Today’s the day Glisteners!! January 15th, 2015. The first day of our 30 Day Refined Sugar-Free Challenge!! It starts today and finish the day before Valentine’s Day. Remember, we are doing this challenge because we love our bodies, not because we hate them. Our bodies do so much for us, so this is a wonderful way to honor them. That’s why we are going to eat only delicous natural sugar in the form of vitamin-rich fruits for 30 days!!
What do we hope to gain from this experience? We want to practice mindful eating. We are not here to encourage restrictive eating behaviors but we do want to show you that eating sugar from natural sources can make you feel energized and strong! Statistics show that an average American consumes about 130 pounds of sugar each year. The American Heart Association recommends eating no more than 9.5 teaspoons of sugar daily; yet, the average adult consumes 22 teaspoons and the average child consumes 32! The top sources of this sugar is consumed in the form of soft drinks, candy, cakes, cookies, and pies. Sadly, these sources of sugar are energy dense and nutrient poor. Fruit is the best sweet treat to consume because it provides satisfying sweetness along with vitamins and minerals, fiber, and water.
What are the rules? We’re keeping it simple. Eat a balanced diet consisting of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean sources of protein, and healthy fats. If a food contains refined sugar, avoid it. Although we prefer sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, and 100% fruit juice instead of refined sugar, try to limit consuming any form of added sugar for these 30 days so that you can experience how wonderful you feel without it. However, please don’t become a crazy person either! If your salad dressing has a little honey in it, just eat less than you would normally eat and add a squeeze of lemon. We don’t want to encourage “all or nothing behavior”. If you accidentally eat something with sugar in it, use it as motivation to be more conscious the next day.
On the other hand, do keep in mind that your body craves what you eat. So, if you have sugar in your system, your body will crave it. In fact, according to brain scans, sugar is as addictive as cocaine. Yikes! We have both had to avoid consuming sugar for various reasons in the past and from experience, the first two weeks are the hardest. Once you get through those tough two weeks, you will stop craving sugar! It’s a transformational experience. The most amazing part is that all your food will taste sweeter. Did you know that walnuts taste sweet? Avoid sugar for two weeks and see for yourself!
Okay, good luck Glisteners! We believe in you and we will be here for you along the way. Get ready for some delicious refined sugar-free snack and dessert recipes to keep you motivated throughout the challenge.
As always, we send you LOVE and PEACE without grease!
XO, The Glisten Girls