Quitting sugar is by no means a small task. If only it meant just stopping the occasional mars bar. But I can 100% say it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If you want to stop the cravings and stop living for the next snack then keep reading.

I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible – first of all, sugar comes in a lot of different forms. Lactose (found in dairy products), sucrose, fructose, glucose, etc etc etc. Lactose is a safe form of sugar, but fructose & sucrose are not. Essentially what sugar does is it gives you a sugar high, raises your blood pressure, and then as soon as the high wears off, you are faced with a big low, which you feel like you can only fix with more sugar.

A big myth that will probably shock you, is that low-fat items are actually far worse for you than full fat. I know, we’ve been told for years that we must cut down on our fat content when really it is fat that fills us up and stops us from eating more. Just because it is called ‘full fat’ does not mean you are going to put fat on your body, they are two different things.

There are so many products that are full of sugar, and it’s not always the most obvious ones. Things like natural nutty cereal bars actually have the same amount of sugar in them than chocolate bars. Also worryingly the items that are labelled ‘natural & healthy’ that we give to our children are often 80% sugar. Now, this part you might struggle to believe, but bear with me – fruit sugar is fructose, therefore you must limit your intake. For years we have been told to eat 5 to 9 fruit & veggies a day, but what that actually should be is 1 to 2 pieces of fruit, and the rest made up in vegetables. (Oh and dried fruit is out of the question). No matter what fancy word is in front of it (natural, raw, organic, vegan, nectar etc) it. is. still. sugar. (say goodbye to agave nectar).

Now what I did, was work my way up to completely quitting sugar, in order to get over my addiction to sugar. (A study was completed on rats which had the choice between sugar and cocaine, and they went for the sugar first, no joke). To do this included quitting any & all sweetness (this includes sweeteners, no matter how natural), obviously no chocolate or sweets, but also no fruit, no soft drinks or any sort of drinks other than water and sparkling water, and I did this for a total of 2 months (it takes 2 months to break a habit). In this time, I felt awful, I craved sweetness like no tomorrow, and I felt isolated because no one else had done it before. 

Everyone who didn’t understand it tried to persuade me to not do it and told me fruit is a natural sugar and that my body needed fruit.

However, once I had quit, once I had got through the horrible addiction, I felt amazing. I could go from breakfast to lunch without needing a snack, I actually felt full after eating, I lost a lot of weight (10kg!) particularly in the stomach area, as sugar is the main contributor to visceral fat, and my skin cleared up. Another reason I decided to do it, was also because I was ill every week, with a sore throat, and my chronic fatigue syndrome was at its worst, Yet after quitting sugar I made it through the entire winter without a cold (which is unheard of for me!) My taste buds changed and vegetables actually had a flavour. But if all this wasn’t worth it, I wouldn’t still be off the sugar now.

For the sake of a few seconds of delight, is it really worth the long list of downsides? Besides, once your taste buds change, you will only need a very tiny amount of sugar for something to taste sweet to you. Its completely up to you, but if you want to quit, you need to REALLY want to quit. And you musn’t let anyone stop you or try to tell you different. Giving it a try for 2 months of your life out of at least 80 odd years is hardly any time and could quite literally change your life.

I know it is a lot to take in, but if you want to understand it more, I learnt all this from Sarah Wilson, with her series of ‘I Quit Sugar’ books, which not only explains the why’s but also the how to’s along with recipes to help get you through. If you would rather understand via film then watch ‘That sugar film’ by Damon Gameau, which actually shows you sugar affecting his body, and him overcoming it. 100% recommend both of these, and I have added the links below. Let me know what you think & if you’ve decided to give it a go!

I can assure you it will be worth it.