I Tried ‘No Sugar’ For 30 Days – An Experiment

16 Jun I Tried ‘No Sugar’ For 30 Days – An Experiment

While we stay located at one zip code (for health and safety reasons), I’ve come to realize that what I’ve been missing is creative experimentation and trialing things just for fun. Things that take us out of the comfort zone and allow us to collect memories (and not things) are one of the major elements I miss from our life pre-COVID. When we were traveling full-time, it was so easy to be taken out all forms of comfort because hey, travel just does that. Being stuck at (a temporary) home takes away those feelings, so while we all slowly get back to our normal lives – with or without full-time travel – I want to spend my time doing a few fun and / or creative experiments. With each experiment, I’m hoping to be that much closer to living my best life once again, embracing change and newness to help me find creative happiness. My second experiment involves giving up something that I am very much addicted to, so hope you enjoy my reflection on a time out of the comfort zone: 30 Days Of ‘No Sugar’.

I know I’m crazy for doing this during a pandemic, with Stevo man-down (and my need to treat myself and reward myself is at an all-time high). But I guess I never said I wasn’t crazy. I’m also really, really craving that feeling of being tested and being put out of my comfort zone again, so here we are. 

It’s the fourth of my 30-day experiments – you may remember I chose to do 30 days of coloring a few weeks ago, I trialed being a hardcore-with-no-cheats vegan for Veganuary back in 2016 (which turned into a much longer love affair with vegan food), and way back in 2015 we both did a little stint of no internet for 30 days. Yeah, well this experiment of no sugar for 30 days was surely going to be the toughest. I mean I’m a sugar addict, with sometimes no remorse for finishing an entire cake / slab / tray / jar of anything worth my calories (basically expensive and good quality chocolate or pastries). I live on sugar, and it’s not just the sweet treats post-meal that I enjoy. I eat vegan mayonnaise (has sugar), jam (sugar fest), and drink wine (hello hidden sugar). So yeah, this was going to be a difficult 30 days*.

*I did strategically choose to do this before my birthday so that I could absolutely still indulge when 36 trips around the sun came around, so no cause for alarm – I did have birthday cake on my birthday.

Preparation For The Experiment

I made sure to be prepared ahead of my experiment, so got myself a copy of Eve Schaub’s Year Of No Sugar to get a glimpse of what I could expect, and Eve was certainly not shy to spare on details. It was a delightful read and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in hearing about the trials and tribulations of a family trying to be healthier (and going through a really tough time giving up cake). It definitely inspired me to give this “no sugar” thing a try, so thank you Eve for putting your family through it. 

“I imagine that one day, when the data has become so abundant as to be incontrovertible, having a buffet of sugar that rivals the actual food will be considered as socially unacceptable as smoking on airplanes or littering out your car window – things which we as a society once accepted as completely normal yet now we have come to realize the destructiveness of. Nobody is trying to say we can’t smoke or drink or throw things away; they’re just saying we have to be careful – much more careful – about how we go about it. Same with sugar.” – Eve Schaub

The Rules Of The Experiment

• I would need to give up all added sugar for 30 days – no cheat days allowed
• Besides regular cane sugar, I would need to give up honey, maple syrup, molasses, and all artificial sweeteners
• I would have to avoid products with added sugar (meaning a lot of label-reading) and would need to make my own if I wanted a sugar-free substitute that was not available
• I would be allowed to eat fruit, trying to have a variety of colors, and aiming for 2-3 per day
• I would be allowed to snack on and use dates, raisins and dried cranberries when baking
• I would be allowed to have bread (even though sugar is used in making the dough)

What I Needed For The Experiment

• Nothing out of the ordinary – life would continue as normal, but I’d just need a great attitude and belief that I could actually do this

What I Discovered After The 30 Days Of ‘No Sugar’

It became apparent to me that these 30 days taught me more than just how much I love cake.

• Firstly, I learned that there were a few things that I really, really missed, and would hate to imagine a world without:
• My late night block of Lindt 70% dark chocolate – although my homemade ‘no sugar’ “Tobler-none” that I invented became a good substitute for late night treats.
• My maple syrup in my oats – although the bites with blueberries made up for it.
• My weekend baking – it’s actually really difficult to make a wide array of tasty sugar-free things, and with this ‘no sugar’ experiment, my favourite weekend past time (while we remain at one location) was compromised.
• My cranberry juice – pre-experiment I used it only to flavour my water slightly, and definitely missed the taste and health benefits of it.
• If I didn’t have bread as my cheat food, I would’ve definitely put it in this list – I simply can’t live without a fresh ciabatta or seeded loaf (or pizza).

Secondly, I learned that there’s actually a lot of items in my diet that I can easily remove for good, and live happily without:

• Condiments where I can make my own replacement – tomato sauce, mustard, mayonnaise (if I one day invest in the equipment to make them) and jam. Although I REALLY missed jam, I managed just fine by mashing the fruit onto the bread itself – same fruity deliciousness, no additional sugar.
• Sodas and soft drinks – there’s just no need for them.
• Pre-packaged cookies, crackers, baked goods – I prefer making my own anyway, so can consciously use less sugar in the future in my baking.
• Added sugar in my tea – I’ve never had it anyway, so it’s easy to continue having sugar-less herbal tea.
• Using sugar in some of my cooking – rice, Bolognese sauce, stews; I can offset the acidity using carrots normally, and a pinch of salt and no sugar is perfectly ok for rice.

Then I learned a few other things – less about me and my likes and dislikes, and more about food and our world in general:

That even the “healthy foods” like seeded crackers and All-bran flakes have sugar and / or some form of syrup in them.

That some foods have sugar-free options (you just have to read the labels). Soy sauce and vanilla essence are two examples I came across – the more expensive quality brand came without the addition of sugar.

That rotis and some tortilla wraps are sugar-free, so make for a great bread substitute (if you’re going hardcore and want to trial a no toast month).

That by increasing my fruit intake, I can easily curb my body’s need for sugar.

That dextrose is a phenomenon. Eve spoke about it a lot in her book, and I gave it a shot. It’s sugar-free sweetness with the same chemical breakdown as glucose (which our bodies produce naturally for energy) so a great substitute for when you’re REALLY craving something sweet, or need it for baking.

That going out for food is a near impossible experience during a ‘no sugar’ experiment, as almost everything on any menu will have sugar in it. If your social life involves dinner dates, you’ll certainly be a lot less social, and if you hate to cook, then you’re going to struggle beyond just the sugar cravings.

That cooking your own meals and making your own sauces, condiments e.t.c. is a gift and we shouldn’t take it for granted.

That you can actually get very creative and inventive when trying to live with no sugar – as with any creative project with constraints, you find a way to make it work, somehow pairing things you never knew could be paired, until they resemble something amazing. Like the one night I took some vegan cream, added cocoa, and squeezed the juice of a few grapes to come up with a sugar-free chocolate mouse which was amazing and definitely curbed the craving.

That sometimes I actually love the act of snacking more than the food I’m snacking on. I sometimes feel better by rewarding myself with something tasty – so it doesn’t matter if it’s a choc-chip cookie or an oat bran date biscuit – it’s the mere act of having something that I like…meaning if I just have healthy snacks around, I’ll be fine with that as my treat.

That it’s impossible to give sugar up entirely – life just wouldn’t be the same. But if you’re more conscious of what you’re consuming, and stick to the 80/20 rule, you’ll be able to be healthy and happy (and still have that little block of 70% Lindt dark chocolate at night).

Conclusion

Coming out of the 30 days of ‘no sugar’ felt like I was finally released from the torture chamber that is life without sugar. I know I learned a lot about food, and there have certainly been some benefits to this experiment, but I don’t want to downplay how difficult it actually was for me. To resist the urges and cravings. To say ‘no’ to delicious items that I’ve never had to say ‘no’ to. It reminded me a little bit of when I first went vegan during the Veganuary challenge – that sudden realisation that you cannot have something you’ve grown so accustomed to having. That’s when you know you’ve left the comfort zone.

Even though I made it through, I’m very happy that I don’t have any intolerances to sugar, and that I can afford to treat myself with a block of chocolate every now and then.

That being said, on the day of my finally eating sugar again, I felt a weird guilt opening that jar of jam – like I was doing something I shouldn’t have been. I eased into it – a teaspoon of jam on my toast for breakfast (which was nice, but I could’ve easily just had plain blueberries mashed on top), and then I had some chocolate later that day.

A few weeks post-experiment, I must say that I’m very cautious of my sugar usage – if a recipe calls for a tablespoon, I use a teaspoon (or none at all). I’m avoiding a lot of foods I lived on prior to the experiment, and I’m actually quite happy flavoring my water with a squeeze of lemon instead of my regular cranberry juice.

If you’re thinking about doing this experiment, I highly recommend that you do. Get out of your comfort zone and see what creative inventions you can come up with. It can only benefit you, and also show you what you really love and what you can live without.

Have you done a 30 days of ‘no sugar’ experiment, or would you consider doing it? Let us know in the comments below!

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