I Did It! 7 Days Without Eating Sugar

There was sugar sludge running through my veins.  I exercise and I eat right, so what’s the harm in some sugary snacks when I feel like it? I deserve to eat sweets every day because I’m not overweight, right?

That was my mindset.

But sugar was affecting me in ways I didn’t realized. Here’s the scoop on what happened when I went 7 Days without adding refined sugars to my meals. I also swore off any packaged foods (except for Chobani Greek yogurt) that contained more than 5 grams of sugar. To get an idea of what 5 grams is like, an Arnold whole wheat burger bun has 4 grams (about a teaspoon of sugar) and serving of Jiffy Cornbread has 7 grams.

CRAVINGS

My body has been trained (obviously by me) to beg for sugar every day after lunch. Before this experiment I always gave it what it wanted while sensibly staying within 100 calories of greedy pleasure.  The first two days were really difficult. The internal struggle going on with my temptation was utterly ridiculous.  I felt like a hungry hyena shrieking into the wind for my next sugar fix. I was uncomfortable and on edge to say the least, but I stood my ground. God forbid how a real crack addict feels.

On Day 3 the ugly cravings let up. I used sweet fruits like watermelon, strawberries and pineapple to manage my cravings. After a few days I began craving fruit instead of chocolate and cake. SCORE!

WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS

Ugh. There were headaches, dizziness, bitchiness, whining beginning on Day 2. It felt exactly like coffee withdrawal, but I know it wasn’t about the coffee because I continued to drink that on my regular schedule. With zero sugar in it. Stevia does not work in my coffee – powered or liquid drops. I gave up and drank it black. Withdrawal symptoms were gone by Day 3. KABOOM!

MY PHYSIQUE

By removing sugar from my daily coffee and oats, look at how many calories I saved:

• Coffee: up to 7 teaspoons @ 15/calories each = 105 per day (735 per week)
• Oats: 5 teaspoons @ 15/cal. each = 75 calories per day (525 per week)

So far I’ve received 3 unsolicited compliments related to the slimming of my thighs, stomach, and the definition in my muscles. I noticed that my cheek bones are more pronounced like when I was younger, and my face seems brighter (which may be due to increased fruits). Yes, all of this happened in a measly 7 days.

SLEEP, ENERGY and HUNGER

I usually get 5 hours of sleep every night. This is bad. I need to get to bed earlier regardless, but with no sugar I slept sounder and felt more refreshed in the morning. My  energy level has been tremendous. I ran 5-miles for the first time last week. My pace was faster than ever and I wasn’t tired at the end. I should have kept running.

In general, I am less hungry and think about food less often (which may ruin greedy my reputation). This means I’m eating less. I don’t get the 3pm Greedies anymore.  This chick over here mentioned a book that made a correlation between excess sugar intake and increased hunger. I’m proof there is some merit to that. Less sugar = less hungry for me.

SELF CONTROL

The practice of resisting sugary crap all week has built me up in the self control department. This in turn has helped to me stay in better control of my eating in general, especially pre-dinner snacking. My mindless snacking before dinner has been excessive at times. It’s enough to ruin all my good fitness efforts for the day. But now, where I once felt I would go out of my mind if I did not snack before dinner, I simply wait.

I can wait now!

I have better self control and discipline, and I’m saving calories because of it.

What’s Next? LIFE AFTER THE EXPERIMENT

As of the writing of this post it’s been two days since the Experiment ended. I still have not had any sugar.

I definitely don’t crave it.

I don’t want it right now.

My eyes have been opened to what sugar does to my body. There’s no way I can go backwards now and sacrifice the increased energy and better sleep, not to mention the calorie savings.

Yes, I’ll still love extra large slices of pie, but I gotta admit it, I am changed forever.