No (Added) Sugar Challenge

I watched a YouTube video about this guy in Sweden (Sacha) who decided to give up sugar for a month. He started out with Medical and fitness tests to get a baseline then jumped right into the new lifestyle. There were ups and downs and it almost looked a little depressing at times because he seemed so unhappy with the food he had to eat. At the end, his medical and fitness tests were better and he said he felt a lot better and had more energy. This was just a normal guy with an average weight and average build. He wasn’t trying to lose weight he just wanted to see what kind of effect it had on his body.

After watching the video, I wanted to try it. I personally feel like I’m in a similar situation to Sacha. I feel like I’m fairly healthy and I’m on the lighter side of the scale so I really don’t want to lose any weight ;)

I’m not going to get into all the fancy medical experiments and cholesterol tests that he had done in the video but I am hoping to have a lot better experience with the food (because I actually know how to cook!)

My plan is to start in January. Why January? No this isn’t a new year’s resolution, it’s just honestly the best month for it to start. Coming up in the next couple of weeks there are holiday parties, Christmas then New Year’s so to be able to realistically do this challenge, without cheating, it has to be a time when there aren’t any parties or events or things that can really tempt me (or anybody else) from straying. That’s why I picked January! There is nothing going on in January as it’s the most blah month in Canada so there is no better time to try it.

Some key points:

• The goal is to eat only things with no added sugar, things with natural sugars like fruits are allowed but I will try to keep them in moderation.
• To make this possible you and I will need to document what we eat now and find out if it has added sugar. Then we need to find sugar free options (if possible) or alternates. Unfortunately there really isn't a substitute for my ice cream and chocolate chips :(
• Between now and January I will start to make up a bunch of different recipes that we will be able to use during this challenge and they will be posted to my cooking blog with the tag “No Added Sugar - ”.
• Come January 1^st around 2 or 3am, once the New Year’s parting has stopped, we will start the challenge. I mean, 1 or 2 hours isn’t going to make that much of a difference ;)
• I’m looking to make this a social challenge and I would like to invite everyone to join me. As mentioned above, I will be posting a bunch of different recipes as well as creating meal plans and things to snack on.
• One thing I did want to mention is that I do not view Stevia as a Sugar and it will NOT be cut during this challenge. See points below on Stevia vs Sugar but you’ll need to be your own judge.

Stevia vs Sugar Quick facts:

• Stevia is refined from a herb (plant that I grow in my garden)
• Sugar is refined from Sugar Cane or Sugar Beets 
• Stevia has 0 calories
• Sugar has 387 calories per 100g
• Because Stevia has 0 calories it has a negligible effect on blood glucose levels
• Stevia is up to 300x sweeter than sugar
• 1 Tsp of liquid Stevia can be use in place of 1 cup of sugar. That's a savings of about 775 calories!

For a list of things that I'm currently eating as well as a list of things that I need to be eat check out this page Food List