I’m not one for diets as I believe you generally end up worse off, but sometimes you just begin to feel a little sluggish and let life (and the treats that pop up) take over.
I haven’t mentioned it on the blog (or social media much actually) as I wasn’t sure if I was going to end up posting about it or not, but I have done the last 6 weeks completely refined sugar free.
No lollies, biscuits, cake etc, these generally aren’t a huge part of my diet but I do like to indulge my sweet tooth every now and again. The beginning of 2014 saw a few too many treats sneaking into my diet and I began to feel crap for it.
Between Christmas, New Year’s, moving back to Wanganui and having a month off work as well as a trip to Hawaii, my birthday and then Easter with a few work birthday shouts thrown in for good mix there were far too many opportunities to indulge.
It would have been OK if I was one of these people who can easily say no to treats, but I am not. I enjoy food and I do enjoy sugary foods as much as I try to convince myself that I don’t.
I decided to do this 6 week refined sugar free challenge just to see if I had formed a reliance on sugar and too help try and break the cycle. I also find it easy to say no to sweet treats that are offered too me if I have a reason for not wanting it – ie. This sugar free challenge.
What I did find interesting is that I didn’t have any major sugar withdrawal or any super urgent cravings over the whole 6 weeks, until the last week. This is comforting as I know that means I wasn’t really having that much too begin with and didn’t form a reliance on it.
Everyone I have mentioned it too that I am doing a 6 week sugar free period has thought I am nuts and said there is no way they could do it, but really how has sugar become such a huge part of our lives that we can’t do without it.
I know, I know sugar is tasty but the fact of the matter is that it isn’t good for you and isn’t doing your body any favours. I’m all for having treats every now and again but loading sugar into every meal is not necessary and only makes you crave more sugar. [End Rant]
Overall I found the 6 weeks refined sugar free to be relatively easy, once you work out what you can eat and make sure that you are always prepared with options it really isn’t that hard.
I could still made things like my Mint Chocolate Bliss Balls and did allow myself to still have protein powder which does have a little bit of sugar in it. I let protein powder stay in my diet because on Bootcamp days we are up at 5.30am and I find that I struggle to eat that early in the morning so I would sip on a protein shake while taking the Bootcamp sessions.
I wasn’t as strict on the sugar free challenge as I was when I did the Whole 30 last year as I did occasionally eat food which had sauces with them which had minimal amounts of sugar in them.
Typical Day – Refined Sugar Free
Breakfast: Cup of Tea + Protein Shake or Oats with Protein Powder
Morning Tea: Apple + Cup of Tea (or Bliss Balls)
Lunch: Chicken Breast & Frozen Vege
Afternoon Tea: Salami & Cheese, Carrot sticks and Bliss Balls (or fruit/nuts/baby food)
Dinner: Chicken and Vege or Steak and Vege
You will notice I eat more in the afternoon, I’m not really sure why that is but I have always done that. I think it must be that my body has finally woken up or something 😉 I also need more in the afternoon to fuel me through to dinner as we either teach a Bootcamp session or do our own training after work.
What did I miss?
If I’m being honest I didn’t miss as much as I thought I would. It wasn’t really that I missed any food in particular it was more that I missed being able to share certain foods with people. There were a couple of occasions that I would have liked to have joined in where other people had an ice cream and I don’t even particularly like ice cream that much.
The first sugary treat I will be indulging in however is a Mint Chocolate Trumpet style ice cream that we have in the freezer 😉 Everything in moderation! Other than that I will be continuing to go sugar free on most occasions and be trying to make sure I don’t over do it again like I had at the start of the year.
Results
As I mentioned above, I didn’t feel too many cravings or withdrawals which was nice. I had my measurements taken on day 1 and the day after the six weeks were up and I was down 1.5kg and 3% bodyfat. Whilst I do believe this had a lot too do with the last two weeks where I was keeping an eye on my calories as I want to make sure I get in a weight class for the powerlifting competition I am looking at doing. I am just on the edge of two weight classes and want to stay in the lighter one.
It is definitely true [at least for me] that having sugar makes you crave more sugar as I had my ice cream after the six weeks and once I’d eaten it I wanted more sugar. Yet I haven’t been really craving sugar the past six weeks!
For more Sugar Free posts, read my Beating Sugar Cravings Post or my Whole 30 posts.
Would you struggle to go refined sugar free for 6 weeks? What would you struggle with the most?
I went sugar free for six weeks and it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought but then I let myself slip into old (bad) habits and next thing I know it’s ALL about the sugar. I think I need to get real and stop eating processed sugar again because it makes me feel so yuck! Maybe that could be my next challenge…
It’s crazy how it’s not actually that hard once you commit too it right but it sounds super hard! I hear you though on finishing it and heading for the sugar, it’s a hard one to steer clear of because as soon as you have it you want more.
That is awesome! I’m a major sugar freak and I know how bad it is for me. I’m great up until about 8pm and then all my willpower flies out the window!
Try having a herbal tea after 8pm? I find the herbal tea can help with the sugar cravings without the added sugar 🙂
We did a month long sugar free challenge at work a few years ago and I, too, didn’t find it too difficult – maybe because i don’t have much of a sweet tooth? What I did find surprising, though, was the high amounts of sugar in foods like fruit juice and yoghurt!
Its crazy where sugar hide right?! It would definitely be easier if you don’t have much of a sweet tooth but you still need to be conscious of where sugar is hidden. If it comes from a packet there is a pretty high likelihood it will have sugar in it.
Wow – amazing results! I am doing junk free june… maybe I should try stretching it out a bit longer!
See how you go during June, it wouldn’t be too hard to extend it out!
Have you seen That Sugar Film yet? Really eye opening about where sugar hides. I do sugar free challenges regularly but don’t have a problem as I don’t eat much. My problem is chippies and popcorn!
Yes! Loved it, such a good eye opener for most people. Ahhh I wish I had the savoury tooth instead of the sweet one 😉
This is so true! I don’t have true hunger after my bypass but if the amount of sugar I consume goes up I start craving more and getting false hunger signals.
It’s so true that you get false hunger signals!