What I'm eating Wednesday .. Sugar Free September!

9 more days to go until Sugar Free September starts again! 
Are you going to join me?

I know the idea fills you with fear!  How are you possibly going to last a WHOLE month without sugar?!

It's really not too bad actually .. Instead of craving sugar at the end of the month you will be craving whole, fresh, unprocessed foods! How bad can that be?

So why participate in SFS?

There are so many processed foods that make up part of our daily diet. 
These processed foods are quite often filled with sugar to give them taste and make them last longer. Many of the added sugars don't have any benefit in your diet except to add extra calories that you just don't need! If sugar wasn't added to the foods they would have no taste .. Not like a fresh meal cooked from scratch at home!

Recently in the media sugar has been almost entirely blamed for the high instances of diabetes and obesity in Australia. In my opinion, sugar cannot be solely responsible for these numbers, but the increased amounts of refined sugars being added to foods is certainly not helping our addiction to sugary sweet foods and it is certainly not keeping us lean and healthy.

Enough of the serious stuff! Let's move on to the nitty gritty of Sugar Free September ... Fit Mum style! 

Last year I went hard core for the whole month ( except for one little slice of cheesecake for my sister's birthday ).  Have a read of last year's wrap up here. This time I'm not going to be quite so hard core. I'm going to let the reigns go just a little bit .. Not much but a little!

Here's my list of can eats and can't eats ...

A couple of notes to the above pic ...
  • No artificial sweetners .. they're worse than the real thing!
  • If you really want to you can use a SMALL amount of honey, maple syrup, golden syrup, agave nectar and stevia if you wish
  • Watch out for the '...ose' ingredients ie glucose, maltose, dextrose etc
  • Check out the ingredients on sauces, dressings etc .. The best option for dressing is just balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil
  • Ultimately, do what works for you!  Something is better than nothing!
  • Don't panic or stress about what you can and can't have that's not the point!
Number 1 rule .. Eat whole, fresh, unprocessed foods as much as possible!

Don't think that there will be nothing you can eat because this certainly won't be the case!  This is where you need to get creative! I'll post some of my favourite no sugar snacks and meals. I'm also going to do some more experimenting with baking with no sugar for the kids! I've had a few successes so I'll roll these out for you too!

Please remember that no one is perfect and making these changes will take some getting used to. All I'm asking is that you participate to the best of your ability.  

Being mindful of WHAT you are eating and what is IN the food you are eating is a great place to start!

Let me know by commenting if you will be joining me .. Don't be shy you won't be the only one!   Or, check in with Fit Mum on Facebook and let me know how you are going! There's already a hash tag on Twitter if you are following there #sugarfreeseptember.

Woohoo!! Who's excited to start Sugar Free September!!







10 comments:

kel said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

I think this is a great idea!
I just love reading your posts, as a new subscriber to your blog, you inspire me to get out and have a go.
I love this point that you made:

"Ultimately, do what works for you! Something is better than nothing!"

That's how i feel about my whole exercise and life balance situation. I try not to get down but think about the positivity.

I'm totally not looking forward to the sugar craving headaches that may come with the challenge.

Thankyou for your time that you spend educating us and encouraging us.
xx kel

Vicki said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

@kel Thanks so much Kel! I am so glad that you are getting out and giving it a go .. that's all I ask! I'm sure you be fine doing Sugar Free .. baby steps! Make sure you let me know how you are going! x

Karla {Ironmum Karla} said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Oh good luck with that Vicki!! Look forward to hearing about the challenge!!

Vicki said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

@Karla {Ironmum Karla} Thanks Karla .. in a strange way I'm actually looking forward to it! X

Deb said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Not sure I'll be joining you - I probably need to focus on minimising my junk food intake again... So a modified version of Sugarless September!

Deb

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

SFS is so interesting!! I was never so bold for Sugar free September but then I’m impressed with your list of can eats and can’t eats. Moreover, I like your statement- Being mindful of WHAT you are eating and what is IN the food you are eating is a great place to start! This lets me get going for SFS. Hey, do share your favourite no sugar snacks and meals. Wish me luck for going sugar free.

resveratrol

Vicki said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

@Noel Nelson Hi Noel! Good luck with your SFS .. I will be sharing some recipes as I go along with some of my meals and snacks!

Vicki said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

@Mademoiselle Slimalicious Hi MSlim .. Balsamic vinegar has no added sugar at all .. yay! I may miss my sweet chilli dressing this month ;)

Linda Carmical said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

I just found out about this challenge! I'm in!!

Vicki said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

@Linda Carmical So glad you are joining us Linda! Keep me up to date on how you are going x