Every year I give up sugar as part of my Lent observation.  Yes, for 40 days, I said no to anything that contained white sugar, processed sugar, fake or artificial sweeteners and even beer and wine.  It's not as difficult as it sounds, it just takes some will power and a bit of mind control to avoid that spoonful of sugar.

Let me be clear.  I gave up most sugars.  I allowed myself to use honey and maple syrup in place of the sugars I mentioned.  I ate a lot of dried fruits for snacks, increased my protein sources such as peanut butter and did a lot of bananas and oranges, as well as other in-season US grown fruits and veggies.

So how did I do?  Pretty well.  I can honestly say, I lost 8 pounds, slept better, had more energy and had a renewed attitude about working out and sticking to a regular program.

40 days is a long time.  A friend of mine linked me an article of Facebook about someone who gave up sugars for a year and actually wrote a book about it and was recently featured in "TIME."  Eve O. Schaub's book "Year Without Sugar," is on my read list the next time I hit the beach.

Now that I look back, it was clear that I was putting too much sugar in my body and the 40 day trial was a real eye opener for me.  If you try it for a week, 10 or 40 days, let me know if you agree.

 

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