Basically, it was torture by vegetable.
Okay, ladies and gents! September is over, and so is the No Sugar, No Wheat, and No Dairy Challenge.
The verdict?
A shining success.
Paid for in blood, sweat, and tears.
How To Beat This Challenge
Hire a chef. Hire a life coach. Pray.
Honestly, this challenge was extremely difficult. At best, it was tiresome and annoying. At worst, I wanted to put my head through a closed window.
But it wasn’t impossible, and with these tips in mind you'll have a better chance on the battle field.
See your Doctor First
There, now that that's out of the way...
Find a Friend
Doing this challenge with someone else is going to make it much easier. Misery loves company, and when you're struggling through a difficult month, that company will make or break your resolve.
Willpower will take you so far, and when you reach that limit you'll need someone to push you through.
My sister and I did this challenge together, and we played key roles in one other's success. The competitive aspect kept us focused, and we exchanged tips, complained, and encouraged each other.
Make a menu
Planning your meals for the entire month isn't necessary unless you actually want to do it.
If you don't want to, and you think that meal planning is tedious... well, give it a shot anyway. You don't have to be Master Chef, but a few healthy, filling recipes under your belt will take the guess work out of eating. And it will come in handy, especially when you want to just pull out a pot and put on some noodles.
Dedicate yourself
I had a lot behind me in this challenge because my pride and ego were on the line: I told everyone I knew, none of them thought I could do it, and I was in competition with my sister. Like hell I was going to let them win.
But something else happened. Three days into the challenge, I was wandering around Extra Foods and coming to terms with the fact that I was completely in over my head.
"You don’t have to go through this," I thought. "You’re going to be miserable, and once this is done you’re going to go back to eating sugar, and you know it. This challenge is pointless. And Tostitos are on sale, two for one. Are you really going to pass that up?"
It all sounded very good, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t make myself quit.
It's hard to explain, but I felt like I'd lose more than the challenge if I stopped now. If I gave any ground to that self-defeatist part of me I'd start stagnating, ignoring my personal growth and potential while justifying my laziness and lack of discipline. I was measuring myself, and I wasn't about to come up short.
I think this was the deciding factor. I was far more involved with the challenge than just having the desire to do it. I couldn't let myself lose this one. My heart was in it, 100%.
This mindset is difficult to replicate. What you think you want and what you actually want are sometimes two different animals, and while you can fake enthusiasm, you can't fake commitment or dedication.
Regardless, there are ways to find and keep your motivation, and stick to your goals. These are a few of the sites I relied on to pull me through:
What I Learned
Diets suck. Oh man, do they suck. For anyone out there who must do this for health or career, I applaud you: you’re a better person than I could ever hope to be.
But I can’t complain because it did what it was supposed to do. After methodically reintroducing wheat and dairy, and found a sensitivity to both—cramps and bloating within an hour of eating, with dairy causing the most severe reaction. Mystery solved, and I felt good knowing that I got what I came for.
But I ended up with something even better... sort of.
Sugar: the Kind of Ex you Keep Going Back To
As an experiment, I bought a Tim Horton's double-double the first day off the challenge, expecting it to be too sweet and undrinkable. Of course it would be. I just spent a month without sugar, it would probably make me gag.
It didn't though.
It was glorious. It was Nirvana in a paper cup. It was liquid heaven.
I was in the stratosphere within minutes. This isn't surprising because I had zero caffeine during the challenge. In the absence of knee-jerk reaction to coffee (drink as much as possible) my tolerance had returned to normal.
What was surprising is that my taste remained completely unaffected by my sugar hiatus. I tested a few super-sweet foods—Irish Cream bars, Tim Horton's sugar syrup—and they didn't bother me.
And that's frustrating. Some people have quit sugar for months and years, simply because they just lost taste for it. Despite my 30 day absence, my love for it remains alive and well.
Sugar can do some weird things to you. I've read a few articles about it's effects, including Authority Nutrition's How Sugar Hijacks Your Brain and Makes You Addicted, and The New York Times's Is Sugar Toxic?
Both articles freaked me out a little. Yet I went back to sugar like a bad boyfriend: forgiving all past offences and starting over again, starry-eyed and hopeful.
Would I Do This Again?
Honestly? Yeah, I would.
This challenge came with some sweet benefits:
-
weight loss
-
improved complexion
-
better digestion
-
better sleep
-
reduced sugar cravings
The only problem was that I became very weak and started to tire easily, particularly during weeks three and four.
I don't think I was eating enough. Since I didn't cook often, I ate sporadically and relied on easy salads and brown rice, which was borderline idiocy. With this level of restriction, it is crucial to eat frequently and with variety to ensure proper nutrition.
Next time around, I'll put more focus on making healthy, substantial meals. Even if it means I'll have to cook again.