The biggest thing the sugar challenge did for me was it made me very aware of what I was putting in my body. You need to not only look at the nutrition panel on any packaged food (of which I ate very, very little of during the challenge), but you must look at the ingredients. There are some foods which have naturally occurring sugars, like low-fat milk, greek yogurt, and fruit. Would you ever dream organic chicken stock would have added sugar? Not me, I would never have thought chicken stock would have added sugar. But guess what? A major store brand has added sugar! My point is, processed food often has added sugar to accentuate the flavor - so be certain to read the ingredient list below the nutrition panel if you use processed foods. I had to chuckle at a friend who was stunned when she figured out there was sugar in pickles. She was devastated!
Sugar has all kinds of adverse effects on the body and is truly highly addictive. The more you eat it, the more you want it. Sugar messes with your metabolism, causes fluctuations in blood sugar (insulin) levels, can cause inflammation, can impact your cholesterol levels, and the list goes on. You get my point.
One thing to remember when you decide to remove added sugar from your diet, you can experience headaches and flu-like symptoms. Five days in, I started feeling bad and thought I had a bug. A friend suggested I read more about the side effects of detoxing (so to speak) from sugar. Low and behold, the symptoms I was experiencing were signs of my body detoxing from sugar. I wish I had known about this before the challenge so I would have been a little better prepared. Not that I could do anything about it, but to know I probably wasn't really ill and that it would run it's course pretty quickly...I think I felt bad for about 8-10 hours.
The sugar challenge is essentially eating super clean, lots of veggies, 3 servings of fresh fruit (or dried without added sugar, or frozen), lean protein, good fats, and whole grains. One hurdle for me was making sure I was getting enough calories to not only support my daily needs for everyday living but enough to support the workouts I was doing as well. Please remember for women we need a minimum of 1,200 calories and for men it's a minimum of 1,800 calories per day just to function. If you workout, you need to accommodate for the calorie deficit to ensure you don't dip below the minimum. Otherwise, your body thinks you are starving it and will hang onto every thing you put in it.
How about cravings, you might ask? I craved chocolate/sweets a few evenings early on, around 7 p.m. (and I'm not really an evening snacker - usually it's during the day for me). I found about a tablespoon of no-added sugar peanut butter did the trick. You just have to aware of the extra calories and fat it adds to your intake for the day. I also struggled to get chocolate cake off my mind. That damn cake haunted me the whole 31 days, so when the challenge was over I had a small piece the next evening. Guess what? It didn't taste nearly as good as I thought it would, and my body totally retaliated. I had a headache within 20 minutes, and my stomach didn't feel great. And the next morning, let's just say my system reminded me why I stopped putting sugar in my body! Needless to say, I'm back to eating almost zero added sugar. I will likely have a half a serving of my favorite cereal (9 grams of sugar per serving) with half a serving of Cheerio's (one gram of sugar per serving) a couple times a week at best. And I will likely add back in a half a serving of a protein shake a few times a week as well. Other than that, I have no desire to go back to eating the way I did before. Never did I think I'd tell you I didn't want to see chocolate cake again! Somebody mark this on the calendar!
What changes have I noticed over the course of the challenge? The first week or so, I was very tired. I think some of this was not only my body adjusting to the lack of sugar, but I was struggling with getting in the minimum calories I needed daily. My energy has come back, and I think there's more of it. My face started to thin first, then the rest of my body followed (no more bloated belly look/feel). My body (and every body is different, yours included) loses inches before it loses pounds. I've noticed I have lost quite a few inches and have dropped a size in shirts and jeans. The scale has also moved, and I am down about 8 pounds. My skin and eyes seem to be brighter a well.
What's the key to succeeding at this kind of challenge? It is planning ahead! Clear out the junk from your fridge and cupboards, and plan head so you have healthy snacks and meal options at your finger tips. I make sure there are healthy snacks in my desk drawer so I am not tempted to eat from the snack machine. Eating out is challenging, but can be done. Remember to fill your plate with lots of veggies and lean protein. Try having a small apple before you head out to dinner to avoid temptation. Have your friends keep the bread basket out of reach or better yet, ask your server not to bring one and order a side salad to start off. Again, this keeps you from feeling like you're starving and less tempted to eat something you'll regret later.
Should you decide to undertake a sugar challenge and want additional information, please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to answer your questions, provide info on a website with info regarding doing this kind of challenge, share what I learned about various products with no added sugar, and support you as much as I can. Success is sweet, and I would be surprised if you didn't feel better physically and emotionally after completing a sugar challenge!
