I’m sure there are a lot of smug people out there who can quit sugar cold turkey. I was not one of them. As a lifelong sugar addict, I had to do it slowly. I used a similar process when I quit caffeine. The biggest thing for me during the first two weeks was to have plenty of “ammo” on hand when I thought I was going to freak out. As someone who routinely ate: cookies, candy, cupcakes, muffins, scones, sweet croissants, ice cream, frozen yogurt, regular yogurt (regular yogurt flavors have soooo much sugar!), mochas, vanilla lattes, most cereals, pie, cake, and the list goes on, I needed to find some good replacements. In the first two weeks I wasn’t focused on nutrition as much. I just wanted to break the cycle and the habit.
Some of the foods I bought/made that helped me:
Medjool dates
bananas
I made coconut macaroons with agave nectar. (I plan to make these dipped in agave-sweetened chocolate next!)
Go Raw Chocolate Super Cookies, I found these at PCC on the cookie aisle.
Nana’s cookies, these are fruit juice sweetened. I’ve only seen them at Whole Foods so far. Usually near the cookies/kid’s lunch stuff
Clif Twisted Fruit, I think these are found just about anywhere now
Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss “ice cream”, I’ve only found 3-4 flavors. I’d REALLY like to try the cappuccino.
On my birthday I made a great Pear Apple Crisp, this is my nutritionist’s recipe and it’s GREAT.
SunRype Fruit Source Bars, I’ve seen these at Safeway and at my work (boy has having them at work saved me)
Lara Bars, these are found just about everywhere, usually in the natural foods area near the Clif Bars, etc.
If you’re really having a meltdown, and you can find them, Whole Foods has agave-sweetened gummy fruit slices. These are absolutely excellent. They are also the only agave-sweetened candy I have found. They do not taste weird. They are tart and sweet and have no agave aftertaste. They’re still CANDY though and shouldn’t really be part of a healthy diet. If you’re freaking out, they’re a great replacement. I found them on the candy aisle, in a small clear plastic box next to the Whole Foods brand package dried fruit and nuts. They were kind of hidden near the bottom. They also make gummy bears but I haven’t seen those in awhile. I don’t have much self control with them so I try not to buy them.
I’ve also made lots of fruit smoothies, drank lots of juice, and eaten a great deal of plain fresh fruit. As the weeks have gone on, I’ve started relying on the “ammo” less and eating more fruit. I’m guessing this was my nutritionists hope and it has worked. In general I don’t crave sweets (outside of fruit) unless I SEE sweets. I never thought it would get easier but it really has.
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