It’s spring and it’s time for change and renewal.
For me, this is the time of year when I take stock and look at what’s working and what isn’t.
Sugar wasn’t working for me. My moods were up and down, my skin was breaking out and I started feeling bloated a little too often.
So I broke up with sugar for Lent.
The first 10 days were the hardest. I realised that I was using sugary foods, especially chocolate, as a fix when I was stressed out. And the first week and a half was especially hard because I had a lot of things happening in my life that were causing me to feel stressed.
Identifying stress as a trigger for my sugar cravings was huge for me. I realised that I needed to find something else to do in these stressful moments.
I decided that I would drink water instead of eating chocolate.
And honestly, I’ve never been so hydrated in my life!
In the first ten days, I had to think consciously about this.
Breaking an unwanted habit takes a lot of mental energy and the first couple of weeks require a lot of mindfulness for the change to become real.
Eventually, it became easier and I didn’t need to think about it as much. My new ‘water for chocolate’ routine became a habit and I managed to break my sugar / stress connection.
What were the results of this experiment? Well, my skin is clearer, I’m less bloated, I have fewer headaches and I’m less moody. The biggest result is knowing that I have the power to break a habit that simply isn’t working for me any more.
I can’t say that I’ll never eat sugary foods again. Come on, I have to live in the real world! What I know for sure is that it makes me feel terrible, despite tasting oh so good.
Are you ready to give up sugar?
Check out my free guide to giving up sugar in 21 days for actionable ways to reduce the amount of sugar you eat. Click here to download it!