Roll up. Roll up. Who wants to hear about how my Sugar Free February Challenge went?

35 days of a sugar-free living and I am loving it, as are my 2 friends who joined the Sugar Free Revolution (I named it that 😇).

After posting my challenge on social media, I was thrilled that Paul (the inspiration behind #sugarfreefeb ) and I got a new recruit, Martyn . We started a Facebook Messenger chat and took pictures of our meals everyday providing each other with accountability, encouragement and inspiration.

I’ll admit I did slip up 4 times throughout the challenge, twice accidentally and twice on purpose. When visiting a friend’s for an Indian takeaway, I got lost in conversation and whacked a big dollop of mango chutney on a poppadom and threw it down my neck. Doh! And then whilst making a delicious homemade salad dressing , I added a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard only to then find out it had added sugar in. Who knew mustard had sugar in??? I was so dissappointed.

I was also shocked to find that supermarket sushi had added sugar in the rice and sauces which I will now be avoiding.

There were 2 occasions where I added some local honey to my porridge as fruits and vegetables just wasn’t hitting the spot after a long training session. But that was before I discovered adding kiwi to my porridge instead. This was a revelation!

I am so pleased to have finally stepped off the sugar train.  It wasn’t as difficult as I thought as with each day the desire to eat sugar decreased.

And the results?
My energy levels are more consistent and my thinking is clearer. I did the challenge entirely for health reasons but it’s always an added bonus to get an aesthetic benefit too. I have lost the fluid adipose tissue that was building up around my body (mostly waist and face) and have a flatter stomach. Both Paul and Martyn have reported similar benefits.

Having suffered from acne from aged 14 – 32, my skin is now much clearer, brighter and takes far less management to keep it pimple free. Total winner!!!

Doing the challenge has lead me to make conscious decisions on what I eat rather than sending my insulin levels sky high when over hungry. And I’m really pleased that doing it has given 2 other friends the drive to do an eating challenge for themselves with one going chocolate free for all of March.

Below is a gallery of some of the meals the sugar free gang got involved with:

On March 1st, Paul announced ‘Day 1 of a sugar free life’ in our chat and we all agreed we are going to continue as we are feeling so good.

The boys are eating honey, agave syrup, dates, dried fruit and such like but I’m going to stay clear of them as I was eating too much of them before and think I’ll get hooked again. Going sugar free has given me the opportunity to rediscover my love of whole fruit, especially kiwis and blueberries which I am now using as a substitute for sweetness.

I am so grateful to have had the sugar free gang around for support. One weekend Martyn ran 2 marathons back to back and only fell into the sugar trap once with an electrolyte drink. He made conscious decisions on food pre and post event and stuck to the challenge. Paul went on a hiking trip with his children and remained sugar free throughout despite them eating sugary treats.

What next?
It seems me and the gang might be a little hooked and have a March challenge planned, whilst continuing to send each other pictures of our meals.
More details for March to follow soon.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to donate to my biggest challenge to date , please visit my donation page here . Every little really does help.

Happy Sugar Free Eating xxx