30 DAY SUGAR FREE CHALLENGE UPDATE

Posted On October 12, 2021

If you follow me on Instagram you’ve probably seen me post on my story, my daily check off for a day without having sugar! And by sugar, it’s no added sugar i.e candy, baked goods, things like that. I’ve still been consuming some fruit and things that have natural occurring sugar.

I decided to take on this challenge when my friend Jess Jones took a poll on her IG story asking if anyone wanted to join her on the challenge. At first I thought, I could totally do that, I don’t even eat much sugar to begin with. After thinking about what I eat in a day, I quickly realized, WOW. I do eat a decent amount of sugar daily. It probably isn’t a lot to some people, but eating a few m&m’s here and there through out the day, taking a bite of a sweet treat at work, and having dessert after dinner?! All of those things might not be big or even full serving, but they do ADD UP and eating those things aren’t necessary on a daily basis.

After realizing this I for sure wanted to be apart of the challenges not only to better myself, but also show that I don’t NEED any of that to function. Most of the sugar I was eating was pleasure to the taste buds and not to fuel my body. And to have an accountability buddy who is also doing the challenge helps too!

I started the challenge on Monday October 4th, 2021 and am now on day 9! I drink close to, if not a full gallon of water a day and live a decently active lifestyle, working out 4-5 times a week, running, and my job is pretty physical, just for some side notes on my eating and movement lifestyle. For today, I’m doing to share some notes I took in those first 7 days!

Day 1– I felt motivated and ready to take on the challenge. I surprisingly didn’t have any craving for a treat or any kind of sugar. I did a leg workout and felt great!

Day 3– I felt great I felt 70% less bloated through out the day, my joints didn’t feel stiff, still no sugar cravings, AND I got the fastest mile time run that I have recorded since being in my 20’s!

Day 5– Still feeling amazing, I’m having a good body image day, I got my workouts in during the week and didn’t feel overly sore or fatigued. AND another run PR for my 1.42 miles loop!

Day 6– (Saturday) feeling great having another positive body image day, I went to a fall festival with friends and seeing treats made me want something sweet for the first time all week. That night I ate with my boyfriend and his family. I had salmon, veggies, and sweet potato fries (none of these are BAD, may be higher in fat and sodium being from a restaurant, no big deal) BUT I also ate some fried pickles and fried onions for apps. I enjoyed the food and company and still didn’t eat “sugar”.

Day 7- (Sunday)- I woke up feeling bloated (ovi from the fried food and higher sodium content) After eating pretty clean all week the heavy meal just wasn’t sitting well with me the next day, but I know bloating will go down after a day or 2 of being back on track!

Over all from the first 7 days- taking away just those few treats I was eating daily made such a HUGE difference. You never really know how much something you’re eating affects your body on a daily basis. I realized that with eliminating the daily desserts and also after eating a heavy meal with fried foods. Another thing I noticed is, the day after eating nut/nut butters my joints, especially in my hands are very achy, so I’m going to eliminate nuts and nut butters this week. I didn’t change any of my other eating habits besides taking out sugar, so this week I’m going to limit my chip and salsa snacking and focus on eating to fuel my body.

Everyone’s body is different and finding what works best for you along with what foods work and agree with your body is going to be key for living and feeling your best!

It’s not too late to join in on the challenge! Jess made us a cute tracker to check off each day and you can even make notes on it and share to your IG stories! If 2 out of your 3 daily meals are great nutrient dense meals, but maybe you had a meal out with friends or family that wasn’t 100% great then that’s okay too! 2 out 3 is a win! Every bit a progress is a win!

Below is a copy of the tracker made by Jess if you want to join in!