Sugar Fast for a Sugar Fiend: A Month of No Added Sugar

Gimme all the sugar! I have an insatiable sweet tooth (thanks, dad). If you wave a doughnut in front of me there’s a good chance you’ll draw back a nub. Over the years though I’ve managed to tame the beast at bay. I indulge it on Sunday’s because life should occasionally be sweet.

Why Did I Do This?

No, I’m not a masochist. I’ve actually wanted to try a sugar free challenge for a while. I’ve read enough stories about the difference that “quitting sugar” can make, and wanted to try it out for myself. For me, this challenge was a way to see how much added sugar was in my diet, and find out what would happen if I eliminated it.

• Better skin?
• More energy?
• Improved digestion?
• Better sleep?
• I’ll take all of the above, please.

The Challenge

For a month (32 days in total) I didn’t consume foods or beverages with any form of added sugar. Naturally occurring sugars in fruits and dairy products were fine. I already had a healthy diet so I was pretty optimistic about how the month would go. However, since even less than a gram of added sugar was off the table, this wasn’t going to be a cake walk (see what I did there).

When I went grocery shopping I looked for sugar on the labels. I also looked for ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, and honey. As an unintended consequence, I ended up not eating out at all during this period since there was no way to know whether the food contained added sugar.

What I did (and didn’t) eat

I gave up flavored salmon or tuna packs, deli meats, low calorie ice creams, protein bars, some nuts, and had to find a different turkey sausage for my breakfast sandwich.

For breakfast I’d typically have one of the following:

• A smoked salmon sandwich on an English muffin with fruit
• Turkey sausage and egg sandwich on an English muffin with fruit
• Plain Greek yogurt with diced bananas mixed in and a green apple

Coming up with lunch and dinner meals without added sugar wasn’t difficult. I actually ended up making some great dishes over the course of the challenge.

One week I made a Mediterranean-inspired wrap using crushed tomatoes, roasted eggplant, shredded chicken, and chickpeas. I seasoned it with sea salt, a garlic and herb seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, and lemon juice to brighten up the dish. I served it with garlic and herb goat cheese on a whole grain pita wrap. It was delicious.I also made a ground turkey taco salad with red onions, an assortment of beans, and kale. If I was feeling less inspired, I’d fall back on good ol’ baked chicken or chicken sausage with roasted veggies like broccoli and sweet potatoes.For snacks I had:

• Plain greek yogurt with diced bananas
• Turkey pepperoni, string cheese, and grapes
• Air popped popcorn
• Green apples and blueberries

Sweets

Thirty two days with absolutely nothing sweet seemed like cruel and unusual punishment. It was also unrealistic which is why I allowed fruit. But I wanted something baked. I ended up making no added sugar cookies using ripened bananas as the sweetener that turned out pretty good. I’ll be posting the recipe for those soon, so stay tuned.

What I Loved About This Challenge

I find it hard to truly satisfy a sweet craving in the way that I can satisfy a craving for sushi or pizza, for example. After having something sweet, I usually still want something else sweet. While the intensity of the craving may go down, the craving itself never really goes away.

As a result, I feel like it’s easier to overdo it with sweets. Think of the kid who had too much Halloween candy and ends up with a stomachache. Hello, 7-year old self. They warned you.

For this challenge, without having anything overly sweet I felt like I was able to truly satisfy sweet cravings. I baked the cookies with no added sugar, ate plain rice cakes with almond butter, and had plain greek yogurt with diced bananas and was satisfied.

What I Disliked About This Challenge

This challenge ended up being restrictive in some respects since I couldn’t have anything with even a whiff of added sugar. The success of a healthy diet lives and dies with sustainability. When a diet is overly restrictive, it’s hard to maintain. With this challenge, my snack options were limited. Simple things like canned tuna or whole grain crackers would have tiny amounts of added sugar, and so were off the table.

Fortunately, I didn’t suffer any headaches or withdrawals that some people report the first few days after quitting sugar. I credit this to the fact that my diet didn’t have too much of it to begin with.

How have things changed since?

Since the challenge ended I’ve cut back on things like low calorie ice creams and protein bars as those were my primary forms of added sugar. I still have them but much less frequently.

I’ve also found I’m more sensitive to sugar. My taste buds were retrained during this time so I need less sugar to register something as sweet. I’m really enjoying this change because now it’s easier (not necessarily easy) for me to pass on sweet things. I didn’t experience any noticeable changes in my skin or my sleep patterns. My energy levels and regularity also seemed to be about the same as before.

Regardless, I’m glad that I did the challenge. Have you tried to go without added sugar? How was the process for you? Did it change your diet in any way? Let me know below!