Five months ago I embarked on a no-sugar diet which I wrote about here. When I say a no-sugar diet what I actually mean is not consuming any foods with artificially added sugar.
I thought it was going to be a lot harder than what it was but I also expected the results to be more pronounced than what they are so far too.
Five months on, I am still successfully on my no-sugar diet though it isn’t really a diet any more but more of a permanent life-style. To a certain degree it hasn’t impacted on my enjoyment of food at all as many of the most sugary foods I previously consumed such as bran flakes, low-fat yoghurt and fruit drinks I was only eating because of their supposed health benefits.
I prefer weetabix to branflakes, roasted vegetables to yoghurt and most of the time water to fruit drinks. As I’m not being overly strict on things, I do have the occasional Diet Coke which for the various bad things it contains, it doesn’t have any sugar.
When I started the no-sugar diet I was shocked that many every day food products were virtually overdosing us on sugar. I have all but eliminated these products and don’t miss them, more so when I think of all the spoons of sugar I am missing out on.
For a few weeks, I did notice that I had cravings for sugary products but not so bad as many people on the internet complained of. A few head-aches and aches or pains but a piece of cake compared to the chest infections I can get with my asthma. Perhaps I just have a better will-power, something I am often told but I always took the idea that just because I want something it didn’t mean I have to have it. I’d like to spend all my money on a convertible Audi but it doesn’t mean I ever will.
One of the benefits of cutting out sugar is that my taste-buds have flourished. I now have a much more refined sense of taste and can pick up and enjoy the natural sweetness and other flavours in foods which I didn’t always pick up on before. There is no food that tastes as good as feeling good does.
Also as we always try to home-cook our meals using fresh produce that is another big help. If we have to buy something vaguely pre-packaged or in a tin as we always go for the budget own brand products we find by the very definition of them being cheap and to many less appetising is a big help too as the expensive brands that taste better usually do so as they have bad bits in them that everyone likes.
Many no-sugar diets require you to be careful with fruit and to concentrate on vegetables which is just perfect for me as to be honest I only like 3 or 4 fruits but I can eat roasted carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, leek every day and actually miss them if I don’t have any for a day or two.
Because I’m more aware of sugars now and not just fats I tend to enjoy my food more too. If I do want something unhealthy but tasty, I can have that pizza for pretty much the same sugar as the yucky bran-flakes or yoghurt and actually enjoy them knowing that it is a treat rather than trying to eat healthily with fat but unknowingly going wild with sugar.
So five months on has it all been worth it. The answer of course is a resounding YES! I’m not sure how much weight I have lost but it is around 3-4 inches on my waist for very little effort. I also go on 4-6 mile walks 3 or 4 times a week too but I am sure it is the no-sugar that has done most of it and with just my new breakfast alone saving me 16kg / or 29 pounds of sugar per year (4,000 tea spoons), it’s likely that I will lose more in the next 7 months too.
I read this while stuffing a very sugary jam doughnut into my mouth… good for you Stephen! I definitely don’t have the willpower.
LikeLike
Oh that was very bad timing on my part then 🙂 Thank-you! I think you don’t have much to lose though if you gave up sugar unlike myself. I’m not jealous of the doughnut, I have roast parsnips in the oven 🙂
LikeLike
Good for you! 3 or 4 inches, huh? I could use that. We don’t realize how much sugar we consume, like salt. No alcohol then, either? Everyone over here in the states is on a gluten-free kick.
LikeLike
Yes, could do a lot worse than 3 to 4 inches I guess. I’ve just had 3 alcoholic drinks since early January and as that included my 40th birthday party I don’t think its too bad.
They do gluten-free here too but it is still at a level of being only for those with dietary problems than a general trend.
LikeLike
Well done! I am impressed that you have stuck with it and also so interesting to see the healthy changes that have come about, as you say, so readily! I look forward to hearing how you are going on after a year!
LikeLike
Our taste buds can change. After eating much less cooked food and much more fruit, I find that the fruit tastes better than it used to.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
As those of you who follow my healthy food theme of my blog will know, I am very keen that refined sugars in processed food be minimised in our diet. I adopted this approach 18 years ago and certainly for me would not want to return to either the weight or health I was not enjoying then. Great job Stephen.
LikeLike
Very well done 😀
LikeLike
Thank-you! 🙂
LikeLike