1 Month Sugar-Free: Week One

Hi y'all! I'd like to introduce a bit about myself and why I chose to challenge myself to 1 month without sugar . Since exactly one year ago, I lost 9kg. I'd like to lose another 3. I started using MFP, and realized that every day I was overeating my sugar limit , and the reason for it was - fruit, honey, date syrup, maple syrup, and "hidden" white sugar in sauces/processed foods!
There are several approaches to quitting sugar. If you are hard-core addicted, it might be a better idea to methodically decrease your sugar intake bit by bit. But as for me, I have decided to go cold turkey for one month (at least) after a huge sugar binge of cake and brownies last Wednesday on my mom's birthday .

My personal challenge: stop eating any white/brown sugar, honey, date syrup, maple syrup, etc. and limit myself to 1-2 servings of fruit a day.

So, how was my Week One?
Pretty damn easy. Although I miss honey in my morning oatmeal, I find that adding one flavorful fruit and savoring its natural sweetness is enough for me. Especially if you cook/bake the fruit - baked apples (with tasty cinnamon) taste sweeter than fresh apples! I have found that this week when I did have fruit, I was able to savor the flavor a lot better, instead of chowing it down mindlessly and craving more and more sweet foods afterwards (like I did before).

In addition to feeling more satisfied with less sweetness, I find that I do not crave it in my meals anymore. Instead, I often crave caffeine and salt these days! However, I am currently not on a one-month caffeine or salt-free challenge, so I will accept these cravings and satisfy them (within a reasonable healthy range) for now.

As I quit sugar and limited fruit , my intuition tells me I should be filling my meals with carbs of other sources. So, I have been eating more whole and satisfying grains in order to reach my nutritional goals .

When I do crave sugar late at night, I have had a piece of sugar-free gum, which has a very strong flavorful presence in my mouth and stops the craving completely.

Is anyone else willing to try this challenge with me? I will update every week. Please share your experiences / thoughts in the comments! See you next week !