Our no fruit sugar challenge Week #5 – Nothing sweet about life without sugar
Well here we are on Week #5 of quitting our sugar addiction FOREVER. And for me there is nothing SWEET about life without sugar! It seemed easy to start with…clean out pantry, stop eating processed foods wherever possible and substitute fructose for dextrose when desperate!
OMG – if I had known it would be so hard I might not have done it, although this in itself is confronting as I feel it is evidence of just how addicted to sugar I am.
The physical side is easy…gradually my tastes are changing and when I have actually broken down and had food that contains sugar it has seemed overly sweet and not enjoyable. Energy-wise I feel great, and my 12-year-old has noticed he is full quicker, so not overeating. Also on the plus side I have lost 6 kilos since I started.
The psychological part is not so easy…everywhere I turn it feels like food is calling to me and that everything has sugar in it. Going out for coffee is no longer so much fun…no more chai latte…no more mud cake. No more will I take the kids out for an ice-cream as a reward. I am finding out ALL about the amount of comfort eating I am doing and that like any ADDICTION you must break the habits (coffee etc) associated with the addiction.
I have, however been strong and keep thinking of the health benefits long-term. It is difficult but worth it I think. I will be forever grateful to David Gillespie for writing his book – Sweet Poison.
If you are considering giving up sugar – you should check out this radio interview…it’s well worth listening to.
Nothing-sweet-about-life-without-sugar
And….if you like us have been brave enough to take on this HUGE lifestyle change please share your comments below, I would love to hear what is working (or not working) for you.
Blessings
Larissa
raisingmy4kids 
Hi, I found it easier to focus on what I CAN have rather than what I can’t have. I also swapped bad habits for new ones, not that I am a coffee and cake person but you could always try catching up with friends at the playground rather than at the coffee shop and instead of icecream treats for the kids, pack some healthy snacks and head to the park or the beach/river/lake or playground and spend timethat treat time being active and together. It’ll wear the kids out too, instead of all the sugar hyping them up. Stick with it the benefits are amazing, I’ve been fructose free now for 3 months and feel better than I have for years.
I’m on week 10 now going fructose free & feeling great. I too am struggling with the habits but only where kids associated. My rule was going to be sugar for parties only… which when I’m alone with them is all doable, but soon as Daddy gets home or we’re out with friends & their kids are gorging on the sweet stuff… I feel like I’m being cruel by not letting them have “treats” when really its the other way around. How has BigSugar & the world today let us feel that way?! GGggrrrrrr. Good on you for 6kg loss, I’ve lost 2kg… I think I indulged on the newly acquired taste buds for full-fat a bit much to begin with!
Its been over two years for me now and I am used to it. I do not feel deprived because I eat really well. Yesterday I enjoyed a big breakfast with all the trimmings at a great little cafe in Esk. The waitress seemed surprised I finished it. I wanted to say “I’m still losing weight- trick is just no sugar” Very occasionally I will have a sliver of someones birthday cake for social reasons but it actually tastes too sweet to be appetising now. I used to be obese and suffering from a fair bit of pain from gout. Now I move easily, pain free and am close to normal weight. I will always be grateful to David Gillespie for his books. I went cold turkey, but many people successfully taper off. What works best for me online is ignoring advice from anyone with a financial tie to the processed food industry- there are a lot of them around and they appear to be prepared to twist facts to suit their vested interests. Rosemary Stanton seems to be independent and is saying virtually the same about sugar as David Gillespie.
Thanks for your comments…I agree with you about eating well. I no longer feel deprived because my tastes are changing, plus I have lost 12 kgs!!!! since starting this journey 10 weeks ago. I have learned that I was seriously turning to sugar when I felt stressed…which just shows how addictive it is!
I was also pretty horrified about the lack of mud cake on my coffee catch-ups originally, but soon found that my friends are more than up for sharing a trio of dips or some other lovely entree-type thing instead. And it feels amazing! I cant believe I’ve been missing out on all these tasty snacks that feel nourishing instead of naughty, and that actually give me energy instead of making me feel like a nap afterwards. It’s such better value for money, and cafes put lots of effort into making all these incredible little savoury snack plates that i’d previously completely missed out on!
I know what you mean…I have become rather fond of Vegemite toast, which is scruptious at Dome on nice thick wholemeal bread – mmmm!