The 'Towards a Sugar-Free Future' Challenge

Honey_Bear

I've been struggling with my sugar consumption for years and no matter how hard I try I don't seem to be able to just cut it out.  I've tried everything I can think of over the past five years but nothing's worked.  It's time to try an approach that has worked for something else.

Just over seven years ago I joined the Giving Up / Cutting Down Alcohol forum thread and posted every single day for two solid years.  The wonderful support on that thread helped me stop drinking altogether and I'm still absolutely certain that without that support I wouldn't have succeeded.  So, despite having been able to give up both smoking and drinking by going cold turkey I just can't hack giving up sugar on my own, and I wondered if anyone else has the same problem and would like to try this approach.   

I'm at least a stone (6.35kgs) overweight and that's entirely down to sugar, which I started over-eating when I gave up smoking, but when I stopped drinking it got totally out of hand.  One of the wise people on the Giving Up / Cutting Down thread said it was because the sugar content of alcohol is so high that when you cut out the booze, your consumption of sugar increases to balance it.  I don't know if that's true but it certainly seemed to be so for me because the weight was slowly piling on after I stopped smoking and the rate has certainly increased since going alcohol-free.

If I stopped craving sugar I'd stop buying the stuff in chocolate and biscuits and ice cream and desserts and .... all the rest of it, which is where the MSE thing comes in.  Of itself each £1 spent on a bar of chocolate isn't a massive amount, but I've been tracking my chocolate spend this year, and by the end of July I'd racked up £143 on chocolate alone - and I started the year with a big stash.   That's just chocolate.  I also had a sugar stash, and there are only four bags left - the rest went in puddings, biscuits, cakes, jam, marmalade and anything else I can think of making. 

It has to stop.

However, denial on it's own just doesn't work for me so dieting isn't my way forward.  I'm going to wean myself off this stuff and if anyone would like to join me that would be really, really helpful.

From tomorrow, Monday, I will be cutting out sugar on Mondays - for the rest of the month.

From September I will be cutting out sugar on Mondays and Tuesdays.

In October, no sugar on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

November - Monday to Thursday will be sugar-free.

December - sugar on weekends only.

There are exceptions.  I am not a sugar-nazi and I am only talking about added sugar, so fruit is fine, mayo and tomato ketchup stay on the edible list despite both containing sugar, and if there happens to be a birthday or a highday or holiday that falls during the week I intend to eat whatever happens to be on offer that day.  If we go out for a meal with friends and other people want dessert, I'll probably continue to share one with my Belovéd.  I am not a purist about this because having tried that approach I just know I'll fail.  I'm planning on being pragmatic because I believe I stand a better chance of succeeding by being so.

I'll post daily, whether I eat sugar or not.  When I don't I'll need to record those successes, and when I do eat sugar I need to hold myself accountable for whatever it is that I'm eating that I know I really shouldn't be eating but can't seem to help myself.

This is NOT a diet.  It's a change in the way I live my life, so it's about breaking old bad habits and setting up newer healthier ones.

Anyone else fancy having a go?

Jazee

I'll join you HB.  DH will too (but not cutting out alcohol just yet for him).  Ours will be added sugar. Cakes, biscuits,crisps, sweets, jam, sugar in hot drinks.  One day a week to start seems manageable.

We both have 3 stone to lose.

kazwookie

Ohhhh I'll be sort of joining in, good luck to you all xx

maman

I called by to wish you all the best on your challenge @Honey_Bear.

You've made a good start by having a plan which you can record your progress against. I like a plan. 😁

Personally, I don't have a sweet tooth. My downfall would be savoury stuff like cheese and crisps. I find the best way is not to keep them at home. I do buy cheese but only Parmesan and freeze grated cheese for a few recipes. Neither of those can be snacked on. So I have them as absolute treats when I'm out like a cheeseboard after a meal or crisps with a take away sandwich when travelling (remember that? 🤔). The last time we had them at home was at Christmas as planned treats.

You might find that a good tip because it's probably better (if not very mse) to have a slice of cake in a coffee shop rather than a whole cake at home. Just a thought. Good luck. 😊

Narc0lepsy

Sounds worth a try. I'm saying that but...excuse alert.....my brother is here for a couple of days and I already have a chocolate roulade, after 8s in the house and have discussed blueberry friandes for dessert. But I'll try.

Honey_Bear

@Narc0lepsy the whole idea of this Challenge is to do what we can when we can.  When the opportunity to enjoy the company of those we like and love presents itself I have absolutely no intention of being a virtuous sugar-nazi and not doing so.  As I said, on highdays and holidays I intend to carry on indulging, even when they fall on days when I have said I'll abstain. I'm in this for the longhaul and if I'm too tough on myself and see it as puritanical denial I won't succeed.  Go for it with your brother and enjoy the goodies you've been looking forward to with him.

@maman - you lucky thing not being tempted by sugar!  I too love cheese and in the past I've eaten far, far too much of it but that's under control at the moment.  Thanks for stopping by.

Well @Jazee and @Kazwookie it looks like it's up to us!  I won't bother with listing all the sugary things I ate today but suffice to say I didn't stint on them and didn't over-indulge any more than usual.  Onwards and upward for tomorrow.

leftatthetrafficlights

@Honey_Bear - I'll certainly join but will start next week  (I'm on leave this week and have a number of days out planned due to birthdays etc 😉)

My sugar consumption is mainly due to alcohol and mixers (I'm also part of the cutting down alcohol thread) along with condiments (I'm vegan and not a cake and choccie lover) which I eat a ridiculous amount of - I make my own flavoured balsamics, jams, marmalades, mint sauces, pickled beetroot, chutneys etc to which I add masses of sugar and almost every meal has more condiments than food!!🙈 

So, for me, reduction will have to be based on reducing the alcohol and finding alternatives to my condiment addiction- I like the idea of having specific days without sugar so I'll use a similar approach 😊

Jazee

Sweet stuff yesterday- I'm including crisps as they're a weakness for me - quarter tub of Pringles, finger of fudge, little dessert of three mini profiteroles and half a pack of chocolate coated peanuts.

Still on holiday so my sugar free day this week will be tomorrow.

delta13

I'll join you @Honey_Bear ! This is just the kick up the bum I needed haha.
Since first lockdown I've put on about a stone. I'm still just about within "healthy weight" range but I have become rounder and my clothes are getting tighter! I'm saving towards a house deposit - I've made a promise not to buy any new clothes where possible so if I can cut down sugar and lose an inch that will massively help. Cutting down on sugar will save me ££ on clothing and treats so a double win!
My kryptonite is fizzy drinks, I only drink it at work and it's worst when I'm in the weekends... which is this week. In fact most of my sugar-snacking happens at work. So tackling that association between work and sugar is going to be my focus.

If you don't mind, I'm going to do a slight variation of yours based on my working week? Basically working backwards from weekends to weekdays, but going all in when it's my turn to work the weekend! 

Month 1
Week 1 - Weekend in Work - No sugar on Saturday and Sunday.
Week 2 - Saturday in Work - No sugar on Friday and Saturday.
Week 3 - Monday - Friday - No sugar on Friday.
Week 4 - Monday - Friday - No sugar on Friday.

Month 2
Week 1 - Weekend in Work - No sugar on Saturday and Sunday.
Week 2 - Saturday in Work - No sugar on Friday and Saturday.
Week 3 - Monday - Friday - No sugar on Thursday and Friday.
Week 4 - Monday - Friday - No sugar on Thursday and Friday

Month 3
Week 1 - Weekend in Work - No sugar on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Week 2 - Saturday in Work - No sugar on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Week 3 - Monday - Friday - No sugar on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Week 4 - Monday - Friday - No sugar on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Etc Etc

Honey_Bear

@leftatthetrafficlights I'm only starting today because I had the idea yesterday (Sunday) while reading an article that links obesity in children in the southern states of the USA with problems recovering from Covid-19, an extremely random link to cutting out sugar on Monday but that's apparently the link my mind made.  Overconsumption of sugar + easily transmittable lung infection = obesity + poor health outcomes has been known for some time.  The fact that some children are now at a higher risk in the USA while not apparently in the UK was interesting, but then made me realise I didn't need to carry on doing what I was doing and feeling helpless about my weight, and so came up with the idea.  Anyone and everyone who wants to join in is very, very welcome because if we can encourage each other to stay on a slightly straighter, slightly narrower path it will benefit us all. 

Mondays suit me because I always feel I start a new week with a clean slate.

It's such a shame that all the fun stuff like booze, mixers, sugary condiments (and I include tomato ketchup and mayonnaise in that, which if I made myself would not have sugar in, but I don't so they do) are all high in sugar.  I love MaccyDs, and allow myself one year but learned a couple of weeks ago one of the reason the fries are so moreish is that they're given a sugar bath as part of the precooking processing.  Seriously?  Sugar on potatoes?  When did that get classed as a food?  So, that once a year treat is now out for me and I'm cross about it!

Anyone from the Cutting Down / Giving Up Alcohol thread is always especially welcome because that group of people were massively important in my being able to stop drinking when nothing else I tried had worked.  So, you're very welcome to knit your own version of 'Towards a sugar-free future' because only you know what's likely to work for you and success breeds more success in my experience.  (If we learned from our mistakes no-one would ever have a second hangover but we all know that's doesn't work!)

 

Honey_Bear

@Jazee Oh crisps!  The most moreish of foods until, as I discovered, they always give a person indigestion.  It took me a year to realise that two foods do, every time I eat them - crisps and liquorice allsorts.  It puts one off them I can tell you, which is an extremely good thing in my case.  I totally get that they're on your list of foods to resist resist resist - good luck with it.