The 'Towards a Sugar-Free Future' Challenge

cookie02

I confess, I didn't realise there was an MSE app, Honey_Bear!  I will need to investigate...  

We were out on Saturday and I had dessert (a lovely chocolate cake with strawberries and ice cream).  On Sunday, we had coffee out and I chose a hot chocolate which came with a lovely chocolate chip cookie 😋 and then I had dessert.  This week will be tough as I will be out today, Thursday evening and then all day on Friday.  

I am going to aim to be sugar-free until Friday lunchtime, instead of Friday evening as I just don't think that will be realistic.  I'm going to try to skip any processed sugar today and on Thursday evening as I know how hard it will be for me to get back on track next week if I stray.  

Honey_Bear said:

I caved Friday night which I think is going to be a permanent thing.  You're right - Friday evening is the beginning of the weekend and it's needlessly strict of me to be a martyr to this Challenge.  Some weeks I've managed to be sugar-free on Friday evening but more often than not, not. 

I admire you for managing to stay sugar-free on quite a lot of Fridays, Honey_Bear.  Clearly, it is psychological but the Friday night treat is too embedded for me to try giving that up.  I would just give yourself the Friday night 'free pass' and then celebrate if you end up not using it - this challenge means that anything you consume on a Friday will still be less than in the past so it is still a win in my book.  

Honey_Bear said:

Well done for cutting back on the booze during lockdown.  Belovéd cut right back when I stopped drinking and now very rarely has more than a couple of glasses of wine or a glass of wine and a whiskey of an evening.  That's so abstemious compared to the way we both used to drink, and in all honesty we both rather liked having the house to ourselves when we did and found it very unstressful so we didn't feel the need to indulge in 'stress-busters' as a lot of people did.  Listening to the media and health people, you are in a minority because most people's drinking increased, so well done.

Thank you for your support, Honey_Bear.  Alcohol is an interesting one.  All of us have cut back a lot since / during lockdown and the positive effects are noticeable (including with my skin which I had a lot of problems with before).  We were very definitely 'social' drinkers so drinking at home by ourselves just didn't really have the same appeal during the pandemic, plus we have a history of alcoholism on my side of the family (a couple of uncles who really struggled and developed some very serious health issues thanks to alcohol).  I think that's made us more aware of the broader risks.  I don't see us ever going back to pre-pandemic levels and that's a good thing.  I think your OH has the right idea - the odd glass of something is nice and I don't see myself giving it up altogether but our whole family has cut back.  My dad has actually given alcohol up altogether since the pandemic, minus toasts for birthdays, New Year and Christmas and, even then, he doesn't even have a full glass anymore.  It helps that there are a lot of really good non-alcoholic options now.  I've even had some pretty good non-alcoholic beer which tasted like regular beer🍻.  

So far, I have no sugar cravings but it is still early so we'll see how things go.  Good luck with your goals for today and enjoy the lovely weather (well, it is ☀️ down here and I hope it is the same for you too!).  

cookie02

Despite going out yesterday, I managed to stay sugar-free so I'm very pleased about that!  

Honey_Bear, I downloaded the MSE app as I was curious since I'd never heard anything about it.  The app requires a separate account as the same thing happened to me where my mail/password weren't recognised and I didn't receive a reset mail (and I knew I had used the correct details anyway).  I registered for the app (I used the same details to avoid having another set of logins for MSE).  It is a 'MyMSE App' login vs the standard MSE login here.  Then, once I logged into the app, I clicked through to the Forum and had to use my usual (desktop MSE) login info to access this forum but I saved it so it worked easily later when I accessed the app.  The process is a bit clunky due to the two logins but, now it's done, it's all working well and I quite like the app.  Thank you for the tip!  It's clear that 'MyMSE' is still in beta but I'm going to try out the spending analysis (🙈) to see what happens.  

Sugar-wise, I've been haunted by the sugar gremlins today and I had a date bar just now so I hope that keeps me on track.  Hope everyone is having a good week ☀️. 

Honey_Bear

Thank you so much for the info on the MyMSE ap. I’d never have figured it out but this post is being typed on my mobile so I’d say that’s a win!  It means I can, if I want to, post while on my holibobs because I’m not taking my laptop. I need to see if I can manage without it for 10 days and see if I can learn to use a smart phone the way everyone else seems to be able to. Mostly it just makes me want to cry but I need to get over myself and do what all kids manage without even thinking about it.

I had to crack on with some extremely hard physical work this morning which totally wiped me out. I pretty much collapsed on the bed for a couple of hours and may have allowed myself to medicate with chocolate.  

I’m struggling with this Challenge more now than I did at the beginning and if it were someone else’s Thread I probably have bowed out by now.  I have no intention of giving up but this is HARD!

cookie02

Honey_Bear said:

I have no intention of giving up but this is HARD!

Honey_Bear, this is exactly how I feel each day!  I was surprised that more people hadn't opted to try the challenge and I think this is the main reason.  Sugar is very addictive and cutting down or giving up is hard.  I really believe that it is worth trying though.  Whenever I'm wavering, I just remind myself of jackieblack's posts and one of her messages, 'I wish you all success in your journeys to be sugar free - it’s not easy, but being healthy is something not to take for granted and it’ll be so worth the sacrifice for those of you who can do it.'  (I just realised that she must be nearly six months on from when she posted and I hope things are continuing to look up for her now 🍀)

There are so many diets and weightloss programmes and, if you find something that works for you, that's great.  For me, as hard as this is, focusing on sugar has made a huge difference on multiple levels and it has also made a difference for my extended family.  On the days when I indulge, my sugar intake is still less than pre-Challenge and I think this is a big win.  Whatever hurdles you are facing now, I'm sure that you are also having far less sugar / chocolate when you indulge ! 🏅 

Today, I've been sugar-free so far but the temptation levels are high, especially as I'm heading out shortly.  I want to stay sugar-free today as I know I'll be indulging earlier than normal tomorrow and I want to try and stay on track.  Fingers crossed!

Hope today is going well and hope you have a fab time at your festival 📚 😃. 

Honey_Bear

Thank you for cheering me on Cookie.  I feel I've let myself down by indulging as much as I have over the past month or more but I won't give up on it.  I don't think I could face myself in the mirror if I did and your encouragement really, really helps.  I'm so glad that not only you but also your family have benefited from it and the fact that you all have means I know it's possible.  I'm pretty sure I'd have put on a shedload of weight if it hadn't been for this Challenge but things are spiralling out of control now.  I'm going to have this holiday, starting tomorrow, and then I'm going to get right back into it.  I am absolutely determined to get to where I want to be.

On the subject of how hard it is, frankly it's harder than giving up the booze or even the fags.  I loved smoking, I smoked like a beagle for 30 years and really wanted to be a non-smoker all the way through but just couldn't, partly because I enjoyed it so much.  However, eventually I did manage it and have never wanted another cigarette since, although the cravings lasted a couple of weeks that time.  It was just different, is all I can remember.  What stuck with me, and what made a significant impression on me was someone saying, 'Never give up giving up.'  If I hadn't heard that several years before I finally made it I'd have thought that I would never be able to stop because I'd failed multiple times.  The secret to success is lurching from failure to failure optimistically apparently!

As for the booze, that really was a sudden decision but promted by events, and I'd been trying to cut down or stop on and off for five years or more.  The final time was the only successful attempt, but that's all it takes, just one success.  It was tough for a couple of months and then it all fell into place.  Now I just don't think about drinking at all.

Sugar's slightly different because it's in everything and it's around all the time.  By the time I gave up fags they were seriously out of fashion, and by the time I gave up the booze I really had to.  Sugar is just a very, very bad habit, as close to the medical definition of addictive as it can get without being said to be so, and that no-one seems to think is problematic except dieticians, diabetics and us. 

cookie02

Honey_Bear, you will get there in your sugar quest, the same way you did with smoking and alcohol.  It is tough but think about how much less you already consume now and how you are so much more aware of processed sugar.  I wonder if a challenge 'reset' might be worth trying?  I was going through my spreadsheet and it's been almost a year since I joined your challenge so I was thinking about that and what I have learnt.  Your challenge started in August (I was a late joiner!) so maybe it's worth doing a refresher starting from the one/two days a week and working back up again.  Any 'extra' sugar-free days will be a bonus .  I'm not sure if more people read your challenge vs actively participate but maybe that might help others too.  

Sugar-wise, I managed to stay sugar-free until Friday.  This week turned out to be a better week than I expected.  Despite having several social / work things, I was able to resist most sugar until Friday.  I'm finally accepting that, unless something is going to taste really good, it's not worth it to me anymore (thank you as I'm sure that lightbulb moment wouldn't have happened for me without this challenge!).  I think that's also what helped me at the event the other week.  I did indulge early on Friday but I didn't have any sugar yesterday!  That happened by accident really as we were out for lunch and dinner yesterday but the food was so good, I didn't feel any need for dessert (or have any capacity to eat it!).  

I hope you are enjoying your holiday and making the most of the beautiful weather ☀️.   Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!

cookie02

Well, I've already fallen at the first hurdle this week thanks to some leftover chocolate cake from the weekend.  It was delicious though 😋.  I'm going to try and be sugar-free tomorrow and hope to stay that way until Friday evening.  Tomorrow should be ok but Wednesday and Thursday might be trickier due to a work event.  I have some date bars, lentils and various nuts and seeds for snacks this week.  I have a feeling this will be a tough week!  

Honey_Bear

Irresistable, that chocolate cake left over from the weekend.  I totally get why you fell at the first hurdle, but you're so good at this that you'll be back up and running in no time at all Cookie.

I'm surprised at how abstemious I'm being at the festival, but I am allowing myself lovely things sometimes.  However, as you point out, it's nowhere near as much as it used to be and I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying the treats I'm allowing myself and delighted to say that I'm not craving chocolate for breakfast lunch and dinner although I did have a chocolate dessert last night at dinner and it was divine.

How very wise of you to spot what I'd missed completely.  I need a complete reset and from what happened in December, Christmas and January I now know that once I've started over-indulging I find getting back to being sugar-free five days a week next to impossible.  It's like starting running a marathon at the base of Everest.

So, after your immensely helpful post I've decided that I'm going back to basics and will start again with one day a week on Mondays and two during Week 2 etc until I'm back up again to the full (nearly) five days a week because I'm also in agreement that Friday evenings have to be exempt when I get up to five days a week. 

You're also absolutely right about when this Challenge started - it was mid-way through last August so it's been running just less than a year and it's the only thing that's worked to cut down my sugar consumption, so I'm not giving up on it, just accepting that the sugar habit has a real hold over me and it's tougher to crack than I ever thought it would be. 

Thank you so much for keeping me company along the way and coming up with so many helpful suggestions.  I honestly don't think I'd have lasted this long without your support.

PS  Despite having set up my mobile phone so I could tap out updates on my mobile phone, turns out I've not cracked that after all and although I have tried to do so a couple of times I haven't been able to get in to the MyMSE ap.  I'm back at home on my laptop so can catch up but it's back into the fray this morning so I'm offline as far as MSE is concerned until the end of the week.  See you then.

cookie02

I hope you are having a lovely holiday, Honey_Bear!  I slipped again yesterday, this time with ice cream 😋.  

Honey_Bear said:

Thank you so much for keeping me company along the way and coming up with so many helpful suggestions.  I honestly don't think I'd have lasted this long without your support.

Likewise and thank you for starting this challenge, it has made a huge difference for us 😃.  Enjoy the festival and the lovely weather.  

Today, I've been sugar-free so far.  I'm supposed to go out later and I think I'll be ok as it's so hot and I'm not really in the mood for sugar but anything could happen between now and this evening!

cookie02

Well, I finally had my first sugar-free day of the week yesterday so I'm happy about that.  Today, I am out out for a work lunch and then I'm meeting a friend after work.  Normally, these would be danger moments for me but the heat is definitely putting me off any sugary treats (except ice cream but I don't think it's likely to be on the menu!).  

Hope everyone is well and that you have a great day ☀️.