Three years ago I decided to quit sugar. I’d played with the idea many times before, but had never quite gone the full distance. Then I decided to get serious
Say goodbye to cravings for ever
What started out as just a New-Year experiment became something more. Giving up sugar was easier than I thought, and I felt better than ever, so I just kept going and going.
I interviewed dozens of experts around the world and did my own research as a qualified health coach. I experimented, using myself as a guinea pig, and eventually assembled a stack of scientifically tested techniques that really worked. Then I got serious and committed. I chose.
THESE THINGS ARE ALWAYS A MATTER OF CHOOSING. AND COMMITTING
We have a deep-rooted resistance to quitting sugar. We grow up with an emotional and physical attachment to it. Just the idea of not being able to turn to it when we’re feeling happy or want to celebrate, or when we’re feeling low or tired, terrifies us. If not a sweet treat, then what? Well, I’ll tell you what:
A MIND AND BODY THAT’S CLEAN AND CLEAR
But I soon learned that when you quit sugar, you can feel very much on your own. Our modern food system is set up around sugar, and seductively so.
JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING WE EAT IS LACED WITH SUGAR
I found breakfast became a minefield and trying to grab a healthy, sugar-free snack on the run was virtually impossible. I had to get clever and creative. So I spent the next 12 months inventing new fructose-free snacks and meals, both sweet and sweet-diverting, and devising a step-by-step programme full of tips, tricks and techniques to help you eliminate the white stuff for good.
MY STORY: WHY I HAD TO QUIT
I was a sugar addict. I didn’t look like one. I didn’t drink Coke or put sugar in my coffee. I’ve never eaten a Krispy Kreme doughnut, and ice cream bores me.
BUT HERE’S THE THING: I WAS A COVERT ADDICT
I hid behind the so-called ‘healthy sugars’ such as honey, dark chocolate and fruit. Which made things harder in some ways because first I had to face my denial. From my teens on I’d been riding a horrible rollercoaster of sugar highs and lows. I would binge. Then, feeling guilty, I would starve myself the rest of the day.
I got sick off the back of this reactionary eating – very sick. I developed mood disorders and sleep problems, and finally I developed adrenal issues and my first autoimmune disease – Graves, or overactive thyroid. Ever since, I’ve had stomach problems linked to poor gut balance and have developed further autoimmune issues, most recently Hashimoto’s.
Over time I swapped my processed sugary carbs for ‘healthy’ sugary treats. And, yeah, I ate less sugar overall. But all the symptoms still continued. I didn’t put it down to sugar completely. But I knew it was a major player.
For the past ten years I’ve eaten very well. But up until three years ago I was still eating too much sugar every day. After every meal. I was still addicted.
SO HOW ADDICTED WAS I? HERE’S A SNAPSHOT:
I was eating three pieces of fruit a day, a handful of dried fruit, a teaspoon or two of honey in my tea, a small (35g) bar of dark chocolate after lunch and, after dinner, honey drizzled on yoghurt, or dessert (if I was out).
A conservative day would see me consume about 25-plus teaspoons of sugar, just in that rundown of snacks above. That’s not counting the hidden sugar in things like tomato sauce and commercial breads. I told myself I ate ‘good’ sugar and convinced myself I didn’t have a problem.
BUT SUGAR IS SUGAR...
Sure, the other ingredients mixed in with the sugar in, say, a muesli bar or a piece of fruit were good for me. But the chemical composition of sugar – whether it’s in a mango or a chocolate bar – remains the same. And it is highly addictive.
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