Giving Up Sugar for 30 Days

Hi, I’m Nicol and I am a total sugar addict and have decided to do a giving up sugar challenge. I can’t go a day without eating at least one bag of sweets and or a whole pack of biscuits along with a bubble tea of some sort. After every meal, I inevitably need something sweet, and the sugar monster inside of me always satisfies this. Whether I’m studying, working, watching a film, meeting a friend, or whatever the reason, I can guarantee you that there’s something sugary in my hands.

So why have I decided to cut out processed sugar? I honestly don’t have an actual reason, just thought I’d see if I can complete 30 days and find out what positive and negative impact it has on me, both mentally and physically. You can probably insert a health reason in there somewhere too. For this, I had decided to cut out all processed sugar and only eat natural sugars.

So how did I get on?

The first few days weren’t too bad. Felt like I was sailing through as I had kept myself busy until the fourth day. On day 4, I was close to flipping my table, my bed, basically, my whole room as the craving was real. It was absolutely driving me crazy and was THIS close to caving in. I would be standing in the biscuit aisle for a good 10 minutes, drooling whilst crying on the inside. All I could think about was sugar for the rest of the day until I had slept it off. The next day was fine. That withdrawal symptom wasn’t fun at all. I haven’t had a meltdown like that ever since so the remaining days of the challenge were easy so it had flown by with ease. I still did have the small cravings but fruits did save me especially pomegranates. Totally obsessed with them.

As the challenge came to an end, I did celebrate the end of my challenge with a visit to the Cheesecake Factory a few days later. After demolishing that cheesecake, I didn’t get the same satisfied feeling I would usually get before the challenge. Giving up sugar is definitely a positive thing and it’s obvious that my taste buds have changed. However, without all of the sweets, I’ve noticed that I’ve been indulging on more carbs, more specifically, crisps. Both are as bad as each other and it’s something I also need to cut down now.

Did I lose any weight? Not sure. I haven’t stepped on the scale since early September and I intend to keep it that way.

Any change in body shape? Nope.

Clearer skin? Yep! If I eat anything sugary now, I break out on my chin.

More energy and better sleep? Probably a little bit more energy but I wouldn’t say it’s that obvious. I haven’t been sleeping well due to a number of reasons so I can’t really comment on this.

Fewer cravings? Oh heck yes. I can say no if I’ve been offered anything.

Doing this “detox” was actually a positive experience for me. It’s helped me control my unhealthy relationship with processed sugar and made me realise how utterly obsessed I was with it. Dessert after a meal hasn’t really been a thing for me now. I intend to not go back to my old ways and will limit my consumption rather than completely eliminate it from my diet. I don’t regret giving up sugar and would recommend people to try it.

Would you do a no sugar challenge? If you have done it before, how was it?