The Goal:

So the other day I got this crazy idea to go through the year of 2015 without any sugar.  Not even the beloved natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, Sucanat, Stevia and all that stuff.

The Reason:

Why on earth would I do a silly thing like this?  I continue to hear statistics about how our sugar intake has increased exponentially over the years.  I continue to also hear how sugar is destroying our health and more importantly the health of children.  A recent statistic I read was that by the age of 8, kids these days will have eaten as much sugar as someone who lived a century ago over the course of their entire lifetime. Woah, that’s just crazy.  Granted, yes, a hundred years ago they ate less sugar but still this is a frightening statistic.

Another reason is that I’ve been through a yo-yo of ups and downs as I consume sugar.  I’m able to stay away for a little while and then I eat some and feel awful and remember why I stayed away in the first place.  When I eat sugar, even the natural kind, I get hot flashes (yes right now I am only 31, no menopause yet!), I get irritable, I experience a crash in energy, my body feels stressed and I get sick and get infections much more readily than when I stay away from sugar.  Not fun!

I truly believe that we eat WAY too much sugar.  And that sneaky substance is being added to everything under the sun.  Even things we don’t even realize.  Condiments, sauces, breads, crackers and more.  Just start reading labels and you’ll be surprised.

Maybe if we vote with our dollars and abstain from buying all of these sweet things, food companies will realize that there’s a problem and consumers aren’t happy and I don’t know maybe change something? We also need to be setting an example for the younger generation.  We need to be worried about their future health.

Lastly, I also like a challenge,  I like to set goals, and I want to see how I can use whole food sweeteners (i.e. fruits) to sweeten everything.  Do you think I can do it? What about you? Do you want to join?

Fruit Sweetened:

I will still of course allow myself fruits.  Over the year I’m going to have to get creative as I approach holidays where I’ll naturally want to indulge and eat the foods you would normally enjoy on birthdays and Thanksgiving among other holidays.

This doesn’t mean I’m not going to have anything sweet for a whole year, I’m just going to have things that are already naturally sweet, whole foods only, unaltered from their natural state.  Our bodies were designed to taste sweet things and enjoy them. We just weren’t designed to eat pounds of sugar each week!

As I go through this challenge I will post recipes that I’ve concocted during this experiment to share with you all, so you too will have some naturally sweetened treats to indulge in.

I will also be posting new articles on research that I will be reading on sugar and it’s devastating affects on our health so be watching for those.

Two Exceptions:  

Alright there will be 2 exceptions.  Honey, medicinally, will be allowed sparingly during times of sickness.  Local, raw honey.  That’s it.  It is so soothing for a sore throat so if the need arises I will allow myself a bit of honey in my peppermint tea or some of my Elderberry Syrup that I make to help recover from a bad cold.  Also stevia and xylitol sweetened gum and toothpaste.  We can’t sacrifice good breath right?

Why No Stevia?  

I don’t like the fake sugar aftertaste that it has.  I kind of don’t really trust it either.  A powder sweetener that only takes a tiny bit to sweeten a large amount of stuff?  It just doesn’t seem right to me.  Xylitol and Erythritol just sound like a scientific experiment and I don’t readily hop on the trendy new age sugar bandwagon. I’m not saying that they ARE bad, I just don’t eat them.  Do as you wish.

Are You In?

Would you like to join me?  You could try it even for just a month or a week.  I would love to create a whole group of people taking part in this challenge!  Share it on social media and get your friends and family involved. Be sure to keep up with how it’s all going by reading the articles under the “A Year Of No Sugar” tab.

Join the facebook group for support all the way:)

I can’t wait to get started!