I went on a week-long sugar fast and I’ve never felt better!

Who doesn’t love eating mithai and the most indulgent cheesecakes? Well, there’s no harm enjoying these treats, but what if it becomes a habit? What if you just can’t go without these foods? Well, that’s what happened to me. It was sometime last year, in the middle of the pandemic that I began to nosh on sweets every single day. Weeks turned into months, and months into one whole year! It’s not that I didn’t try to stop myself from going overboard, but I feel my willpower wasn’t as strong, and it was a vicious cycle. 

If I may say, I turned into a sugar addict. And I had to do something about it! That’s when I decided to quit sugar. There are some who believe in moving to moderate quantities, but for someone like me who can’t follow the middle path, I had to go cold turkey, which meant I had to completely eliminate sugar from my life. 

It’s only been one week, but I can’t express how this has been one of the best decisions of my life. That’s because I already see a difference. 

I feel less fatigued

Since I am a part of the media industry, I have to chase deadlines all day long! That means my stress levels are always touching the roof. In the past, every time I felt low or stressed, it was almost instinctive for me to reach out to a bar of chocolate or binge on some of my favourite chocolate-laden desserts. Sometimes, it got so bad that I would end up eating the entire tub of ice-cream. This week, I decided to stay away from anything sweet! 

The first step was to remove all kinds of sweets from my house! Trust me, my heart broke into a million pieces, but you gotta do what you gotta do!

The first two days were hard, I can’t lie. I felt so tempted to order in or just go ahead and break my sugar fast. But I was firm, and decided to just have a few sips of warm water, every time sugar cravings hit me. Guess what? It worked! 

The third day wasn’t as bad, and there wasn’t a strong urge to eat anything sweet. But what surprised me the most were my energy levels! I was juggling a million deadlines, and the last week was harder than most others, yet I was brimming with energy. What that means is that I was stressed, but not tired. I am certain if I had binged on sugar, I would have been super exhausted, because that would happen all the time! 

My skin looked healthier

I have been fortunate enough to have problem-free skin for most part of my life. But lately, I started observing dark circles, pigmentation and fine lines. For the longest time, I didn’t realise that sugar is the culprit. It’s only been a week of not consuming sugar, and my skin looks so much better! I won’t say it has magically transformed, but it doesn’t look as dull as it would. 

Imagine I would take care of my skin by following a proper routine, and I always thought maybe the products aren’t working. It is only now that I realise that it’s your internal health that reflects on your face. 

Also, did I tell you my fine lines have started reducing?  I would say it’s a miracle! I mean we don’t even realise how much harm sugar causes to our body. 

The last word

In the last week, I have felt a whole lot of differences. First of all, my bloating has gone down, my face looks a little less puffy, my energy levels have gone up, and my mood has been way better! I certainly plan to carry on with this no-sugar experiment, because I doubt my body will be able to take in copious amounts of sugar now. Neither would I want to go back to that lifestyle.