Getty Images
One gram of sugar is equal to about four teaspoons of granulated sugar.
Many of the articles you see online about people who gave up sugar for a month or more focus on the health benefits of removing sugar from your diet. Although many people think fat in their diet causes a lot of weight gain, sugar really does add on the pounds! I’m not here to discuss that though, I am here to give you the real-life perspective of what happened to me when I quit sugar for only one week. Let’s get into it!
1. I learned that basically every food on the planet has sugar in it.
The next time you eat something, even if it’s a stick of gum, look at the nutrition label and how much sugar is in it. Remember, one gram is about four teaspoons. You’ll notice that basically everything has a least one gram of sugar in it and the majority of the ‘good stuff’ has way more than one gram in it. When I said I’d give up sugar initially, I was thinking I wouldn’t be able to eat candy, sweets, coffee–you know, treats. Little did I know, I wouldn’t be able to eat a lot of breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods either!
2. I was hungry a lot.
As a result of learning how much I couldn’t eat, I was super hungry the first few days–and I’ll be honest, a hungry Isis is a grumpy Isis. I couldn’t eat a Snickers to fix it either. I went grocery shopping and realized that we are so mislead with healthy labels like 100% juice, whole-grain, etc. because although they say those things, most of them are still packed with sugar! Once I identified the four to give things I could eat guiltlessly, I was able to get rid of my ‘hangry’ attitude.
3. I had a hard time sleeping.
I’m not sure if it was because my body was used to crashing after my usual sugar-filled day, but I could not sleep for the life of me! I was up until 3 or 4 a.m. basically every night.
4. I felt energetic around day 4.
I will say that I felt a major increase in my daytime energy around Hump Day. I was even a bit more smiley. Sure, it could have been because the week was almost over and I was just a beautiful three days away from holding a hot cup of coffee again, but whatever the case I felt a lot more energetic.
5. I saved a lot of money.
I saved a good bit of money by quitting sugar for a week because I wasn’t able to make my usual ‘at-the-register’ purchases and I wasn’t buying coffee or other goodies throughout the week. I didn’t realize how much money I spent on things like that until I was consciously trying not to give in to temptation and buy them.
6. I lost three pounds.
Of course, I couldn’t be mad about losing a few pounds. I wasn’t able to eat a lot of foods I liked, but as a result I lost a few pounds without having to pump any iron or walk 10 miles. Nice.
7. I nearly lost my mind.
At the end of the day, I’m a single mother with a newborn and sugar is my friend. Everyone has their vice, and I guess sugar is mine. I enjoy my cup (or six) of coffee in the morning; I like toaster strudels; I like fruit. Not being able to indulge in those things makes me a grumpy first-time mom and I’d like to refrain from that if possible, so–SUGAR PLEASE!