It has been almost two weeks since I started my "No added sugar" experiment. Let me just tell you that it only lasted for 3 days as absolutely no added sugar. On day 4 I decided that I wanted to put that 6 grams of sugar in my coffee...plus I had a small piece of paleo pumpkin bread at a friend's house which I am sure had some kind of sweetener in it.

I did not, however, let that completely derail me. I decided that no added sugar was a bit harsh, so I modified my plan. Now my goal is focusing less on sugar directly and more on processed food as a whole.

My goal: only one processed food item a day. So far, other than one day last week (date night), I have done it! I found that cutting back on just added sugar still allowed me to eat some breads, crackers, chips and the like as much as I wanted. The great part about focusing on consuming less processed foods in general is that not only am I cutting back on added sugars but also salt and other additives.

So you may be wondering what I mean by "only one processed food item a day". Let me give you some examples of food items I may choose: bread to make a sandwich, pancakes for breakfast, granola to mix in my plain Greek Yogurt, cornbread to go along with my chili at dinner, tortillas with my fajitas, tortilla chips and salsa for a snack, rice cakes as a vessel for my peanut butter. Again, those are just examples of the choices I have to make every day. I can choose just ONE of those. So, to further that example the following is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and oats

Snack: Yogurt and granola (here is my one processed food)

Lunch: Leftover Pesto Chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli

Snack: Peanut Butter and carrot sticks

Dinner: Cajun Shrimp and Rice with snow peas

Snack: Apple slices and Sun Butter

My outcomes so far: My headaches went away after I switched to the processed food focus from the added sugar focus. I am eating far more fruits and vegetables than I used to because I am replacing some of my starch/carb snack foods with them. My energy levels seem to be up as I am much less tired this week than I have been for the past several. I am not having sugar cravings like I was for a while there after coming off of my competition prep diet. My mood even seems to be a bit lifted. And my added sugar intake is still far lower than it was just a few weeks ago. Most days I am staying under 30grams of added sugar but there were a couple of days where I have had as much as 40grams (it really all depends on how many cups of coffee I drink in a day).

So, overall this seems to be working well for me. I think I am going to try to make it a perminent healthy living strategy. I would love to know if anyone else is willing to give it a try and see how it makes you feel!