I Have a Confession to Make...

I have a confession to make.

I am a big fat sugar-fail.

There are a thousand things I could blame it on, but it’s my fault really. The 2 weekends that we moved house were very stressful and probably not the best time to decide to ease back into sugar. It didn’t help that those weekends were also around Easter and if there’s one thing that can sway me better than most it’s a Cadbury Crème Egg (even if the new recipe for the yolk is absolute bollocks). I had one, and then two. I said no to Mum’s offer of a big hollow egg and then yes to another Crème Egg.

I got back on track but it really was (honestly) time to put just a little sugar back in my diet. It’s one thing to look after my health but it’s another to miss out on once in a lifetime flavours and textures in Europe because they will make me sick. That’s what sugar does to me – my body has been so empty of it that any small amount makes me sick. I don’t want to be trying gelato from the shop that invented it and then spending the afternoon regretting it. I needed to get my body used to small amounts, but still stay in control.

Um, yeah. Control.

Squish started baking goodies while home sick and bringing them to pre-Monty-and-NurseB-leaving get togethers. Some, like her sugar-free cookies, were safe. The Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies that turned up to work with Wozz (who conveniently lives with her and works with me) were not. Ah Squish, damn you for being so amazing in the kitchen.

By all means it is not Squish’s fault. I think it goes more back to moving into Monty and Nurse B’s house. When I went sugar-free, I stopped buying sugar. Even if I wanted it, there wasn’t any. At Monty and Nurse B’s house, I was suddenly alone with a pantry that included chocolate chip biscuits and hot chocolate mix and a fridge with juice and soft drink. It was cold, and there is nothing I love better for warm comfort food than biscuits dipped in hot chocolate. I ate the biscuits. All of them. Of course, I replaced them. Then I ate those too.

2 weeks later, I have a list on the fridge of everything we’ve eaten that needs to be replaced before we leave. 90% of it is sugar, and I ate it. Including the chocolate buttons from the baking shelf. I’m actually ashamed of it but I couldn’t not tell you because I promised to be honest. I have tried, I swear! I have still said no to things. I have made good choices. But once a day, I’ve made a bad one.

I sat at Courtney’s Dad’s house and nodded quietly as they offered biscuits to everyone and acknowledged that I was sugar-free but could have a treat when I accepted one. I wasn’t being dishonest by letting them say I was sugar-free. I haven’t given up. I will get back on track. I have to, because to be honest, I feel like crap. I’ve fallen asleep on the couch every night this week. I have a really bad headache today. I’ve slept in every morning. I feel stodgy and gluey and yuck. Imagine pouring buckets of gelatine into a previously free-flowing river. That goopy slow moving mess is me. It goes to prove just how much sugar affects me. And after weeks, nay months of people commenting how loose my jeans are and how silly they look, I bought new ones. They’re two sizes smaller than the last, and if I keep eating sugar they won’t fit for long.

Last week, I had my first Hot Chocolate this year. It might just be one Hot Chocolate to you, but to me it’s proof I’m letting myself down, going back on all this hard work. I’m becoming dependent on a sugar-fix mid afternoon and I didn’t work so freaking hard to end up back at the beginning.

Damn you sugar, we meet again. But I’m yet to see a sequel where the good guy lets the villain win.

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Sugar-Free Cookies!

This is another recipe from the lovely Squish. These look like muesli bars but they taste a thousand times better, they're not hard but they don't crumble and they're not dry. Holy Rock n Roll, they are amazing and I will eat any that come near me. Also if you want to add chocolate chips, the cookies turn out just as well, just not sugar-free. I also believe some successful experimentation has been done with Feijoas in place of Bananas.

Healthy Banana Cookies

Ingredients 

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method 

• Preheat oven to 175ºc. 
• In a large bowl, mash the bananas. 
• Stir in oats, dates, oil, and vanilla.
• Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. 
• Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. 
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown.

How to Choose a Sweetener

 This is pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen.

Thanks to Haakuturi at Is it Paleo for sending it to me!

Sugar-Free Fudge Brownies

Our lovely Squish has had amazing results on her health kick, having reached her first milestone and now well on her way to her ultimate goal. I couldn't be more proud, she looks amazing. Anyway, she has been supplying me with wonderful sugar-free recipes which make me infinitely happy because then I can indulge without giving up. So now you can too, because here is the first, and I'll give you another one next week.

*May not be a picture of sugar-free brownies

Fudge Brownies
 

Ingredients

• olive oil cooking spray
• 2/3 cup mild honey, such as clover or orange blossom
• 1/3 cups natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Easing Back Into Sugar

I have now been sugar-free for almost 4 months. It's only 6 weeks until we go to Europe and when we get there I don't want to be chained to my sugar-free convictions because there will be so many amazing new foods to try. Some of these might be once in a lifetime opportunities, for example Sfogliatelle. Sfogliatelle is fairly unique to Naples, Italy. Although you can find it elsewhere it differs region to region, and be damned if I'm not going to try the real thing.

It's a daunting thought, easing back into sugar, because I know how easy it will be to give myself an inch and take a mile. I don't want to end up back where I started, slowly killing myself with the most easily available refined white substance in the world. Easter weekend was an easy place to start. My Mum bought me an Easter Egg but also a box of Jarrah White Hot Chocolate. Jarrah is within my 3% sugar allowance and it is so good when you just need a sugar fix. I gave her back the egg and kept the Jarrah.

http://jimithingg.tumblr.com

I was so proud of myself for passing up the Easter Egg but then over the weekend I ate 3 Cadbury Creme Eggs, 3 Hershey's Kisses, a bottle of V and a small bowl of Chocolate Mousse. On the other hand when I went to the supermarket on Monday I walked straight past the 50% off Easter Eggs. I need to continue consciously making good decisions for myself.

Can I still call myself Sugar-Free? Probably not. I hated when I bought the V (on the way to a gig, at which I drank nothing but a sugar-free Vodka and Diet Coke) and our friend asked "Wait, aren't you sugar-free?". Courtney does it too, if I have a treat on occasion (I have always allowed myself one a week) he will say "Oh, that must be sugar-free dessert", knowing full well it's not. I know he's joking and I shouldn't take it to heart, but I've tried really hard for the last 4 months to really turn my health around and I don't want to feel guilty when I treat myself that once.

I'm still a little hesitant to allow myself this easing of rules. After the creme eggs, I realised I just don't love chocolate the way I used to think I did. Of course I like the taste, but the main reason for eating it is probably more a need for sugar rather than a want for the taste. I hope I can focus on eating things for taste, not sugar as I ease away from the strict rules of the last 4 months.

I do not want to go back to Milos for breakfast and Chocolate for afternoon tea. It's not necessary. It's not about a new experience. It's not about a special occasion. It's about addiction, and I will not be a slave to it anymore.

Have you ever eased back into 'normal' life from a diet or eating plan? How do you keep an inch and leave the mile alone?

Bliss Continued!

Friday: Long Drives

Hot on the heels of our weekend in Napier, Courts, his sister and I drove down to Whangamata with Toby to meet up with Squish, Lobster, Monty, Nurse B, Wozz and two of Monty's friends Jimothy and Debs for our annual post-cricket-season weekend away. Monty and Jimothy were the only actual cricketers but that didn't mean we couldn't bask in the glory of their season! Friday night we all drove down after work and after a slight detour (read: I missed the turn off and no one will let me forget it) we arrived at Monty's uncles bach around 10pm. This bach is amazing, sleeping a huge number of people and boasting a three car garage and a room specifically designed for a projector screen.

The first Friday of our annual weekend away is usually a little alcoholic and this was no exception. Wozz had tequila and I doubled my count for 'Alcoholic drinks in 2011' with tequila shots alone, never mind the bottle of wine (Moscato, of course) I added to it. I thought my tolerance would be a lot worse than it was after 3 months of not drinking but I didn't do too badly and I had barely a hangover the next day.

Saturday

One of the best days I have had in a long long time. I woke up early (thank you body clock) and cleaned up the mess from the night before while chatting with Debs about our European plans. As others slowly rose, Jimothy started the barbeque and we were soon stuffing ourselves with a feast of bacon and eggs. Monty and Jimothy meandered off for a round of golf and the rest of us headed down to the beach. The water was freezing but the weather was beautiful and warm. Only four were brave enough to venture into the water, and that's if you include Toby. Even though he is terrified of waves he ran into the breakers at full speed and had the time of his life!

Everything is going to be OK :)

We walked the length of the beach to the inlet used by boats and then wandered up the main road. I decided to fore go sugar-free for the weekend and shared a huge chicken burger with Courts followed by Feijoa Crumble and then an Ice Cream all to myself. Go hard or go home I say! The sugar high wasn't unmanageable but I spent a good hour or so sleeping off the resulting crash. Once the golfers had found their way home we bought a smorgasboard of munchies at the supermarket and Jimothy once again took skillful control of the barbeque. The night was much quieter than the previous as we ascended to the movie room to play Wii on the projector and several of us dozed off in our respective corners.

Sunday

Sunday started much the same way as Saturday, clearing up from the previous nights barbequed bananas and ice cream. This time it was Nurse B's turn to wow us with buttermilk pancakes, stewed apple, blueberries and maple-cinnamon butter which was amazing. The only bad thing about the pancakes was that there weren't more! After breakfast I took Courtney's sister for a driving lesson around the quiet roads of the town, the first chance she had to drive her new car.

My entire week was summed up for me by a singular comment by Wozz as we all sat out on the deck together - "We need to sit around a table eating cheese and talking crap more often". It's true, and I'm going to try and make it happen.

It's Only a Little Bit

Tuesday. A day for updates in a Sugar-Free Life. I'm struggling.

Am I struggling? Or is Sugar-Free becoming Real Life? I think I'm struggling.

I think the real issue is that I am becoming less conscious of my plight. I don't know if that is an indication that I'm getting really good at Sugar Free or that I'm on the verge of relapse but I'm 99% sure it's the latter.

www.best-chocolate-recipes-online.com

At the Farmer's Market on Saturday, there was a home made chocolate stall. Instead of saying 'No, I'm Sugar-Free', my best friend of a phrase, I took their free samples. Not only that, but when Courtney suggested we buy a bar to share, I didn't object at all. I hadn't cheated all week so I was due a treat, and the second we sat down with that bar at night, there was no way any would remain in the morning. I am well and truly still an addict. Just as an alcoholic can not suddenly start having a single beer after work, I can't yet trust myself to have 'just one', of anything.

I need to refocus, concentrate on saying no. I need to stop making excuses and allowing the lines to blur. It's hard though, when the lines blur themselves. There is so much information out there, contradicting itself. Refined sugar is bad, this we know for sure. Artificial sweetener was fine until I realised it is just sugar redefined. No more Coke Zero for me. Honey is a beautiful, nutrient-rich whole-sugar. Too much is still bad. Milk is all natural, can I keep drinking that?

Fruit is natural sugar recommended in 5-plus-a-day lessons the world over but some fruits may as well be stirred into coffee, the nutrients so low compared with sugar content. Watermelon, I'm looking at you. A website listing the best fruits based on nutritional value vs sugar put berries, apples, pears and plums at the top, and so I try to focus on them. It says vegetables should make up the majority of our 5-plus-a-day and so carrots stand in for my morning tea. Of course I would choose a sweet vegetable.

I feel like, in order to shock myself into refocusing, I should eliminate all artificial sweeteners, honey and fruits. I don't want to but I can't let myself keep sliding down. Last week KFC, this week chocolate. 'It's only a little bit' is edging it's way into my vocabulary and it's not welcome.

Any ideas?

Maintaining Willpower - or Lack Thereof

We spoke a few weeks ago of my success with sugar-free while travelling. It has become apparent to me that this success does not translate to staying with family or friends!

On the way down to Napier this weekend, our first stop was at McDonalds. I haven’t had McDonalds once this year but Courts wanted it and he was only an hour into a 5 hour ride, so that is where we went. It turned out that the burger I chose (Chicken Bacon Deluxe) was only 2.9% sugar, so I had a minor success to start off the weekend. I still felt like rubbish afterwards though. Damn you McDonalds.

We stopped again in Cambridge and then in Taupo but at each stop I didn’t have anything to eat or drink. We got to Napier chilled to the bone and I warmed up with hot milk. So far, success.

It all went down hill on Saturday. First things first, breakfast. Last time we were in Napier, Courtney’s mum fed us up on muesli, fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, and I had been thinking about it all week in the lead up to our trip. At a restaurant or café, I’ll choose the cooked breakfast every time, but that’s because it’s the one I’m least likely to have at home. Put a bowl of muesli with yoghurt and fruit next to it though and I’ll find it hard to resist the latter, which is one of my favourite breakfasts ever. So Saturday morning I had Light n Tasty Plum and Almond muesli (19.7%) with Natural Sweetened Yoghurt (I think it was Meadowfresh, 10.7%) and fresh nectarines, apple, banana and blueberries. It was so good, the best possible start to any day, ever. But it was sugar.

For lunch we had multigrain bread with mashed egg, pastrami and beetroot relish. The relish of course, had sugar. It was homemade by Courtney’s Aunty, so I don’t know the percentage, but it was delicious. We ended up bring home a couple of jars of it. But again, sugar.

Dinner time and we are served up a feast. Beef Schnitzel, Chicken Kebabs, roast potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, garlic bread and cheese sauce. I had none of the hickory or tomato sauce that was on the table, and we checked that the seasoning on the kebabs was within the 3% threshold too. Not the best impression to make on your family-in-law – “Hi, I’m Penny, Remember me? The girl that’s super fussy and makes your life difficult” – Erm. Despite all this the dinner was again, amazing. I felt so spoilt by all of this delicious food. Plus it was sugar-free! Other than the very small glass of Moscato I had before the meal.

Then came dessert. Court’s mum had made his favourite – German Apple Tart. I promised I would try it and I did. I had a pie slice that was only about 2cm at the thickest end and I was proud of myself that I indulged without going over the top. It was only half an hour though before I could no longer resist the chocolate brownies that were also on the table. Again, I had a very small serving; my slice of brownie would have only been 1.5cm by 4cm or so. While I felt good that I had kept my portions down, the number of servings was adding up and I didn’t feel good about it.

The next day we went out for breakfast and I had the big cooked breakfast – hash brown, tomato, mushrooms, toast, poached eggs, sausages and hollandaise sauce. The sausages would have had sugar in them, but nothing else and I stuck to drinking water as I had done most of the night before. We returned to Courtney’s Uncles house for coffees after breakfast and I introduced them to the concept of my hot milk and water drinks. That is to say, I asked for one instead of tea or coffee and accepted their bewilderment. It’s not that weird!

We started our drive home to Auckland around 2pm and Natalie and I (driving home her first ever car!) stopped at a fruit stall for plums and apples. I also got a sugar-free V energy drink which I shouldn’t have, because the ‘sugar-free’ status is achieved mostly by chemical definition rather than the actual absence of any sugar products. Heading into dusk we stopped for food in Cambridge – at KFC. Again, I hadn’t been there all year. I got chips and a chicken burger; hold the sugar-laden mayo. I made the effort to reduce the sugar content, but I’d bet a dollar sugar is one of the 11 herbs and spices.

To top it off, when we got home at 9.30pm, I had a normal-sized serving of left over German Apple Tart.

So, I know I ate a lot less sugar than I would have ‘Before’. I had a very small wine rather than a bottle, and a small dessert rather than… three. I had no coke with my burgers and no pancakes at brunch. But I could have done better.

I started out telling myself “Well you don’t want to be a pain and cause your hosts to go to more effort” but that’s a load of crap. I was offered cheese toasties instead of muesli, and some people had them so it wouldn’t have been harder to make one for me. I chose to add the relish. I chose to eat the dessert. I chose to have the sausage, and the V, and the KFC. I had options and I chose not to use them. I’m back on track now, having absolutely no sugar since the great German Apple Tart Fail of Sunday night, and I even managed to drink 2 litres of water yesterday for the first time I can remember! I just have to keep myself in check.

Any tips for doing so? Do you take a diet-holiday when you go away, or are you able to maintain your willpower?

Blisstacular!

I have made a marginal improvement on last weeks Bliss Fail. I don't know what's going on, but I totally need to step up my game.

http://www.absolute-motleycrue.

Monday: Glam Rock.

Oh how I love thee. In order to drown out some of the voices around me on Monday, I set all my rock music on shuffle. I came to the conclusion that Janes Addiction, Motley Crue and Skid Row, although not all technically Glam Rock, would make the perfect love child. Such a band would no doubt have super powers, do only good (except when causing trouble, which I also love) and take over the world. I often wonder why I'm drawn to this music more than any other genre, or Courts is drawn to Power Metal or Soul Buddy loves Pop. I think I need my music to have an edge - with the exception of Bubblegum Pop with cheesy lyrics and zero edges, but that's just for fun. But as a sometime-singer I also need it to have melody and a really good hook. Anyway, who doesn't love a man in platform heels and eyeliner? Erm.
Tuesday: Nail Art Inner Circle

 I was going to do my nails up all fancy but then we ended up going to see the photos we had taken the other week. Again, Mum, my sister and her boyfriend, Courtney and I all piled into the room with the poor lady from You Photography and eliminated the last of the photos. They're damn expensive but they did turn out amazing. The lady said she wishes she had families like us in for photos all the time but I think that was just a way to keep us on her side. We're pretty much the Osbournes without the dogs and drugs - unfiltered, honest, quick-witted and insync.

All dolled up



Wednesday: Cold Beer

So I thought since I haven't really had a drink since I've been sugar free, that to cross 'Cold Beer' off the list I'd take my Long Haired Boy on a dinner date to the pub. Instead, I did three sets of nails that booked in that day. At least I love my nail girls! The pub will wait.

Thursday: Band Paraphernalia

So as much as I continually profess to hate clutter, I also love knick knacks. More than anything I love being surrounded by things I love. If I can't have the bands, I shall have pretty things with their faces on them. My favourite piece of band paraphernalia is the custom portrait of Slash I had painted. His set list is on my wall. I have t-shirts, handbags (OK, one, a Nirvana one, but I'm just not a handbag girl), skirts, books, posters... bliss. Except that I was going to spend some time surfing Etsy for new cute things and instead we worked from 8.30am right through until 10pm. This will all be worth it when I buy European band paraphernalia.

Friday: Singing in the Car

So we were on the bike but I still sang. It's not quite the same as being on my own and singing at the top of my voice because I'm conscious that Courtney can hear me! It's not like he hasn't heard me sing before, but you kind of feel like you're in your own little world inside your helmet and it's weird when people interrupt.

http://www.kobrandwineandspirits.com/

Saturday: Moscato

The big ride on Friday was a trip down to Napier for the weekend to visit Courts family. As I said, I haven't really had anything alcoholic to drink this year, ever since going sugar free, but I love Moscato. It's the best wine ever made and if you haven't had it, start with the Brown Brothers or Jacobs Creek versions first. So in Napier, I bought a bottle and had a glass of it's sugary goodness. This glass constituted my one cheat for the week and it was so worth it.

On a side note, everyone got given personalised coffee cups on Friday at work and although I don't drink coffee, they had fancy hot chocolate mix if you wanted it. I made one up using only half the recommended amount of powder, intending to treat myself since I miss out on so many donut-shaped treats at work. 2 or 3 sips later I tipped it out, because I just didn't want it anymore. So weird for me but so successful for sugar-free! Later in the day there was a giant mudcake in the lunch room and I didn't touch it. I don't even know myself anymore.

Sunday: Long Drives

Today we head back to Auckland and this time I'm driving up with Natalie in her brand new car. She has her Learners License so we are going to take turns, I'm so excited for her! There's nothing better than that first taste of freedom.

So, what's the best thing you did this week?

Diary of a Sugar Relapse

On Sunday night, my Long Haired Boy and I went out for a belated birthday dinner at Portofino's Takapuna. After a weekend binging on the honey we bought at the farmers market on Saturday, I resolved not to have any sugar. Courtney drank the glass of wine I was entitled to with the meal as well as his own, and I drank water.

http://bottleblack.blogspot.com

Aside from the fact that there was a blade of grass in my rocket garnish, the meals were delicious. Seriously, grass? Anyway. I decided as we ate that since it was my birthday dinner, and I hadn't cheated all week, I would treat myself to dessert. 'Not cheating' was a technicality, I must admit. I am allowed honey since it is a whole sugar and can be processed easily by my body (it's also gone from something I hated to one of my favourite foods of all time, ever since I discovered raw unprocessed real honey, which is really good for you too). The thing is though, I'm allowed it in moderation and moderation and I did not get along from the moment that beautiful raw amber liquid and I set eyes on each other.

Back to Portofino's, where I ordered Tiramisu. Heaven sent Tiramisu although the cream on top tasted old. Not bad, but you could taste the refrigerator it had been sitting in. This was a shame because everyone knows the best part is scraping the piped cream garnish off the top ever so carefully and savouring it before you dive in. You didn't know that? Now you do.

Approximately 2 heaped tablespoons into the dessert, which we will call 1/5 of it, I sat back and said to the Long Haired Boy 'If I hadn't paid so much for this, I'd happily be done right now'. I can guarantee those words have never left my lips in relation to dessert before, at any point in my life, but they did on Sunday night. I just felt like I had indulged and I didn't need any more to achieve that sense of satisfaction. This is an entirely new concept to me.

Despite all of this, I had paid good money for this dessert, and damn it, I was going to eat it. For the next few spoons, I would (very un-romantically) feed Courtney a huge spoonful and then feed myself a much smaller one. I had a bite of the Brandy Snaps Courtney had ordered, but for the most part I was somewhat deceivingly ensuring he had the Lion's share of our desserts.

http://bronmarshall.com

When I hit the half way mark on Mount Tiramisu, Courts excused himself to go to the bathroom and I sat back and stared at the dessert. Even now, thinking back, my mouth waters and the beautiful little dish of happiness calls to me. At that point in time however, I was quite annoyed with it, and we weren't on speaking terms. I couldn't bare to abandon my life long friend though, and so I had a couple more spoonfuls. Courtney returned and recommenced his assistance, but even then we left a good spoonful or two in the dish. I can't believe I didn't scrape the sides of that bowl with my finger. This is a once in a lifetime occurrence people. What a waste of dessert.

All in all, I'd say I ate half of the entire Tiramisu serving. As I sat back in my seat and stared at the leftovers in the centre of the table - no mans land, the furthest point from each of us that had pushed it away - I felt seriously ill. How could dessert, life long friend - soulmate - be doing this to me? I know I got annoyed at it, but it was really just a lover's tiff. Courts and I settled the bill and walked out to the bike.

In the time it took to cross the road, approximately 10 minutes after I finished eating, the Sugar High hit. Honestly, it felt like I was on a really bad herbal, the kind where you get really annoyed at the fact that you parted with money in order to feel a little bit hyper and talk really fast. Not that I would know anything about that. But honestly, I got the racing heart and the bright eyes, and everything became extremely important to say. Dearest readers, I had reverted to the children's-birthday-party instincts that had lay dormant in me for 20-odd years.

I wish I could say we rode off into the sunset, purely for romantic effect, but we didn't. We rode off into the biting wet air, narrowly avoiding getting drenched on the way home. 25 minutes into the 30 minute journey, I started slumping. My eyes were heavy and my brain function was slowing. When we got home however - hello, second wind.

Anyone following me on Twitter (if you're not, you should be - shame on you) can attest to the fact that when I got home, I was a little talkative. The random thought I had earlier in the day - that the only thing I want in life is to witness a flash mob - went up first. Seconds later, the world learnt of my grassy salad. Mere seconds after that, Tweet #3 went up. I recalled Courtney saying days earlier that he had never heard of Lionel Richie (after I was in the optometrists standing next to one of the Commodores - how cool is that) and everyone needed to know - because seriously, who hasn't heard of Lionel Richie?! Of course after 3 tweets in the space of 30 seconds, I needed a fourth one to explain my hyperactivity. Let's be honest, I'm just not good enough at Twitter for this sudden influx of activity to make sense without an explanation.

At 10pm at night (my usual bedtime) I started messing with widgets and code on the blog and at 11.30pm I finally went to sleep, both awake and exhausted at the same time. I slept well, but waking up was very difficult. I expected to wake up with a headache as I've done before after treats, but the headache was nowhere to be seen. I did however spend the day feeling very sluggish and unmotivated. Having forgotten snacks for the day, I drank milk to get me through to lunch and then milk again to get me through to dinner. I thought I would have my old cravings back overnight, but it was surprisingly easy to get through the day with only one point where I really wanted chocolate. This revelation is awesome because I had previously thought that after I cracked once, it would be all over.

So after all of this was said and done, am I still glad I'm sugar free? Hell yes. If half a dessert serving can give me the same reaction as a (legal) party pill and cause such physical reactions, what on earth was it doing to me when my body was so full of sugar it didn't register a change in state?

My friend Haakuturi from Is It Paleo found this for me today, it's worth a look.

You don't have to eliminate happiness and joy from your life when you eliminate sugar, like I've said, it's about substitution. And if sugar isn't your vice, you know what is. It's just so worth it to free your body from things it wasn't designed to cope with, even if you do it one tiny step at a time.

Reaching my First Sugar-Free Goal

http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au

We're closing in on the 3 month goal I set for myself when I became sugar-free. The significance of 3 months is purely because when I gave up last time, my nutritionist told me that it takes 3 months to forget cravings. It seemed good to have a goal. Not so much a finish line, but a milestone at least.

It feels dangerous to even mention finish lines because I feel so far from finished. My psychologist friend was telling me the other night that the need for sweet things is all in our heads, so I guess it's not so much that I haven't gotten over the physical barriers of sugar-addiction, but that I haven't gotten over the mental ones.

My life has changed so much since I became sugar-free. I find it easier to wake up each morning. I'm less grumpy and impatient than I was before, although this was a conscious effort so not entirely because of sugar - just made easier by the lack of sugar-highs and come-downs. Instead of a 10am craving followed by a 3pm slump and then a pre-bed indulgence, I now think of sugar almost only when I am reminded of it, plus a real want for it once every 3 days or so. It is hard knowing that there is chocolate in the fridge left over from my birthday party (of which I had and will have none) but it doesn't do my head in like it did when I first gave up.

I don't feel as good as I know I could. When there is really good quality honey in the house, I'll eat it by the teaspoonful. I binge on it, the same way I used to do with a king-size bar of chocolate. I drink milk and eat a lot of fruit. So I just don't feel that I'm necessarily over sugar.

I'm proud of my achievements. I've had sugar-free chocolate maybe 4 times since I became sugar-free, when I had chocolate a minimum of once a day. As I type this, the idea of wanting it is in the back of my mind, but I know I will be distracted by something else soon enough. I've had a real, refined-sugar treat once a week approximately 2 out of 3 weeks and when I have enjoyed those, I've kept my serving size to less than 1 metric cup (as opposed to 'as big as I can get without looking rude and/or greedy' which trust me, is a real measurement).

OK, so, my achievements -

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• I crave chocolate once a week instead of several times a day
• I only eat products that are below 3% refined-sugar with a 1-cup exception once a week
• I eat a lot more fruit and veges, far less fat and far less processed foods
• I haven't touched a soft drink other than coke-zero and diet-lift (which is sugar-free)
• I haven't had a single glass of orange juice, which I love
• I've had 2 alcoholic drinks - 1 shot of Canadian Club and 1 can of Jim Beam and Sugar-free Cola, which I couldn't finish

How I've done it - 

The phrase 'No thank you, I'm sugar-free' became my new best friend.

The first word is 'No'. This is important because not only does it frame the offering (sugar) in a negative light in my mind, but it is a firm and unwavering response to the offerer. If I said 'um, no' or 'i shouldn't', it would give myself an opportunity to rethink, and the offerer an opportunity to interject with 'oh come on, just one!', which they all do, bless em. I've seen this work similarly with people trying not to drink.

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One person I knew complained regularly that no one understood the peer pressure he received and how hard it was not to drink when everyone was drinking. Said person would always say 'oh nah I'm alright thanks' when offered a drink, and then accept the drink when pushed even the slightest. Even though he would drink it slowly, he was always seen by his peers to have a drink in hand, therefore they didn't see their cries of 'take a shot!' or 'have another!' as peer pressure, merely fun.

A second person, unknown to the first, was offered a shot within 5 minutes of my meeting him. He responded with 'No thank you, I don't drink', and wasn't bothered again by anyone that had heard him. I learnt a lot from those two people and the comparisons I was able to make between them.

The second part of my own habitual objection, 'No thank you, I'm sugar-free' has also worked wonders. As soon as I say it, people are interested. They ask for details, have questions, they have either admiration or scepticism and share either tips or excuses. In talking about it, I reconvince and remind myself of my choice. Through discussing the detail, no one who has heard the objection has ever offered me sugar again, unless they didn't realise something had sugar in it. I've even made new friends with people overhearing said objection.

That's my only secret. Nothing fancy, nothing that would fill a self-help book, nothing particularly 'secret' at all.

So. This is why I'm not finished - 

• I have felt better. I think this is because right now, I am not drinking enough water. I need to drink more, a lot more. 

         Goal - 1.5 litres a day. 

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• I still binge occasionally, just on whole-sugars. I need to get in control of this. No more than 1 teaspoon of honey a day when I have a jar in the cupboard! If I have muffins (made with honey) in the house, have something savoury first.

         Goal - No binging.

• I've lost too much weight. Not a gross amount, but so I'm more bones than I'm comfortable with. 

         Goal - Eat more.

Squish gave me some good tips on the water thing but I'd love to hear anything else you have to offer me, and I'd love to hear some of your own obstacles!

Travelling Sugar-Free

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about messing up on Sugar-Free when I travelled. Without home comforts and day-to-day habits, it's hard to know what to expect. I didn't stick as strictly as I would at home, but I'm really proud of how I did in Melbourne.

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Thursday at the markets, most of my food intake was fresh fruit and vegetables. I had a Ciabatta roll that would probably have included a small amount of sugar but everything else I chose was sugar free. We were surrounded by specialist candy and chocolate stores. I don't know how I did it! At one point I tried a free sample of a licorice-like twist lolly. The sample was only 3mm or so cut off the end but it was so sweet I couldn't have had more if I wanted to.

Thursday night we went to Pancake Parlour. Pancakes are one of my favourite foods and I was so sure that I would at least have a scoop of ice cream. I surprised myself though! I had two pancakes, which were 4.8% sugar (they sell the mix at the counter and I snuck a look). Instead of Ice cream, I had unsweetened cream and instead of maple syrup, which is one of my favourite flavours on earth, I had organic honey. I felt like I had indulged, and not at all like I had missed out. Squish and I shared a bowl of wedges with sour cream, bacon and cheese, and I drank water. It may seem minor to some of you, but I was so happy with myself and felt like I had overcome a hurdle of sorts.

Friday was Soundwave day. At breakfast I had toast (0.8%) and avoided the 68% jams in favour of 5.5% Peanut Butter. I followed that up with a bowl of Ricies (8.2%) and milk (approx 4-5%). At the festival, I drank a lot of water and had a mini-burger with chicken, lettuce and mayonnaise, and I shared a cup of hot chips with aioli. The mayo and aioli would have had sugar, but overall they were better choices than a lot of what was available.

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After Soundwave, I had subway. I chose a Ham sub from the 6-grams of fat or less menu and asked for no sauce, to avoid extra sugar. The sub came with a drink and I chose Coke-Zero.

Finally, at the airport on the way home, I had a fruit salad with yoghurt and honey. The yoghurt tasted sweetened but there was only a tablespoon or two of it. I had half an english muffin with ham, poached egg and hollandaise as well, all sugar free bar a marginal amount in the muffin. My normal airport habit would be to have a hot chocolate and a bag of lollies to nibble on. As I waited for the delayed plane, it was hard to avoid, but I managed it.

Becoming sugar-free is about forming a habit of saying 'No'. Honestly, it's the easiest way. If you get into the habit of saying no, you give yourself a spare second to think about your choice, and you forget about all of your habitual sugar munching. Once the habits are gone, it's only cravings that are left, and again they are about willpower (as an aside I heard that a teaspoon of cinnamon a day can push cravings aside, but I'm yet to try it).

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Staying sugar-free is different. Maintaining that initial momentum is about substituting. I still own the habit of saying no to sugar. But I also automatically think 'what can I have instead?'. Fruit, milk, honey... savoury flavours as well! Are you actually craving sugar or is your blood sugar low and you just need to eat? Not everything that has sugar, needs sugar. The whipped cream with my pancakes was delicious, I only noticed it's sugar-free flavour when I tried it on its own.

Overall, I'm stoked with my achievements and my mini practice run for Europe, and I'm so happy to hear feedback from you guys saying this is helping you! It has very hard moments, but sugar-free is not that hard as a whole, and it's so worth it.

I'm doing OK on the water-intake issue, Squish's suggestion of setting a reminder on my computer at work definitely helps during working hours. I also have to focus on eating more because by avoiding sugar I'm naturally avoiding a lot of fats and I'm losing too much weight.

Yes, too much is just as much a problem as not enough!

Keepin on Truckin

sushantskoltey.wordpress.com

Sugar sugar sugar. Last week was Week 8. I'm finding this middle part of my 3 months mission to be very up and down. I will not think about sugar for hours and then bam. Need. Chocolate (Just say no, just say no).

We found out about this plant called Stevia that we want to try out. We're going to buy seeds from King Seeds and see what happens. Basically, Stevia is a plant that is naturally super super sweet - as in, 300 times sweeter than sugar. You can use the leaves if you either steep them like a tea to make a liquid or rip them up and put them straight into cooking. You can also get it in powdered form if thats easier for you. You make a cake, you need 1 teaspoon of it. Want a coffee? Sprinkle just a few grains.

It's completely natural and unrefined. It's a plant! You need far far less of it and some research shows it actually has medicinal properties - its GOOD FOR YOU! Yusssss.

Meanwhile, I kept a food diary. Skip to the bottom if you don't care, I'm mostly just publishing it so I am accountable. This week I ate - 

• 13 pieces of wholegrain toast (2.5%)
• 1 piece turkish bread (unknown)
  
• 1c roast potato
• 100g Kumara
• 2 poached eggs
• 50g Bacon
• 2 small breakfast sausages (unknown)
• 50g Edam Cheese 
• 100g Ham
• 100ml Vanilla Ice Cream (at Movies by Moonlight, 19.6%)
• 1 nut bar (22.9%)
• 27 raw nuts
• 1/4 cup Hollondaise sauce
• 2.5 avocados
• 1c guacamole
• 1 large mushroom
• 2 tomatos
• 1 Passionfruit
• 3 Olives
• 1 apple
• 1c lettuce
• 4 Plums
• 3/4 cup green grapes
• 25 prunes
• 3 Peach Muffins (made with honey)
• 2 Banana muffins (made with Honey)
• 2 tbsp Sunflower seeds
• 6 tbsp Honey
• 1 scoop hot chips with vinegar
• 1 Taco Salad - lettuce, tomato, chicken, beans, sour cream, guacamole, mayonaisse in a taco bowl. The only sugar would have been the mayonaisse. (unknown)
• 2 meals of Vermicelli with brocolli, yellow pepper, eggplant, bok choy, soy sauce (3%), honey, ginger. One day I had it with egg, the next with chicken. The egg one had beef stock (0.4%) and the chicken one had 1 Chicken OXO Cube (0.1%) between 3 servings (of which I had one)
• An egg, rice and vege bake that Natalie made
• 2 meals of a concoction Courtney made with Mince, rice, coconut cream, tomatos, capsicum and onion
• 5 Wholegrain buns (over 3 meals, 1.8% from memory) with spinach, tomato, turkey, camembert, salami, capsicum and cashew pesto, butter.
• 2250ml water
• 1 Sugar-Free V
• 50ml Peach Iced Tea (It was my Mums and I just wanted a sip to tide me over, 7.5%)
• 100ml Phoenix Cola - at work they got a free coffee for everyone. I don't like coffee, can't do Hot Chocolate, so I asked for a Coke Zero. This was the closest they could find, made with organic cane sugar. I tried to drink it, I really did. But for a combination of reasons - too sweet, too jittery, didn't want to let myself down - I gave to Courts after 2 or 3 sips (11%).
• 600ml Milk (4.9%, I haven't bolded it because its not added sugar, just natural lactose)
• 1 can Coke Zero 

http://iis.berkeley.edu/research

It's still not what I would call healthy eating. I think it's just closer to 'normal' than I used to be. The things that had sugar in them had an average of 7.64%. It's good, but considering I'm supposed to be keeping below 3% it wasn't great. The culprits were the nut bar, which I haven't bought any more of, sips of sugary drinks, which i just need to say no to, and the ice cream. It was only 1 scoop and it was once this week, so I'm ok with that.

I don't really like seeing my water intake up there. I know I need to drink more water, but I struggle. Rather than get my percentage down further, this week I'm going to focus on water. It will probably be easier to avoid sugar if I can get on top of that.

Any tips for making me want water? I've tried it cold, warm, hot, with lime, with lemon, with ice, in a bottle, in a cup... help!

You Are What You Eat...

The last week I have been pretty good with sugar, I've done my best to keep up my food diary and stay on top of what I'm actually eating. We went out for dinner one night and although there was wine in the sauce that was on my meal (and therefore sugar), I drank water and skipped dessert. I had a small scoop of ice cream at the lantern festival (It was less than half the size of the tub I had at Movies by Moonlight so I'm guessing 50ml) but it came with half a rock melon. During the week, I even had a day where I didn't need a glass of milk to tide me over between meals.

I have to say though, this last week has been hard. I just finished week 7 sugar-free, and it has most definitely been the worst for cravings since the start. I've been snacking on a couple of prunes or a teaspoon of honey when it really gets hard and all I can think about it sugar. At least those items have whole sugars, nothing refined. I honestly think I would have had a chocolate bar this week if I hadn't felt accountable to you guys, so thank you! I guess this goes to show that you can't relax when you think you're over the worst. If I had, I would have undone all those weeks of trying. My Nutritionist said it takes around 3 months to get over the cravings. I don't think I'm doing myself any favours with the prunes and honey, but we'll see.

One thing I'm definitely cutting down on is artificial sweetener. Over the last 7 weeks I have tried several brands of sugar-free chocolate. Some were great, some were awful, all were expensive. The best thing I found was Guylian no-added-sugar chocolate. It has a small amount of artificial sweetener, but it tastes like real chocolate, and it didn't give me the jitters like some other brands did.

Looking at all the chemical-sounding names in some of the ingredients lists, I decided to do some googling. Now, I'm not a professional researcher nor a nutritional expert. Hell, I'm not an expert in anything. But I did what I suppose most of us do and I browsed a few websites until I figured out the general consensus of what each sweetener really was.

You know what I found out? Most 'artificial sweeteners' are derived from sugar but because they have different chemical make-ups, they can't be labelled as such. Many of them retain all their original calories but lose some of the sweetness of sugar. This means the companies have to add more to achieve the same sweetness, in turn adding extra calories and earning the right to label their product with 'no added sugar'.

One product, which looked awesome at the start, was 21% sweetener, comprised of Sorbitol, Polydextrose, and Maltitol. I searched each sweetener and was put off the product for life.

Sorbitol is just made from fruit and corn and seaweed, which doesn't sound so bad, but apparently it can cause Irritable Bowel Syndrome and other stomach issues and is used to thicken moisturisers, soaps, and to make cigarettes.

Polydextrose I had to dig for, I found out that it is made from Dextrose, Sorbitol (more Sorbitol) and Citric Acid. I looked up Dextrose and found out that that is basically just glucose.

Maltitol looked fine on the first website I saw but when I searched again I found out that Maltitol is sugar, essentially. Its manufactured by hydrogenating Maltose, the glucose-glucose disaccharide (two sugars) derived from cornstarch. Because it's no longer sugar, manufacturers can label their products 'no added sugar'.  This site was quite interesting.

So, I am a firm believer that we should pick our battles. Mine was sugar, and artificially sweetened products helped me avoid it. Now that I'm half way through the first 3 months, I'm going to start cutting down these products too. I've probably eaten them all my life, and I'm generally healthy. Like I said, I'm no expert, and for that reason I'm not naming any of the products I found, but I don't think anyone can disagree that natural or 'whole' foods are easier for our bodies to digest and better for us in general, so I'm going to try and focus on those a bit too.

It's crazy how much we don't realise we put into our bodies until we start reading labels. Do you know what you're eating?

The Right Mindset for Change

Often when I talk about being Sugar-free, people react with a 'too hard' attitude. I hear everything from 'I like sugar too much' to 'I would have to change too much', but it all boils down to the whole thing being too much like hard work. You know what? You're right, it is too hard - unless you're in the right frame of mind.

I gave up on being sugar-free last time because I hit a really difficult time in my personal life, and I was no longer in the right frame of mind to do the work. I attempted to go sugar-free before Christmas, but after 3 days I realised the holiday season was asking for failure. The first few weeks of being sugar-free are the hardest, and I didn't need the temptation of Christmas treats as well. I binged over the holidays and ate everything I wanted, and at midnight on New Years Eve, I stopped.

Soul Buddy is similar, we were talking the other day about her wanting to change her exercise routine because her current one is hard to stick to. We decided that until she decides she wants to do it rather than she should do it, it's just not going to happen. For now, shes aware of changes she could make, and one day she will wake up with the want that will make them happen. It has happened to her before with different things, just like it has happened to me and just like it has happened to you.

Think about the last time you woke up and cleaned the house top to bottom. It might have been a while ago, but I'm willing to bet you thought about it for a long time before one day you just had the motivation.

The example I really wanted to share with you, was that of my other-best-friend, Squish. I know people generally feel different to how they portray themselves, especially when it comes to confidence, but as far as I'm concerned (unless she tells me otherwise), Squish is confident in who she is and that confidence is inspiring and beautiful. I can only speak for the outward impression she gives, and I wont speak for anything she has ever told me, but unless someone means a lot to her and has earned her trust, she doesn't give a hoot what they think of her.

I cant compare Squish and Soul Buddy with each other, they each have their own beautiful place in my life, and Soul Buddy is as much of a sister to me as my own flesh and blood. Squish and I have things we do together just as Soul Buddy and I have things we do together. Of course there is some overlap, but one of the things Squish and I do well is party. We are a very good party team. We have very similar music taste and very different taste in boys. Its a winning combination, and it wouldn't be the same without the infectious confidence she portrays.

A couple of months ago, Squish decided it was time to get healthy. She started following the 3/10 rule (eating foods that are less than 3% fat and 10% sugar) and attending boot camp sessions in the local park while also playing summer hockey, which she does every year. By making a conscious, motivated decision that it was time for a change, Squish has completely turned around her life, fitness, eating habits and attitude. She keeps me motivated to keep on track with sugar. We share tips and new foods we've found, and her self-motivation is inspiring. There are no short cuts, there are no tricks or fads. She found the motivation and she is changing her entire life. All she needed was for the right pieces to fall into place at the right time, and then to harness the motivation she found.

Squish is inspiring and she is living proof that if you think about it long enough, and make small steps towards whatever it is that you want, one day you will be gifted the tools to succeed. Motivation, Attitude, Energy. Squish works really hard at making sure this change for the better is permanent, and I couldn't be more proud of her.

If you could change one thing about your life this year, what would it be? Forget what you should change, what do you want?

How I 'Do' Sugar-Free - PART TWO

Part Two of my food diary! This is where I realised I needed to refocus. I highly recommend food diaries if you think you're eating healthy but you don't feel it, or you're tyring to lose weight and its not working! My Nutritionist always recommended them and I should have done one a long time ago...

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Breakfast - 2 slices of Pams wholegrain toast, 2.5% sugar. 1/4 small avocado, pepper, 300ml water.

Morning Tea - 3 Real Foods Corn Thins, 0.7% sugar. 2 tsp Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2.7% sugar. 3/4 cup diced Watermelon. 200ml Light Blue Anchor Milk, 5% sugar (natural lactose only, nothing added), mixed with 200ml Hot Water.

Lunch - Another serving of yesterdays Frittata, made with potatoes, broccoli, courgette, red pepper, carrot, egg, basil, salt, pepper and garlic. Also had 200ml hot milk (undiluted) as I have had chocolate cravings all day and I need to keep them at bay!

Afternoon Tea - 3/4 cup diced watermelon. 1 Nice & Natural Nut Bar (Original Flavour) 22.9% sugar (see yesterdays post for the reasons I eat these).

Dinner - Courts Chicken Burgers again because we've been doing overtime at work and these are quick and easy when we get home - 2 slices of Pams wholegrain toast, 2.5% sugar. 75g chicken fried in Soy Sauce, which is 3% sugar. Sliced beetroot from a can, drained. 1 egg, fried (no oil). 1 tsp Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2.7% sugar. 1/4 Onion, fried (no oil).

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Breakfast - Same as always, Avocado and Tomato on Toast.

Morning Tea - 1 Plum. 1/2 cup Easiyo Apricot Yoghurt, 14.6% sugar.

Easiyo makers are awesome! So much cheaper than 'normal' yoghurt and you can stock up on packets and not worry about them going bad within a few days. Yes, the yoghurt I ate today was well above my 3% threshold - you will notice I have not been eating the yoghurt often! I promise I have a good explanation - this is the last of the packets we had stock piled from before we went sugar-free.

With a big overseas trip looming, I'm not in the business of wasting food. But I promise you when I do the shop this week I'll be buying an unsweetened yoghurt. I'll be looking for either the Natural flavour (It's 5.5% sugar, but unsweetened, so it is all naturally occurring lactose, and I can flavour it with fruit) or one from the Low Fat range, because they are all unsweetened. They still contain around 7% sugar (give or take) but it is naturally occurring lactose.

Easiyo also do unsweetened Bio-Yoghurts, and, as I just found out, Ice Cream sachets which are less than 10% sugar. Above my 3% threshold, but within the generally recommended 10%. (Side note - half an hour after eating the sweetened yoghurt, I feel jittery and... weird. I guess its because my body is no longer used to sugar. Imagine what my body was coping with before when I was 'used' to it!)

Lunch - The last of the Frittata, made with potatoes, broccoli, courgette, red pepper, carrot, egg, basil, salt, pepper and garlic.

Afternoon Tea - 1.5 cup diced watermelon. 1 Nice & Natural Nut Bar

Dinner - OK, so we are extremely unoriginal but we had the same dinner again! Does it make a difference that its because we were using the last of the can of beetroot? Honestly, we don't normally eat the same thing for dinner every day!

Thursday 10 February 2011

Breakfast - Avocado and Tomato on Toast.

Morning Tea - 1/2 cup Easiyo Apricot Yoghurt, 14.6% sugar. My 'normal' morning tea is corn thins with a protein topping - either tuna, cream cheese, cottage cheese, or a small amount of Edam. Courts has been helping me get lunches ready this week so he chose yoghurt.

Lunch - Last night I used the crock pot to make a mash up of whatever we had lying around. I used the last couple of tablespoons of Brown Rice, some Quinoa, Lentils, Potatoes, Kumara, Capsicums, Carrots and Beef Schnitzel. I added a can of 4-Bean Mix (3.6% sugar), a can of Peas (3.5% sugar) and a can of chopped Tomatoes (3.5% sugar but all naturally occurring, nothing added). I seasoned it with some Beef Stock powder, Garam Masala, Soy Sauce (3% sugar), salt, and pepper. Left it over night and divided it up this morning into enough for 5 lunches for the two of us. Easy!

Afternoon Tea - Its shopping night tonight so stocks are low. I've run out of Nice & Natural Nut Bars and Nuts, so I'm having a few plums instead. 3, to be precise.

Dinner - We had a picnic at Mercury Energy Movies by Moonlight with Wholegrain Buns (less than 1% sugar) Smoked Chicken, Tomato and Beetroot (drained).

Dessert - Erm, yes - dessert. We won VIP seats at Movies in Moonlight and the beanbags we got to sit on came with free caramel popcorn, iced tea and ice cream. I didn't eat the popcorn or the iced tea! I wanted to, but I didn't. I did however, eat the Tip Top Vanilla Ice cream, 100ml, 19.6% sugar. Sugar-free fail! But, if I'm honest, that was the best Ice cream I have ever eaten. And I felt very weird and jittery afterwards.


Friday 11 February 2011

Breakfast - This isn't going to change. Occasionally I have Weetbix with yoghurt

Morning Tea - To be honest, I didn't eat. Courts and I work together and so we take breaks together most of the time. He had a meeting around morning tea time (to receive a PROMOTION! Yay!!) and I waited for him before I ate but by the time he had free time it was lunch time.

Lunch - Yesterday's crock pot meal again. Smaller serving, but with a slice of Wholemeal Toast. It kind of looks like mince on toast, so I thought Id try it, and it worked.

Dinner - We had dinner with friends, roast chicken, parsnips, potatoes, carrots, garlic, salad, bacon and a very small falafel (4% sugar). I had a glass of Coke Zero with it. SO good!

OK, so some of the things I eat are above 3%, and the yoghurt and ice cream were above 10%. Generally this can be put down to using up our pantry stocks but I don't always have this excuse. I need to refocus and make sure I only buy sugar-free products. Give me a couple of weeks and I'll update you on my progress!

PS. As with all my sugar-free posts, please note I am not a nutritionist or any kind of diet or medical professional. This is my experience, doing the best I can with the information I have. If you want professional advice, I highly recommend RealNutrition.