The "Consume Less Sugar" Round-Up

Over the course of the past month, I’ve had quite a few questions about how this No Added Sugar Products month has been treating me, how it is going, etc.  Now that I’m at the end of the line, I’d like reflect on my total experience and answer some of them here. 

So how did a month without sugar treat me?  How did it go?  It went pretty well.  It wasn’t always easy, but it wasn’t that hard either.  And it treated me pretty dang good.  I feel good, though on some days, I felt like I tried to make up for the absence of sugar with more fat in my diet than really was optimum.  It is true; meat, nuts, and cheese have been my go-to defense this month.  I can’t even tell you how many bags/jars of almonds I’ve inhaled. Still, it is entirely possible that my diet before this month was lacking in the protein department: craving sugar or carbohydrates often is a sign of such a protein deficiency.

My lovely Almonds, I wouldn't have made it without you.

Also, while my goal in giving up sugar was NOT weight loss, I will say that I’ve shed the 3-4 pounds I put on over the holiday season.  That may be a result of my sugar fast.  It also may be simply because I’m not eating and drinking like a pig now that the holiday season is well behind us, and because my exercise routine is a little more stable.

A lot of people have asked me if I missed sugar.  The short answer?  Hell yeah, I did.  It got easier to say no to sweets; it got easier to navigate around hidden sugars in the supermarket aisles and in restaurants.  But I did and do miss the luxury of splitting some awesome 2500-calorie dessert after a nice dinner out.  And when I walk by Whole Foods, and the vents from the bakery unleash the aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies onto the sidewalk—yeah, I die a small death somewhere deep inside.  

Sometimes I just want to shout it from the hilltops. Artwork by Benek Kuleczka.

Some friends also assume I’m going to go nuts with the sugar come Tuesday, to make up for lost time.  Of course, it is tempting to run out and spend my Groupon for a dozen Cupcake Royale cupcakes and have a cupcake-gorging session, as one friend suggested we do this week.  That isn’t going to happen.   Still, I’m excited to be able to relax and enjoy certain foods and drinks that typically have sugar added in, like dried tropical fruit and tonic water and wheat bread.

However, here’s the thing that I’ve reminded myself daily all month long: these sweet luxuries are not going anywhere.  Sometime in the future, there will be another nice dinner out where there will be other gorgeous-looking-sounding-smelling-tasting desserts on the menu to share. And if I pass on dessert three times out of four, the discomfort of not quenching my desire for sweet doesn’t last very long—maybe 20 minutes at most. I have never laid in bed thinking, “If only I’d ordered that torte.”  I have however laid in bed thinking, “I shouldn’t have eaten that torte,” because I feel like my gut is going to bust and because I’m hyper from the sugar.  When I do indulge in dessert that one time out of four, I’ll appreciate that sweet delicacy all the more.

...so can I go lie down?

It is nice to have discovered some new treats this month that don’t use any added sugar and don't taste like poo.  I made these yummy cookies* Friday night without any sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, or Splenda.  There is more than enough sweetness from the naturally occurring fructose in the bananas.  Sure, they were more like nuggets of banana bread than cookies, but it was just as satisfying as baking chocolate chip cookies—the sweet baking smells, removing the cookies one by one from the baking sheet to cool on the rack, eating one or two or five while they were still warm, eating one or three for breakfast the next morning.  But they’re actually kind of healthy.  CRAZY!  Try ‘em out.

 

Five minutes ago, I still had two cookies left to eat.

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So…that’s it.  My month of No Added Sugar wraps up tomorrow.  I plan to stay mindful about hidden sugars, be modest in treat consumptions, and to use natural “healthier” sugars over the old white granulated crack in my home cooking/baking endeavors.  I should have ample opportunity to put this last “better sugar” habit into practice during the coming month.  February is the first of two months in Operation Consumption Liberation which are devoted to consuming less goods and services to curb my frivolous spending. Over the next month, in “Frivolous Spending: the Eating/Drinking Out edition,” I will (you guessed it!) abstain from going out to eat and for drinks.  If you can believe it, I think this challenge will be even harder than going without sugar. 

*Chewy Banana-Oat Cookies Recipe by Nancy Burrows, found in Get the Sugar Out by Ann Louise Gittleman.