I did feel different being sugar free. At first I was irritable and when that passed, I was more energized and slept much better at night.
I learned that sugar is literally in almost everything. The biggest part of this challenge was finding things that were truly sugar free. There is sugar in sausage links bought from the butcher, there is sugar in garlic salt and season salt bought from Costco, and in frozen sweet potato fries, and everything that is even the slightest processed.
When cutting out all the added sugar, fruit and food in general tastes so much sweeter.
My kids truly are addicted to sugar. During this time when we had limited amounts of sugar at home, they went crazy when given the option of having it at other places. They couldn't get enough.
I also learned that condiments contain a ton of sugar!
I think this challenge has changed my relationship with food. I find myself eating less. I think a lot of that is because you can't just have whatever you want when you want it. I find that planning is required to eat sugar free with a family. We found ourselves getting creative with recipes and treats. When not having a sugar choice, I didn't have any complaints from my kids. They would gladly eat what we had and ate a lot of fruits.
Now knowing that females should only eat 20 grams of sugar a day, I will make sure I eat below that range. I am sure I can easily get up to that number by eating fruits and finding it in places least expected. After going 10 days without processed foods, I plan to continue that for the long haul. Going into this, I really thought I would want to use honey and agave after the 10 days but after 10 days, I don't have the sweet cravings or need to incorporate it back into my diet.
I highly recommend everyone giving it a try. 10 days goes fast. If you are not ready to go sugar free, try to cut out one processed or sugary item a week.
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