I don't think I ever really bothered to tell anyone about this, but I've given up sugar for Lent. Shrove Tuesday, or International Pancake Day, as I prefer it to be known, was the last day I allowed myself to eat sugar, having made pancakes for breakfast with the roommate. That was almost two weeks ago to the day. I have given up:
- white sugar/brown sugar/refined sugar
- molasses
- dextrose/maltodextrin/maltose/anything else which means sugar
- artificial sweeteners
This means I'm reading the labels to every. single. ingredient ...and did you know? Sugar is in everything. I found dextrose in frozen hashbrowns, maltodextrin in frozen fish, there's sugar in crackers, and chips, and pizza sauce, and canned goods. Many dried fruits are actually dried with sugar in them, and I can't eat bread, or cookies, or chocolate, or the other obvious sources of sugar. I won't consume fruit juice unless it's that super expensive stuff that's only fruit (no added sweeteners), and cereal is out of the question. I've even gone as far as making my own muesli just so I can still eat cereal for breakfast.
The upside? I feel healthier. I've gone on long enough now that I don't really get cravings, and when I do, I eat a bit of the one sugar-substance I've allowed myself to still consume. Honey. Or fruit. It means that without packaged foods, I'm eating whole fruits and veggies, I'm making all my breads from scratch (which is a whole other issue because when I came home from Asia, I gave up wheat)
I've made a few mistakes. I went camping last week with the roommate, and we made breakfast burritos, and it wasn't until I was halfway through mine that I thought to see if tortilla has sugar in it. It does. Or...we went for fish n chips on the ocean after a road trip, and I ate some tartar sauce. In my excitement to eat freshly caught fish, I forgot to check if tartar sauce has sugar in it. But I've not purposely eaten a sugar item in two weeks. Now...to make it until Easter!
And I thought I'd share my 'when the craving hits' solution: I took the idea from a bliss ball, but basically, when I'm really craving sugar, I eat a nut butter instead. With cocoa powder mashed into it...and if that's REALLY not cutting it, I'll toss in a little squirt of honey. It's silly, but it's high in fat, and it works. For whatever reason, when I crave sugar, I eat something fatty instead (avocado, nuts, etc) ...and I feel better. (Or I drink a fruit-yogurt smoothie).
Has anyone else ever tried to do this, or tried to give up a common household item before?
- white sugar/brown sugar/refined sugar
- molasses
- dextrose/maltodextrin/maltose/anything else which means sugar
- artificial sweeteners
This means I'm reading the labels to every. single. ingredient ...and did you know? Sugar is in everything. I found dextrose in frozen hashbrowns, maltodextrin in frozen fish, there's sugar in crackers, and chips, and pizza sauce, and canned goods. Many dried fruits are actually dried with sugar in them, and I can't eat bread, or cookies, or chocolate, or the other obvious sources of sugar. I won't consume fruit juice unless it's that super expensive stuff that's only fruit (no added sweeteners), and cereal is out of the question. I've even gone as far as making my own muesli just so I can still eat cereal for breakfast.
The upside? I feel healthier. I've gone on long enough now that I don't really get cravings, and when I do, I eat a bit of the one sugar-substance I've allowed myself to still consume. Honey. Or fruit. It means that without packaged foods, I'm eating whole fruits and veggies, I'm making all my breads from scratch (which is a whole other issue because when I came home from Asia, I gave up wheat)
I've made a few mistakes. I went camping last week with the roommate, and we made breakfast burritos, and it wasn't until I was halfway through mine that I thought to see if tortilla has sugar in it. It does. Or...we went for fish n chips on the ocean after a road trip, and I ate some tartar sauce. In my excitement to eat freshly caught fish, I forgot to check if tartar sauce has sugar in it. But I've not purposely eaten a sugar item in two weeks. Now...to make it until Easter!
And I thought I'd share my 'when the craving hits' solution: I took the idea from a bliss ball, but basically, when I'm really craving sugar, I eat a nut butter instead. With cocoa powder mashed into it...and if that's REALLY not cutting it, I'll toss in a little squirt of honey. It's silly, but it's high in fat, and it works. For whatever reason, when I crave sugar, I eat something fatty instead (avocado, nuts, etc) ...and I feel better. (Or I drink a fruit-yogurt smoothie).
Has anyone else ever tried to do this, or tried to give up a common household item before?
Comment