From mid-October through January I went without eating any added sugars. That includes cane sugar, maple syrup, honey, splenda, aspartame, and any kind of added sweetener except for fruit or pure fruit juice. I was fairly strict but I also ate at restaurants so there is no way I can be sure that I ate absolutely no added sugar throughout the 100 days. Regardless, I did my best, and I thought it was worth blogging about.

My sugar-free health kick started with the Whole30. A big part of why I wanted to do the Whole30 was to try to kick my sweet tooth. I have an out of control sweet tooth. It’s bad. And it also feels even worse in comparison to Lars. I live with someone who eats two bites of a candy bar and can save the rest for a month. My self control is not quite so strong.

I know I am addicted to sugar. The kind of sugar cravings I get are intense. I used sugar for energy. You know how people drink a ton of caffeine during finals so they can concentrate? I would eat more candy. It is such an unhealthy habit and addiction.

When we finished the 30 days of the Whole30, I felt like my sugar addiction hadn’t decreased. I continued the Whole30 for another 15 days. Still didn’t feel like I kicked it. Inspired by my future mother-in-law, I decided I could go a full 100 days without sugar.

I know how bad sugar is for you. All the latest nutritional research is finding that fats (saturated fats included) are not the culprit contributing to rising obesity rates and heart disease. Ever since the low-fat craze our health has been getting worse. And you know what is increasing in our diets? Sugars. Sugars have replaced fats in all the low-fat foods that we are told are healthy. The chance of dying from heart disease increases with proportion of added sugars in your diet, regardless of whether the rest of your diet is healthy.

I don’t know if that scares you, but it scares me. It scared me enough to try 100 days without sugar. And it was so worth it.

So here are my thoughts on going 100 days without sugar:

• I picked the worst time ever. My 100 days included Thanksgiving, Hannukkah, Christmas, and my birthday/ New Years Eve. But the fact that I made it through all those days makes me super proud.
• My days felt a lot more even. I was taking less naps.
• I have more self control than I realize. My sugar cravings got smaller and less intense but didn’t go away.
• Do you know how hard it is to bake and not lick food off your hands? I do!
• Do you know how hard it is to carry leftover wedding cake and then not lick frosting off your hands? I do!
• I think my migraines decreased, but it’s really hard to say. I should keep better track of them.
• Eliminating sugar effectively limits processed foods. Can you find any processed foods without sugar in them? It’s next to impossible.
• My skin got way better. Who knew that sugar affected my skin so much? Or maybe it is something like preservatives in processed foods. Who knows.
• Man I am glad to not be eating processed foods. But I do miss the convenience of the occasional frozen meal.
• Do you know how sugary most breakfast foods are???
• I lost about 15 pounds in the 100 days (and I’ve since gained back 4)
• Thank goodness I gave up sugar during honeycrisp season. They’re seriously the best tasting thing ever.
• I’ve read that people who go for a long time without sugar think that sugary desserts taste too sweet later. This was not the case for me. I don’t know that my body has a “too sweet” setting. Something I’m missing, I guess.
• 100 days did not kill my sweet tooth or addiction. The second I had one bite of sugar when I was allowing it back in my diet I needed more.
• I did have a small binge after allowing sugar back into my diet. Now my sugar intake is lower than before I started, but still higher than I want it to be.

What was so crazy to me was that 100 days did not kick my sweet tooth. As soon as I had a bite of a chocolate on day 101, I had to have 3 more. Then ice cream that night. It was bad. So unfortunately, I didn’t meet my goal, but I feel like I learned a lot.

So now that I’m thinking back, I feel like it might be time to do another 100 days without sugar. It was so good for me. I still get pretty bad sugar cravings, usually right about mid-day. I want to have a healthy heart and live a long life, so it would be worth the sacrifice.

What do you think? Should I do another 100?

The post 100 Days Without Sugar In Review appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

In October of last year, Lars and I did the Whole30 for the first time.

The Whole30 is a 30-day elimination diet, where you cut out all grains, sugars (yes, that includes alcohol), dairy, and legumes. This basically leaves you with meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and eggs. It may sound difficult, but it is totally worth it.

If you want to do the Whole30, read It Starts With Food. It will tell you all the guidelines for the 30 days and give you all the reasons why they chose the foods they did (and believe me, it isn’t the illogical paleo answer of sticking to what our ancestors ate…). I always am skeptical on food science because there is so much conflicting evidence out there… but a diet that gets rid of processed foods and has you cooking at home is ok by me.

Part of why we did the Whole30 was that I wanted to address my very serious sugar addiction. I ended up doing the Whole30 for 45 days and then cut out all added sugars for 100 days total.

Now that I am not cutting anything out anymore, my sugar addiction is sneaking its way back in. So we figured it’s time to do the Whole30 again! If you’re starting the Whole30 and want some help planning, check out these great free printable Whole30 planners.

After the Whole30, I feel I’ve mastered the frittata

The Whole30, although very similar to a paleo diet, does not allow “replacement” foods or any type of dessert. So you can’t make those tortillas with only paleo ingredients or paleo chocolate mousse. You aren’t even supposed to have fruit after a meal, because it reminds your body of dessert. And we are trying to get rid of that nonsense.

It has a really easy to follow meal guideline. You make sure you have enough servings of protein, fill the rest of the plate with veggies, and make sure to include enough fats. Fruits can be eaten as part of the meal, but you shouldn’t exceed 2 servings of fruit a day.

So sorry for those of you who aren’t interested, but the next few weeks will be Whole30 oriented. I’ll be sharing some free printables, recipes, and whatnot.

My favorite Whole30 lunch- avocado tuna salad!

My impressions from our first Whole30:

• Holy cow I’m spending WHAT on groceries?
  • Actually, it’s less than we usually spend on eating out and takeout…
• Cooking and trying new recipes is fun
• Doing dishes sucks
• I miss goat cheese
• I miss dessert
• We need a bigger kitchen
• It’s ridiculously absurd how quickly Lars loses weight when he stops drinking beer
• I actually like salad dressing when I make it myself
• Healthy food is delicious
• Ok but I’m kind of sick of eggs
• I am sleeping better
• Is that my skin? Because my skin has never looked this good
• My crock pot is my best friend
• I rarely need snacks during the day
• I don’t feel bloated
• I feel GOOD about what I’m eating
• I actually know when I’m hungry
• I’m so glad that I did this

Keep your eyes open for a bunch of free printables that we use to keep ourselves organized during the Whole30!

The post We’re doing the Whole30… again! appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.