I Quit Sugar for 30 Days - here's what happened... — Transcript

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1. 0:00I consider myself a pretty healthy
2. 0:02person. I eat whole foods. I exercise
3. 0:05most days. However, for as long as I can
4. 0:08remember, I've loved tasty sugary
5. 0:11treats. I'm not so much a donut or
6. 0:13pastry person, but give me something
7. 0:15with a crunch and I'm all yours. Salted
8. 0:19caramel chocolate, cookies, biscuits.
9. 0:23And this kind of food does weird things
10. 0:24to me. So, I wanted to see if I could
11. 0:27quit sugar for 30 days.
12. 0:32To set the scene, let's start with the
13. 0:34day before the challenge. I was away on
14. 0:36a hiking weekend with friends, which
15. 0:38involved being fed Nutella off a spoon.
16. 0:42And visiting the famous Bakewell Tart
17. 0:44Shop. My last day of sugar. Now, I'm in
18. 0:47the Bakewell Tart Shop. I'd seen other
19. 0:50people do this challenge and I wondered,
20. 0:52would I be able to do it? Would I notice
21. 0:54any improvements? I've got to be careful
22. 0:56not to buy a big one and then have any
23. 0:58left over tomorrow. I'm going to enjoy
24. 1:01my Bakewell Tart
25. 1:02and let the challenge begin tomorrow. I
26. 1:05eat healthy foods most of the time
27. 1:06anyway, so surely it wouldn't be that
28. 1:08hard.
29. 1:10Famous last words. It just seems weird
30. 1:13to me that something that tastes so
31. 1:17good, how can it be so bad?
32. 1:21Let the challenge begin.
33. 1:27It's day one and I don't think I'm going
34. 1:30to have too much of a problem today cuz
35. 1:32in the morning I have three eggs.
36. 1:35However, sometimes I have Worcestershire
37. 1:39sauce. I don't have it every day. I just
38. 1:41looked at the ingredients list.
39. 1:47Sugar in. So, this is definitely off the
40. 1:50cards for the next month. Okay, so that
41. 1:54was one small sugar-related problem, but
42. 1:56will I encounter any more?
43. 2:05For my breakfast most days, I have fish
44. 2:07and vegetables and this is the bit that
45. 2:09I found really interesting. This is what
46. 2:12I usually have for my breakfast every
47. 2:14morning and I absolutely love it. And
48. 2:17I've just realized that this has got 8%
49. 2:21demerara sugar in and I'm absolutely
50. 2:24gutted because I love this. I'm going to
51. 2:26stick stick to the project. Good job. I
52. 2:30have an emergency batch of sardines.
53. 2:34However, lemon peel, lime.
54. 2:39Water, sugar.
55. 2:43Two tins of plain than it is.
56. 2:47So, now would be a good time to explain
57. 2:50the rules of doing this sugar-free
58. 2:52challenge. Sugar is in a lot of foods.
59. 2:55Obvious things like cookies, ice cream,
60. 2:57chocolate. Sugar is also in natural
61. 3:00foods like fruit, vegetables, and milk.
62. 3:03The main rule is not eating foods with
63. 3:05added sugar in. So, when it's added,
64. 3:08sugar will be on the ingredients list.
65. 3:10Added sugar is in a lot of processed
66. 3:12foods, not just sweet stuff. It's in
67. 3:15bread, sauces, salad dressings, nut
68. 3:18butters, yogurts, oat milk. It's even in
69. 3:21pre-cooked meats and fish. But why is
70. 3:24added sugar in all of these foods? And
71. 3:26why am I wanting to avoid it during this
72. 3:28challenge? I'll come on to that in a
73. 3:30minute. This also includes no honey,
74. 3:32agave nectar, and maple syrup. Despite
75. 3:35this kind of stuff being natural,
76. 3:36they're pretty much the same as sugar
77. 3:38and the body responds in the same way.
78. 3:40Is fruit allowed on the challenge? Yes,
79. 3:43because the sugar in fruit is natural
80. 3:45sugar found within the food along with
81. 3:48the fiber, vitamins, and minerals and
82. 3:50that makes the body process it more
83. 3:52slowly. That said, fruit juice isn't
84. 3:55allowed because the sugar has been
85. 3:56separated from the food and then it
86. 3:59releases quickly into the body. And
87. 4:01there's also no sugar alternatives
88. 4:03because despite not having the same
89. 4:04effect on our blood sugar, they do have
90. 4:07a similar effect on our brain, which
91. 4:09I'll explain shortly. And this isn't me
92. 4:11saying that sugar is bad and that we
93. 4:13shouldn't eat it. This is just an
94. 4:15experiment that I wanted to do to see if
95. 4:17I could do it and how my body responded.
96. 4:19And I'm pleased I did do it because what
97. 4:22happened really surprised me.
98. 4:25The first few days went pretty smoothly.
99. 4:27My usual lunches and dinners don't have
100. 4:29added sugar in, so it was business as
101. 4:31usual. It was always going to go quite
102. 4:33well, fueled with hope and optimism,
103. 4:38motivation for starting a new challenge.
104. 4:41So, I think I'm going to be all right
105. 4:42for a couple of days cuz I don't
106. 4:44typically eat that much sugar in my
107. 4:46day-to-day life. Although this morning's
108. 4:49discovery that it was in two of my
109. 4:51favorite healthy breakfast meals, then
110. 4:54that'll be interesting not eating those
111. 4:55and seeing if I get any withdrawals.
112. 4:58Withdrawals.
113. 5:03I managed to find some sugar-free sauces
114. 5:06to jazz up my morning scrambled egg.
115. 5:08Here we are. Oh, wow. That is amazing. I
116. 5:12began checking the ingredients list on
117. 5:14food. I've got dextrose
118. 5:17and sugar. I altered my weekly shop to
119. 5:20suit the challenge, making sure this is
120. 5:22completely
121. 5:24sugar-free. I asked vendors if their
122. 5:26food had added sugar in. Do you happen
123. 5:28to know if your chicken tikka or your
124. 5:31butter chicken has any
125. 5:33sugar in it? I've found alternatives to
126. 5:36the tasty things I'd usually eat. I've
127. 5:38had a great week and on a Friday or a
128. 5:41Saturday, I like to treat myself. So,
129. 5:45instead, I've gone and got myself a
130. 5:48homemade curry from the local market and
131. 5:52I found a way to get my chocolate, 100%
132. 5:55cocoa.
133. 5:57No sugar. I'll only be able to eat a
134. 5:59couple of squares.
135. 6:01We were off to a flying start. The first
136. 6:03week was going well so far. Surely I
137. 6:05wouldn't encounter any major problems
138. 6:07doing this challenge. Would I? Most of
139. 6:10us know that eating too much sugary food
140. 6:12isn't great for our health. So, I'm not
141. 6:15going to reel off a list of problems
142. 6:17that it causes. Even though I eat whole
143. 6:19foods a lot of the time, my issue with
144. 6:22sugary foods is once I get a taste for
145. 6:24it, I just want more. I step on board
146. 6:26the sugar train, choo-choo, and once I'm
147. 6:29on it, it's really hard to get off. It
148. 6:32feels great when I'm eating it, but half
149. 6:34an hour to an hour later, I feel
150. 6:35terrible. I feel an intense slump of
151. 6:38energy. I get quite a bad headache and
152. 6:40it feels like my brain has been replaced
153. 6:42with cotton wool. It feels a little bit
154. 6:45like a hangover, actually. And I know
155. 6:46there'll be some people who say, well,
156. 6:48if it makes you feel ill, don't eat as
157. 6:50much of it. And I'd imagine that those
158. 6:52are the kind of people who can eat just
159. 6:54one biscuit and then put the rest of the
160. 6:56packet back in the cupboard. For me,
161. 6:59sugar and moderation do not go together.
162. 7:02I always think I'm going to be okay cuz
163. 7:04I really want it. I've worked hard this
164. 7:05week. I've done loads of exercise. 42
165. 7:09years old and I still
166. 7:12I still haven't learned. A quick note to
167. 7:14say, some of you know that I have ADHD
168. 7:16and I take medication for it, which is
169. 7:19actually very relevant to doing this
170. 7:20challenge and I've added some notes to
171. 7:23the pinned comment about all that stuff.
172. 7:25I was never hungry for the calories in
173. 7:27sugary food. I was hungry for the taste
174. 7:30and the texture. To get that sweet
175. 7:32release of pleasure chemicals, but it
176. 7:35would only last a short while and then
177. 7:37it would leave me feeling like rubbish.
178. 7:39And it's interesting because when I look
179. 7:41at these definitions, it makes me
180. 7:43wonder, was I mildly addicted to sugar?
181. 7:46But I don't even eat that much of it, do
182. 7:49I?
183. 7:52Anyway, I didn't come on to show you
184. 7:54that. I come on to show you this.
185. 7:58This would normally be straight in the
186. 7:59basket. I don't know what it is today,
187. 8:01but me and mom are on a mooch around the
188. 8:03shops and for some reason, just finding
189. 8:07it a bit tricky to navigate all of the
190. 8:10sweet treats.
191. 8:12This one is especially difficult.
192. 8:16Oh,
193. 8:17if I wasn't doing this challenge, I
194. 8:18would buy a bag of pick and mix today,
195. 8:20go home with a big bag of pick and mix
196. 8:23and we'd finish watching that film and
197. 8:25we'd have to get all cozy. Oh, mind
198. 8:28myself up. We need to get out of the
199. 8:29shop.
200. 8:31Saturday film night, we've got this
201. 8:33fruit and nut platter.
202. 8:40It was during this experiment I learned
203. 8:42that here in the UK, the average person
204. 8:44consumes around 13 teaspoons of added
205. 8:47sugar a day, which works out to 20 kg of
206. 8:50added sugar a year. And I can see how
207. 8:52that's easy to do because added sugar is
208. 8:54in a lot of food these days. And even
209. 8:57with the healthy foods that I was eating
210. 8:59on a regular basis, I was having 20 g of
211. 9:02added sugar a day, almost 7 and 1/2 kg a
212. 9:05year just from these foods. And now I'm
213. 9:07going to 0 g of added sugar a day. What
214. 9:10could possibly go wrong?
215. 9:18Oh, this morning and today is a day
216. 9:21where I feel really tired. It's weird
217. 9:24because my Whoop is telling me that I'm
218. 9:2690% recovered, but I do not feel 90%
219. 9:30recovered. And I think this is where it
220. 9:32could start to get a bit tricky.
221. 9:34It's days like this where I feel tired
222. 9:36that I want that quick fix
223. 9:39of a sugary, carby, fatty something.
224. 9:44Spoonful of honey. Oh,
225. 9:46so instead, I've got some new potatoes.
226. 9:50It's really not the same.
227. 9:55But then,
228. 9:57oof,
229. 9:58I just had my breakfast, did the washing
230. 10:00up. And as I was doing the washing up, I
231. 10:03came over
232. 10:05really nauseous.
233. 10:08My head started hurting a little bit,
234. 10:10and it went a tiny bit dizzy. My body
235. 10:13was going hot and cold as well when I
236. 10:15was doing the washing up, which was
237. 10:16really weird. Was this me experiencing
238. 10:19sugar withdrawals? Surely not. So, I
239. 10:22Googled sugar withdrawal symptoms, and
240. 10:25it's saying headaches, nausea, chills,
241. 10:28and muscle pains. A little longer than a
242. 10:32few minutes later. That was really
243. 10:34weird. It happened fast. It peaked. I
244. 10:38don't feel completely back to normal. I
245. 10:39still feel a bit weird. Maybe it was a
246. 10:42coincidence that I was feeling like
247. 10:43this. But what happened in the next few
248. 10:46days was really interesting. The
249. 10:49cravings hit hard. Really hard. I really
250. 10:54want a delicious, sweet,
251. 10:58crunchy snack. I couldn't stop thinking
252. 11:00about tasty treats. I would really,
253. 11:03really like a slice of cake. It felt
254. 11:05like a physical need for me to have
255. 11:08them. I kept going to the kitchen,
256. 11:10looking in the cupboards and in the
257. 11:11fridge, hoping someone had magically
258. 11:14placed a tasty snack in there. And I
259. 11:17felt a bit desperate. And I just
260. 11:21Which is why
261. 11:23Oh, I can't believe I'm going to show
262. 11:25you this. I ended up dipping my finger
263. 11:28in 100% cocoa powder
264. 11:31and licking it off just to get my fix.
265. 11:34It works, though.
266. 11:39What else did I do when I got the
267. 11:41cravings? I ate fruit.
268. 11:45Found a bit of a hack. Pomegranate
269. 11:47seeds. Cuz they're sweet with a crunch.
270. 11:51I've just come downstairs to have
271. 11:54an emergency apple because I was really
272. 11:57hungry. And I really want something.
273. 12:00Why are you laughing at? I'm laughing at
274. 12:03you. I've just come down to have an
275. 12:04emergency apple.
276. 12:09It is an emergency.
277. 12:13I feel like I'm withering away. So, by
278. 12:16all of this, I'm guessing I was having a
279. 12:18bit of withdrawals, which meant I was a
280. 12:21bit addicted to sugar. Even though I
281. 12:23don't eat things like cereal for
282. 12:24breakfast, a sandwich for and a
283. 12:27ready-made meal for dinner, the foods
284. 12:29I'd been eating on a regular basis,
285. 12:31which I'd considered to be healthy, had
286. 12:33added sugar in. It wasn't a lot of added
287. 12:36sugar in each of these foods, but it all
288. 12:38added up. And I was on this constant
289. 12:4012-hour cycle. Mackerel for breakfast,
290. 12:43lemon sardines for dinner, over and over
291. 12:46again. So, I'm guessing that my body
292. 12:48would have got used to this constant
293. 12:50release of added sugar. And then I
294. 12:53stopped, and it's probably why I ended
295. 12:55up feeling the way that I was. Sugar is
296. 12:58a deep, deep, ancient craving, and don't
297. 13:01I know it. Okay, to make my weekend and
298. 13:04my week next week more exciting, I've
299. 13:06scoured the Waitrose website. By the
300. 13:10way, I don't normally shop at Waitrose.
301. 13:12I don't have enough money for that. And
302. 13:15all of these chickens
303. 13:18don't have added sugar.
304. 13:20So, this is why it's quite easy to be
305. 13:22addicted to sugar. Added sugar is in so
306. 13:25much food these days. And it's in so
307. 13:27much food because food manufacturers
308. 13:29know it tastes good and that our body
309. 13:32and brain responds to it. Our taste buds
310. 13:35detect the sugar in the food, which then
311. 13:38sends a signal to the brain to release
312. 13:40dopamine. And that feels oh so good. So,
313. 13:45if food tastes good and we get that
314. 13:47pleasure response, then of course food
315. 13:49manufacturers are going to keep putting
316. 13:51added sugar in their food because then
317. 13:54we keep on buying it. The one benefit I
318. 13:56could see from me experiencing those
319. 13:58withdrawals and those intense cravings
320. 14:01were It's almost as though I'm entering
321. 14:04into the next level. So, I have to get
322. 14:06through this sticky phase of my body not
323. 14:09relying on these things. And actually,
324. 14:11I'm even more motivated than ever
325. 14:13because I know that if I had sugar now,
326. 14:16I would go all the way back to where I
327. 14:17was, and I would then have to do those
328. 14:20five or six days again.
329. 14:22During the first 10 days of the
330. 14:23challenge, I learned that my taste buds
331. 14:25and brain were literally changing. Our
332. 14:29taste buds have a life cycle of around
333. 14:3110 days. So, during that time, they kind
334. 14:34of go through a reset and become
335. 14:37accustomed to lower levels of sugar,
336. 14:39which then makes fruit taste even
337. 14:41sweeter and become more satisfying. And
338. 14:44the brain becomes recalibrated to lower
339. 14:47levels of dopamine, which then hopefully
340. 14:49reduces the cravings for sugary food. Me
341. 14:52and Mom are off to a barbecue. It was
342. 14:55suggested that we bring pudding,
343. 14:58and I want to bring a pudding that I can
344. 15:00eat. So, this is what I'm taking.
345. 15:02A fruit platter. Oh, wow, that looks so
346. 15:05good on camera.
347. 15:06I hadn't realized this at first, but
348. 15:08doing this challenge was giving me an
349. 15:10opportunity to pause before eating. I
350. 15:13used to think of eating those foods, and
351. 15:15that was all I could think about, that
352. 15:16instant reaction. But now,
353. 15:19what I do is when I think about eating
354. 15:21those foods, I think about the reaction
355. 15:23then, but I also think about how I'm
356. 15:25going to feel half an hour later. 1 2
357. 15:293 4 5 hours later. I wonder if I'm going
358. 15:32to be able to completely, or almost
359. 15:36completely,
360. 15:37avoid sugar in my future. That's what
361. 15:40I'd like.
362. 15:42But I don't know how realistic that is.
363. 15:45This next bit, it's a sponsored section,
364. 15:48but stick with me if you can because I
365. 15:50genuinely found this a helpful tool
366. 15:53during the sugar-free challenge. I've
367. 15:54been paying for Headspace, the
368. 15:56meditation app, since 2017,
369. 15:59and I'll put proof of that on screen. I
370. 16:02mostly use Headspace for the sleep
371. 16:04casts, which are nighttime stories to
372. 16:06help me fall asleep. And now, everything
373. 16:09that could be done has been done.
374. 16:12But it was during this challenge I
375. 16:14discovered that Headspace has a number
376. 16:16of short meditations related to food.
377. 16:19These meditations are only 1 to 10
378. 16:21minutes each, and it doesn't mean that I
379. 16:24have to sit cross-legged in a quiet room
380. 16:27burning incense. I just listen to them
381. 16:29when I'm preparing food, or even better,
382. 16:32when a craving hits. Even right now,
383. 16:35before you eat each meal, just begin by
384. 16:39taking a couple of deep breaths. Notice
385. 16:42what's
386. 16:43What's the storyline that's driving the
387. 16:46eating? Is it a feeling of genuine
388. 16:47hunger?
389. 16:48Is it one of boredom? Is it one of
390. 16:51distraction, of habit? At this stage,
391. 16:54we're just sort of gathering
392. 16:55information. We're starting to better
393. 16:57understand how and why we eat the way we
394. 17:01do. And if we can eat with our full
395. 17:04attention, then things really begin to
396. 17:06change quite quickly. If you're not
397. 17:08familiar with Headspace, it's primarily
398. 17:11a meditation app with meditations
399. 17:13covering many things to help with life's
400. 17:15challenges, and it's a massive resource
401. 17:18for mindfulness, calm, and focus. If
402. 17:21you're keen to give Headspace a try, you
403. 17:23can get 2 months free with the link in
404. 17:25the description, or scan the QR code
405. 17:28with your phone camera. I'm filming two
406. 17:30videos today
407. 17:32in the center of London. And then I've
408. 17:34got the weekend at my dad's house. I
409. 17:37think that this weekend's going to be a
410. 17:39bit tricky. I would really like a snack
411. 17:42because I've just been in the car for 2
412. 17:43and 1/2 hours. So, I'm going to need to
413. 17:45rely on finding something from the shop.
414. 17:48So, let's see what we can do.
415. 17:50Another food I hadn't expected to have
416. 17:52sugar in was sushi.
417. 17:55And this was where I encountered some of
418. 17:57my biggest problems. I'm in London
419. 17:59Bridge train station. It's been quite
420. 18:01difficult to find a higher protein,
421. 18:05sugar-free, unprocessed snack. This is
422. 18:09what I've come up with.
423. 18:10Two packets of two boiled eggs. So,
424. 18:13that's 22 g protein. And I got some
425. 18:16walnuts, two figs, and a couple of
426. 18:19slices of mango.
427. 18:20Visiting friends and families' houses
428. 18:22for food when doing this is tough. We've
429. 18:25got some beef for our
430. 18:29lunch dinner.
431. 18:30Dinner. Dinner. And it looks fantastic.
432. 18:34But the dressing has got sugar in, which
433. 18:37I'm gutted about cuz it looks amazing.
434. 18:40But we're staying strict to the
435. 18:42challenge, but we have got some chicken
436. 18:44thighs, voila, which have got herbs and
437. 18:47spices on. There's a part of me that
438. 18:50says, "Oh, let's cut the underneath off
439. 18:52that hasn't got the dressing." But
440. 18:55I think I think it I think it'd still be
441. 18:59cheating. It's just easier not to.
442. 19:02We've come this far.
443. 19:05By this point, I was surprised. It was
444. 19:07pretty easy to resist the dessert, and I
445. 19:10had fresh mango instead. Amazing.
446. 19:13So right. And I even managed to
447. 19:15confidently say no to the chocolate. I
448. 19:18didn't have that magnetic pull and that
449. 19:20desire for it like I'd had in the past.
450. 19:22Was this me starting to make a
451. 19:24breakthrough?
452. 19:29From this point, the challenge started
453. 19:30to get easier. The cravings were going
454. 19:33because it turns out the biggest cause
455. 19:34of wanting to eat sugary foods is eating
456. 19:37sugary foods. I feel as though the
457. 19:39challenge is going well. I'm thinking
458. 19:42about sugary treats way less.
459. 19:46And just when I thought I was getting
460. 19:48the hang of this and finally making my
461. 19:50breakthrough. Over the past week or so,
462. 19:52my cravings for sweet food
463. 19:56pretty much disappeared. I was having my
464. 19:58three high-protein,
465. 20:01nutrient-rich meals a day, and I felt
466. 20:03great. However, I'm on my period, and I
467. 20:07can't stop thinking about delicious,
468. 20:10tasty snacks. And I was just hoping that
469. 20:12this feeling would have gone by now. And
470. 20:15when I think about it, a 30-day
471. 20:17sugar-free challenge is a bit of a
472. 20:19gimmick, really. I've been eating foods
473. 20:22with added sugar in for probably 40
474. 20:24years, and I expected to change in just
475. 20:2730 days. However, 30 days is a start.
476. 20:31It's an opportunity for improvement, and
477. 20:34it does seem that my body was slowly
478. 20:36starting to change, and I look forward
479. 20:38to telling you what happened as a result
480. 20:40of me doing this.
481. 20:46This is an interesting concept. Today,
482. 20:50my
483. 20:51computer mouse broke, and I've got a
484. 20:53really important deadline, and I really
485. 20:55needed to get home today
486. 20:57and do my work. So, then I've been
487. 20:59watching YouTube videos on how to fix
488. 21:01it, and it's just not working.
489. 21:05I do feel quite stressed. I know it's
490. 21:07good problems to have, but now I've got
491. 21:09to drive to the nearest big city, which
492. 21:13is quite far out. One of my instant
493. 21:16thoughts was when I'm out, I want to buy
494. 21:18some food to cheer me up. Something
495. 21:20sweet, something delicious, something
496. 21:22tasty.
497. 21:23It was kind of an impulsive, instinctual
498. 21:27thought.
499. 21:28And then it just got me thinking,
500. 21:30in a stressed state, I'm looking to
501. 21:34sweet, sugary food to make me feel
502. 21:36better. Even the thought of having that
503. 21:40is like,
504. 21:43So, I'm surprised. All these days and
505. 21:46weeks that I've been feeling really
506. 21:49good, and then something happens, fairly
507. 21:53small, and it's this automatic reaction
508. 21:56of wanting something to ease the
509. 21:59discomfort of my stress.
510. 22:02In a way, I'm grateful for the broken
511. 22:04mouse. That's led me to these thoughts
512. 22:07and realizations.
513. 22:09Oh, I've got the mouse working. Means I
514. 22:12haven't got to go out and buy a new one,
515. 22:14and I won't be tempted by sugary treats.
516. 22:20That is a good feeling.
517. 22:27It's my last day
518. 22:29on the sugar-free challenge. I have a
519. 22:32plan on what I'm going to do tomorrow
520. 22:35and in the future.
521. 22:37It's 2 days after the challenge has
522. 22:39finished, and I just went out for lunch
523. 22:42with my friends. It was much easier for
524. 22:44me to not have dessert. Usually, we
525. 22:47would all have a bit of cake, but I
526. 22:50genuinely didn't want it. The thing that
527. 22:53has been interesting is I've just popped
528. 22:55to the shops, and it's the weekend.
529. 22:57Usually, I would buy some chocolate or
530. 23:00a treat, let's call it. However,
531. 23:03there was that initial reaction, a habit
532. 23:06that's been ingrained into my brain for
533. 23:08all of these years, that it's the
534. 23:10weekend and I'm in the supermarket,
535. 23:11let's get a treat. But I paused and
536. 23:14thought about my intentions for going
537. 23:17there, and so instead, I bought us some
538. 23:19fruit. And the way I feel at the moment
539. 23:21is I would like to keep this up for
540. 23:23life, however, not be so regimented and
541. 23:27strict, whereby if it's in a salad
542. 23:30dressing or I'm at a friend's barbecue,
543. 23:33then I'm not going to be worried about
544. 23:35things like sauces. But cakes, sweets,
545. 23:39those tasty treats, and now I can think
546. 23:42about how I'm going to feel after, and
547. 23:44then it makes it so much easier to not
548. 23:46eat those things. I'm not sure if I'm
549. 23:48going to be able to keep it up, but that
550. 23:50is how I feel at the moment. I feel as
551. 23:52though I've tried to do this so many
552. 23:54times in the past,
553. 23:56and I failed. But now, rather than it be
554. 23:59a challenge, this is almost as though my
555. 24:01mindset has shifted, so it makes it so
556. 24:03much easier to say no to it. It's been
557. 24:0651 days since finishing the challenge,
558. 24:08so I've been continuing to do this
559. 24:10because it's had such a positive impact
560. 24:13on my life. I do still get cravings on
561. 24:15certain days, but they're not as
562. 24:17intense, and it's much easier to resist
563. 24:20the temptations, and I make better
564. 24:22choices. As a result of my blood sugar
565. 24:24not going up and down all the time, my
566. 24:27energy is way more consistent throughout
567. 24:30the day. My mood is better, way better.
568. 24:33My head is clearer, and these ones
569. 24:35surprised me. I'm less irritable. My
570. 24:38tolerance is higher with myself, with
571. 24:41others, and in stressful situations. And
572. 24:44I thought this was a coincidence, but my
573. 24:46dad, who also did the challenge,
574. 24:48experienced the same. Hey, Dad. What
575. 24:50have you noticed as a result of not
576. 24:52eating foods with added sugar in? The
577. 24:54main thing I noticed was more energy in
578. 24:56general, both mentally and physically.
579. 24:59Problems that arise at work I just find
580. 25:02much easier to deal with. By not eating
581. 25:04those foods, it just gets easier and
582. 25:06easier to not eat them. As opposed to in
583. 25:08the past, you know, be nothing to go for
584. 25:10a whole packet of biscuits or something.
585. 25:12Maybe it's in our genetics that we eat
586. 25:14entire packs of biscuits in one go.
587. 25:18And something interesting to note, as a
588. 25:20result of not eating foods with added
589. 25:22sugar in, it generally means not eating
590. 25:25as much processed food. And with less
591. 25:28processed food comes less calories,
592. 25:30which is why my mom, who also did the
593. 25:33challenge, lost 3 kg of body fat in 1
594. 25:36month. 3 kg. My taste buds have changed,
595. 25:40and I know this because I ate two
596. 25:42Maltesers at a party the other night,
597. 25:45and they were so sweet and sickly. Does
598. 25:48that mean my brain has recalibrated, and
599. 25:51I've gone through some kind of dopamine
600. 25:53reset? I've got no idea. However, I'm no
601. 25:57longer in autopilot, and I can easily
602. 26:00say no. I want to make informed choices
603. 26:03about the foods that I put into my body,
604. 26:05rather than relying on food
605. 26:07manufacturers of what they want me to
606. 26:10put in my body. Have you done the
607. 26:11sugar-free challenge? Perhaps you're
608. 26:13tempted to give it a try. I'd love to
609. 26:15hear your thoughts and experience about
610. 26:17it in the comments, because I know
611. 26:20there's lots of different opinions. If
612. 26:22you liked this video, then YouTube
613. 26:24thinks you're going to like this video,
614. 26:25too.