[OPINION]

My decision to go sugar-free this month has been an unexpected conversation point.

While I’m not going around proclaiming my new diet choices and telling others they should do the same, when I turn down foods like milk chocolate and cupcakes that I would otherwise have excitedly accepted, people question why.

Most are confused as to how going sugar-free is even possible, as sugar seems to be in everything. Others have encouraged me, with a few wondering if they could do it, and some think I’m crazy! “How could you give up sugar?!” they ask. “I wouldn’t ever give up sugar – it’s not worth it.”

Then comes awkward occasions when I have to turn down friends’ offers of food. At shared dinners this is particularly tricky, because I don’t want to look like I don’t like their food, and I’m conscious of them feeling as though I think I’m above them and their sugar-rich diet.

My motivation

So what made me decide to give up sugar for a month? Well, for starters, working at Health 2000 and promoting “Sugar-Free June” didn’t sit well with me if I wasn’t doing it myself.

Before this month, I was becoming increasingly aware of my slack diet. While I ate reasonably healthy, when I had the opportunity to snack I would do so without a second thought. I was often waking in the morning with a sore stomach from the crap I’d been eating the night before while watching a movie or out with friends. Going sugar-free for a month seemed a good break for my stomach!

I was also quite excited about the challenge and didn’t think it’d be too difficult, considering my diet was mostly healthy already.

Struggles

The first day of June was actually one of the most difficult days so far! This was because I didn’t make my lunch at home so needed to buy something. Unbeknown to me, both sushi and Subway (my go-to “healthy” lunch choices) each contain sugar. This prompted a trip to the supermarket and a hungry search for a meal I could make at work. Luckily, I found a box of microwave chicken curry that miraculously contained no added sugar.

Cooking at home has been no problem, but eating out has posed the most problems so far, with fast food and fine dining restaurants not having sugar-free meals readily accessible.

A typical day's food

Breakfast: Peanut butter (the no added sugar variety) on toast

Morning tea: Coffee with almond milk and a piece of fruit

Lunch: Leftovers from the previous night’s dinner

Afternoon tea: A piece of fruit, a cup of herbal tea and a few sugar-free crackers

Dinner: Homemade lasagne, Moroccan chicken with rice, roast veggies and meat, or soup.

What I've learned so far

• When I spend a little more time buying sugar-free foods and making meals from scratch, I can create delicious, sugar-free concoctions that make me wonder why I didn’t go sugar-free earlier!
• Eating out is difficult – sugar is found in unexpected places, especially in sauces and dressings
• I have stronger willpower than I thought!
• Waking up without a “sugar hangover” or bloated stomach feels great
• Planning is key!