Sunday, November 30, 2014

I Quit Sugar - For Good! [The First Two Weeks]



I'm in the worse physical shape of my life.

I'm not the one to say oh, I don't take care of myself, well I got a lot of habits correctly over five years back , i.e. Before hitting 3-0, in terms of eating healthy, sleeping well and discarding the crazy 20's lifestyle. even then, with a weird twist of fate I've ended up being in the worse shape physically I could possibly be.


Healthy diets worked well until the time my thyroid got sluggish, after which all bets were off. Inspite of assurance by my endocrinologist that hair loss, weight and fatigue have nothing to do with my thyroid as long as my blood tests are perfect, (1) The air I inhaled turned into molecules of fat. Yup, pretty much (2) balls of hair would come off each time I ran a comb through it (3) I was tired more often than not (4) The last straw was my ankle injury - which meant even exercise wouldn't be my saving grace.

But what bothers me the MOST is the FATIQUE. I mean I'm anyways not running around - to save my ankle, yet I get tired very easily! Mentally I'm all charged up with ideas and to-do lists buzzing non stop, but physically? The whole situation is ridiculous. Some days when I feel a little extra tired I even get a blood test done , pretty adamant that my TSH levels may have rocked a little! But they come back clean and perfect.

I'd heard about people quitting sugar to lose weight but never really gave it a try , since I don't have a sweet tooth and didn't think I ate it much. Coffee without sugar was unthinkable and a trip to the mall meant one glass of coke - c'mon that's one glass a month.

But then I read the Small Town Idaho blog and suddenly it made sense to me. Maybe it was that I read it at the right time, with the right frame of mind, or simply how she wrote her story made sense. And the next morning I quit "added sugar/honey/molasses" in anything and everything I ate or drank. And even put "no sugar" posts-its everywhere around as a reminder!


The first week:

Coffee didn't taste all that bad. Neither did the old fashioned rolled oats.

But that weekend I took an outstation trip - which meant meeting a bunch of friends, family and generally loitering around. Let me give you a list of things presented to me / people had in front of me that I probably would've had (at least a bite) if I hadn't resolved to quit sugar.


  • Coke
  • Puran poli and srikhand (a maharastrian delicacy)
  • Khaja ( a Bihari delicacy)
  • Carrot and marzipan cake
  • Sizzling brownie with ice cream
  • Mojito
  • Green apple canned juice
  • Cheese croissant
  • A big mug of latte (had espresso instead)
  • Chocolates


This is what I remember...and this is EXCLUDING tea /coffee -3/4 servings at home & oatmeal for breakfast.

Yes it was a long 5 day weekend including festivities but isn't the list a revelation? That's 50-100 spoonfuls avoided- just like that! If I hadn't quit sugar I prob would've gained another layer of fat!

The coffee craving that I used to get those few times a day was probably a sugar craving! Or a sugar+ coffee craving. I felt lazy around 2 pm but was not DYING for coffee to keep awake as usual. Admittedly coffee doesn't taste great without sugar (not disgusting, but not so great either): so maybe the brain didn't trigger the craving since coffee was now being drunk without sugar. Or some neuron sciency stuff like that.

And getting back to the main issue of fatigue, I didn't feel much, inspite of traveling. when I walked towards the bed at bedtime I wasn't exhausted, I was even finishing off work without feeling groggy till the last minute.



The 2nd week: Withdrawal symptoms. TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE withdrawal symptoms.


First came the ankle pain (which comes time to time, esp if I've walked a lot in the past few days, or maybe I unknowingly twist it while walking!), which meant swollen ankle for a day. Then came the incredible fatigue. To literally avenge the absence of sugar!! On the second day of fatigue I thought I was DYING. By afternoon, after picking up my son fm school, I wanted him to disappear and wanted to just crawl under the blanket and stay there forever. I tried that. My kid didn't disappear but I did manage a fifteen minute nap (albeit fifteen interruptions) after which I had freshly squeezed orange juice - source for natural sugars instead of coffee. I felt a bit better by evening.

The third day again- I woke up and made breakfast like a zombie. Then kick started the day with a ton of activities - too scared to sit around even for a few minutes.

The withdrawal slowly tapered ... And I soldiered on with my commitment to break off with Sugar.

This is the 1st Blog Post in the Two Part Series of "I Quit Sugar- For Good". For the 2nd part, i.e. 2 Months Later, click here


My Pinterest Board on Food For Thought:

10 comments:

  1. I am concerned about the hard withdrawals and fatigue, but I am really praying about giving up sugar!

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    1. Hi Bekki, Pls do! The withdrawal phase lasts for only a few days and is totally worth it!

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  2. Good Luck Some things I can't do. Hard right before Christmas with all the cookies

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    1. Hahaha! In India the entire second half of the year is a danger zone, with festivals galore!

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  3. I don't keep white sugar in the house, because I am so manic about it. I hate that. I can't wait to read what happened next!

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    1. Hi Jennifer, we still do keep sugar at home, as I live with two sweet-toothed-guys!

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  4. Thanks for chronicling your journey. Very interesting. It's the withdrawal that worries me most. I get terrible headaches every time I try! Looking forward to your next post. Great to meet you via The Mommy Monday Blog Hop!

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  5. Kudos to you, my friend! I don't think I could tackle this during the holidays. I admire your dedication. Thanks for linking up at #SoMe2!

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