“Can you eat fruit, on your diet?”

 

That’s probably the most common question I have been asked over the past few years.  I always answer in the same way: “I can eat whatever I want.  I’m not on a diet”

 

That’s true. 

 

I have never been on a diet in my life, I don’t believe in them. 

 

An all-round approach to healthy eating is better than ‘dieting’.

 

Another one is “I added honey to my breakfast – that’s allowed isn’t it?” 

 

My answer tends to be the same: “You can do what you want – it’s not a diet.”

 

But then I add a bit more: “However honey has the same effect on your body as sugar”

 

I suppose I eat a ‘Sugar Free Diet’ but I don’t ‘do’ one.  I have not gone into this to lose weight. 

 

I have lost weight – but that’s a side effect of massively reducing my sugar intake.  I must admit people are really dubious when I first mention to them that I don’t eat sugar.

 

You can see the disbelief on their face – then the thought that is so clear in their expression: “what a strange thing to do – I don’t need to do that”. 

 

Then the guilt.  “Oh, yes perhaps I do.  I know I should but I don’t want to” and finally the fear “I would never be able to do that.  But we need to eat sugar, don’t we?”

 

A few people have been inspired though, some after they have heard the benefit I have felt since going Sugar Free and others since seeing the physical result – my body shape has changed and I have been told on numerous occasions that I look radiant, that my face glows and that I look ‘really well’.

 

Others have taken steps to reducing their sugar and carb intake and have reported feeling better and losing some weight around the middle.

 

Quite a few people have told me over the past few months that now they are now more aware of the sugar content in food and that they actively try to reduce the daily sugar they eat and drink.

 

Some people have stopped adding sugar to hot drinks, others have stopped eating sweets and chocolate and some have totally eliminated sugar from their diet.

 

One colleague is completely ‘sugar free’ like me, she no longer suffers with any tummy aches or headaches.  She has been avoiding sugar for about 5 months. 

 

We work in the same office and I suppose the lack of sugar in our diets has rubbed off on each other… we do eat differently though, she is happy to eat the usual amount of carbohydrates and some low fat foods whereas I eat a smaller carb portion than ‘normal’ and have increased the fat content in my food.

 

Another colleague, just 5 or 6 weeks in to her sugar free journey, reported a reduction in hot flushes and has been sleeping better.

 

When people report to me that they’ve reduced or cut out sugar in one way or another I feel so pleased for them. 

 

When you know that just 1 teaspoon of sugar represses your immune system for up to 9 hours then you can’t help but think that every teaspoon eliminated is one step closer to a healthier body.

 

We often attribute our tiredness, lethargy, tendency to illness and headaches to being busy, stressed, maybe even due to overuse of computers or devices but I don’t think that’s true.

 

I think it’s down to our diet, and in particular our sugar intake. 

 

In fact, I’m certain and I know this because I feel like a different person since my sugar free life began.

 

I would not change it for anything.

 

First written by Tina in March 2016, and updated in August 2024.

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