You know the suction device the dentists use to suck out all the saliva out your mouth as they clean your teeth? It just sucks all that saliva in one “shwooop” when you close your mouth? That’s what I felt like happened to my body. All that excess body weight just “shwooped” off my body, and all that mental fog that was clouding up my mind felt like it was sucked out.

Couple months ago, I made the decision to cut out all sugars— added sugars, artificial sugars, and natural sugars as part of a personal experiment. This was not for dieting purposes with the intent of losing weight though. This was a lifestyle change I knew I had go through because I was consuming just way too much sugar. And somehow, I managed to cut out all these sugars out of my life for 2 months.

In the end, it was one of the best decisions I made for myself, physically and mentally.

Here’s all about my sugar free journey.

I’ll share as much detail as I can—I mean this entire blog is called ahnesty, so I’m sticking to my word!— including
before and after pictures of my body (unedited) and snapshots of my sugar free meals.

Topics Covered

Sugar is that bad.
how it all started
How I Cut Out Sugar
Sugar Free meals
Challenges
The Results! before & after Pictures
am i still sugar free?
Tips

sugar is that bad. Period.

Sugar is poison. It is a chronic, dose-dependent…hepato (liver) toxin. The metabolic diseases that are associated with obesity—the diabetes, the heart disease, the lipid problems, the strokes, the cancer—those diseases are being driven by sugar.
-Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics | University of California, San Francisco

We all have our vices to release some tension and stress. And mine slowly turned into sugar.

I always felt the need to eat something sweet after every meal. But beyond that, I looked for sugar for every emotion I felt. I ate sugar to celebrate. I ate sugar when I deserved it. I ate sugar when I felt down. I ate sugar when I was stressed. I ate sugar when I was bored. I ate sugar when I was [insert every emotion]. At times of high stress, I found myself subconsciously looking for sugar. I was consuming too much sugar because I was addicted.

I’m making it sound like sugar is some drug… But at the same time, sugar is like a drug.

When we consume sugar, surges of dopamine is released in our brain. There’s enough research indicating that it hijacks our brain to form an addictive behavior if consumed above the safe threshold. I won’t dive into the negative health effects of sugar— it’s quite obvious and the documentary I discuss below highlights that well. We all know sugar is simply bad and addicting.

Granted, I didn’t binge on sugar to the point where I became overweight. In fact, my starting weight (detailed more later) at the beginning of this entire journey would be considered healthy from a physical point of view. Some people questioned why I was cutting out sugar when I looked “fine”.

Inside, I knew I was consuming way too much sugar. I could feel my body telling me to do something. I felt gross, sluggish, and groggy. I knew my body deserved much better. I needed to do better.

So I cut out all sugar, and it was as simple as that.

I stumbled upon the documentary, Fed Up (2014), on a sleepless night. After watching the entire documentary that night, I woke up the next morning feeling determined to eliminate sugar out of my diet.

Fed Up is an American documentary that highlights the harmful effects of sugar, lack of governmental guidelines, and issues with the food industry, to which the documentary makes claims that these all aggravate the obesity epidemic.

I personally watched this documentary to learn about the effects of sugar—not so much about the obesity epidemic and how we should solve it, as the latter is a bit more controversial and debatable.

Politics aside, the documentary explains the biochemistry and harmful effects of sugar very well. I highly recommend watching the documentary as it will better explain why I cut out sugar. If it wasn’t for this documentary, I wouldn’t have felt so motivated to cut out sugar.

The documentary is coincidentally free to watch on YouTube right now, linked above.

how i cut out sugar

Before I dive into how I did it, it’s important to provide some background information on myself and what I was dealing with during this time. These are just some things to keep in mind; the caveats.

I’m 5’4 & my weight at the start of this journey was 110lbs.
I don’t crave savory foods. I don’t crave fruits.
I only drink water. No soda or juice.
I enjoy cooking meals over eating out.
I eat small portions.
I take supplements/vitamins, as recommended by my primary doctor.
I exercise regularly.
I had just adopted my dog, MayBee, so I was very busy juggling this new creature into my life and work.
Due to high stress, I did not have a regular menstruation cycle during this sugar free journey. I mention this because the absence of a period helped a lot, despite the health repercussions of this condition.
- Some women, including myself, have strong cravings and binging episodes right before their period (y’all girls know what I am talking about— these PMS cravings are the WORST and uncontrollable), but because this wasn’t occurring, I had no PMS cravings for any sweetness because there was no period.

After watching the documentary, the first thing I did was acknowledge that I was addicted to sugar and that the amounts of sugar I was consuming was not healthy.

Sure, 110lbs (my starting weight) is considered “healthy”, but the number on the scale is incredibly arbitrary.
I can be 110lbs of pure muscle or 110lbs of sugar and gluttony. And I was definitely the latter, seen below in the before & after pics.

I read a lot of published research articles, medical articles, and people’s experiences with being sugar free.

I learned that overall, cutting out sugar would bring me a lot of benefits like:

Improved Health
Healthier Weight
Newly, ‘resetted’ taste to sugar; so when you do consume sugar again, it will taste TOO sweet

That last bullet point— tastebuds resetting to what it was like before ever introducing sugar, was the ultimate grand prize for me. I wanted to be able to take a bite of a cake and respond with a, “Woah woah, this is WAY too sweet, I can’t eat this”.

I figured it was better for me to cut out all sugars at once because that would end any withdrawal symptoms faster. I suppose this is just a part of my personality— once I commit to something, I’m either all in or all out.

I also learned that sugar can hide behind many names on nutrition labels, so I knew going into this that I would have to be wary of what was listed on every nutrition label of the foods I was considering to consume, and to avoid foods with these ingredients. Fed Up touches upon this in further detail, which is why I recommend watching the documentary. It’s important to understand what the ingredients mean, and what foods we choose to consume.

The many names of sugar includes:

Our body metabolizes all sugars the same way. Whether you eat white sugar or some fancy, raw honey— all that sweetness is metabolized the same way. So really, when you add a shit ton of honey to some healthy food, it’s the exact same thing to adding in spoonfuls of white sugar, to put it into perspective. Too much sugar, in any form, is dangerous, even if it’s replaced with something that is often marketed as healthier.

Natural sugar has a different story—I’m talking about natural sugar from whole foods like fruits and vegetables. The natural sugar we consume from these whole foods is still processed the same way as added sugar, but the fibers in those foods mitigate the negative effects of the natural sugar, keeping it healthy and balanced if consumed in moderation.

As for artificial sugars, I didn’t read much about it as I don’t consume artificial sugars. So cutting this out wasn’t an issue.

So with all of this in mind, my plan was to to cut out all sugars (added sugar, natural sugar, and artificial sugar) cold turkey, for however long I needed to, in hopes of gaining some balanced normalcy when consuming sugar.

And so I did just that. I cut out all sugars.

The first 3 days weren’t easy. I wanted sweet treats really badly, and I became easily agitated. If you’re a woman, imagine your PMS symptoms magnified by 10x. If you’re a man, imagine your girlfriend/best gal pal on her period, but 10x worse. Not fun, indeed.

This was me dealing with the withdrawal symptoms of cutting out sugar. Despite these challenges, I was really determined, so I didn’t give in and reminded myself why I was doing this. Once the first day passed, I just told myself, “Okay I was able get through the first day. Let’s get through this second day, and not waste all the challenges I was able to overcome the first day”.

Once those 3 days passed, withdrawal symptoms slowly diminished. My body did all the talking, and it felt like second nature now. I naturally no longer gravitated towards sweet foods, and it felt effortless—there was no “willpower” that I had to channel because I simply didn’t crave sweet foods any more. It was just a matter of making sugar free meals now.

sugar free Meals

Diet was a huge part of this cleanse, if not, the main responsibility I had to make sure was in check. There’s not much to talk about though because it was simple…I just ate foods that didn’t contain sugar, and this entailed a lot home cooking.

I was careful by avoiding sugars that weren’t explicitly labeled simply as “sugar”. Mentioned earlier, I had to read every nutrition label and make sure that I understood what each ingredient meant in order to avoid hidden sugars.

My phone was always charged before I went to the grocery store so I could google these ingredient terms while grocery shopping.

But few things have to be noted and made as exceptions especially when it comes to natural sugars. While I cut out all sugars, natural foods still have a very small traces of sugar that I simply cannot avoid for the sake of my health.

For example, 1 cup of broccoli has about 2 grams of natural sugar. Non-fat Greek yogurt has about 4 grams of natural sugars per 2/3 cup serving. These are sugars that are impossible to avoid, so I accepted that I was going to consume small traces of it.

I avoided all sweet fruits though, except fruits like bell pepper, tomatoes, and avocado. I still ate carbohydrates like Ezekiel bread, corn tortillas, and rolled oatmeal. I take supplements everyday, so keep that in mind as well.

At first glance, my sugar free meals look unappetizing because they are for the average Joe. But as my body got used to not being fed sugar— I naturally gravitated towards healthy whole foods, and they started to taste amazing without all the added sugars. I no longer craved sugary foods, but just wanted some good, hearty meal when I got hungry. I wasn’t food focused anymore. I ate food not for that sweet taste I once desired, but because I needed fuel and energy.

I could feel my body being cleansed, and naturally signaling me to find the right foods now that my brain wasn’t being hijacked by sugar. It was like my body went from, “Hey Sarah! You’re stressed! GO FIND SUGAR, NOW!” to, "Hey Sarah, you need some energy. Go eat something healthy so you can get fueled and ready the day”. Kind of amazing, right?

Here’s a small snapshot of some of my meals. All meals were homemade. I created recipes for some of them as my blog is also a food blog.

Sugar free Snacks

I’m a huge snacker, but I was severely limited with what I could snack on. A lot of processed snacks have added sugars in it. Due to this limitation, I snacked much less.

The snacks below became my staples. All of these snacks are healthy, and gave me that “crunch” I wanted.

Popcorn
- A snack I highly recommend especially at night. It helps you fall asleep, and it’s healthy if popped fresh at home. My favorite brand is Trader Joe’s.
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
- Season it with Mexican seasonings, and my Dorito cravings were solved. Recipe here.
Baked Tortilla Chips
- Not that store-bought tortilla chips have added sugar… these are such a great alternative to classic tortilla chips that are fried. Recipe here.
100% Dark Chocolate
- I used to think 100% dark chocolate was way too bitter, but it tasted like a treat once sugar was cut out! My favorite brand is from Trader Joe’s.

Baked Tortilla Chips (Recipe Here) — **Baked Tortilla Chips** (Recipe Here)

Don’t get me wrong though. I’m human, and I still ate processed snacks that did not contain sugar (hard to find though). There was only one snack that I enjoyed, and it was these Tajin chips that surprisingly didn’t have any added sugars.

Screen Shot 2020-04-04 at 7.42.44 PM.png

I kept at it, and continued making sugar free meals, and it continued on for 2 months. It was a simple new lifestyle I had adapted to.

Challenges

Nonetheless, there were challenges I faced that are worth mentioning because they were reoccurring. They really weren’t that bad, but still took some bit of dedication to overcome.

Not being able to eat my Mom’s food

This was the hardest challenge. My Mom makes delicious Korean foods every day. Unfortunately, most of her dishes have about 1 teaspoon of some sort of sweeter added for about 5 servings, which is a really small amount per 1 serving.

I still turned them all down.

Korean Food made by my Mother Korean Food Recipes — Korean Food made by my Mother
Korean Food Recipes

Socializing

Food is a huge part of socializing, and there were 2 instances that depicted this challenge well.

My friends and I went out to eat. I ordered a meal without added sugar. At the end of dinner, they ordered a huge dessert for all of us to eat. They enjoyed it, and really wanted me to try it.

&

I went over to my best friend’s home. Her Mom had just made some delicious persimmon cookies. The cookies were just staring at me. And I was just staring at the cookies. And people were staring at me as they all ate the cookies, for staring at the cookies. It was actually quite comical.

Instances like these were challenging at first, but I just stuck to what I promised and was really upfront about it with others.

I told people what I was doing, and I was honest. I suggested various hangout ideas that didn’t involve just eating out, like going on a hike and having a picnic with homemade meals. Picnics, by the way, are always a cute and fun idea. All my friends liked it a lot because we were trying something new.

Or I joined them at restaurants, and found ways to eat with them while sticking to sugar free foods.

The more open I was about it, the easier it became.

For example, my friend and I celebrated a birthday not with cake, but with a lot of tacos!

Results | Before & after pictures

I like clothes now. I have more energy. I sleep better. My sex drive is up. Blood's flowing. I'm less susceptible to impulse. I'm in a different mode. What you want is instant results when you're out of shape. But when you're in shape, you know it's the result of doing a little bit every day. Moments aren't just moments. A moment might be a week or a month.
- Chris Pratt, Actor

You now the suction device the dentists use to suck out all the saliva out your mouth as they clean your teeth? It just sucks all that saliva in one “shwooop” when you close your mouth? That’s what I felt like happened to my body. All that excess body weight just “shwooped” off my body, and all that mental fog that was clouding up my mind felt like it was sucked out.

The moment we’ve been waiting for! What were the results? There were 2 areas that drastically improved— my physique and mentality.

Physically, I dropped a lot of weight. I was eating healthier, snacking less, exercising, and I no longer had any sweet cravings. Weight dropped without much thought. I lost 13lbs total. 110lbs down to 97lbs.

Disclaimer: Please don’t automatically assume 97lbs is healthy.

97lbs may be a healthy weight for someone that is petite, like my Mom. However, this was underweight for me, as noted by my primary doctor. I dropped weight FAST by cutting out sugar, that I became underweight before I knew it as my cravings for food diminished. I consulted with my doctor, and we agreed that I needed to increase my food intake; my weight has since increased in the range of 100-105lbs and has been assessed by my doctor. I mentioned “for me” because every body is different. The number on the scale is arbitrary and heavily depends per individual.

Clothes fit better, and my body felt good, energized, and pure. I felt confident with myself, inside and out.

But beyond the physical changes, I felt better mentally. Granted, I don’t attribute this solely to cutting out sugar. But I do believe that my efforts to take care of myself was affecting me positively, to which, changing my diet was one of the biggest contributors.

After only a week of cutting out sugar, I felt as though I was finally awake. I no longer napped, and I naturally felt caffeinated and ready for the sun to rise each day. I was focused, motivated, wholehearted, and energized. My overall outlook on life improved dramatically. These statements alone do not give these benefits enough justice.

That’s why cutting out sugar became second nature and overcoming challenges was not as difficult as I anticipated it to be—I was reaping all these benefits.

Eventually, I felt like I reached the end of this sugar free journey 2 months later.

Am I still sugar free?

I eventually decided to gradually introduce sugar back into my diet after 2 months of being sugar free. For me personally, I don’t want to be sugar-free for my entire life. It’s simply not sustainable for my lifestyle.

Overall, I think the best diet is no diet. And to eat in moderation, not deprivation.

I was quite curious and excited to see how my body would react to sugar when I reintroduced it. Considering that my mint waxed floss (yes, the floss we use for our teeth) tasted absurdly sweet, I was eager to know how it would be when I consumed actual sugar.

I took it slow, as I didn’t want to shock my body by reintroducing it with refined sugars, so I started off with natural sugars.

The first food I ate with sugar was an Rx Bar. It has no refined sugar, but a lot of natural sugars from the dates (14g of natural sugar).

It was unbelievably sweet. I couldn’t finish it.

Later that week, I took a bite of a persimmon, and to my surprise, I immediately spit it out. It was ridiculously too sweet.

I had some cake to celebrate a birthday a few days later. This would be the first time consuming added refined sugar. I only had one small slice, but my stomach was not used to all the added sugars. I ended up enduring a stomach ache that night. Stomach aches regularly occurred as I ate foods with a lot of added sugars.

I could now only handle very limited amounts of added sugars. It was clear that the tastebuds I had before I was addicted to sugar had returned. I was very happy about this!

It’s not to say my goal is 225 pounds. That’s not my goal. My goal is six months. It’s six months of consistency. Go to the gym, or do something every day for six months. See if I can do that. Make the goal, a consistency. Build up a bunch of consistency and make it more of a lifestyle, rather than seek out a weight goal.
- Chris Pratt, Actor

My goal, like Christ Pratt said above, was to cut out sugar for however long I needed to. I built up the consistency to cut my sugar addiction, absorbed the benefits it had for my body and overall health, and was able to reset my taste for sugar. It took 2 months of me not consuming sugar to finally understand what I needed to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

I now had all the sharpened tools to live a balanced lifestyle and learned to enjoy foods that may not be healthy for the body, but healthy for the soul in moderation.

And if it wasn’t for this experience, I don’t think I would have been able to optimize this new, balanced lifestyle.

Here’s the moment I welcomed sugar back into my life with Paige, my best pal!

I hope you enjoyed this read as much as I enjoyed writing it and sharing it.

Eat Well,
Sarah

Tips

If you’re considering reducing your intake of sugar or cutting it out completely, I really recommend you learn as much about sugar first. Read as much as you can, watch the documentary, and reflect.

Additionally, it’s not about motivation, but dedication. Motivation is fleeting. I felt motivated after watching Fed Up, but that motivation eventually disappeared. Trust me, I never feel motivated to work out everyday. I don’t feel motivated to brush my teeth either. I’m dedicated, not motivated. I’m dedicated to working out everyday, in the same way I’m dedicated to brushing my teeth everyday. I’m dedicated because this is what I need to do be healthy. I applied this same mentality to cutting out sugar.

As a disclaimer, I’m not a medical expert— this is just a share of my personal experience.

@ahnestkitchen | @s_sjniee

My Experience | Sugar Free for 2 Months

Sugar is that bad.how it all startedHow I Cut Out SugarSugar Free mealsChallengesThe Results! before & after Picturesam i still sugar free?Tips