The Zero Sugar Challenge | What Went Wrong

I really wanted to be able to say, "This challenge made me feel absolutely amazing, I am a new person, and won't ever go back to eating added sugar again!" But that just wasn't the case...

I planned on this challenge being 2 weeks long, but had to cut it short on Day 6. Here's what happened.
Don't know what this challenge is? Check out the first post HERE


Day 1 | July 31st

The challenge was off to a great start and I was very optimistic! Then my first obstacle came around lunch time. We were having a cookout at my grandparents' house so I figured I'd have a hamburger patty with a side or two but I checked the nutritional facts on the seasoning + worcestershire sauce and there it was...SUGAR. Alright, no biggie, I'll just have a hot dog since that wasn't seasoned...NOPE, there's sugar in that too. Okay, salad it is...

Day 2 | August 1st

Today I mastered reading nutritional facts. Let me give you an example: The Goldfish nutritional facts state that there is 0g sugar in the crackers, but if you check the ingredients list you see sugar listed. This means there is very little sugar added, but it's in fact still added.

Now if you look at this bag of pistachios, you'll see that it states that there are 2g of sugar in them, but the only ingredients are pistachios and sea salt. That's how you know the sugar is naturally occurring. Here's a list of different names for sugar: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/different-names-for-sugar

Day 3 | August 2nd

It was a really busy day so I wasn't able to eat as much as I would of liked to, but I still managed to eat additive-sugar-free! Looking back though, that orange juice probably wasn't a good idea because I think it made my sugar craving worse. :( I thought it would help satisfy it...

Day 4 | August 3rd

This day, 5 years ago, Jeremy asked me to be his girlfriend. :) 3 years of marriage and 2 kids later he's still going along with all my crazy ideas and I can't even begin to tell you how much I love him. Anyways...we celebrated at Red Lobster that night and I knew it would be a challenge finding something on the menu without any sugar in it. They have a handy online nutrition guide that lists how much sugar is in everything, but there's no telling if the sugar is added or natural so I just played it safe by ordering their "Farm-raised Golden Catfish" with steamed broccoli. NO CHEDDAR BISCUITS...I know. As Jeremy ate the heavenly rolls, I munched away on my salad. At this point, I felt pretty great physically, THEN I ate the catfish...It tasted great, but man my abdomen had terrible sharp pains afterward and it was very distracting during the movie portion of our date. This really got me thinking, if I'm having to eat these things in order to avoid sugar, is healthy eating really achievable? Granted, I could of just had another salad, but I wanted some variety. I'll touch more on this later.

Day 5 | August 4th

The ladies' I work with at church like to go out to lunch anytime one of us has a birthday, and most of the time it's the Cheesecake Factory. I knew how tempting this would be (I may have visualized myself licking the chocolate drizzle off my mom's plate) but I came out victorious! I ordered "Sheila's Chicken & Avocado Salad" with oil and vinegar as my dressing. I was NOT disappointed. Y'all definitely need to try it! That night, in order to fill my sugar void, I made a healthy mug cake and there wasn't anything special about it but it was the 1st "dessert" I had had in 5 days so it tasted way better than it actually was, LOL!

Day 6 | August 5th

The day started off weird since everyone woke up late and the husband was set on taking us to Denny's so that's where we went. I was pleased with their menu because it was pretty easy to eat sugar free without depriving myself from comfort food. So, here's where I ended the challenge. Jeremy went to get gas and brought me back TOAK, which is this "sugar free" tea drink he thought I'd like. At a glance it seemed to be completely sugar free, no additives or anything, so I went ahead and drank it. Immediately I could taste the Stevia...Dang it...I didn't realize the ingredient Reb-A was Stevia. The whole purpose of this challenge was to abstain from all types of sugar additives so I decided to end the challenge there. I am thankful for my experiences though and I'd like to share my final thoughts with you.

Healthy eating in an unhealthy world can be Hard. I used to think in order to be healthy, I'd have to give up dessert, all comfort food, and eat nothing but raw plants; that couldn't be farther from the truth. (Eating 100% raw plants is Fantastic but in all honesty, I can't do it.) There are so many blogs nowadays filled with guilt-free, mouth-watering recipes and I think these websites are essential when beginning your new food journey. When we label certain foods we enjoy as "bad", it becomes quite discouraging and before you know it, you have this long list of things you are forbidden to eat. Thanks to these blogs and Pinterest, we don't have to say goodbye to our favorite foods. We need to put that apron on and get cookin'! Ice cream, cookies, cakes, donuts, you name it! There's a healthier way to make all of these things! From now on, the recipes I post HERE will be completely guilt-free and delicious. There's enough sugary recipes out there so it's about time that we take charge of our health...So Let's Get Cookin'! :)

"It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory." Proverbs 25:27

www.feastingonfruit.com

www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com

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