Have you ever thought about a sugar-free life? I had been thinking about it for years. Not continuously, just every now and then. When I finally decided to cut out sugar for a week, I did it out of boredom. I wasn’t prepared for what happened in those first days. But I sure learned a lot! So here are my 5 tips to make it easier, should you choose to give a sugar-free life a try.
Tip #1: Be curious
Ever tried to do something because you thought you had to? If you are still in the stage where you think you should stop eating sugar, you might want to step away from your screen. You can always return.
If you are ready for your own adventure, make it fun! Set an easy goal and be curious about it. I treated my sugar-free week like an experiment. Everything that happened in my body and my mind was interesting. And when I started, I knew it would just be for a week. I would only decide whether to stick with the change or not once I had the data.
Tip #2: Out of sight
Get rid of any sweets, sugar, honey, etc. Throw them out or if you can’t quite reconcile that with your conscience, put them in a bag and give it to a friend or family member. All of it.
Do your food shopping before you start your sugar-free week and have lots of savoury food you like ready. Just read the labels first. Lot’s of hidden sugars in food these days.
Tip #3: Avoid people
Yes, really. Even if you are in general a calm person, chances are that you will be anything from cranky to enraged during the first few days. If you also have to deal with people during this time, you’ll make it a lot harder on yourself. Especially, if eating sweets at the end of the day is one of your coping mechanisms.
Yes, I’m saying take the week off. I didn’t. BUT I worked remotely and had been practising self-awareness for months. As soon as I realised that I was very angry, I actively avoided people. It’s not forever. If there are people you can’t avoid, you might want to warn them.
Tip #4: Distractions
Have your distractions ready to go. Ideally, it’s something that engrosses you but that’s not actually essential. This is not the time to take a class in leadership skills for your next promotion.
Pick something fun that distracts you. Art or crafts if you enjoy either, bingewatch a series you’ve been meaning to check out, or even just allow yourself you get lost in YouTube videos.
Tip #5: Go cold turkey
This one is important. I didn’t cut back. I completely stopped eating sugary foods. No honey, no maple sirup and no fruit juices. No diet products or artificial sweeteners either. Yes, it was uncomfortable but only for four days. I’m convinced the change happened so fast because I went cold turkey.
My decision to go sugar-free was over a year ago. At the end of the week, the transformation was so profound that I decided to stick with it. One of the best decisions I have ever made in my entire life. My body, mind and life changed. I am happier and healthier than I have ever been before.
If you decide it’s time for your personal experiment, I hope these tips help you. Suddenly cutting out sugar is hard on your body. So take care of yourself and make it as easy as you can.
The Dodo Munches cannot and does not contain medical/health advice. The information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please read the full disclaimer here.