Sugar Free
I mentioned earlier that I was reading David Gillespies book “Sweet Poison Quit Plan” and he prompts readers to make a list of when your sugar snacking habits occur.
His list was pretty lengthy – no wonder he lost 40kgs.
I’d encourage all that are interested to do the same – because only then do you realise how much our sugar addiction is linked to habits.
My list?
- Cranberry juice every morning
- M&M’s/chocolate when watching a movie
- A glass of Coke when out to dinner
- A can of V around 3pm but only if I feel tired
- Tank juices at lunch times
- Friday morning banana muffins with a coffee
- After work drinks (which happen most days and I drink ciders which are full of sugar)
- An apple and a cup of tea with one sugar at night (usually happens when i’m at my parents, but I don’t have apples or a tea in my home.)
- A snack to eat in the car after every supermarket shop (only realised this one yesterday when I hopped in the car and felt like I was missing something -eek!)
All in all, I don’t think my list is toooo shocking, but it’s still bad. I was raised well – we never had desert (unless we had guests), we never had soft drinks in the fridge or biscuits in our cupboards. Thank god we didn’t otherwise I would have had a whole lot more habits to add to that list.
I’ve managed to carry that through to my home now. I don’t have english breakfast tea in the house, only herbals. You won’t find biscuits either and the only chocolate you’ll find is 80% cocoa. My biggest issue? Alcohol and fruit. That’s going to be the tough one to break…
It’s day two today. Brad already cracked and ate a row of coconut rough chocolate – but I’m determined to see this through. Organic oats in the morning, fish with veges for lunch and dinner.
Since reading, I’ve come across a whoole online world of others who are doing the same! Like this person, and him, and this woman too! These people motivate me.
Wish me luck…
You can easily make your own coconut roughs. Just melt some coconut oil (extremely healthy for you – google it), mix in some cocoa powder (unsweetened), artificial sweetener (or dextrose), shredded coconut and vanilla essence. Store in the fridge.
Oh that’s genius! Love that there’s sugar free alternatives out there – this one will def keep the boyfriend happy :) Thank you!
Good luck but I don’t think you will need it. You’ve started off the right way. Did you clean out your pantry and fridge?
Sure did, though there wasn’t too much to toss thank goodness! I kept a bag of frozen blueberrys though – but seeing as they’re one of the better fruits, thought I might save them for a few weeks time :) Trying to avoid everything sweet at the moment!
Good luck! I’ve been sugar free now for around 3 months. I was a huge sugar eater – both incidental (muesli, fruit, dry biscuits etc) and ah well, “purposeful” (chocolate, sugar in tea, hot chocolates, cakes, slices etc etc). It was heaps easier than I anticipated it would be and I have noticed massive changes – physically and emotionally. My relationship with food is now very different. Like you I’ve blogged about it to help keep me honest! (www.sugarfreeme-naomi.blogspot.com). Looking forward to reading about your progress!
Thanks! The muesli gets me, I used to eat a lot of it before I understood how much sugar it contained! I’ve found with teas – natural chai herbals are good, they taste kinda sweet but contain no sugar what so ever.
So cool to hear you’ve noticed changes, especially the relationship with food – How has it changed?
Will save you to my alerts to keep updated with your progress too :)
I lost 10 kg over 6 months. I cut out sauces, mayonnaises etc with high sugar. Rule of thumb if something has over 4gm per 100 gm of sugars ..don’t touch it.I made my food serves smaller but ate anything I wanted as long as there wasn’t any fructose . I allow myself a banana for morning tea and an apple or a pear in afternoon. Very soon I after I started I didn’t want anything with fructose in it..no more craving.Then all of a sudden I wasn’t as hungry anymore hence the weight loss.My cholesterol was dangerously high even though I am on medication..Now my readings are normal ..good luck with it all.Its so simple.I also eat nuts and crackers instead of chocolate and sweets and drink lots of water.I drink a glass of red wine occasionally and sometimes a beer.less sugar then white wine and cider.
Oh my goodness – that’s amazing!! Congrats – 10kg is a big deal!
4gm is a good idea, i’ve been avoiding all products with more then 1gram of sugar, especially for the first few weeks anyways. And I don’t quite trust myself to eat any fruit until i’ve been through withdrawls haha.
Amazing with the cholesterol too – just goes to show! I really need to get my Dad onto this. He’s the biggest chocoholic I know, so will be interesting. I’ll tell him your story though.
Alcohol is the difficult one. I’m still on Christmas break, so avoiding it is easy – going back to work will be a challenge. I’d like to avoid it for the first few weeks and then maybe allow myself a glass of red wine. I used to drink cider a lot, so will need to avoid that at all costs!
Thanks for commenting and keep me updated with how you’re going!
Don’t be afraid to use fat. It’s what will keep you full and get your appetite control coming in. Get some double cream (sugar-free one) to have with those blueberries, or some greek yoghurt. Yum!
Hmm i’ve been reading about that – I feel reluctant to do so, but I know it’s good for me! Not a big fan of cream though :S May need to find another fat source (do you use coconut oil?)
Well done! I’m re-detoxing after a deliberate Christmas splurge. I;m actually finding it harder this time around because I know I can do it, so I’m not being militant /facedesk/. I lost 5kg in 3 months, my husband 7kg in the same time, and I feel twice as healthy and alert (well, not right at the moment tehe).
Nice work! I imagine it would be difficult after splurging, but if you did it once – you can do it again – At least you know what to expect! I’m currently sitting here at 2am wondering if the burning in my throat is due to withdrawls and normal or if it’s another reason entirely!
Have you tried any sugar free recipes? I would love one day to do a sugar free version of Christmas and not tell anyone and see if they notice the differnce… Would certaintly make you feel better knowing you stuck to the plan haha
Sugar free rumballs, using Splenda as the replacement, and my mum made some shortbread which was excellent. Butter, flour, sweetener. For some reason, it was lemony, which was quite interesting. I’m a lousy cook, though, and we rarely entertain so fortunately I don’t have to do too much. Rule of thumb converting from regular recipes seems to be Splenda 1:1, dextrose – add another 1/4 of the measurement (cups, teaspoons).
I made the ANZAC biscuits from SPQP and they were very good!
Well done, Court! You’re on your way to feeling wonderful.
I did the same as Jenn – thought I could splurge at Christmas. I gained weight and feel awful. Back to no added sugars or sweeteners.
Best of luck!
Thank you! I can’t wait to feel that way. I wish you the best of luck also!
Ummmm I thought fruit was ok with the Sweet Poison thing? Just limit to two serves a day…
I think it depends on the fruit. My favorites (grapes, apples, cheeries) are some of the worst fruits you can eat (if you have too many). For now i’m avoiding all things sweet – especially during my cold turkey phase so I can cleanse and rid my body of as much sugar as possible. Don’t forget, i’m a person who ate ALOT of fruit everyday.
Once I feel like i’ve overcome the sugar addiction, then i’ll introduce pears and berries (they’re the good ones).
Right now there’s no way I could stop at one apple. I’m also testing it to see if I notice a differnce in the taste of fruit after not eating it for a few weeks – apparently everything tastes so much sweeter!
How long have you been on the Quit plan?
Raw broccoli is fantastic once you’re sugar free. Carrots and potatos have never tasted better. And OMG Stone fruit is AMAZING.
I have recently watched a youtube video about the ‘badness’ of fructose and my new year’s resolution is to give up sugar. I also am ‘detoxing’ at the moment but head on holiday to my home (South Africa) in February and can’t imagine not indulging in the fruits. Good luck!
Interesting – i’ll check that out now! Have you read Sarah Wilsons book ‘I Quit Sugar’?
As for the holiday, that sounds awesome! But yes, I could imagine the fruits there would be hard to avoid :S It’s all about self control and portion sizes :)
Thanks for that blog of recipes – i’ll check it out now!
Good luck and have an amazing time in SA!
Oh another blog with recipes is http://scandifoodie.blogspot.com/
In place of muesli, mix up pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, chopped hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios and coconut flakes. Have with Greek yoghurt or coconut cream. Gives you a bit of crunch. I add some unsweetened berries, but I eat Paleo so they’re okay in moderation. You’re doing very well; it’s not easy to control the sugar monster.
Oh yum!! You should mix some quinoa in there too – good recipe: http://tresordejour.com/2011/09/11/quinoa-wonder-food/
It’s amazing how good you feel when you eat so well like this. I’m very interested in Paleo too, have been doing quite a bit of reading up on it. Do you have a website?
Yes – http://www.lowcarbcooking.co.nz – we’re definitely moving in a Paleo direction and will be changing the website name soon to include Paleo.
Awesome! I’ll add you to my blog list so I can keep updated :)
It’s funny how all the little things add up! I was guilty of the cider drinking and after dinner chocolates too :) Good luck, although I think you’ll be fine! As long as you make it through the first few weeks you will never want sugar again, I swear.
Good i’m looking forward to it! I already feel amazing actually – I’ve found that i’m more motivated to eat healthy overall. I’ve cut out a lot of carbs too (oats and kumera are the only ones I eat). I do feel very hungry a lot – but i just visualize my stomach adjusting to getting smaller and my body getting cleaner haha
I’ve taken up wine. Couldn’t stand the stuff prior to detox, smelled like camel pee, tasted like something the dog washed in. I like it now :D I can still only drink half a glass at a time, and not without food, but I’ve found some nice Pinot Noirs. I prefer reds because I enjoyed port in my previous life, and I like the thickness in reds compared to whites.
Haha!! Yeah I enjoy red wine. I used to love white wine – but it has more sugar in it I think, so will be sticking to my reds :)
Love the blog
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