free quest!
Good luck! Once you get used to not having it in your diet, you won’t even miss it
I cut out the majority of processed foods from my diet last year and don’t find myself with sugar or salt cravings anymore. I sometimes find apples and bananas too sweet. You’ll feel much better at the end of January, I promise.
Once or twice a year I do a small cleanse for a few weeks and give up sugar during that time (including even sweet fruit!). I find myself so easily addicted, and this just helps break the cravings. It’s a great thing to do for yourself! I find that I also associate sugar with “treating myself” so this helps me build new healthy habits.
Chocolate chip cookies are my favourite too. I really think they are the most perfect sweet treat of them all.
Hi Emma! The only processed sugar I normally have is in my tea and I normally have three a day after each meal. If I drink herbal tea, it’s always without sugar. I do like to put honey in my morning oatmeal though and I love snacking on dried fruits especially at this time of year when there aren’t as many fresh fruits. Good luck with your resolution. It’ll be a tough one!
Yikes – that does not sound like a fun challenge:( Like you, I absolutely love sugar. Good luck to you! I’m sure you will feel great by month end. Btw – I have that striped mug too and love it!
I went on a sugar fast for a little over a month last year. It’s definitely the worst at the beginning – the withdrawals and cravings. It makes you realize just how much you’re hooked to sugar. What was fascinating for me is how much my mood evened out after a couple of weeks – no more ‘hunger’ irritability (which is likely more sugar withdrawals). While I’ve gone back to eating it, the fast was a great way to make me more conscious about how easy it is to passively consume a lot of sugar during the day, and the impact the sugar highs/lows can have. Good luck! You can do it!
Hi Emma, can i recommend support reading? Thich Nhat Hanh’s writing on mindful eating is great, because he is so sweet and non-judgemental, but really clear about craving and awareness. Also, may I ask how you are going about putting in a wood burning fireplace? We have a small shallow fireplace, really too small for logs, and would love to figure out a fix so we can actually have a good fire going.
I gave up sugar (white, brown, honey, molasses) and refined carbs (white flour, white rice, white potatoes) cold turkey in 2000. I kept fruit and whole grains. The first two weeks were awful, but overall it was on of the best changes I’ve ever made in my life. 13 (!) years later, it’s pretty much effortless. And any time I screw up and eat something with sugar or white starch, I’m reminded almost immediately that I’m better off without it. Good luck to you! In the beginning, it’s a hard habit to kick. But the pay off is huge.
I went without sugar for 10 days at the end of last year. It was tough, but not really that hard. Except for grocery shopping. Grocery shopping will potentially take you double the time and involve a lot more squinting at labels. Watch out for bread, pasta sauce, salad dressings… so many foods have sugar hidden in their ingredient list.
Good luck!
@P – Thank you for the book recommendation. I have a few I want to pick up now. I haven’t tackled the fireplace situation yet but it is definitely something I plan on looking into in the next few months. Will keep you posted!
Thanks everyone for your personal experiences and thoughts on giving up sugar. So happy to hear that many of you have made the change for the long haul and feel all the better for doing so. I think my next step is to stock my kitchen and pantry with easy to grab no sugar snacks and food. With a baby I’m always looking for something I can grab quickly and that was usually something sweet.
I have gone without sugar day to day for years now, but it isn’t my temptation! I like savoury, and I don’t trust bought food: I should be slimmer!
Hi,
I’ve given up sugar as of monday. I’m starting a 8 week plan by Sarah Wilson http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/. I’m in my first week and have realised that i dont really rely on sugar all that much, however i have changed my eating habits. The website is well worth a look and has a number of cookbook and plan downloads.
Goodluck!!
I would recommend following Sarah Wilson’s ‘I Quit Sugar’ plan – she explains why you crave it and the best ways to stop cravings. She also has a cook book full of lots of great sugar free recipes, including some ‘sweet’ treats!
http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/i-quit-sugar-ebook/
I guess that you don’t want to hear from a dietician but be very careful when you stop eating all sugar. Your brain needs sugar to work! It needs more than twice as much energy as any other cells in your body. So make sure that you are getting complex carbohydrates that your body can slowly break down into sugars. If you are having trouble in the late afternoon your brain is telling you that it needs more energy. And the older that you get the more easily available sugar that your brain needs for memory etc.
Sorry about the rant but going on a fast of any food can be dangerous.
@ Wendy – No, I’m happy to hear from a dietician! I want to keep my brain functioning!! I’m definitely eating complex carbs – vegetables, beans, fruit etc. and will up the ante in the afternoon.
@ Claire & Leah – thanks for the reference to Sarah Wilson’s book. I’ll check it out.
I’m another one following Sarah Wilson’s IQS – I bought the eBook when it became available, and decided that now was the time. I am finding it very easy, but to be honest I have no sweet tooth at all, so I’m mostly avoiding processed food (I used to love a Turkish garlic sauce that turned out to contain 19g. of sugar per 100g.! Eek!) and fruit juices. I am feeling better already!
It sucks! I did it for two weeks! I did eat more fruit than I ever have in my life!
I just realized I posted my comment for the wrong story.
I went without sugar once for over a month because I thought that I had a food allergy. So every month I would cut something out to try and isolate what it was. Sugar was the hardest for me. I finally caved after 4-5 weeks. There is a hotel across the street from my building with a candy machine. At about 3 am I woke up craving sugar. I had no cash on me and my brother stole our coin jar ( don’t ask) and in a maniacal rage I scoured my loft looking for .75 I finally found it and ran across the street bought a Snickers and pretty much inhaled it. Lucky no one saw me since it was 3am and I looked like a lunatic. Heres hoping you’re no sugar month is a lot saner!
@ rachel – What a great story! I totally understand where you’re coming from. I’ve been tempted to sneak some sugar myself but keep thinking someone will see me!! So far so good.
That is a great goal to start off the New Year and one I should definitely do too. It is so hard to eat regularly let alone well throughout the day with young kids but keep up the great work
Instead of giving up sugar, I eat moderate amounts. No more than 2 tsp daily (in anything). I eat a lot of fresh fruit.