In the summer of 2019, I decided to quit sugar.
I’ve been thinking about it and trying to eat healthier and exercise more. I knew I was addicted to sugar, but the thought of not being able to eat all the things I loved was not fun.
But I had what Gretchen Rubin calls a “lightning bolt” moment. This is when a realization suddenly causes change with little effort. (I emphasize that it’s mostly easy because it takes effort and effort.)
In July 2019, I was talking to someone about health and he told me to “pay attention to how you feel.” Later that day, my younger daughter brought me my favorite drink from Starbucks. As soon as I sipped my iced caramel macchiato, I felt a headache.
That was it for me. I knew I had to give up sugar.
Giving up dessert was the “easy” part. It’s easy to identify sugar in desserts and avoid it. But it took some effort to figure out all the places sugar was hiding in the other foods I ate.
Giving up sugar also means giving up ketchup, barbecue sauce, cereal, granola bars, jellies, jams, salad dressings…
I became very good at reading labels and avoided anything containing sugar, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, fructose, lactose, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, cane sugar, malted barley, and agave.
I also avoided anything with artificial sweeteners. I knew my brain needed a complete detox and that I couldn’t trick myself with artificial sweeteners to successfully break my addiction.
practicality
At the time, I was still eating dairy, so I didn’t put all the sugar in my coffee, but I still added half and half.
I started to associate sweets with headaches. I saw something sweet and thought to myself, “This is just a big headache waiting to happen.”
I ate a lot of fruit. I gave myself permission to eat all the fruit I wanted. I know there’s a lot of information out there that fruit also spikes blood sugar levels, but for me, what really worked was being able to eat fruit while everyone else was eating ice cream. Eventually, my fruit intake was reduced to more normal levels.
I still eat pasta and bread (mostly homemade sourdough these days). Admittedly, when I first started cutting out sugar, I didn’t really care about other carbohydrates. My goal was to stop being addicted to sweets.
resource
I decided to read some books to strengthen my resolve. I got a book called The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes and read it in a few days. This helped solidify all the reasons behind my new sugar-free habit.
I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard good things about Allen Carr’s method, so this book might also be helpful.
result
The most amazing result was that the conflict in my mind immediately disappeared.
My brain keeps saying, “I only ate two cookies, so I shouldn’t eat any more. But I can have one more now, and maybe I can have ice cream later…”
All the conflicts in my mind disappeared and I felt so free. I didn’t realize how much brain space it took up in my mind until it was gone.
Another surprising result was that I didn’t lose any weight. Although this wasn’t the main reason I quit sugar, I expected to lose weight as a result. As you can see on the scale, my body is changing very slowly. (I eventually lost weight, but it took a long time.)
Still, I continued my sugar-free routine because I felt better. I didn’t binge on cookies and ice cream like I used to, so I didn’t get sick like I used to when I was eating cookies and ice cream.
Another benefit is that by cutting out sugar, you’ll be cutting out 80% of the processed foods you were previously eating. It helped me get on the path to better health faster.
There is no healthy eating plan that incorporates processed sugar and processed foods as part of the plan. Every meal plan, from whole food plants to carnivores, eliminates sugar and processed foods.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that the common denominator in all of these plans, and the reason why people get results with completely different eating plans, is that they all cut out processed sugar and other processed foods.
By cutting out sugar, you’re 80% of the way to your goal of eating only whole foods. That means you can track your health quickly.
Sugar is also linked to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. The list is long. There are great reasons to quit sugar now.
We want to be healthy and full of energy, but this requires changes in ourselves. But I promise it’s worth it! We either pay the price in health by making the effort to make changes now, or we pay the price later with illness and disease that rob us of our enjoyment of life.
Eat at Home meal plans include two meal plans to help you with this. Our flour/sugar-free plans and whole food plant-based plans are a great place to start with your dinner ideas. Use the discount code today to save 30% on your membership.
That one drink at Starbucks changed everything for me.
What was your “lightning bolt” moment when it came to your health? When did you realize something had to change?
Please write in the comments. I would love to hear from you.
(If you’re ready to change your diet, Eat at Home’s meal plans, flour/sugar-free plans, or plant-based whole foods plans are a great place to start. Use code now for 30% off.)
