For the month of March I decided to give up sugar. If you do a quick google search you'll find a plethora of articles on the effects of sugar on the body. And how we are consuming way too much sugar on a daily basis. So I decided to go 31 days without sugar and see if I could tell the difference. I didn't count calories or cut grains or dairy. Just all refined sugar. No natural sweeteners either. My best friend did it with me so we could have a support system.
The first few days were really hard. At the end of the night my brain was used to me grabbing a sugar snack. Luckily I didn't have any in the house. No candy, cookies, or ice cream. I experienced headaches as my body was being detoxed from the sugar. But it got easier to say no to the sugar. It's always a choice to eat sugar. Sometimes we just don't realize that it's in a product. I was most surprised to find that sugar has been added to Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, enchilada sauce (except for Trader Joe's), and salami.
Throughout the month I started to notice little things about myself as my body adjusted to life without sugar. I talked with my friend and discovered that she was experiencing the same things.
I had a lot more energy. Naps were still amazing, but I didn't feel like I was dragging myself through the day by late afternoon.
I slept better. It didn't take me long at all to fall asleep at the beginning of the night or after nursing Coen in the middle of the night. Before there were some nights where it took me 45 minutes to fall asleep after waking up.
I also dreamt a lot more. Which I'm guessing means that I was getting regular cycles of sleep. I spent more time in REM sleep which is restorative.
Things started tasting different. Milk tasted sweet. It tasted like there was sugar was in it. But nope, it was just plain milk. There was also a time where I had Costco pizza for dinner (sugar in the dough, sugar in the sauce-long story as to why I ate it) and it tasted sweet. It didn't taste good. Bleh.
I could feel different parts of my body slimming. My stomach slimmed. Doug noticed my butt and waist got smaller.
I felt better emotionally and mentally. I felt happier. Less on edge.
Thinking about sugar and eating it didn't sound appealing. During a Target trip I walked through the Easter candy aisle. I love Reese's peanut butter eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs. So I thought I would pick a couple up for when April came around. But when I thought about actually eating them it did not sound appealing. So I left without buying anything.
The first couple of weeks I sweat a lot at night. I have no idea how it was related or even if it was. I wasn't hot and it wasn't hot in the room. I just woke up sweating. Like it was part of my body detoxing. Maybe it was.
Fruit tastes amazing when you don't eat sugar. Watermelon and strawberries were my favorite.
The first part of the month I felt so hungry all the time. So I ate a lot. Oatmeal. Hummus. Carrots. Yams. Broccoli. Chicken. I cooked a lot of good meals off Pinterest. But as time went on I noticed that I wasn't as hungry as I was in the beginning. I didn't constantly feel like I was starving.
I ended up losing 5 pounds without trying. Which wasn't my goal or anything, but weight loss is always a plus.
Then March ended. I didn't really want sugar though. So I didn't eat it. I continued to eat my sugar free bread fruit with sugar free whipped cream for dessert.
Then last Saturday (April 4) I decided to have a Magnum Peanut Butter Ice Cream bar (I blame Shopkick for having me scan them). It was alright. It was super sweet and a little too much for me). I felt gross afterwards. But it made my cravings return with a vengeance.
I thought that maybe I'd allow myself one treat a week. Maybe it would be in the form of a meal like orange chicken from Panda Express. Or it'd be a piece of birthday cake. But sugar is addictive. All the articles say this. They even explain how it's similar to cocaine in how if effects the brain. And now I see why. I am a sugar addict. Yesterday I wasn't planning on having any sugar. Instead I ate a Magnum bar, half a bag of Sour Patch jelly beans, and three starbursts. I had a stomachache and I still reached for the candy. Today I ate a bag of Oreo Minis, a Reese's peanut butter egg, and a small carton of mini Robin's eggs. And I'm feeling it. I feel like I never want to eat sugar again. But I will. It's addictive. And not eating it can be inconvenient. I had to read all labels. Forget eating out because it's impossible to know what's in the food. And same goes for eating at people's houses. Which is why there were some times when I ate the food anyways cause I didn't have the heart to tell them that they were serving sugar.
I do want to cut back on sugar though. I just can't believe how powerful it is. Who knew? It's ridiculous. As good as I felt off of it it's nice not monitoring everything that I eat. So as you can see I'm torn. I'm sure I'll give up sugar again. I just wish that more people could understand how destructive it is so that it wouldn't be so prevalent.
