One day in February, I woke up and decided to challenge myself to quit sugar for 30 days. No clue why. It was just a thing. And then I thought, well why not quit smoking too? So I quit that too. On February 24th, I embarked on a ridiculous “quit everything you love” journey and away I went.
This is a detailed account of what happened to me mentally and physically and the changes I noticed, and/or didn’t notice.
Grab your favourite sugar-free beverage and let’s dive in!
The 30 Day Quit Sugar Challenge
I’ve been off and on keto for a long time and while I don’t follow it religiously, I do try to limit my sugar intake and will generally only use sweeteners for baking/cooking, etc, but every now and then I will buy a real chocolate bar, or indulge in a piece of cake or pie.
During this challenge, I swore off all sweeteners, sugar, everything. I got my sugar fix from natural sources like fruits. I also came up with a neat little treat where I stuffed a date with 100% dark chocolate.
Yes, it was delicious. Anyway, to say this quit sugar challenge was hard is an understatement.
I also tried to stay away from heavy-carb foods like pasta and bread (my nonna is rolling in her grave). That was hard too.
And let’s not forget, I also quit smoking! Oh, and to top it all off, I even decided to stop colouring my roots. You could say I’ve gone crazy! Ha!
Taking Care of your health as you get older
I’ll be 63 this year and I’m more aware of my health, mental and physical, these days. I want to be strong and healthy moving through my 60s and going into my 70s and 80s. I don’t want to age and grow old in a nursing home like my parents did.
So I’m doing everything in my power to make sure that happens, and God willing, I’ll be able to live out my years on my own with minimal help or support.
I’m a strong believer in ‘it’s never too late’ so here I am in my 60s, making radical changes to my health so I can live my best life ever.
I’d love to know if you quit sugar or have thought about it, what your results were or how you feel about it. Drop down in the comments below!
I used a great app to track my protein, fibre, and calorie intake to make sure I was getting enough. When you quit sugar, it’s important to fill up with protein and drink plenty of water, which I did.
Week 1 of No Sugar
From the day I decided to quit sugar to the actual first day of the challenge, I had about 5 days to play around with which means, I indulged a little (read=I indulged a lot!). The day before we started, I also cleaned my house out of all the sugar I had kicking around and made sure there were no temptations.
So, the first week went pretty smoothly. I took my measurements (waist and hips) and weighed myself on the first day. Now, it’s important to note that I did not start the quit sugar challenge to lose weight but for all the other health benefits which I’ll discuss later in this article.
I also took a selfie every day so I could monitor my skin.
I had no real sugar cravings during week one or nicotine cravings, but I don’t really want to document the no-smoking thing so there will be few references about my quit-smoking journey.
Personally, I love to have a sweet treat after dinner so I made sure to always have berries, apples, melons, etc on hand to snack on after dinner to get my sugar fix in. It wasn’t until week 2 I discovered the dates and chocolate trick.
week 2 of no sugar
In week 2, I noticed I had more energy and more clarity and focus while I worked. Normally, I’m very scatterbrained, busy and unorganized with my work but without sugar, I was laser-focused on what I had to do and managed to get all my projects done.
The bad part about week 2 is that cravings started hitting me. Sugar cravings, not nicotine. I was jonesing for a chocolate bar or a piece of pie or something, anything!! It was pretty bad.
I ate way more dates and chocolates than I should have but I needed to kill the cravings. I know I wouldn’t have fallen off the wagon but I needed something to help me with the cravings.
I also noticed that my aching body parts (wrist, elbows, knees) weren’t so achy anymore. I was happy about that.
Week 3 no sugar
Cravings…oy. They were out of control by week 3. I tried my best to not think about them but they seem to completely take over my mind. I ate a lot more fruit this week and more dates stuffed with chocolate. Remember, I’m not doing this to lose weight.
I should state though that I did weigh myself at the start and I weighed in at 128 lbs. At the end of 30 days, I was a comfortable 125 lbs. I was happy about that.
I did break down and have pasta which I really didn’t want to have during this challenge (pasta converts to sugar in your body). While I didn’t exactly have sugar, pasta was a very poor food choice.
Despite this, I still have lots of energy and feel good. I don’t have brain fog and getting lots of work done. I’m feeling confident moving into week 4.
Last week of the 30-day no sugar challenge
I was literally counting down the days. Quitting sugar was very hard. I had only a few nicotine cravings since I started this, but the sugar cravings were out of control. This surprised me!
So, this last week I drank a lot of water, worked out really hard at the gym, walked more than I usually do and felt really proud of myself for making it this far.
My body felt strong and pain-free.
I also noticed that I wasn’t as bloated as I normally am. I was hoping that my skin would be clearer than it was. I think I may have noticed a slight improvement in my skin but I feel that that’s solely because I quit smoking too.
It’s hard to tell, to be honest.
how I feel overall after I quit sugar for 30 days
So after 30 days of no sugar, I feel good, strong and healthy but I mostly feel proud of myself for completing this challenge and for also still being smoke-free.
When I told people I was quitting sugar for 30 days the first thing they would say was, “Oh, I can’t do that”. This made me sad. Of course, you can. You can do anything you set your mind to.
You don’t WANT to quit sugar. There’s a difference.
Anyway, honestly, with everything – quitting sugar, quitting smoking, walking more, going to the gym again, I feel better than I have in years. I’m confident that I will stick to this new healthy lifestyle though I’m not entirely sure about the 100% no sugar.
We’ll see.
The benefits of quitting sugar
I just want to share some benefits of quitting sugar and then I’m going to share the damaging effects of sugar on your body, mind and overall health.
Benefits of quitting sugar
- weight management
- regulates blood sugar
- improves mood
- clearer skin
- supports heart health
Damaging effects of sugar
- weight gain
- poor oral health
- risk of dementia/cognitive decline
- inflammation/pain
- increase risk of heart disease
You can see how sugar is the devil. It does nothing good for your body or mental health.
before you quit sugar talk to your doctor
It’s so important to speak to your doctor a health care professional before you start changing your diet. While I’m pretty sure your doctor will tell you to quit sugar, he may have practical advice for you to help you quit sugar.
Some helpful tips to quit sugar
- increase your daily water intake
- eat more lean protein
- increase your fibre intake
- do some deep breathing exercises when you have a sugar craving
- pat yourself on the back at the end of each sugar-free day!
Quitting sugar is not easy but it’s not impossible and you’ll feel so much better once you do. Trust me on that!
I recently uploaded a video over on my YouTube channel about my experience with this 30 day quit sugar challenge. Click on the image below to watch it now (don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there!).
final thoughts on quitting sugar
While this isn’t easy, it’s worth it, especially as we get older, it’s so important to take better care of our health. I want to slide into my senior years strong, healthy, sharp and happy. I want that for you too!
I’m not sure that I’ll stick with no sugar 100% forever, but I will be more conscious of what I eat and will listen to my body more carefully.
xo iva xo
