We’re Quitting Sugar

You know, I never thought we’d be those people. I always have looked at people who give up sugar with a kind of awe. Part of me thought I would never even want to be able to do it… I mean who wants to give up cakes and chocolate and all the good stuff right? But part of me also thought that I probably wouldn’t be able to do it even if I tried.

For the last few months, Peter and I have dabbled with lowering our sugar intake. I guess just being more aware of how much of it we’re eating, and the hidden sneaky places it gets you. I’ve read stacks of blogs about the whole ‘Why You Should Quit Sugar’ argument (I don’t have particular links, I just googled!). We started cutting down, experimenting with using alternative sugars and sweeteners… like rapadura (which I’ve developed a bit of a taste for), coconut sugar and dextrose. I started stalking #iqs and #sugarfree and #iquitsugar hashtags on instagram. And I started reading Sarah Wilson’s blog. I found out that her ‘I Quite Sugar’ eBook was going to be released as a hardcopy book, and talked to Pete about buying it.

The more I read about the whole thing, the more I wanted to try it. I don’t want to be all hardcore about it. I want to try the whole 8 week quit plan, and see what it does. I talked in the New Year about how I want to make some changes for my health this year. I want to look after my body, and I was curious to see how my body would respond to giving up sugar.

On Australia Day long weekend, Sarah Wilson listed her eBooks online for half price. Pete and I, cheapskates that we are, decided to buy them.  I liked straight away that the book talks about my exact approach to the whole thing… just trying it, out of curiosity.  My lovely husband agreed to join me on the journey. I think mostly out of support for me, but also because he is also up for a healthier body. Love that boy.

The more I read the book, the more giving up sugar makes sense. It really isn’t that great for us. Our bodies were not meant to have much… like, a really small fraction of the massive overload that we feed our bodies these days. And since I’ve been looking, I’m finding that sugar is in EVERYTHING. It’s unreal.

We’re up to week two now. We have gone pretty much off all sugar. I am learning how to listen to my body about food. Not to eat just because I’m bored. To have a drink of water instead of heading to the fridge when I feel a bit peckish. To have a little hit of protein instead of a couple of biscuits when I need a mid morning or afternoon snack. I’m feeling good about it.

I’m not really that much of a sweet tooth to be honest. My husband is. So I think I’m finding it easier in a lot of ways. I don’t get cravings for chocolate… he does, and they’re worse because he’s not having it.

The only time I’ve been naughty was when we were out helping people clean out their flood-ravaged house on Saturday. Lovely people provided some food and drink for sustenance, and I had a can of lemonade and a cupcake. To be honest I could only drink half a can of the soft drink. It surprised me A LOT to find that it was so sweet to me that it was disgusting. And I usually love lemonade. It was almost syrupy. I was shocked to find that my tastebuds have already become accustomed to NOT having sugar. I’m proud to say that even today out for morning tea, I didn’t give in to the delicious looking and smelling cakes that were offered to me, and I even didn’t eat the Picnic bar that someone gave to me!

Pete and I have committed to the 8 week plan. We definitely intend to reintroduce fruit sometime in that 8 weeks (Sarah Wilson recommends to go off it only in the first few weeks, so your body can fully detox from fructose). After the 8 weeks… well we’re not sure yet. I guess it really depends on how our bodies are feeling. If we can see and feel that our bodies are loving it, then we will love our bodies back. We don’t intend to become hard-core, in that we will have treats. BUT I guess the shift is that instead of something we have whenever we feel like, we will let things like chocolate and cakes and lollies and dessert out with friends actually be treats. I’ve also been and will continue to experiment with baking using alternative sweeteners such as dextrose and rice malt syrup.

The eBook bundle we bought includes a recipe book full of delicious sugar-free treats. Our favourite so far is coconut butter. It’s so easy, and full of yum. All you do is pop a bag of shredded coconut (sugar free of course) into a food processor for about 15 minutes of until runny. I poured it into ice-cube trays and set it in the fridge. It is so delicious. Kind of reminiscent of coconut ice, but without the sickly sweet. I find that one piece of it is enough for me, it’s very satisfying, and definitely squelches any sugar cravings that I’ve had so far. Pete and Mayana both also really love it. Pete says it helps to quash his chocolate cravings, and Mayana calls it Coconut Chocolate and thinks it’s the best treat around. You should try it.. it’s soooo good.

I’m actually kind of excited about it all. I’m really hoping that it will help me to lose weight. I have such trouble losing weight. In our uni days, Peter and I used to be gym members. I went to the gym for an hour, five or six days a week, for six months, and I lost less than half a kilo.  So far, so good. I’m not feeling too deprived, and I’m learning heaps about my own eating habits. It’s been really good actually, becoming more aware of what is in the food that I’m putting in my body.

So anyway… stay tuned! I’m sure I’ll post another update or two in this next 6 weeks.

Would you consider giving up sugar?

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