Sugar Sabbatical
Full disclosure: I’m totally using you right now.
Sometimes I post things here just as a way to hold myself accountable. This is one of those times.
I’ve been trying to eat less sugar for a while now, and failing miserably. One morning I said, “I’m going to really cut back on sugar” and then had ice cream twice that day.
I’m naturally inclined toward a pretty healthy diet. I love vegetables. Whole grains are more exciting to me than refined. I’m really good at saying “nah, that doesn’t look worth it to me” about almost everything. Except sugar.
It’s bad y’all. I’ve been through two Costco size cans of whipped cream this week. I’ve caught myself eating milk chocolate I didn’t even like, because it was there and it’s sweet. And guys, I regularly put spoonfuls of turbinado sugar in my coffee JUST SO I CAN DRINK IT OUT OF THE BOTTOM WITH A STRAW. That’s not a joke.
Sugar is fine in moderation, but has no real health benefits. And most of us – myself included – are consuming way more than we should. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day for women and 9 teaspoons (37.5 grams) a day per men. Yet the average American consumers 19.5 teaspoons a day – or 66 POUNDS of added sugar per person per year.
And too much sugar makes us fat and sick. Honestly, I believe the villainization of dietary fat led to a expansive market for low-fat products, which were packed with sugar to make them palatable in the absence of fat. And that made us all fatter and sicker.
The only argument I have for added sugar is that allowing yourself a small amount of something is better than depriving yourself, because depriving yourself just makes you want it more. But for me, I find that eating sugar makes me want more sugar. If there are multiple types of sugar around, I’ll have one and then want the other. And the more sugar I eat, the less sweet anything tastes so the more sugar I need to be satisfied. I won’t say I’m addicted to sugar because I don’t actually believe it to be an addictive substance (many will disagree). But man, I eat way too much of it.
So I’m going to try giving it up for a while and see how it goes.
THIS IS NOT A DETOX. Detoxes are bullshit – our bodies are remarkably skilled at removing toxins naturally.
Let’s just say sugar and I are taking a little break.
Here’s my plan:
- For 30 days I’m going to avoid all sugar and products with added sugar.
- No honey, no maple syrup, no agave – “natural” sugar is still sugar.
- Absolutely no fake sugars – those are even worse than real sugar in my book.
- Fresh fruit? Absolutely! Unlike added sugar, fruit has many health benefits: Fiber! Vitamins! And I don’t eat that much fruit to begin with. I could probably stand to be eating more.
- Alcohol? Beer, red wine, and liquor with unsweetened mixers are in. Sugary cocktails and dessert wines are out.
- I’m not going to ask restaurants a bunch of questions about what’s in their food. Restaurants add sugar to almost everything – I know that. I’ll try to avoid things that are obviously sweetened, but we eat so rarely that grilling servers about ingredients and asking chefs to modify their dishes is annoying and unnecessary.
- Once a week, I’ll cut myself a break. We have a number of special occasions, dinners and events I’m looking forward to. By allowing myself to enjoy a sugary treat once a week, I won’t feel like I’m missing out AND I’ll be learning to decipher between the things that are truly worth it – and thus satisfying! – vs. those I’m eating only because they’re there.
I’ll report back to let you know how it goes and share some of my meal plans!
