The 'Towards a Sugar-Free Future' Challenge

Honey_Bear

That's really interesting, Morning Walker, so thanks for the link. 

I've just watched Dr Giles Yeo's talk on How we got the Science of Weight Loss Wrong, a Royal Institution lecture on YouTube, which is a fascinating breakdown of why calorie counting and diets aren't that helpful.  He mentions sugar at the end, briefly, but the thrust of his approach complements Dr Tim Spector's ideas in The Diet Myth.  I think I'm going down their road on my approach to eating, so I'm starting gently with my lunches this week.  Let's see if it results in fewer sugar, or in my case - chocolate - indulgences.

I'm making more chicken liver paté today because it helped reduce my cravings while I was having it daily and for about 10 days afterwards but I haven't had any for a couple of weeks and look what happened - I'm back to chocolate daily.  Time to see if it actually helps or whether I'm just giving myself excuses.

cookie02

Morning_walker, thanks for the homemade rice cake idea.  I might also try some with maple and chilli, as well as doing homemade chocolate ones so I can pick the 85% dark chocolate.  

jackieblack, thank you for the link.  I haven't had a chance to go into it properly yet but I've earmarked some pages to read in more detail, as well as some recipes that I think my family will also like.  I hope you are doing well and continuing to feel better.  

Honey_Bear, it sounds like we're both recovering from similar weeks sugar-wise.  I hope this week has started better for you from a food perspective!  I haven't read The Diet Myth, I will add that to my list too and also look up the Royal Society lecture.  I've read similar things about how calorie counting and restrictions tend to be less successful.  I think one of the reasons this challenge is so effective for me is because we are cutting the sugar over a period of time, there is no counting involved, plus there is some flexibility to accommodate for events (or generous neighbours and well-meaning family members ).  By the way, I think your pate trick must work as I remember trying it with some smoked mackerel and it definitely helped me get through the afternoon cravings.  

I've been sugar-free so far today and I think I'm going to go ahead and declare this as my first sugar-free day of the week.  That way, I have to stay sugar-free for the rest of the evening .  

How is everyone?  I hope you have had a good start to the week.  Let's hope we get closer to achieving our goals this week! 🍀 

Honey_Bear

Well done Cookie!   We both made it through today, so Day 1 this week has been achieved.  I had a very veggie lunch, in fact so veggie that it was vegan (neither of which describes me accurately) followed by a vegan dinner which Belovéd cooked.  It turns out that if the protein and roughage content is high enough the satiation lasts a lot longer than a meal of easily digested sugar and carbohydrates.  The plan worked today, tomorrow I intend to eat some of that chicken liver paté and then finish up the leftover beef thing for an early supper as we're going out, so I won't be tempted by late afternoon munchies or while I'm watching TV in the evening.  At the very least I'm aiming for those two days sugar-free this week, because it's a High Day on Wednesday as we're having lunch with a friend for his birthday, so I don't hold out a lot of hope for Wednesday.

Which day, also, happens to be the first day of Lent.  I'm conflicted by Lent this year - I'd like to give up sugar for Lent, but the truth is I'm just not sure I'm strong enough to do the full 40 days.  I'm not in the habit of setting myself up for failure so I'm dithering about making the commitment at this late stage.  I'll have to see how it goes on Thursday and Friday, although I have noticed I'm getting much better at not sugar binging on the weekends any more, even though I'm finding the weekdays tough.

cookie02

That is great news, Honey_Bear - well done to you too!  Has the pate been working for you today?  I hear you re: setting yourself up to be successful with your goals.  Forty consecutive days is beyond me right now but I'll happily cheer you on, if you decide to go ahead by Thursday/Friday .   

I've been sugar-free so far today so I'm going to consider Tuesday as my 2nd sugar-free day for this week.  Now that I've typed it, I can't give in!  

Hope everyone is progressing well this week 🍀.  

 

Honey_Bear

No decision yet, Cookie.  I've got very little confidence I can do it, so I still feel unable to commit to it, but I'd dearly love to mark Lent somehow just the same.

As for the paté, I haven't actually had a toastful of it, so to speak.  I tasted it yesterday, liked it a lot because I was rather generous with the brandy, and meant to have it today but got side-tracked by another Buddha bowl of veggies for lunch and that was that.  I think it's quite likely I'll have some tomorrow evening for supper because I won't want a full meal after going out for lunch. 

Well done for making it through another sugar-free day - so did I, I'm pleased to say.  Two full days in a row seems like something of an achievement right now!

cookie02

Honey_Bear said:

Two full days in a row seems like something of an achievement right now!

Well done, Honey_Bear! . This is exactly how I feel too.  Enjoy your High Day today!  

Honey_Bear said:

No decision yet, Cookie.  I've got very little confidence I can do it, so I still feel unable to commit to it, but I'd dearly love to mark Lent somehow just the same.

Instead of cutting out all sugar for the 40 days, have you thought about giving up one specific chocolatey treat, or type of treat, for Lent?  Since you know that your weakness is chocolate, maybe you could select chocolate biscuits or chocolate cake or a specific brand that you know you enjoy (I am avoiding suggesting anything beginning with 'M' here ).  

I have dates, peanut butter and mini cheese lined up as snack options for today.  Work is busy enough that I hope it will keep me away from any sugary temptation.  I hope everyone is having a good week.  

Honey_Bear

Well that suggestion Cookie is just genius.  Thank you so much and I'm absolutely going to give up the things starting with M completely for Lent, and that's made me realise I can give up chocolate completely too which will be extrememly hard but should be doable.  Cocoa is fine but chocolate, which is my real weakness, is not.  That's what it's going to be.  Baby steps - chocolate is the problem because I love it so much, so that's what it has to be.

If anyone can explain this anomoly about Lent to me I'd be grateful.  The Bible is very clear on it - Christ spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness but Lent, 2 March to 14 or 17 April depending on whether you consider Good Friday or Easter Sunday the end of it or not is 43 or 46 days - so where are those extra days accounted for?  Years ago someone said that Sundays don't count but others say that's a cop-out.  Views, anyone?  Please note, this isn't a discussion about faith, it's about the technicalities of this particular period of abstention. 

cookie02

Honey_Bear, I hope you enjoyed your High Day yesterday and I'm glad the chocolate suggestion helped.  Well done for taking the decision to give up those M@gnums for Lent.  As Morning_walker pointed out the other day, you've given up alcohol and smoking so 40 days without chocolate will be tough but totally do-able for you .  

Separately, you made me curious about the 40 days as I've never really thought about this.  Searching gave me the same explanations you had re: the Sundays.  I also read a very interesting article about how the 'Lenten fast' isn't the same as the 'Liturgical Season of Lent' (the latter being the longer period).  According to this, the Lenten fast doesn't apply on Sundays.  Apparently, you shouldn't actively try to indulge in whatever you've given up on Sundays but you shouldn't actively try to avoid it either.  According to various overviews, it seems that Sundays are always considered Feast Days.  

Sugar-wise, I've made it through three days in a row!  I can't believe how happy this has made me .  I really want to get through today sugar-free.  So far, so good- unfortunately, it's not the mornings that I struggle with.  

How is everyone?  

Honey_Bear

But Cookie, you have no idea how many times I tried and failed to give up smoking and drinking! 

Thanks for your Lent and Lenten research - what you've said makes complete sense and I now get it, at long last.  I'm very grateful.  The intention will be to stick with no chocolate six days a week, possibly seven, but if I get cravings or whatever on Sundays I'll have something like the chocolate nut butter on toast if it's during the day, most likely around tea time I'd have thought, and / or some chocolate after dinner if I really feel the need.  That feels fair, and doesn't mean I need to splurge just because I technically can.  I'm very happy with that plan, which is all down to you.

I'm managing to keep up with you regarding sugar-free days so far which I'm surprised and happy with, given the fact that for a few weeks I've really struggled with this Challenge.  I didn't have dessert yesterday because I didn't trust the restaurant to provide a chocolately enough brownie, and I certainly wasn't going to break the Challenge or Lent for something that was just mediocre and dull.  If I can manage to bake something that is so chocolatey it's to die for I can't see why a good restaurant can't but surprisingly they often can't, so I skipped dessert and felt rather pleased with myself.  Because it was a good lunch, followed by a supper of freshly baked homemade bread, cheese and paté I have to say the scales sure showed it this morning, but those occasions only happen once in a blue moon so it was worth it.

Today I'm back on the Buddha bowls, having made one to take to the place where I volunteer because I knew it would be a long morning and I knew I'd be going shopping straight afterwards and didn't want to be hungry, and one that I left on the side so it was at room temperature when I got home so I could just add a bit of hummus and dressing and have a meal instantly.  Just as well - it was a very long morning and I was starving, and instead of wanting to eat crap I dived in and had a veggie feast.  Very satisfying. 

Belovéd is making mushroom risotto tonight so today will be a very veggie day again with, thus far, no urge to eat anything with sugar in it at all.   Very chuffed with that.

Honey_Bear

I think this is the first time I've managed five full completely sugar-free days since I started this Challenge - I pretty much always fall at the Friday evening hurdle and indulge in chocolate.  Last night I didn't, so I'm chuffed with myself.  Onwards and upwards!