About a year and a half ago I gave up alcohol, since then I haven’t touched a drop. I thought I probably would after a while but to be honest, the benefits of being alcohol free far out weigh the odd drink.
Once I’d given up and it had been a good while, I thought about giving up sugar, but at the time it was a firm no, followed by, I’ve got to have something!
If I’m being honest, I’m a bit of a fruit fly. Most people are shocked to learn I would have sugar in my coffee, I love chocolate and biscuits and would eat them daily. If brownies were on offer, yep I’m in, doughnuts most definitely, anything sweet and I’m there. Heck, I even used to add sugar to my pad Thai - (I know!) - I’d argue you would in Thailand and it tastes so good.
Much like when I gave up alcohol, one day I just decided that was it, no more processed sugar.
Now, for the record this doesn’t mean no sugar. I still have fruit, honey and dates to sweeten treats but that’s about it.
Did you know sugar is found in so many foods and I guess I mean ready made / processed foods - not just the obvious things like cakes, chocolate, biscuits, sweets, baked goods but also spice mixes, condiments, salad dressings, ready meals, yogurts, stir fry sauce, crisps, pizza, it’s endless. So giving up wasn’t as clear cut as I thought.
It actually made me overhaul my entire diet and look at what I was eating day to day. For example I’d happily have a salad only to douse it in dressing or sweet chilli sauce, or I’d use spice mixes and stir fry sauces which have a tonne of sugar in, I’d regularly have cordial and fizzy drinks, it goes on. I know I’m supposed to be healthy but it’s a learning curve, I generally am but it was like I was turning a blind eye to all the processed sugary stuff I was eating too.
Nowadays I mostly eat whole foods and very little is processed. If I want salad dressing I make it myself, for stir fry I use soy sauce and that’s it, sweet treats I’ll have fruit or I’ll make something with raw cacao and honey, I don’t touch diet soda or cordial and amazingly I haven’t put 1 spoon of sugar in my coffee.
I’m definitely noticing the benefit, the main one is I’m not craving sugar and sugary treats as much as I was. My mood seems more balanced, my energy too although at first it felt like I was on some sort of sugar crash all day, everyday for a good 2 weeks, I had no energy and I felt strange. Thankfully that went and my energy levels balanced out. My sleep is so much better, I sleep soundly and deeply most nights and my thinking and focus is clearer, sharper. But probably the most obvious is I’ve lost weight and thanks to all of the above I can move better.
So there you have it, I’m a little bit proud I managed it but it also felt necessary. That’s not to say I won’t eat sugar again, I’ll just be much more mindful of the quantity I have and to not get into the habit of mindlessly eating it everyday.
If you’d like to know more about my experience, or find out more about how nutrition can have an affect on your body, especially if you are experiencing pain, it will be part of my new Body Mind Movement programme for healing from pain. Please get in touch for more details on info@jkpilates.com.