It’s no secret that I love a sweet treat and, let’s face it, who doesn’t once in a while? A piece chocolate can be the perfect mood booster, motivation to get a task done or simply a pleasant way to end a meal. However, this December, I caught myself eating far too many chocolates and began to wonder whether I had enough willpower to quit this guilty pleasure, at least for a while.
January is known as the month of starting over, ‘new year, new me’. Dry January and many other challenges to become the best version of yourself take place during the first month of the year; what better time to conduct an experiment of your own?
I knew that casually trying to stay away from sugar would not work for me. I needed discipline and rules, so I gave myself a time frame – starting January 1st until the 25th. Having spoken to a nutritionist, who also happens to be my mother, I decided that the most effective way to do this was to choose what I could eat and what I couldn’t. Nowadays, sugar is added to everything – even various sauces, which is why completely cutting it out would have been a nightmare. So, I simply cut out the things that I was most drawn to – cakes, ice cream, chocolates, sweets and biscuits. Fruits and sugary drinks were allowed in moderation. This way, I was more likely to succeed in the challenge and was left with at least a soda to brighten my mood.
I’ll be honest, there were hard moments and slip-ups. Having a deadline to the challenge helped me be stricter with myself, as I understood that this was only for a short amount of time, however during family gatherings or peer-pressure moments restricting myself was harder and that’s when I would give in. One day – I would feel so good and have no cravings, others – I would be eating fruit after fruit just to fill the void. I’ve learnt that eating to fill the void is worse than having that little piece of chocolate and continuing about my day.
1. If you’re craving something sweet, maybe you’re just hungry. Check if you have eaten properly, and if you haven’t, that’s most likely the reason. Always eat a full meal before eating something sweet. “When a person is hungry, blood sugar levels fall and the brain/body seeks quick carbohydrates. Sweet foods raise glucose rapidly, so the body instinctively prefers them to any other food. In many cases, the craving is not a real desire for sugar or a sign of lack of willpower but rather a biological survival mechanism and a sign of general energy deficiency.” – explains nutritionist Marina Shamara.
2. If your snack is a chocolate, it’s always best to eat it with some almonds or opt for a healthier type of sweet, like dark chocolate.
3. Most of the time, it’s all in your head. The necessity of dessert after a meal is just a habit. It’s not because you actually want a dessert, it’s because you are used to having them after lunch or dinner.
A week after I quit sugar, my acne went away, my face was less puffy, and I felt much healthier overall. They say it takes 21 days for a new habit to form; I believe quitting sweets for 21 days was the least I could do for myself. The longer the challenge went on, the harder it got, especially during exams, but it was totally worth it. I have overlooked my eating habits, I feel more energised, healthier physically and mentally. After the challenge I am more in control of my decisions and can safely say that my sugar intake no longer affects my mood/life.