I’ve had a sweet tooth for as long as I can remember.
Birthdays aren’t celebrated around broccoli casserole.
Christmas carrots are for the reindeer.
The main event at a wedding isn’t cutting the roast beef.
And what happens if you stop eating sugar for 30 days?
I decided to find out for myself, and the results were surprising.
(Trying the keto dietranks high in my harebrained diet ideas, too.)
The rules for this challenge were simple: absolutely no added sugars.
Natural sugars, like those found in dairy and fruit, were OK.
Artificial sweeteners were also off-limits.
Sugar is not a necessary nutrient, and we’re all eating entirely too much of it.
However, most Americans eat two to three times that amount19.5 teaspoons or 312 calories per day, perUCSF.
No, but that was not my intention.
(Remember, natural sugar was OK; artificial sugar was out.)
However, I didn’tgainweight either, and that was a goal.
Not gaining weight was a victory.
More specifically, I didn’t find myself needing the midafternoon pick-me-up.
My first real sweet after the challenge ended, a chocolate chip cookie, was cloying.
I split it in half and shared it with a friend.
I couldn’t finish my half.
The Biggest Challenges
Breaking the Sugar Cycle
My challenge started on a Friday.
I was also irritable, which made work difficult and daunting.
Naps were my friend during this period.
They provided energy, and they let me escape a bit of the sugar-free meltdown.
But that’s just the challengesugar is everywhere.
(Have I said that yet?)
Avoiding it is a bit like avoiding sunlight.
Marinara sauce, bread, canned soups and condiments are some of the sneakiest offenders.
Sandwiches are likely out because bread almost always has sugar.
Good luck going for a month that’s a little less sweet.
