A week ago, the Foodtrainers’ team swore off sugar for June.
Many of you jumped on board and I even convinced my “very sweet” husband to
take a break from his beloved cookies. I’m not always a fan of cold turkey
quitting but was inspired by Sarah Wilson’s I
Quit Sugar platform. We used her book as a springboard and set out our set of rules.
For me, without the option of having dark chocolate or
tasting food samples that are sent to the office I knew I wasn’t “going
there”. We did allow a little fruit on
our plan and that’s made things livable. Before you start to think this was all
easy breezy a couple of notes. First, this wasn’t a piece of (uneaten) cake for
all of us. Both Carolyn and Marc didn’t feel great at first. “Remind me why we
are doing this?” said OneSmartBrownie (temporarily one cranky brownie). And I
found Marc, my husband who is one of those full of energy people who never
stops…crashed in bed after he came home from work.
As for me, there was no sugar but I know myself and there
was “vice swapping”. The first couple of days I went overboard with nuts and
cheese. I’m normally not a big grain eater but I had sushi (brown rice but
still) versus sashimi and corn tortillas, you get the picture. I pushed the
envelope of on what was “allowed” which does leave me wondering.
The only time of day I felt a physiological need for sugar
was after lunch. I get this definite desire for a taste change. Usually I have
a mint but without that option I used bitters to change the taste in my mouth
and reduce cravings or a coffee. I have never felt the research in this area
truly explained things. It’s not blood sugar dropping as my lunch always has
some good fat, vegetables etc. Some say it’s related to stress and sleep but I
noticed it Saturday after lunch. Regardless, what I noted this week is a taste
change was as good as a sweet.
This all got me thinking about the most recent Time magazine cover. I posted it above;
the headline reads “Eat Butter”.
Basically the article exposes the fact that fat may have been wrongly
convicted. We didn’t benefit from skimming our milk (if you read LBT you know I
agree with that). However, the reason I mention this is that whether we’re
removing fat or gluten or sugar from our diet at the end of the day that’s not
a food plan. What matters most is what we ARE eating. This past week I was
solely concerned with not eating sugar. This coming week I need to make sure
I’m eating plenty of greens, hydrating well etc. I’m curious how your week
went.
Did you watch your
sugar intake this week or quit? How difficult was it? Did you find yourself
vice swapping? And any comments about the Time cover?
Giveaway winner is Rachel H; please let us know where to
send your copy of IQS.
Brilliant. I am not eating ----- so I deserve ------. BIg problem. I had never eaten cheese until I quit sugar. Now, I have to forcibly prevent myself from buying it. Ditto with nuts. Ditto with nut butter. Ditto with coconut flakes.
ReplyDeletequitting has been pretty brutal but getting easier. totally vice swapped, i realized i upped the half and half ante in my coffee even though i dont even usually use stevia... not to mention my extra avocados. Green juices and fruit have been the hardest for me, im surprised i havent even craved chocolate or dessert once, it's really been an easy no no. All in all a great experiment even if i do love complaining about it:)
ReplyDelete