6 Months Sugar Free and Loving It

This is part 2 in a series about my experience giving up sugar 6 months ago. If you haven’t read part 1, you should really start there for some background info. This post is going to focus on the challenges I experienced and the results achieved.

The First Few Days

Day 1 of the program was spent flying cross country from Bend, OR to DC with Nia. I was really nervous about starting the program (mostly for fear of starving), which turned me into an anxious wreck that day. I remember getting the free snack mix on the plane and thinking, “surely I’ll be able to eat this!” and turning it over to find out it had 8 g of sugar. That sadly became a common trend for me. So many of the products that I thought were healthy were out:

• Flavored yogurt (ridiculously high in added sugar)
• Sugar-free syrup in lattes (sugar alcohol)
• Bai fruit juice drinks (sugar alcohol)
• Granola (added sugar or honey)
• Cereal (added sugar)
• Bread (added sugar)

The list went on and on. I was shocked to find sugar in ketchup, tomato sauce, salsa and even french fries! It was eye opening, to say the least.

By day 2 and 3 I was into full-on detox. I was craving sugar big-time and having to use serious will power to push through. The biggest withdrawal symptom for me was that I became super emotional. I was crying at everything (including tv commercials). I also began to see the many ways I had used food to reward myself. When I was feeling anxious, emotional or down after a tough day it was food I turned to. Food also was a motivator (ie: get this article written and you can go have a snack). I thought about food all the time and had constant cravings. Boring day ahead? I’d look forward to my snacks and meals, often counting down the minutes til the next one. It was then that I saw just how much food (and sugary cravings, in particular) ran my life.

Toward the end of the first week I started getting anxious again and doubting if I could do this. Without the ability to eat processed food (most of which has sugar), most of my old go-to meals were out. I knew I needed to recipe plan but I resisted the time it would take to plan and shop. Thankfully, someone in the group recommended an online meal planning software tool (which I’ll showcase in a later post) and that helped make the process less daunting. The shopping at first was endless. I didn’t know where new ingredients were in the grocery store and I had to read every label to decipher if it had sugar in it. I spent no less than 8 hours in the grocery store during my second week of the program trying to figure out what I could eat.

Thankfully, like anything, it got easier over time. I found favorite new recipes, learned where my new ‘go-to’ items were and found shortcuts with the meal planning software. It never was easy, but it did feel do-able at least.

By week 4 I felt a shift happening. Eating sugar free didn’t feel burdensome anymore and in fact, I looked forward to the food I was eating. I still thought about sugary foods occasionally, but they were no longer on my mind all day. Most exciting though was that my cravings disappeared. I’d have a nice filling lunch and get busy doing something and forget to have afternoon snack. Never in my life have I forgotten to have snack people. This was huge!

This experience felt very different than other diets I had tried in the past. With other diets, everything felt restricted, the food tasted gross and I thought about how hungry I was non-stop. I had looked into programs like Whole 30, but they didn’t feel sustainable because there was too much to give up (carbs, dairy and sugar). With Jacqueline’s program, we focused entirely on sugar and we didn’t just limit it, we went cold turkey. I actually found cold turkey easier because it made it very black and white. But while sugar was off the table (literally), everything else was fair game. And full-fat products were encouraged because they leave you more satiated, causing you to snack less between meals. So while I missed sugar, there were loads of other foods that were still appealing. And there were no restraints on portion size or having seconds. It was good to be full. No starving for this girl.

The Biggest Challenges of Going Sugar Free

The aspect of this that challenged me the most ended up being beverages. Turns out nearly every beverage has added sugar in some form. My daily lattes tasted horrible without sugar or syrup and tea was the same. Mixed alcoholic drinks were all out unless they used sparkling water (otherwise they all had juice or tonic as mixers). Fun canned beverages like Bai were out too because even though they were sugar free, they had sugar alcohols in them. So ultimately that left me with only a few options: milk, water, wine, plain lattes, plain tea or sparkling water. Not very exciting. To be honest, this is the area I still struggle with the most.

Restaurants and parties are tough too. Food and love often get collapsed so when someone makes us a birthday cake and we politely decline, it can come across to them like we’re rejecting their love. It is hard being the only one not eating dessert at a dinner party, but again, the program addresses this and helps provide ideas on how to manage it. Restaurants can also be tough because you don’t know what’s in the food. Trying to discern if there’s sugar in it means having to ask your server to check with the chef, which can turn into a long drawn-out process, especially if you’re dining with a large group. I tended to avoid eating out during the last 6 months (other than my weekly Chipotle bowl, which is fabulously sugar-free).

The other big challenge was the meal planning and shopping, which I mentioned above. Beyond that though, I was shocked at how relatively ‘easy’ it was to remove something as big as sugar from my life.

The Results

• Weight loss – I lost 10 pounds, Nick lost 15. I lost several inches on my hips, in particular and was even able to drop a size in my jeans. Weight loss was not the goal for me, as I was focused more on the lifestyle change, but it was definitely a nice bonus.
• Cravings – My cravings disappeared. I was rarely hungry. I stopped thinking about food all the time, which was remarkably freeing.
• Sleep – I slept a lot better (although I did get really bad nightmares during the detox period).
• Skin – My skin has gotten very clear and smooth. I can get away with just a bit of powder now for the day.
• Anxiety – I am much less anxious than I was before. This has been a lifelong battle and it’s been fascinating to learn how much of a role food plays in anxiety.

Resources + Details About the Program

I did quite a bit of research before embarking on this program and I encourage you to do the same if you sense that your body is pushing you in this direction. First, a quick educational video on some research studies on sugar:

https://youtu.be/B56Gpf1f5_A

I’d also encourage you to check out these two documentaries on sugar titled Fed Up and That Sugar Film. Here are the trailers for both of them. You can find them on Amazon to download.

There are also some great books out there on the subject. A few of my favorites are:

• The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes
• Fat Chance by Robert Lustig
• Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
• Year of No Sugar by Eve Schaub

And finally, if you think you’re ready to go sugar free too, here is the sign-up for the program. The next session starts June 7th, 2017 and then the next program will be in the fall. The cost of the program is $399 (which is an amazing price for all the value you get). Check it out by clicking here:

Go Sugar Free Program Description & Sign-up

For those with questions, feel free to email/message me. I’m happy to discuss. And for those that do join, I’ll see you in the forum and the calls, since enrolling guarantees you a lifetime membership to the course!

Thanks for celebrating my 6 month sugar free anniversary with me!

Please note: All links to Jacqueline's program in this post are affiliate links. Proceeds will be used to support the upkeep of Novakistan).