The Sugarless life – a journey to reduce your sugar intake.

Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet but too much of it is not good for you!

Will you or won’t you?

On the 1st of November last year I woke up to a social media tsunami of, Yes! Day 1! I’m kicking sugar’s butt already, No Sugar November Yeah! And I laughed. I laughed a real from the belly laugh because I knew that most of you were going to fail miserably. Kicking sugar is no easy feat – but kicking it cold turkey is insane. I wanted to tell them hey I’m on my thousandth day one bitches. It’s not going to be easy because that mistress called sugar has a sly streak; she’s hiding everywhere waiting to strike at that unsuspecting moment. And when she gets her claws into you they go deep. I’m sure some of you are nodding your heads because you’ve found out that you are no match for sugar and that cutting it out of your diet is a daily struggle. In fact I’m sure some of you are saying this is impossible – Sugar is everywhere! It becomes a will I or won’t I daily battle when it comes to quitting sugar.

The problem with quitting sugar.

When people talk about quitting sugar they usually mean adding sugar itself or sweeteners to drinks and food. They think about not using sodas and juices, cakes, and focus on drinking water. They don’t think about fruits, English potatoes (chips/French fries) or even vegetables. Once they can’t see sugar it doesn’t exist. They don’t contemplate how carbohydrates work in the body and believe that because they just drink water, black coffee and teas that they have kicked the habit. They switch to sweeteners like agave, honey, and maple syrup (no disrespect) but my simple guide for this is if it taste sweet it has sugar in it. It’s not sugar free, it’s sugar by another name. How many of you have added water to a soda and said I’m having less sugar. News flash you’re not! Why? You have not taken the sugar out of that soda. If 36 grams of sugar is in the soda it’s still in there. If you drink it over 5 days you still had that 36 grams you just drank it slowly and made it taste watery. You have not reduced your sugar intake.

Forget about having a sugar free life. You are going to get sugar no matter what you do. Instead make wise choices and put less sugar in your body. Sure fruits have sugar but it’s better than having a candy bar. If you’re a diabetic like me eat half a banana or a very small banana. Learn that sugar is sugar no matter where it’s coming from and it can spike your A1C levels. Check your glycemic index and stick to the foods on the lower side of the table. Watch your portion sizes and join me on the journey to the sugarless life.