A no sugar challenge just before the holidays, are you kidding me? Oh no, not kidding at all! This is a perfect time for our 5th No Sugar Challenge. As we prepare for all the sugar filled holidays this challenge is meant to help us be more aware of what goes into our bodies, now and throughout the year. Reading labels will become a BIG eye opener. NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP is splashed all over the front of package after package. Hold on….turn that package over and read the label. Food manufacturers are experts are consumer trickery. Almost without fail those same packages will contain sugar in form or another. Our challenge is about giving up any food that has sugar, in any form, added in. Veggies, milk and other healthy foods have naturally occurring sugars…so eat up! It’s only those processed foods with added sugar that is a “no” for our challenge.
So I’ve been talking about ‘our’ challenge. As always I’m partnering up with Tiffany over at The Gracious Panty to challenge you to give up added sugar for two short weeks. Tiffany and I have been crazy busy partnering up on writing a cookbook as well. Of course our book will have no refined sugar of any kind in our recipes.
Here’s some of the tools we’re giving you for the challenge:
1) Complete menus with recipe links.
2) Green nutrient rich, yummy smoothie recipes for everyday of the challenge.
3) Two workout challenges, one for beginners and one for those ready to kick it up a notch.
4) Support, motivation, encouragement and so much more.
Read on to get the all the juicy details with links that lead directly to more tools!
Here’s my 7 day meal plan. All recipes are underlined and attached to a link. Check out Tiffany of The Gracious Pantry’s meal plans.
How about a nutrient rich green smoothie for everyday of the challenge? Tiffany and I created 14 green, no-sugar added, Yummy smoothies. How can you possibly go wrong? You can’t!!! We decided to make life a whole lot easier over the next two weeks by giving you menus, a total body workout, green smoothies and loads of support & encouragement.
Check out our recipes below:
Green Smoothies for the No-Sugar-Challenge on my Fit Fabulous Forever site.
Green Smoothies for the No-Sugar-Challenge on Tiffany’s, The Gracious Pantry site.
For loads of support, encouragement and motivation you might just want to like us:
Facebook me by jumping here.
Facebook Tiffany by jumping here.
Here’s the guidelines for the No Sugar Challenge:
Fruit– One to two pieces of fruit per day are allowed. A small handful of unsweetened berries can be substituted for a piece of fruit. Although fruit has natural sugar it also has tons of nutritional value and is most definitely good for our health.
Processed Foods – We will be eliminating all added sugar whether it’s by itself or hidden among the other unhealthy ingredients in processed foods. Label reading is essential to have a successful two weeks without added sugar. Below you will find a comprehensive list of sugar by all sorts of names…you might be surprised.
Eliminate all added Sugar – The important thing to keep in mind is that all sugar –to include agave nectar, raw honey, sorghum, sucanat, cane syrup, molasses, maple syrup, etc.– can pack on the pounds. This is an opportunity to cleanse your body of all added sugar while having support and motivation from me, Tiffany and countless others who are on board with the challenge.
Artificial sweeteners or any packaged sweeteners are off limits too!
The average American eats up to three pounds of refined sugar per week– most of that being in processed foods –hidden under an assumed name. Here are some of the disguises sugar hides behind:
Brown Sugar, Sugar Honey, Sucrose, Corn Syrup, Molasses, Confectioner’s Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Date Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, Maltodextrin, Molasses Powder, Turbinado, Maple syrup, Glucose, Dextrin, Lactose, Fructose, Caramel, Fruit sugar, Maple Sugar, Dextrose, Chicory syrup, Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Cane Juice, Carob Sugar, Castor Sugar, Demerara Sugar, Galactose, Invert Sugar, Malt Syrup…
BONUS: As a certified fitness instructor, I thought it was important to have the whole package. Since you will be eliminating added sugar, why not begin a workout program as well? I have created a total body workout to get you started toward being in the best condition of your life.
So, from November 1st – November 14th we our joining together to eliminate all added sugar from our diets. The nice thing about making this a community effort is that we are there for each other, to motivate and just maybe talk each other through one or more of those nasty late night sugar cravings. Let’s support each other and make this happen!
Gale Compton
Fit Fabulous Forever
