On January 31st, I decided to undertake a special assignment - no sugar for 30 days.  At the 25-day marker, I have not munched any sweets or treats, cakes or cookies, ice cream or soda.....and it feels pretty damn good!

The goal of this, some would say torturous, exercise was to move toward more conscious eating and food choices.  For as long as I remember, I've had cravings for sweets and was always quick to satisfy them, however I could. 

Sometimes, if I was desperate, I would find creative ways to get sugar, eating anything sweet I could find.  Like what?  Well here are some examples:

• chocolate chips out of the bag by the handful
• strawberry jam from the jar with a spoon
• honey on crackers or straight from the jar
• chocolate syrup from the bottle (yum! still like this one)

Also, I was always keen to lick my dessert plate clean.  Not pretty.  But you get the point.

Here are some new observations about 25 days without sweet, sweet sugar.

Cravings

I have had cravings for sugar over the past 2 weeks.  They were strongest in the afternoon, usually about 30 minutes after lunch.  But that was also a standard craving time for me all along. 

The cravings have been there, but they aren't as intense as I expected them to be.  I also had cravings when others around me were eating something delicious I couldn't have.  Not terribly shocking. 

In all honesty, I was expecting some much bigger cravings and exercises in will power.  Now, I've had to resist temptation once or twice (mid-afternoons, alone in the house with very few groceries and a tub of ice cream in the freezer), but it hasn't been unbearably hard.  I would label it more of a nuissance.

Appetite

I have noticed an increase in my appetite, especially in the first 2 weeks of this experiment.  It seems I was looking to replace some of the calories I was missing.  I would find myself eating more at meal times, going for larger 2nd helpings, as well as eating larger breakfasts.  In the past week, these urges to eat more have tapered off somewhat. 

Snacking

I've always been a good snacker and I continue to eat good snacks during the day.  The difference is, I'm aiming for healthier snacks.  I enjoy apples or cantalope for a sweeter healthy snack.  Lots of nuts and raw almonds as usual.

Agave

Although I'm avoiding maple syrup and honey, I wanted to take the opportunity to experiment with other natural sugar replacements.  We packed a bottle of agave nectar on our vacation to sample.  At first, I wasn't sure about it - I mean it comes from cactus!  But it turns out to be an excellent product.

By day 3 of the trip, our whole family was using agave instead of sugar!  It is especially good in coffee!  I found it nice to mix a teaspoon of agave into a bowl of plain yogurt or some hot cereal.  Juanita used it successfully in a marinade one night, as a replacement for honey.

Agave is a very nice natural sweetener.  It has a sweet, caramel taste, but the sweetness is much subtler than sugar and honey.  It dissolves quickly and mixes nicely in liquids.  Many raw foodists prefer it over honey as it is produced in a way that protects the natural enzymes.

And, it's very affordable.

If you haven't tried it, I recommend picking some up to do some experimentation.

With only a few days left in my sugar fast, I'm feeling very good about my diet.  My energy levels are great and my conscience is happy too!

See you at the finish line!

What are you favourite sugar substitutes?  Have you tried agave nectar or do you prefer honey or maple syrup?