I quit sugar for 6 months - Here’s what changed & How I did it

It's been six months since I decided to cut sugar from my diet. Not all sugars in every meal, but I started with the ones in red zone. Sweet snacks, desserts, and soda pop. This change alone was one of the biggest contributors to my weight loss journey. And we all know too much sugar is bad, but it has to be really practical. Something you can try and follow literally right after watching this video. So today I'm going to share with you what I call no crave methods. This is basically how I did my red zone sugar cut challenge. Sweets can be very addictive. Trust me, I used to have a serious sweet tooth. There was a time when I ate Haagen-Dazs ice cream every single day after dinner. If sweet desserts or sugary cravings are one of the biggest challenges in your weight loss or health journey, I hope the practical tips in this video help you build a healthier eating habit and eventually a more energetic, happier you. First, let me quickly explain why all this. My dad is on the verge of developing diabetes and his doctor warned him to watch his diet because of blood sugar spikes. So now he checks his levels every other day and follows a strict diet. Well, I mean, he's trying to. Seeing that really alerted me. It made me pause and think that maybe I should start paying attention to my own sugar consumption too. Also, ever since my younger son was born, my gut health has been a bit sensitive. I'm not sure if it's because I had C-sections for both my kids or if my body simply became weaker after pregnancy, but my digestion hasn't been the same. And I learned that one of the most significant and non-debatable things I can do to improve gut health is to cut down on sugar. Also, in most cases, weight gain comes from snacking, especially sugary desserts. Since I reduce sweets so much in my daily eating, I don't crave them the way I used to. In fact, when I taste a slice of cake on special occasions, it now feels too sweet for me. It really shows that the more sugar you eat, the more you crave it. Subtle but chronic. Common symptoms. Many of us live with sugar-related symptoms without even realizing it. I'm not saying all of these symptoms come only from sugar. These are the common symptoms. Strong sugar cravings. I just need something sweet after dinner. Constant energy crashes. By the afternoon, I'm always so tired and foggy. Mood swings. I feel good for a moment, then suddenly irritated. But I don't know why. Digestive discomfort. I feel so heavy and bloated after meals. Difficulty losing weight. I keep snacking and overeating, but I have no energy to exercise. Low skin quality. My skin keeps breaking out and looks inflamed or red. Again, sugar isn't the only reason for these symptoms. But I personally noticed improvements in all of these areas. Even in my skin quality. I hardly break out at all these days. And the best part about cutting sugar is that there's no downside or side effect to simply eating a little less of it. My little sugar cut challenge. Now, just in case anyone is wondering, these are the things I cut out and the things I replaced them with. I've been doing this for the last six months, and I want to be clear. It's not like I went cold turkey from day one with zero exceptions. There were occasional cheat days, and I think the real key to this challenge is maintaining a good balance. And for now, I've only been focusing on the items in the red zone. So I don't worry about the natural sugars in fruit or an occasional slice of white bread. But I'm slowly starting to incorporate the yellow zone changes as well. For example, I now replace regular bread with sourdough for my breakfast. I keep mentioning the red zone and yellow zone. So let me briefly explain them to you. The red zone is the obvious sugar. Foods that have high added sugar, such as cakes, ice creams, donuts, soda, and juice. The yellow zone is the hidden sugar. Foods that seem nutritious on the outside, but either cause quick glucose spikes or contain added sugar you don't notice. Examples are salad dressings that come with pre-made salads, regular yogurt, not Greek yogurt, white bread, waffles, and even some ready-to-drink protein shakes on the shelf. On top of that, I stopped drinking all kinds of sugary drinks. That includes Coke, bubble tea, juice, and lattes outside. But as some of you already know, I drink homemade matcha, and I do add a little bit of syrup in there. So yes, there's still a bit of a sugar consumption. See? Not cold turkey. I used to have ice cream every day after dinner, but I stopped doing that. I also used to pick up things like cheesecake and tiramisu while shopping. But now I make sure not to put them in my shopping cart. I try not to look at them, even though I can feel them looking at me. And these are the alternatives that basically saved me when I stopped eating sweet snacks. Because honestly, it's not easy to suddenly have no snacks or desserts at all. I don't know if you can relate, but whenever I eat something spicy, my sweet cravings go crazy. So here are my little craving saviors. Lemon water. I squeeze one lemon into water, and it instantly refreshes my tongue and resets my palate from craving sweets. Homemade matcha with just one teaspoon of maple syrup. Salty nuts. Simple, but so satisfying. Fruits I love, like apples or kiwi. These helped me so much when I wanted just a little something without going back to sugary snacks. No crave method. Three rules. Some of you watching this might be thinking, I don't eat desserts anyway. Why is this such a big deal? And others might be thinking, I want to cut out sweets, snacks, and soda pop. But how do you actually do it? We're all different when it comes to our eating habits. But I want to share a few tips I learned during my sugar cut challenge. So what I did was incorporate the three rules of my no crave method. It's basically about setting up a situation where you naturally crave sugar less, or even stop craving it altogether. Number one. The first one is the five minute craving delay rule. When a craving hits, you don't fight it, you delay it. Set a timer for five minutes. During this time, you must leave your room or the kitchen. Most cravings usually hit at the same time and in the same place. So changing your location is a powerful way to interrupt that pattern. And do something completely unrelated to food. Call a family member or friend, or just step outside for fresh air. The craving usually fades. Just handle one craving at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow's sugar cravings. Why does this work? Most cravings are fleeting. By delaying them and changing your environment, you break the emotional link to sugar. And in nine out of ten times, the intense feeling disappears before the timer goes off. Number two. The second one is what I call the high standard for a dessert rule. Kind of like Anton Ego in the movie Ratatouille. This was a powerful needle mover for me. Because whenever I told myself I couldn't have desserts at all, I crave them even more. But having a high standards for desserts freed me from that feeling of restriction. And helped me voluntarily eat less sugar. When I think if I don't truly love this dessert, I'm not swallowing it. I stop eating sugary things just to satisfy a craving. And I naturally end up eating much less sugar overall. Just in case you haven't watched Ratatouille, that was a famous line from Anton Ego. I mentioned earlier how my perception of sweets has changed a lot since then. Now I actually can't handle things that are too sweet. Some of this might be just me getting older. But many studies show that when you cut down on sugar, your taste buds reset. And after a while, the same desserts start to taste way too sweet. So as you reduce your sweet snacks and desserts, you naturally reinforce the high standard for dessert rule by asking yourself, is this dessert really worth it? Meaning even at special occasions like a close friend's birthday or a party, you can take a small bite for social reasons. But if it's not like, wow, this is one of the best tiramisu I've ever had, then put down your fork. Don't keep eating just because you're craving sugar. One bite is enough. I still enjoy cheesecake or tiramisu. But very rarely, usually on a meaningful occasions like an anniversary. However, I intentionally try to keep a very high standard for these once in a while treat days. I would rather have a small portion of really good dessert than a large amount of something mediocre. Don't get me wrong. This high standard applies only to sweets for this specific health reason. I don't have high standards for things like luxury clothes, bags or anything like that. Number three. The third one is the protein first rule, especially for breakfast. I don't know if you already knew this, but the order in which you eat the same foods can make a big difference in reducing sugar spikes. This is a typical breakfast we have in our home. Here's the order I used to eat my breakfast. A bite of white bread, then everything else all mixed together. And here's how I eat it now. First, eggs, edamame or vegetables, then sourdough and finally fruits like an apple. Start with protein or vegetables, especially ones high in fiber and then have your bread, rice or other carbs afterward because protein and healthy fats can help support steadier blood sugar levels at the start of the day. This may help prevent the usual spike, crash, crave cycle many people experience. And for me personally, this approach has also helped reduce my afternoon sugar urges as well. I don't want this video to feel like pressure to take on yet another challenge of cutting sweets or dessert, especially if that's something you enjoy a lot. That's not my intention at all. However, if you feel that now might be a right time for you to try consuming a little less sugar, I hope sharing my experiences in this video helps you take that step. I want to wrap this up with one important pitfall to watch out for if you decide to start. The trap of guilt. You'll most likely slip up a few days in. I did too. And that's okay. Just tell yourself, it's okay, let me try again today and then try again the next day. In my experience, self-compassion works far better than self-resentment. This is ongoing work. Sugar is literally everywhere in today's world. So it's hard, but not impossible. Don't give up. Just keep trying. And over time, you can even learn to enjoy the process itself because that's what leads to long-term progress. That's all for today. Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the next video. Bye.