Ever since I realized how much sugar I've been eating, the numerous negative components it has and the scary idea that I might have a cavity, I have decided to finally go clean turkey and cut it all out of my diet for 1 week - 7 days. Now, I know how boring it must sound to read someone else's diet experience so I will be incorporating personal tips & advice, videos, pictures & of course RECIPES along the way. I am writing this blog to personally help myself accomplish this challenging goal, and I hope it can inspire some of you to think about how to dominate your next diet! But first off, watch this video! This is an even BIGGER PUSHER to go sugar-free! ( And sugar-substitute free)
Tip # 1: Plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead!
I have decided to start my diet 7 days from now, mainly because I have 7 fruit yogurts left in my fridge and each one contains 17 grams of sugar! I also know that it will break me if I have any waiting for me in the fridge while i'm detoxing. In the mean time, I am focusing on what will be my biggest obstacles during the detox and how to run around them and win the race.
- Obstacle 1: No fruit yogurt - sub plain low fat yogurt (make sure there's no added sugar), and add fresh fruit to it, or eat unsweetened applesauce.
- Obstacle 2: COFFEE - I am a coffee addict, but usually find myself adding all that sugar-loaded creamer and ordering a latte with 3 pumps of some kind of sugar-loaded flavor. The only substitute option I can think of that I might consider trying is ordering plain espresso shots. I do not like black coffee, but I recently tried straight espresso after a meal, and that might do me good! Wish me luck!
- Obstacle 3: My husband. Yes, I of course love him dearly, but I know how big his sweet tooth is too and I can't let that drag me down! The game plan will be to walk away anytime I see him eating something that I know I will crave, and avoid buying anything extra sweet in the first place. I recently discovered dried cinnamon apples without any extra sugar added, so I am hoping that will do the trick. Or maybe try freezing some grapes and chowing on those instead.
Another Key component about planning ahead is laying out the rules. What you are specifically going to cut out from your diet? Different ideas work for different people. One person may want to cut out only soda, while another may want to cut out added sweets like pastries and candy. My personal rules include: no soda, or other sweetened beverages (including flavored lattes), no sweets, alcohol (except red wine), sweetened yogurt, highly processed foods with sugar, and no sugar-substitutes like stevia or splenda. I'm going all in!
So what does that leave me with? Drinks: Water, milk, tea, espresso & red wine.
Food: Fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and a lot of protein!
Check out this great article that demonstrates the sad side-effects of sugar!
http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/25-things-about-sugar-that-will-terrify-you/
