It's been a little over 6 months since I broke off my relationship with sugar. You can read about it here and here. So, was it worth it? In my opinion, it was very worth it. It was something I didn't think I could ever do, but it has been half a year since I ate sugar. (I occasionally eat out and have something made with white flour. I am sure that there is also some sugar in their recipes. But I haven't had a dessert that was made with white sugar since January. I cook with whole grains, dates, fruit and occasionally a little honey or maple syrup, but no white sugar or white flour for this girl.) At first, it was really hard and I felt deprived at events and parties. Now I honestly don't. And I will tell you why I don't.
What Has Going Sugar Free Done for Me?
*I have more energy.
*I eat healthier foods automatically.
*I feel less moody. Not that I would ever be moody or anything.
*I have an easier time getting out of bed in the morning.
*I think more clearly (Some of you may beg to differ. You can keep your thoughts to yourself, thank you very much.)
*I won't get into a lot of detail here, but my hormones have balanced out tremendously. I still have a little way to go, but it is totally manageable now, unlike before. And things keep getting better.
*I lost 7 pounds without trying. Before I went off sugar, even strict calorie counting wasn't yielding results.
*Those 7 pounds came from areas that never seem to lose fat, like the belly.
*I just feel better overall. I can't really pinpoint why, but I feel great.
So there you have it. All I need to do when I am tempted to eat sugar is think about how bad I felt before. It is enough to keep me motivated. And then there is Chocolate Covered Katie's healthy dessert blog to help me when I really must have something sweet. Although some of her desserts use a bit of sugar, many do not. It is usually easy to alter a recipe to be sugar free, too.
I can't guarantee that anyone else on the planet would have the results I did. I just did what I had in my heart. But I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of people would feel better if they at least cut back a bit.
So, what do you think about sugar? Demon or Angel? Or both?
Angela
I think that's awesome. I have given up sugar to some extent before, but not to the degree where I wasn't eating any white flour. I felt a ton better just doing that, so I can imagine how much better you feel giving it up completely. I definitely think sugar is a demon! It's probably just as addicting as any drug, yet it is more widely "used" and really affects our health more than we realize. I am planning on doing a similar detox plan...i do use artificial sweeteners so it may be hard to give those up at first. Lol.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your 6 month mark, that's a real accomplishment!! Way to go!
If you decide to detox from sugar, I highly recommend having some good recipes and such that are healthy for you and still satisfy your sweet tooth. Especially at first. I had two or three Chocolate Covered Katie recipes every day in the beginning. I just really wanted sugar. The longer I went without sugar, the less I needed the fruit sweetened desserts. Now I have something naturally sweetened maybe once or twice a week. I still eat a lot of fruit, though. I used stevia a good bit in the beginning, too. I will say this about other sugar substitutes, though. There have been a number of studies showing that artificial sweeteners can actually increase your sugar cravings. I really didn't need any help. My cravings were plenty strong on their own. I made sure I ate small well-rounded meals more often in the beginning, because when I got hungry, it was much harder to stick to my plan. Let me know how it goes for you!
ReplyDeleteWow I really don't need help with sugar cravings either. Lol. I will check out her blog and see what I can find to help me get through that first week or so!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I had a question about grinding grain. I was looking at blenders to buy for using with Sue Gregg's recipes, but do you think a food processor would do the trick? I have a good Oster food processor so I just thought I would see if that would work before buying a blender. :)
I have not tried a food processor, and I haven't heard anyone talk about using one, so I really don't know if it would grind the grain fine enough. I did some checking and haven't found any info yet. If you decide to go the blender route, it needs to have a good motor, 450 watts or more. Most good brands that will crush ice cubes will work. Oster makes a couple that are at least 450 watts and have 12-18 speeds (mine has 18) and Braun has a 5 speed, 525 watt blender. They run about $35-40 the last time I checked. I'll keep looking for food processor info.
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking! I don't mind getting a blender since it would be great for smoothies and stuff too. I will probably just go that route :) Plus I would hate to mess up my food processor if it's not equipped for that. I saw a few people online mention that there is also a KitchenAid attachment for grinding grain, so that could be an option! Anyway, I appreciate your help! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to do it! Let me know how it goes for you.
ReplyDeleteI sure will! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Angela! I was just wondering how its going with the no sugar/ flour diet? I see big results when I am faithful, but the minute I "cheat" my body goes back into full force wanting that sugar. How did you keep your willpower? I do well for a couple weeks, see results and then mentally beat myself up for "failing...again." Any advice??? Thanks! -Annette
ReplyDeleteOh, Annette, Annette... This is such a great question, and I think it's one we all deal with at some point or another. I thought it would be best to treat this with it's own blog post. You can find my response here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gallimaufrygrove.blogspot.com/2015/01/how-to-stick-to-your-diet.html
I'd love to hear your thoughts on my response. Have a great day!