Sweet Nothing: Battle Won, Journey Continues

I made it you all! Thirty days of Sweet Nothing complete!  I must say, I’m proud of me because this wasn’t easy at all. Not sure what the jubilation is all about? Well, this is about my challenge to go 30 days without sugar. You can catch up on the series here: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.

So here’s what I’ve I learned along the way: first, sugar is truly like an addiction to drugs. According to this research study, refined sugar is far more addictive than cocaine. I’m no doctor or medical expert but after my 30-day experiment, I believe it.

Secondly, the body functions better on all fronts without sugar. When I really look back to when I was growing up, refined sugar was almost nonexistent in my diet. Soft drinks, cakes or sweets were usually reserved for the big occasions  – you know, the birthday parties, weddings and yes, funerals.  Now sugar is all around me and fueling today’s obesity epidemic.  I have to make very deliberate efforts to get away from it.  Controlling your insulin levels is one of the most important things you can do to optimize your overall health, and avoiding sugar is necessary to doing this.

Third, that body or belly fat that you’ve struggled to lose starts to comes off right before your eyes when you stay away from sugar. When I started this journey, losing weight was not really the priority. I wanted to retrain my taste buds to not want too much sugar.  But the weight loss was a very welcomed bonus. I lost 2kg and quite a bit of inches off my waist and hips. Keep in mind that refined sugar is not the only culprit.  If your goal is to lose weight, then you also have to exercise portion control among other measures.

Fourth, you will sleep like a baby.

This challenge was a struggle, and by no means am I advocating for one to go “cold turkey” on their sugar consumption.  It was a real shock to my body, especially the first two weeks.  The first two weeks were filled with headaches, dizziness and feeling weak. It was really hard to keep focused during the day.  All I wanted to do was to grab the next sweet thing just to make the pain stop. Those two weeks were my withdrawal periods.

If this challenge is something that you’re thinking about doing, my recommendation is to start small.  Every little change counts!  If you drink soft drinks every day, cut it down to three times a week, then to two and then one until you can go a whole week without it.

For now, I’ve won the battle but my journey continues.  Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Over to you … I’ll love to hear from you in the comment section below. What do you think of a no-sugar challenge and will you attempt one?