We did it! My husband and I, and to some extent our three children ages 5, 3, and 9 months, not only survived but thrived during our one full month without sugar.
We swore off all added sugar, honey, maple syrup, fruit juice, and alcohol for 30 days — and we kept our bargain. We did eat a lot of fruit during that time, though.
What a Waist!
The experiment proved to be one of the easiest ways to lose weight I’ve ever encountered. In 30 short days I’m down 6 pounds. I lost 3 inches from my waist. My husband dropped 5 1/2 pounds and 1 inch from his waist.
Related: One Month of No Sugar
That doesn’t sound like that much until you consider that the ONLY thing we did was stop eating sugar. We didn’t count calories or carbs. We didn’t worry about fat intake. There was no portion control. We didn’t increase our exercise.
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I was even less active than usual this month, actually. We didn’t hold back at Thanksgiving either. I gorged on leftovers for several days afterward, but I skipped the pie.
Kids Still Scarfed it Down
People assume you can’t have fun without sugar. So many friends said to me, “When you’re done with your month without sugar, we should (fill in the blank).”
I found that odd. What I eat and drink doesn’t alter who I am. Food and drink are ingrained into our social experiences, though. They are a common thread and a social lubricant.
I asked my friend Kati why she felt we should postpone a night on the town during my sugar-free month. She said that when she’s indulging in unhealthy food and drink, she wants “everyone to go down that path” with her. Perhaps my choices made some people uncomfortable because it made them think about theirs.
My son turned 3 this weekend. For his birthday party, I made chocolate cake and brownies sweetened with dates rather than sugar. I didn’t hear a single complaint from the swarms of children.
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One adult admitted she was not a fan. I wasn’t either. It wasn’t the same. Butter, sugar, and white flour are a magical combination. For special occasions, I’ll definitely do the real thing. But if my kids want an everyday treat and an apple won’t do, I have ingredients on hand for healthier dessert alternatives.
Where the Sugar Hides
Sugar is everywhere. If you’re eating out or going to a party, you have to accept that you are going to eat sugar even if you’re not eating something sweet, such as breads, salad dressings, and sauces — unless you want to bring your own food or be a huge frustration to the wait staff.
Our children are getting far more sugar in their daily diets than is healthy. School menus have improved in recent years, but they’re still following USDA standards, which lack a sugar policy. “Healthy” foods served at schools, including granola bars, puddings, and some pretzels, are often loaded with added sugar.
Related: A Sugarless Household Transformed
It doesn’t stop there. Our society has adopted a philosophy of “sweets equal affection.” Treats are on hand for every occasion. Cookies are used to comfort. Even toilet training can involve sugar, as parents reward “going potty” by giving candy.
That mentality bleeds into adulthood. We seek comfort foods in times of stress. We celebrate with cocktails and dessert. My husband wavered in the last week of our experiment because of all of the temptations associated with the holidays.
One weekend I caught him sneaking a cocktail while hanging out with friends. His “day off” for Thanksgiving turned into more of an extended weekend of bending the rules. He had a beer or two here, a taste of pie there. A scoop of ice cream with his date-sweetened brownie — a beer to celebrate his last evening without sugar. It’s sure easy to slide.
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
Cold cereal has sugar in it for a reason. The few alternatives that have absolutely no added sugar taste like cardboard. Our family will welcome the Cheerios knock-off “Joe’s O’s” back with open arms.
Flavored yogurt is evil. Unless it’s plain, most yogurt is the sugar equivalent of a Twinkie in a cup. Marketers are slick. They promote probiotics in a product children will gobble up. That’s because it’s essentially ice cream. All these years I felt good about feeding my children yogurt “sweetened with fruit juice.” No more.
Always read labels. I’m pretty savvy when it comes to nutrition. I thought I was safe buying things like meat, crackers, and soup. Turns out, there is a lot of added sugar in most prepared foods. From now on nothing goes in my cart without my eye on its label first.
Fruit does not equal health. Fruits in their natural form are great. But anything sweetened with fruit juice is just a clever way to get us to buy it because we think we’re doing the right thing. Fruit juice might as well be soda pop with a few vitamins.
We must be diligent with our children. Sugary treats are offered to them everywhere we turn. Cookies at the grocery store. Lollipops in the checkout line. Muffin samples at the café. While I love seeing how happy a piece of candy makes my boys, for their health I need to find an alternative. Tickle fights and dance marathons don’t take that much more effort to elicit a smile, and it’s far better for all of us than a cookie.
Health Shockers
The most alarming discovery I made is just how detrimental sugar is to our health. I was shocked to learn that Alzheimer’s disease is linked to our poor diets and lack of exercise. Dr. Suzanne M. de la Monte is a professor of pathology (neuropathology), neurosurgery, and neurology at Brown University. She led a team of researchers who found that Alzheimer’s is created by the same elements that cause Type 1 and 2 diabetes. The link was so significant they dubbed Alzheimer’s “Type 3 diabetes.”
Related: Sugar Free For Four Weeks
Monte told me the same metabolic and degenerative affects present in diabetes are present in Alzheimer’s. She said our lifestyle choices are causing permanent damage to our bodies and it starts early on.
“The set-up begins much earlier than most people think — probably decades. It has been shown that following measures to reduce Type 2 diabetes risk (and) severity helps the brain and reduces markers of Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.
The damage we’re doing to our vessels from insulin resistance, inflammation, and stress is affecting every organ in our body, including our brains.
Marcelle Pick, a longtime nurse practitioner with a special interest in nutrition, says everything we put into our bodies matters, and food is really the best medicine. Americans, she said, should be following the 90-10 rule. Ninety percent of what we put into our bodies should be healthy; 10 percent should be an occasional splurge.
“Your body is the only true home you’ll have for your entire life. Why not take care of it to the best of your ability?” she said.
This November without sugar did not feel like a sacrifice. As I head into the thick of the holiday season, I will be more mindful of what I’m feeding myself and my family. And with temptation around every corner, I will use the lessons I learned to remember what really matters this time of year has nothing to do with what we eat.
Our quality of life depends on making the right choices.
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