Simple rules for this page…
Please REMEMBER that even though science continues to advance, researchers often disagree about “facts.” There is still much to understand about human health.
That being said, let’s all be open-minded and respectful to the differing opinions we may have!
What we do know for sure: there are long-term benefits to reducing or eliminating sugar from our diets!
Let’s get started!
Know your WHY
What are the reasons YOU want to reduce or eliminate sugar from our diet? Knowing your WHY will keep you going when the going gets tough!
What is your COMMIT?
Decide the parameters YOU are willing to live by? One woman won’t touch a drop of sugar OR artificial sweeteners. A man said he’ll still do a teaspoon of local honey daily as his remedy for allergies. Another woman will drink a glass of wine on Saturday evenings.
What is your STARTING STRATEGY?
Do you want to taper off sugar for 2 or 3 days or are you quitting cold turkey? Either one has benefits and drawbacks. You choose.
Share in the comment box below your WHY, your COMMIT, and your STARTING STRATEGY!
What are the Symptoms of Sugar Withdrawal?
Day ONE was easy, wasn’t it? Hold on now because withdrawal symptoms may show up within 24 hours. Here’s a list of things you might experience – but hang in there – because they will pass! If you haven’t removed your sweet temptations from your home, it’s time to do so!
- The cravings may get stronger
- Lethargy or lack of energy
- Anxiety or shakiness
- Headaches
- Muscle pain
- Problems sleeping
- Chills
- Nausea, gas and bloating
Withdrawing from sugar will be different for each individual but it’s good to know what “normal” is so you can manage better.
Realizing that sugar has this much of a drug-like effect on your body might help strengthen your Commit.
How to Manage Cravings and Withdrawal Symptoms
Know that the cravings will subside but you’ll need to ride the wave and get beyond. And your family and friends may have to take this ride with you! The tips below will help you manage these next days (or weeks).
When the cravings strike:
- Go for a walk
- Drink a big glass of water
- Eat a piece of fruit
- Eat more protein
- Call a friend or write in the comment box below
- Go to bed early (or take a nap)
- Stay away from triggers (e.g., restaurants with your favorite desserts)
- Write out your WHY and COMMIT and keep them with you to remind yourself of your reasons to hang in there
- Meditate
- Eat regular meals or snacks. Don’t allow yourself to get too hungry
- Take a hot shower
- Avoid artificial sweeteners as they’ll likely keep your cravings going
- Take a multivitamin
- Chew sugarless gum
- Keep hands busy knitting, crocheting, reading
What is YOUR best strategy to overcome a craving? Answer in the comment box below!
No-Sugar Desserts
- Banana Coconut Cookies
- 3, 2, 1 Custard – NOT just for breakfast!
- Almond Flour Biscuits to Serve with Fruit!
- Banana Dessert Sushi
Avocado Chocolate Pudding
Credits: Disney Family Makes: 5 servings
Pudding Ingredients
- 10 dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- 1-2 cups coconut water
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/2 avocado, pitted and scooped
- 1/4 cup creamy, unsweetened almond butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Garnish Ingredients
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
- Mint sprig (optional)
Directions
- In a high-powered blender, blend dates with half of the coconut water until smooth.
- Add other half of the coconut water and remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.
- Fill a bowl with 1/2 cup of the pudding.
- Garnish with banana and strawberry slices, a few blueberries, a sprinkling of coconut, and sprig of mint. Repeat for the remaining pudding bowls.
I tried Dr. Hyman’s kale salad. Instead of adding currants, I used a fresh ripe pear. It was delicious and kept me satisfied for quite awhile. My sugar cravings were satisfied with this nutritious salad. Plan to make it more often.
I still have a few cravings, but mostly when I’m bored. I’m trying to keep busy crocheting or reading.
My cravings are pretty much gone. Honestly, my best help was brushing my teeth and using mouthwash. That made me not want to eat any more, especially sugar. Mouth felt fresh and I didn’t want to eat and brush again.
Tonight my hubby wanted me to split a NothingBundtCake bundtlette with him and I didn’t. ?
If I’m at work I will chew a piece of sugar free gum or walk down the hall to the water cooler and get a glass of water. I will also eat a few nuts.
If I’m at home I keep my hands busy knitting so I can’t eat, or if it’s close to bed time I will go brush my teeth and hop onto bed .
I’ve actually not had the cravings I had when I was still consuming sugar over the holidays, but if I do get a craving, Tapping/Emotional Freedom Techniques works well for me and just takes a couple of minutes. Once the craving is in check, I drink water or cinnamon apple herbal tea.
I generally massage kale before I serve it in a salad. Sometimes I massage it with hummus and use it as my “salad dressing” One thing to remember, once massaged the kale doesn’t hold up for leftovers.
thank you, Ginny!!
I tried the blackberry lime tea recipe. I didn’t put mint in it, but it is excellent! It will be my go-to drink. I used decaffeinated tea, can I can drink it all day.
And you can experiment with different types of teas!
WHY: To keep inflammation down and trim up
COMMIT: Cold Turkey and increase water and Herbal Tea. Hardest part will be no SO coconut yogurt or crasins.
Husband was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Need to work on this life style change with him.
Try no sugar unless it’s naturally in fruits and veggies.
Lots of water. More herbal teas. Going for no sugar
Why: To Loose weight, reduce cravings which wiil assist with transitioning to a whole foods plant based diet.
MY Commit: No Added sugar, no sweets, read labels, use uncut stevia in my tea.
My Strategy: I will transition myself off sugar during 1st week. I also am going to wean myself off of diet soda.
My why is basically to lose weight and get healthier. Although I’m not a big sweets person, I find the cravings start with all the holiday treats around.
My commit will be to allow myself one sweet per week. (Small piece of cake, pie, one cookie)
Starting strategy will be easing into it. Plenty of water, too.
Why: to starve off cancer and get healthier overall.
Committ: cut out all sugar except what is in fruits and veggies naturally. I will use honey medicinally and in my tea.
Strategy: will do cold turkey. Reach out to Kathryn if weakness creeps in. I will need to cut out juices, correct? (OJ and green juice?!) Will def need help! ?
Why: diagnosed with insulin resistance and pre-diabetes.
Commit: no sugar or sweets at all. Will also cut out refined carbs.
Starting Strategy: will eat fresh fruits and watch nutrition labels for hidden sugars.
Why: To cleanse my body of sugar and decrease my cravings for sweets, which I feel is sometimes out of control. I hope to loose some weight.
Commit and Strategy: I am on the same page as Jill… I love wine with dinner or a glass in the evenings as well as cookies or dark chocolate, so I will commit to a balance of one sweet per day… either a glass of wine or a sweet treat. I also have a birthday this month and while not a big cake eater I can easily make any dessert my birthday treat 🙁 I will read labels to watch for hidden sugars and alter my meal planning to include less carbs and more vegetables and salads.
I won’t use any type of sweetener but as of now, I haven’t decided whether or not to give up bananas. Also, my daughter said I should include sweet potatoes in my diet. If I can include these two carbs without aggravating my psoriasis, I will make them part of my plan, but NO TABLE SUGAR, SYRUP, NO BREAD, ETC. I lived like this for 2 years in the past, no coffee either, just water, lean meats, vegetables and berries, dropping 50 lbs. in the process. I used stress as a reason to start carbs and sweets again. The result has been rapid weight gain, sluggishness, itchy and painful skin, and mild depression. I’m ready to feel good and fit into my favorite clothing again. By God’s grace, I look forward to success, for all of us. We can do it and a life of delayed gratification & resolve to do what is best for our health will strengthen us and be truly rewarding and satisfying.
Why: I’ve done this before and felt so good when off sugar. I know it will help me rapidly drop the holiday weight gain and build my overall confidence.
Starting Strategy: I will go cold turkey. No added sugars or artificial sweeteners of any kind. I will check the sugar grams on all products to make sure I am not getting hidden sugars and stick mostly to whole foods, non-refined carbs., and make my own salad dressings. Using my new cookbook FIX IT WITH FOOD by Chef Michael Symon and love his recipes. I will allow myself a glass of wine on the weekend and make water or herbal tea my go-to. I love cinnamon apple tea to help curb the cravings the first few days.
I will go cold turkey, however, my daily breakfast contained a tsp of local honey which I will not cut out I have seen the wonderful affects of cutting out carbs and I will get back on that wagon. Thanks to Janet Ruffin, I now know there anna app to monitor carbs. The hardest part for me will be the snacking and staying away from “the table “ in our break room.
My Why: I want to be energized and be healthy to stay active
My Commit: I am going to count carbs and calories with use of a tracker. I will plan my meals for day so that I am prepared and good choices made
My Starting Strategy: I started to cut the sugar and sweets a few days before I started. I may have one piece of dark chocolate a week and plenty of water daily!
I participated in the no sugar challenge at the boot camp I attend last year and to be honest it was pretty hard getting past the craving the first week but after that the benefits were great. I felt better and had more energy. I lost inches around my middle section and just fit into pants better.
I will Commit again this year and try to stay strong for longer.
My boot camp provides me with many healthy recipes and ideas for food swaps that helped get me over the hump.
I will commit to no sugar or artificial sweeteners. My carb limit will be 20 grams each day. I will track with my Carbmaster app and be true to it each day. It’s key to read labels as there is carbohydrates in everything which when all is said and done is sugar.
I am doing this for several reasons. 1. To reduce chance of breast cancer returning (cancer feeds on sugar) 2. Lose weight. 3 So I do not become a diabetic as I get older. I want to be healthy for myself and my family.
Well, I think going all out is a great way to cleanse then in 2 weeks introduce some sugars and starches back in. I’m using this to break my plateau I have battled for 2 months. Coffee creamer will be my biggest thing that I will miss. It will be the first thing and maybe the only thing introduce back in. We’re also not eating bread. Or anything with added sugar. Things we thought were ok like let’s say craisins we aren’t allowed to eat as they have added sugar. So this will be tough. Lots of label reading and chicken and veggies. I’m replacing my coffee with hot tea with no sweetener which normally is impossible for me so here goes nothin!
My WHY: I want to be my best and healthiest self
My COMMIT: I will not add sugar or sweeteners to my food, and I will pay more attention to sugar content in my foods with goal to minimize my overall sugar intake. I’ll incorporate planning and balance in my sugar intake.
My STARTING STRATEGY: I love sweets, and I enjoy having wine and cocktails in the evening. And it’s birthday this month -a girl’s gotta have a birthday cake! So my commit is to balance. If I have wine with dinner, there’s only one glass and there’s no dessert. If I have a piece of chocolate, I’ll have just one and SAVOR it. And my birthday cake can be a single decadent “once and done” cupcake instead of a full cake I have for breakfast the rest of the week.
My WHY: I want to age slowly and gracefully and I want to keep cognitively SHARP!
My COMMIT: No sugar or sweeteners of any sort. I am going to experience the REAL TASTE of food!
My STARTING STRATEGY: I’m going COLD TURKEY! I’m an all or nothing girl. I’ll drink a lot of water and keep some fruit handy, especially in the first few days!