I Gave Up Sugar for 1 Week. Here's What Happened.

Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Bubby and Bean possible. This sponsored post was written by me on behalf of Prevention.com.

I'm going to come right out and confess that while I generally consider myself to be a healthy person when it comes to food choices, December and January were the worst two months I can remember in terms of letting myself slip with food. I'd worked hard in the fall to shed the rest of my baby weight and increase my energy and stamina by focusing on consuming lots of veggies, fruits, and healthy proteins - and it was pretty easy for me to find the motivation to do this considering we had a beach vacation coming up in early December where I'd be wearing a bathing suit for the first time since before getting pregnant in 2015. But as soon as we returned from our trip and the lure of holiday season treats was before me, I instantly lost all will power and began consuming any and every form of sugar (which is truly my greatest weakness when it comes to food) put in front of me. Once January arrived, I had a full-blown sugar addiction. Winter's awful weather and short days only fueled my cravings, and I was left feeling bloated, tired, and sick. It was time to make a change.

I knew from past experience that the most successful way for me to create new healthy habits for myself is to start small. I'd also recently learned about Prevention.com's #SpreadTheHealth Healthy Habits Challenge, which consists of simple, one-week challenges in key areas (Nourish, Connect, Move, Grow, and Relax) that ultimately have the potential to create more profound, long-term health improvements. So I decided to focus on the Nourish Category and give up sugar for one week. This commitment would mean eliminating all refined sugars and artificial sweeteners, but would also include going without "healthy" or organic sweeteners (evaporated cane juice, honey, maple syrup, etc.). I would also focus on eating whole foods (including fruit, which contains fiber that helps to body to more slowly digest the natural sugars it contains) as much as possible. I'd done clean eating challenges before, but I had never gone from consuming such an extreme sugar-laden diet to completely excluding it from the foods I ate. And in the end, I was quite surprised with the results.

You can read all about my experience with eliminating sugar, including the obstacles I faced, the lessons and I learned, and what happened in the end over on Prevention.com. And I highly encourage you, my friends and readers, to join me and take a challenge of your own, then share your experience on social media using the hashtag #SpreadTheHealth. I think you'll be amazed at how greatly a short, simple effort can affect your overall well being!

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