How I Quit Sugar
I know what you’re thinking… quit sugar? Lady, do you want me to be miserable? Quite the opposite actually.
I want you to find physical freedom and mental clarity by cutting out processed sugar from your diet.
And I can relate to where your head is, I’ve been there.
You may be thinking… I can’t do that.
I can’t say no to _____.
I can’t live my life without my daily _____.
I can’t make this significant lifestyle change right now.
Well, you’re wrong.
You. Can. Do. Hard. Things.
Over the 2 years it’s taken for me to come to terms with cutting sugar out of my life, I’ve had a handful of people ask “How hard is it to quit sugar?” or “What did you do?” Each time, I’ve tried to compile a list of steps and helpful tools to share with someone after chatting and realizing they’re seriously ready to take the step, but I always felt I was forgetting something. As a result, here we are.
If you do a quick Google search for “quit sugar”, you will find 80 MILLION hits. Sugar is ravaging our teeth, our gut, our brain, and crippling our health with lifelong miserable diseases. Sugar is destroying people’s lives. There are many people out there (dietitians, personal trainers, doctors, wellness coaches, nurses, etc.) trying to help people like you deal with the destruction by eliminating or drastically reducing your sugar intake. This is my journey and I hope you find even one piece helpful as you begin or continue to fight through yours.
My story of becoming an addict…
I remember my sugar addiction beginning when I was a teenager. My family was all out of the house, and I found myself thinking about some generic cream filled cookies I knew were in the pantry. I took the quilty steps toward the pantry feeling like I was on a scandalous mission to retrieve some contraband. Not only did I swipe two cookies from the pantry, I scooped them into the vanilla Betty Crocker frosting can next to the cookies and then for good measure, sprinkled a little sugar on the frosting. Then I ran to my room anxiously anticipating the high I knew would come from the first bite.
Yea, I cringe just thinking about it too.
In my high school years, as the larger frame girl that I was, I constantly thought about my body image. I wasn’t one of the skinny girls with ample friends to prove it, so food (full of sugar) was my comfort. Transition to college and I found myself obsessing about my weight, how many calories I was consuming vs burning, and I found myself standing in the supplement aisle at WalMart for 30 minutes debating taking weight loss pills. But when I couldn’t pull the trigger (and let’s be honest, spend the money) I’d put it off, attend another friend’s party or get together, and conveniently, like always, sugar was readily available to be my comfort. Then motherhood came like a freight train and the years of losing pregnancy weight and trying to adjust to my body post babies coupled with postpartum depression and well…surprise surprise sugar was always there. Until I realized it didn’t have to be.
What I tried that didn’t work for me:
Keto - when I was still mostly focused on losing weight, Keto worked, but I couldn’t come to grips with not consuming certain fruits and vegetables ever again. Plus I don’t love meat, I could really go without it. It simply wasn’t the plan for me.
Willpower. Just saying no on my own. Given the chance, I’d cheat on myself every time. Then the binge-guilt cycle started all over again.
Availability & Proximity. Having my biggest temptations still in the house. There are some things that aren’t a temptation for me, but if there are Oreos in my pantry for my family and I know it, there’s a good chance a binge is around the corner. I intentionally ask my husband to hide them from me.
Tracking foods & calories on an app. Again, when still focused on my weight vs wellness, I utilized an app that tracks calories taken in by recording food/recipes and calories out by exercise and it became too legalistic for me. The app added pressure to perform that didn’t lead me to success.
Tools that were incredibly helpful:
Prepare for the detox. Yes, your body ridding itself of sugar is an intense process. Know what symptoms you will likely feel (achy, tired, grumpy, moody, headache) for days 3-7 of your detox and have tools on hand to help you through it: A LOT of water, supplements, essential oils, healthy fruits and vegetables, etc.
Intermittent fasting. A method of only consuming calories during a certain time window really helped me kick cravings and give me constraints but also freedom. Intermittent fasting is the balance I needed and it worked for my schedule and our family routine.
Accountability - I had 1-2 people I knew I could text or call if I was struggling or feeling like I wanted food to fix my emotional state, and they would talk me off a ledge. I also began a community called “Live Healthy Wellness” on Facebook where we share healthy recipes, do wellness challenges together, and support each other on our wellness journey.
Reading “Full” and consequently “The 40 Day Sugar Fast”. “Full” introduced me to the idea of craving Jesus vs. craving sugar. The author Asheritah introduced me to Wendy Speake’s book “The 40 Day Sugar Fast” which has a daily reading for 40 days. The 40 Day Sugar Fast daily reading helped to set my mind right at the beginning of the day. Also, reading through it with a group of others was encouraging and supportive.
Recipes. Having an arsenal of healthy clean recipes for meals as well as snacks and the tools to prepare them. This may take some time, but as you practice and plan your time by timeblocking the prep, you will find the flow and settle into it.
Read labels. Learn the 50+ names for sugar and other ingredients that may mess with your blood sugar.
Grace. Shower yourself with it, and consider visiting a counselor to talk through why sugar is such a problem in your life.
Be willing to experiment and try new things. I remember thinking, how am I going to say no to my beautiful coffee with cream and sugar. I still have coffee I just utilize a no sugar creamer and use a splash of honey, which I’ve grown to prefer over a Grande Starbucks.
The positive effects I’ve noticed:
Mental clarity.
I can process information more quickly, I can remember more details, and I can usually sleep better (which is all relative when you have littles!)
Within days of getting back on my plan, my digestion is better, I am less bloated and gassy, and I have more energy.
My emotions feel more real…
that’s a hard one to explain but joy feels more full. Even though I still have sad days, I feel like it’s not the sugar mood swings so I can sit in the sadness and process vs. riding the pendulum sugar mood swing.
Physical changes did come.
I’ve slowly lost some weight but the relief from bloating has allowed my clothes to fit much better. I have to remind myself to occasionally check in on the scale, but pictures and measurements have been much more helpful tools to track my progress.
I can’t stress enough how much cutting sugar was a spiritual process for me and required a mental shift. I’ve done a lot of soul and spiritual work to get to where I am now: counseling, coaching, and time with the Lord. Initially, it was stepping on the scale daily to see how many pounds I was losing. I was so focused on what I could or couldn’t have and detoxing perfectly or following the rules just right, I was miserable at first. When I “messed up’ with my clean streak, I would binge and be on a warpath for junk for 6 months. Then it was 3 months. Then 1 month. Now if I go off plan and allow myself to enjoy a special treat, it’s within days that I find myself craving the reset. Don’t get me wrong, in my early days, I had to be very strict and stay on plan to really cut it out completely and feel what it could be like to live without the effects of sugar in my body. Now, I know what my body is able to feel like, I know I can do it, and it’s becoming second nature to say no to sugar, but still enjoy life.
You can do it too. You can do hard things.
It’s a journey and a process, but you can do it. What 1 small change can you make today on your journey to wellness?
“Can one tiny change transform your life? It’s unlikely you would say so. But what if you made another? And another? And another? At some point, you will have to admit that your life was transformed by one small change”. - James Clear, Atomic Habits
MEET THE AUTHOR
Ashley Fornshell is a woman on a whole-body wellness mission. Mind. Body. Soul. The focus of her journey has been on using her faith in Christ to cultivate a positive self-worth mindset and overcome food addiction. She and her husband do life in Southwest, Ohio with their two kiddos. She spends her days navigating motherhood, ministering to other moms, writing, and encouraging others on their wellness journey.