Tomorrow is the last day of my sugarless coffeeless 10day existence and I wanted to reflect on everything that I had to endure.
If you are debating improving your health with a no-sugar fast let me tell you about all the downsides.
1) I was plagued by sleep
I slept better, fell asleep faster, slept all night harder (and woke up stronger?) On days I worked, I squeak out 10hrs of sleep between shifts (I had not been able to do this for a couple months due to insomnia). On my days off I could get 11-12hrs. The first couple of nights were not so good, I would wake up a lot through the night; my body did not like going to sleep and wanted to stay up with coffee and a box of doughnuts.
2) I was cursed with tasty meals.
I had to eat vegetables and fruits in all shapes and colors, salads, chocolate protein shakes, handmade pizzas, cheesecakes, casseroles, chips and dips, sodas, candy - all with no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners, and within the guidelines of health as dictated by my wife. {She has lived without a lot more than just sugar to heal her gut. Try going without Baker's Yeast, Beans (any kind) Coconut, Coffee, Cumin, Currant, Egg, Garlic, Ginger, Grapefruit, Lemon, Milk, Nutmeg, Olive, Orange, Oyster, Paprika, Peas, Peanut, Pepper (black and white), Peppermint, Pineapple, Sesame, Spinach, Tea Leaves, and Vanilla - it's hard}
3) I suffered from having energy.
Without stimulation to help me, my body was forced to pull energy from sleeping (see #1) and food. I did not require coffee and sugar to function, I had been dependent on it. I was able to work, play, exercise, hang out with friends, keep my house in order, blog, drive a car, and vacuum every day just fine. (Yes I did buy a new vacuum and no it had nothing to do with its green buttons)
4) I struggled with mental clarity and good moods
1) I was plagued by sleep
I slept better, fell asleep faster, slept all night harder (and woke up stronger?) On days I worked, I squeak out 10hrs of sleep between shifts (I had not been able to do this for a couple months due to insomnia). On my days off I could get 11-12hrs. The first couple of nights were not so good, I would wake up a lot through the night; my body did not like going to sleep and wanted to stay up with coffee and a box of doughnuts.
2) I was cursed with tasty meals.
I had to eat vegetables and fruits in all shapes and colors, salads, chocolate protein shakes, handmade pizzas, cheesecakes, casseroles, chips and dips, sodas, candy - all with no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners, and within the guidelines of health as dictated by my wife. {She has lived without a lot more than just sugar to heal her gut. Try going without Baker's Yeast, Beans (any kind) Coconut, Coffee, Cumin, Currant, Egg, Garlic, Ginger, Grapefruit, Lemon, Milk, Nutmeg, Olive, Orange, Oyster, Paprika, Peas, Peanut, Pepper (black and white), Peppermint, Pineapple, Sesame, Spinach, Tea Leaves, and Vanilla - it's hard}
3) I suffered from having energy.
Without stimulation to help me, my body was forced to pull energy from sleeping (see #1) and food. I did not require coffee and sugar to function, I had been dependent on it. I was able to work, play, exercise, hang out with friends, keep my house in order, blog, drive a car, and vacuum every day just fine. (Yes I did buy a new vacuum and no it had nothing to do with its green buttons)
4) I struggled with mental clarity and good moods
I had to deal with the ability to think things through things like an adult and I chose to like the results. Your brain works without sugar; you eat good food every day and it works even better. However, what I eat or fail to eat does not have to have control over me or my attitude. Instances where I "couldn't think straight" were secondary to my chosen mood or not sleeping for 24hrs - not to the sugar and coffee I ate or didn't eat. There were a few grumpy moments when I didn't plan my meals and got hungry but I chose to have a better attitude and I was just fine.
5) I was tortured by health and wellness
I feel good. I had a mild headache for days 2 and 3. I don't require refined sugar to function after all. So without it, I have lost nothing.
I feel good. I had a mild headache for days 2 and 3. I don't require refined sugar to function after all. So without it, I have lost nothing.
It doesn't matter if you want to "believe" the studies, research, ads, or whatever. The average American eats 150 to 170 pounds of added refined sugars every year. And it doesn't have to be. Food will taste good without it. Sugar is hiding in food to increase shelf life from days to months, color and texture foods cheaply, stabilize the iodine in salt, and increase sales - because if sugar is addictive then sugar + product = $$ from repeat sales to "addicts".
There are many things that we eat, overeat, or don't eat that affect our health. Sugar alone is not the killer of everything good and purveyor of all evil. There are plenty of things that are added to foods (or sprayed on foods) that have been found to be straight-up bad for you. Sugar is not a nutrient and lacks them too and thus this heavily (nay obsessively) overused product, eaten with reckless abandon, can and will cause unwanted effects over time. To borrow the old adage - an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but 100 apples a day will give you the runs and erode your teeth.
In the End: The Beginning of Something
-I am not swearing off doughnuts forever. They are super tasty so I will have one every now and again, maybe even two or just one dozen.
-I will drink coffee. After fully awakening in the morning; and not too close to bed; and using true 6oz cups, not 28oz; and not instead of breakfast; and definitely not with all the frou-frou crap that Starbucks is conning people into believing is coffee when really it's just overpriced sugar and milk; and I'll make it myself to control the source; and I had to add just one more thing here to make this rant really long.
-I will not eat every "free" cookies in the break-room knowing that what they cost can't be counted in dollars and cents.
-I will be healthy(er)