I QUIT SUGAR: WEEK 1



Here continues my recount of my I Quit Sugar journey.

Today is my 7th day sans sugar (almost) with the exception of an accidental, surprisingly sweet Thai lunch mid-week. I sidestepped many sugar traps throughout the week, and the funny thing is, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I declined the chocolates that were brought to our table after a dinner out, last Friday, as well as the Eton Mess that was served after a barbeque on Sunday. I made the Cookie Monster cupcakes for my boyfriend's nephew's first birthday party without tasting them or sneaking a single morsel of decoration. I even binned the leftover choc bits (that hurt!). I shunned the cheesecake that was shared for a workmate's birthday yesterday. When I look back on the past week I can see that is a LOT of sugar avoidance, and I'm pretty pleased because, were I not "doing IQS"  I definitely would have eaten every one of those things without hesitation.

Throughout the past week, a few people have questioned what I'm doing, and although they're probably not all religiously following this blog, I thought I'd keep track and write a little bit about that here.

I've just happened upon a lot of literature in the past couple of years about the perils of sugar consumption and therefore, it just no longer sits well with me to be eating so much sugar. I can't keep happily ignoring the information without worrying about my health.

I imagine that it would be quite a bit harder for someone who is used to drinking a lot of juice, soft drinks, energy drinks, non-natural yoghurt, desserts and so on, to quit sugar. I have gradually cut back on a lot of those things over the past couple of years so it's not been such a gigantic leap for me. One of the hardest things to give up is juice. There's nothing better than glugging down a tall glass of fresh cold juice! (Unfortunately, it contains the same number of teaspoons as a glass of coke, about 10-12.)

Everyone has their own weaknesses and for me, it's mostly emotional consumption of junky foods. And then of course, as this past week showed, it's just not saying NO often enough. There are so many social activities where sugary foods and beverages are involved, and if you don't pick and choose, if you just say yes to everything, you end up eating and drinking a lot of sugar.

It's my goal to stay away from sugar for 8 weeks (as set out by Sarah Wilson in 'I Quit Sugar') because I want to form new and hopefully lasting habits around sugar, so that I learn it's not necessary to medicate with sugar. I don't want to give up treats for life; I want to significantly lessen my consumption of sugar and replace it with better habits and alternatives, and keep sweet foods for special treats. For me, sugar has crept in and has become more than just an occasional treat, and that is why I am trying to re-calibrate.

What's more, I just plain don't feel good about myself, and don't feel physically well, when I overdo the sugar. So why should I want to keep doing that to myself?!

As for the reasons why sugar is so bad? An extract from I Quit Sugar:

More and more research is being done on the effects of fructose on our bodies. A number of studies have found that fructose:

  • inhibits our immune system, making it harder to fight of viruses and infections
  • upsets the mineral balance in our bodies, causing deficiencies as well as interfering with mineral absorption
  • messes with fertility
  • speeds up the aging process
  • has been connected with the development of cancer
  • is linked to dementia
  • can cause a rapid rise in adrenaline, as well as hyperactivity, anxiety and a loss of concentration
  • fructose converts directly to fat
  • fructose makes us eat more
  • Frutose makes us FAT!
Feeling good and happy and looking forward to Week 2! Tomorrow I'll post a IQS recipe that I tested this week.

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6 comments:

  1. I'm supposed to cut out sugar but I find it so hard. I just can't say no! I need to do like you and cut down before I cut out.

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  2. why do you *have* to cut it out? this morning was the hardest for me... we had a bottle of wine last night and this morning i was craving a croissant or something delicious and bad! i managed to avoid it though. but yeah, i think it really helps just gradually cutting down. otherwise i think it would feel too extreme. also just keeping a sane mentality about it... just thinking of cutting back, not cutting out everything forevvvvverrrrr.

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  3. i want to try this too but can't imagine not eating fruit!
    thinking about buying it though.
    looking forward to reading more about your IQS journey.

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  4. The fruit thing is a little bit of a tough concept to wrap your head around isn't it?! Sarah encourages people to cut out all sugar for 8 weeks, including fruit, to allow your system to rid itself of all sugar cravings (she talks about that in more depth in the Week 3 section). I can happily live without apples and oranges, but things like bananas and berries, I do miss... I often have them in smoothies. After her 8 week detox she reintroduced fruit - about 2 pieces a day, because that's supposed to be the 'right' amount of sugar for your body to eat every day. Anyway... I'm on Day 10 without sugar now and I'm feeling really good!

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    1. so i bought it and spent a whole afternoon reading it and i think she speaks truth.
      sugar is addicting and my body does not recognize it and doesn't tell me when i've had enough.
      sure, i could tell myself to just have 1 cookie, but no - i don't have enough self-control to do that and end up eating 5. (honestly, i ate more than half a box of somoa girl scout cookies today and more than half a box of thin mints over 3 days! eek!)
      what sarah says (& what you mentioned) to just get rid of sugar completely for a while makes more and more sense after reflecting on my own habits.
      sugar may be my problem, too & this is work a try!
      probably going to start soon.
      reading your posts is so helpful - thanks for sharing.

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  5. I'm glad you like her book... it's a really easy read isn't it? I am really hoping that what she's saying about cutting it out completely for a while does help... that it's not a case of wanting to eat everything in sight after 8 weeks! But all we can do is try and see :) I think I'll be happy if I just end up changing a few bad habits for good.

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