The 'Towards a Sugar-Free Future' Challenge

Honey_Bear

Some weeks that just happens Cookie; sugar is around all the time and everyone's eating cakes and biscuits and puddings and it's the normal way of things for a while and then we go back to being a bit more abstemious and that's fine.  You're certainly doing better than we would have done this time last year if your consumption is restricted to one sugary meal a day, that's for sure. 

I absolutely love smoothies, and I'll allow myself one very, very occasionally, like when I'm travelling for hours on end and need treats to fuel me through hours of sitting around.  That's the only time I ever have them and I can honestly say I've had no more than 20 in my entire life so they really are a treat for me and incredibly useful if I need to bump up my 5 a Day quota on travel days because they're usually at least two and are delicious.  I think I always knew they weren't exactly classed as healthy eating though.    We bought a secondhand juicer years ago to see if we wanted to go down that route but I was horrified by the amount of waste (ie all the roughage) that we threw out, and then the horrible job of washing it up.  It went, very soon after we acquired it and I don't miss it one bit!

I've indulged over the long weekend but nowhere near as much as I thought I would, which is amazing.  I will admit to eating a bar of chocolate, but one in four days isn't bad for me at all.  A cream tea for the Platty Jubs, so jam on the scone (on top of the cream obvs, because we're in Devon), a slice of lemon drizzle cake that someone else made, and I made brownies which I will admit to pretty much overdosing on because they flowed over the sides of the tin and the crispy bits were amazing.  I had two (or was it three?) this afternoon and that was defo one too many but it was lovely at the time. 

Tonight I looked at a bar of chocolate on the mantlepiece and just thought, 'No.  Don't need it.'  That's a first on a Sunday!  I hid it after that.

I'm going to cut down on the amount I eat from tomorrow.  Not much, just a bit, probably by stopping eating when I've had enough, rather than keep eating until I feel full.  I probably eat twice as much as I need to because of that.  I think I'll start by drinking a glass of water before I eat, to make me feel full earlier. 

cookie02

We had a celebration afternoon tea too - ours wasn't homemade but it was still lovely!  I am trying very hard to stay sugar-free today and to try and re-focus on our portion sizes as we've definitely gone off track over the last couple of weeks.  Reading your post really brought that home as I'd been trying to work out what was going on but then I read your post and looked at the spreadsheet and it became very obvious that we've just been eating more of everything over the last few weeks.  

Juicing is an interesting one. I've had mine for several years and use it every week.  There's no doubt that some days I'm very put off by the thought of all the scrubbing etc/. These days, the main thing I juice is celery and, aside from compost, I haven't found another use for the roughage.   I found recipes for some cookies that use up the fibre but they didn't work for us (too chewy!).  

I've been sugar-free so far today but it has been a real struggle and I'm not sure if I'll make it through the day.  I really, really wanted sugar earlier but managed to just eat a date and move on.  We have leftover desserts from the weekend still but I'm going to try to stick with dates or cheese later.  

Good luck with your goals for this week and fingers crossed for your goal to cut down the overall amount of food too, Honey_Bear! 

Honey_Bear

I had cheese at lunchtime and there are brownies that need finishing up (!) so I'd have to say that today was not one of my better days in terms of healthy eating but I can't say I'm too disappointed in myself.  I've gone without brownies for months and I absolutely love them so it's hardly surprising I'm making the most of having a batch in the fridge.

I'm going to freeze the rest though because otherwise this week will be a complete disaster!

cookie02

I managed to be sugar-free yesterday and have been sugar-free so far today.  The sugar gremlins are definitely whispering in my ear now though!  I might have a couple of dates later to try and ward them off.  

Freezing the brownies sounds like a good idea, Honey_Bear.  You've also reminded me of a recipe that I wanted to try using beetroot.  I made beetroot brownies before and they were great but I want to try them with maple syrup this time, just to see if I can eliminate the processed sugar altogether.  

Honey_Bear

Hugely well done Cookie.  Those sugar gremlins whispering in our ears are a proper bu**er - I also had them yesterday and that was made worse by my buying another pile of the cheap-as-chips Morribunds milk chocolate 'for a rainy day'.  I lusted heartily after one of them when I had my tea later, but resisted because I'd OD'd on brownies on Monday and also because I knew I'd have to confess to being a spineless wimp with absolutely no willpower on here if I indulged.  Sometimes it's just the thought of having to confess that gets me through the longings.  They're not cravings any more, they're just habitual self-indulgent longings.  There's little doubt in my mind that an indulgent weekend causes the longings to stretch into the following week but I'm not quite ready to give up those weekend treats just yet.

Surprisingly, considering how well-established my addiction to those date bars is, I completely forgot they were an alternative yesterday so I didn't have one.  Rather pleased about that.

Today I'm out twice which will make things a tad tougher - breakfast with a friend and then later dinner with Belovéd so that will be tempting.  However, a cooked breakfast isn't that sugary, and both places we're considering for dinner are well-known for excellent fish rather than desserts so I may get away with it today without too much effort.

Honey_Bear

Wednesday would have gone to plan if we'd stuck to the plan!  Breakfast with a long-standing friend I don't see very often was lovely and totally sugar-free but the other person due to join us couldn't do so until nearly 2.00pm, by which time of course we were peckish again, so we all ended up having a dessert with our teas and coffees.  I have to say the homemade by the independent café brownie I chose was much, much better than most brownies I've tried when out and about but not as rich and gooey as mine are.  Still, lovely nonetheless and I hadn't seen that friend for years.

Dinner was easy - it was a pre-priced event for 70 people and was fabulous and well worth the price, but we couldn't finish the main course so dessert was never going to happen.  A good thing, obviously, and one of the cats and the dog love love love leftover whitebait!

Back on the straight and narrow today.

How you doing Cookie?

cookie02

That sounds like a fun day, Honey_Bear, and you've found somewhere that does a reliable brownie now, even if it can't compete with homemade.  You never know when that kind of info might be useful .  

I have made it through until now sugar-free and this feels like a little miracle as the sugar gremlins have been screaming louder and louder in my ear.  The only reason I've got this far is lack of sugary opportunities, thanks to work!  Today, I will definitely be having some kind of dessert later.  The question is whether I'll be able to resist until then.  

This evening, we have a couple of friends over and I'll be baking later.  We have a family debate going between chocolate cake or profiteroles.  Being the (reforming!) sugar fiend that I am, I'm highly tempted to do both although that probably wouldn't be wise.  

Tomorrow, we will be meeting friends in London for brunch.  It's at a place that we used to go to before the pandemic and this will be our first trip since so we're really looking forward to it.  I think the sugar is more likely to come from cocktails later in the day, than from the brunch.  I've cut down on alcohol a lot and I'm alcohol-free most months now so going out for cocktails is a treat but one I need to be careful with as even one cocktail tends to have a crazy amount of sugar.  I have noticed the alcohol creeping up due to random client lunches and events but those should quieten down over the summer.  I think we were discussing social pressures a while back and, while I don't feel pressure to drink with the friends we'll be seeing tomorrow, the cocktails have become something of a habit for us over the years.  

How did yesterday go for you, Honey_Bear?  I hope you met your goals and that you had a good day ☀️.  

Honey_Bear

Yesterday I was fine until after dinner, when I just needed a m@gnum and apaprently a bite of Belovéd's marzipan thing - I don't even like marzipan!  Today I was sorely tempted at lunchtime but had half an avacado instead so I'm feeling full enough not to long for chocolate.  Things may be different in half an hour's time at 3.30 when my afternoon longings are at their worst.  As long as I can remember that I've got the date bars I'll be fine.

Fortunately for me I was never excited by cocktails so that temptation has always passed me by.  I know masses of women who absolutely love them and have them as a treat very occasionally.  Frankly I'm all in favour of knowing what excites anyone about food and drink and allowing ourselves to have them as treats so that they feel special on special occasions and, really importantly, mark them as special occasions.  It's a bit like Christmas and Easter being feast days.  Our problem is that in our society we've allowed ourselves 'treats' every day because clever advertising campaigns say we're worth it.  I really hope you thoroughly enjoy your cocktails, your baking today and the results of that baking this evening. 

You've earned it this week Cookie - which is more than I have!

Honey_Bear

I totally blew it last night.  Very occasionally I get days when I just can't satisfy my appetite, and yesterday was one of those days.  I had worked exceptionally hard physically which may be why I ate a perfectly lovely dinner and then followed it up with dessert (very little sugar, but some on the baked nectarines nonetheless), a m@gnum and then another bar of chocolate, on top of the one I'd eaten in the afternoon. 

I think I need to accept that physical work for that long all day leads to binging.  It's okay to do these things occasionally if the upshot is that I learn what triggers me.  Otherwise it's totally not okay, obviously!

This weekend should be a more self-disciplined couple of days.  I certainly hope so.

cookie02

Well, the cake and profiteroles both had their moments yesterday so you weren't the only one having a sugary start to the weekend, Honey_Bear...  You're right that it helps to know your triggers.  Since you'd done a lot of physical hard work, that was probably your body wanting the energy boost, as much as anything else though!  

We have a brunch with friends later this morning and I'm not in a sugary mood so I think I'll be ok with that part of the day but we'll see how I feel when we get to cocktails later this evening.  I have found that I can't drink mojitos anymore (too syrupy!) so I think I'll just try something that I might not have had in the past as it could be that the less sugary drinks are more appealing for me now.  

Honey_Bear said:

This weekend should be a more self-disciplined couple of days.  I certainly hope so.

Fingers crossed, Honey_Bear!  Even if things go pear-shaped, we're making progress and that's what counts 🥇.