Strict Rules: Require checking food labels for hidden sugars that are < 0.5 g, but allows simple carbohydrates

Preparation:

Before starting this challenge, I was optimistic that I would complete this challenge with ease. My normal diet is relatively low on sugar, despite my occasional sweet treat and daily morning coffee with creamer. To prepare for this challenge, the night before Day 1 I went to the grocery store to pick up ingredients to meal prep, extra fruits for breakfasts/snacks, and extra vegetables to keep on hand. By having a surplus of sugar free foods on hand, I thought this would make it easier to stick to the no sugar diet. I meal prepped a Tuscan orzo dish which created 3 portions (Image 1) and fruit cups with pineapple (Image 1). I figured finding food with no sugar to eat on Old Dominion University’s campus would be a challenge since most of it is fast food so I packed these for lunch. Other produce I kept on hand included grapes, nectarines, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and avocados. Throughout this diet, I kept a daily log of what I ate and how I have felt.

Day 1:

I started this challenge on a Saturday as I thought this would give me time to acclimate to the new diet before being on campus all day during the week. On Saturday I started off strong having chai tea and a nectarine for breakfast. I was unable to have my morning coffee with creamer and I refuse to drink black coffee so I settled for chai tea to get my morning caffeine. For lunch, I made a cucumber avocado salad (Image 2) and roasted sweet potato with chicken sausage (Image 3). I made sure to read all of the ingredients on the chicken sausage and the particular kind I chose 0 grams of added sugar. For dinner I ate a traditional Greek salad (Image 4) and half of one of the orzo bowls. Overall, after day 1, I was feeling good, content with my foods for the day and appreciative of the preparation. However, I did have a headache for most of the day since the chai tea contained significantly less caffeine than I was used to having.

Day 2:

On day 2 (Sunday) I started off having chai tea, fried egg, avocado, and pineapple for breakfast (Image 5). I had extra time this morning so I enjoyed preparing this breakfast and plating it as if I was on a competitive cooking show. It was important to me to plate it accordingly for the best picture. For lunch, I had a cucumber avocado salad and the remaining half of the orzo from day 1. For dinner, I was feeling low-energy and was craving a comfort food so I settled for a box of Goodles mac n cheese which I was surprised to see had 0g of added sugar. This day was the hardest for me due to the lack of caffeine and sugar combined. I noted that I still felt hungry most of the day despite eating my normal portion sizes. Comically, I wrote in my daily journal “Feel: miserable. Need sugar.”

Day 3:

Starting off day 3 I ate grapes for breakfast. I focused on drinking water most of this day instead of teas. This was a Monday so I packed a container of orzo for lunch. Being on campus for most of the day made me crave caffeine more than day 1 or day 2 but I was still too stubborn to drink black coffee so I stuck with my water. However, I noted being very irritable and having to be cautious to not strain my relationships with my friends. On the drive home, in the typical traffic and avoiding terrible drivers, I noticed my road rage was worse than normal. After the long drive home where I used an extensive vocabulary to describe the terrible drivers of Virginia Beach, I started to ponder dinner. I settled on making ramen for dinner. While no picture is provided because I was extremely hangry and had no patience to make this dish look pretty, it contained bone broth, ginger, garlic, carrots, bok choy, and 0 sugar noodles. After eating this I was still craving carbohydrates. The carbohydrate products I had readily available contained added sugars so I settled for eating macadamia nuts which were surprisingly satisfying.

Day 4:

Day 4 was the first day I did not have a headache or feel mildly miserable. For breakfast, I continued to have grapes and water instead of tea. For lunch I ate sweet potatoes and sausage. For dinner, my boyfriend and I made lasagna. When picking out ingredients, we made sure to check for any added sugars. Surprisingly, the higher quality ingredients did not contain sugar so this meal was possible, despite my former beliefs. The lasagna was hearty and satisfied my ongoing craving for carbohydrates. Overall, I felt happier this day; however, I was still missing my sweet coffee.

Day 5:

Day 5 I started my day off with grapes, again. To my disappointment, still no sweet coffee. For lunch, I packed some leftover lasagna. For dinner I ate the last of the orzo I meal prepped. This was the last day of the challenge and I still felt happier but more excited to be done with the challenge. Overall, I felt healthier and, therefore, better about my eating habits. However, most of my positive emotions stemmed from the fact that the next day I would be able to drink as much coffee with creamer as I wanted.

Overall:

The first day after the challenge, I immediately made myself a coffee with my preferred seasonal pumpkin pie flavored creamer. I noted feeling “euphoric” after the first sip. While I acknowledge that sugar is not the healthiest, I will still continue to consume sugar for my emotional well-being. I am glad that I tried this challenge, as it was eye opening as to how dependent I am on sugar and caffeine. I learned that in order to succeed with this challenge, it helps to have 0 sugar meals prepped to have on hand so that it is less tempting to have fast food. Having excess fruits and vegetables nearby are also helpful to satisfy snacking urges. My biggest takeaway from this challenge is that my diet does not need to drastically change to eat less sugar, I just need to choose higher quality ingredients and consume more produce.