So I have now entered the half way point of the IQS detox, I’m into Week 5 and I survived cold-turkey no sugar Week 4 while on holiday in Queensland – now that was a challenge.
It was the first time I truly cheated on the program too, I had spent the whole week craving ice cream, wanting to sink my teeth into fresh, tropical fruit and watching my family eat desserts while I stuck to my sugar free dip and crackers. I was starting to feel I was really missing out on something, so when we went to Australia Zoo, it took walking passed about 5 ice cream stands before I gave in and bought one.
It was a hot, humid Queensland day and no matter how much I sipped on water, it just wasn’t cutting it. I wanted ice-cream, not sugar free popcorn or nuts from the kiosks – a real ice cream, goddammit! So I did – and it tasted really good. Although something has changed, I noticed something that I’m not sure I would have noticed before. As soon as I finished off my cone, I thought “I want another one”. It was instant, like my brain had not even registered that I just ate a whole ice-cream.
I’m starting to understand the addictive pull sugar can have on us, and no I didn’t eat anymore ice creams and haven’t eaten anymore sugar so far *YAY!*.
So has anything else changed since I started going low-fructose?
What I No Longer Eat
– Dried fruit
– Fruit juice
– Flavoured yoghurts
– Most pasta jar sauces
– A product that lists sugar as the first or second ingredient.
I’ve replaced the above things by eating whole, fresh fruit, eating sugar-free natural greek yoghurt with nuts, rice malt syrup and cinnamon (or mainly getting my calcium sources from milk and cheese).
I’ve also now stuck to my own pasta sauce recipe, which is a lot cheaper to make and tastes a lot fresher than a Dolminos pre-made sauce.
My recipes is simply, 2 cans of diced tomatoes, a tsp of tomato paste, vegeta, paprika, salt & pepper. Easy, cheap and delicious!
The hardest things to give up…
Thai food! Thai food has always been my favourite Asian cuisine, but they drench absolutely everything in palm sugar – not even the satay sauce was sugar free for me to eat.
I’ve coped by swapping my thai food with Indian and Greek food. I agree with Sarah Wilson’s philosophy that by filling yourself up on great, sugar free food you don’t feel like you’re missing out as much. I also agree with her idea that filling up on protein, fats and vegetables make the process easier.
A fresh Greek lamb souvlaki, rogan josh curry and rich satay beef stirfry (sugar free of course) has made me feel satisfied, without the sweetness.
How I’m Feeling
One thing that I’ve noticed is that my energy slumps in the afternoon have completely gone since going sugar free, I also feel clearer in my head during the day.
Physically I don’t think I look as bloated as I used to during the day, I don’t know if I’ve lost any weight because I haven’t weighed myself but it’s not a big focus for me – I might weigh myself at the end out of curiosity, but weight loss would be a positive by-product of the detox, not the goal.
I'm (trying) to Quit Sugar 