The best week of the year is almost here! Join us for No Sweets Week from Monday, October 22nd to Friday, October 26th.
Cut out all sugar with Halloween around the corner and help your body feel GOOD! Sign up at the front for the chance to win a grand prize once you make it through a sugar-free week! All participants will also receive a sugarless treat. 🙂
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Included below is more information to help you succeed at No Sweets Week – don’t be surprised if you end up challenging yourself for longer when you start to feel the difference in your body and mind when you cut sugar out.
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SUGAR + YOU = A NOT-SO-SWEET PAIRING
Sugar is all around us. We consume much more of it than we realize, and it’s the last thing we need when it comes to our nutrition. Refined sugars have no nutritional value, and don’t fill you up, which leads to overeating. They can make your body resistant to the hormone insulin, which can lead to obesity and diabetes. They can also impact the pumping mechanism of your heart, cause premature aging of the skin, and negatively affect your sleep and immune system.
With the recommended amount of sugar per day being no more than 6-9 teaspoons (24-36 grams), most people quickly exceed this by far. For example, a 355 ml can of Coke has 39 g of sugar, or almost 9 teaspoons alone!
A quick way to visualise how much sugar is in a product is to divide the grams of sugar by 4, which will tell you how many teaspoons of the sweet stuff you’d be drinking or eating.
IN IT TO WIN IT – THE NO SWEETS WEEK CHALLENGE
Before Halloween, we challenge you to cut sugar OUT! What does this mean for you? Here are the guidelines:
- NO SUGAR, SUGAR SUBSTITUTES, OR ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
- NO ALCOHOL
- Please read ALL labels of foods you are consuming. If you see SUGAR or a SUGAR SUBSTITUTE, DON’T EAT IT!
- Remember to incorporate fresh foods into your meals and snacks! A challenge like this can help you eat more balanced meals.
SUGAR HIDES – READ YOUR LABELS!
Sugar is sneaky and added into many foods, and can often be missed on lists of ingredients. Make sure you’re carefully reading labels on ALL packaged foods (including things like dressings and sauces), not just on ones you’d naturally assume to have added sugars, like cookies and chocolate bars.
It’s important to watch for words other than “sugar” as well; a handy hint is to keep an eye out for words ending in “ose.” They are usually sugars, and are off limits during No Sweets Week!
Below are some of the names that sugar hides behind, as well as some products you might not normally think to look for them in:
Keeping an eye out for sugar on lists of ingredients is an important piece of the No Sweets Week puzzle, but another key to resisting large amounts of processed sugar is to opt for whole foods (most of which won’t even have an ingredients list) that will actually satisfy your hunger and fill you up.
Another way you can avoid added sugars is to make your own sauces and dressings! For example, here is a recipe for a simple vinaigrette, free from sugar, but full of flavour:
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, shallot and mustard in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk again before dressing salad.
HYDRATION IS KEY
Often we mistake thirst for hunger. The next time you find yourself wanting to reach for a sweet treat, take a moment to have a glass of water, and see if that’s what your body really needs.
Fruit juices can have added sugar, but even if they don’t, they lack the fiber that whole fruit provides, meaning you get the blood sugar spike without filling up. Stick to water and you’ll be giving yourself all that you truly need when it comes to beverages.
As Dr. Janelle and Dr. Caitlin recommend, start your day with two glasses of water – before you reach for that cup of coffee (sans sugar, of course)! This helps your joints and the discs of your spine be healthy, and gets you on the water train right away. Try putting a cup of water on your desk first thing, and refilling it any time you finish a glass, or bring a reusable water bottle with you so there’s no excuse to reach for a sugary drink fix.
DO IT FOR YOURSELF – HEALTH IS WEALTH
Last but definitely not least, please remember that this is for YOU! You may find it difficult at first, but in the end, your body will thank you for sticking to it and saying NO to sugar! If you want to dive a little deeper, you can also check out this article. Good luck! 🙂
