‘If only I could stop!’ The slogan of the famous chocolate biscuit hits home for me in every aspect of my sugar cravings. From chocolate to biscuits, from ice cream to cakes, from confectionery to fruit gums – sweets are never a problem for me. From jam on bread in the morning to the last bar in the evening, I could actually eat sweets all the time, occasionally interrupted by a gherkin to neutralise the taste.

I'm so full, I can't even swallow a sip of water! ... Oh! A cake! Yes, I'd love a piece!"

Lately, however, I've noticed that I no longer feel comfortable with sweets. I've had a similar experience with fast food: I've often craved a burger and fries, but as soon as I've eaten it, I've felt awful: not really full, but no longer hungry, and always with the feeling that it was completely unnecessary. Lately, I've been noticing this more and more with my sugar consumption. A cupcake in honour, after which I lounge on the sofa like the Cheshire Cat and enjoy the pleasure? That's totally fine. But my compulsive craving for sweets after lunch and the packet of biscuits on the sofa in the evening is unnecessary.

Incidentally, back in the spring, I steadfastly refused to consider a sugar-free challenge. But now I realise that the time is right. I am going to cut sugar out of my diet.

4 weeks sugar-free – my challenge

Die Eckdaten:

• 4 weeks: Monday, 16 July to Sunday, 12 August 2018
• Sugar, honey, chocolate, biscuits, gummy bears, cakes and pies are ‘forbidden’.
• Jam and dried fruit are ‘suitable for emergencies’.
• Fruit is 'permitted' in any quantity.
• For me, one ‘lost day’ per week would be okay, i.e. if I fall back into sugar once a week, it's no big deal.

Probably the biggest challenges:

• The sweet craving after lunch, especially at the office
• Evening boredom in front of the television

Support:

• Friend Steph joins in too
• Our ‘support group’ on WhatsApp

Sugar-free week 1

What was most striking from the very beginning was how quickly I would mindlessly reach for the sweets at the checkout in the supermarket – without even really wanting them. Or, similarly, when I arrive at Wels train station after work, the thought ‘I could pick up something sweet from the bakery’ automatically pops into my head. Again, without even really wanting a sweet treat. It's amazing how automatically I function in this regard.

My sugar cravings are significantly lower than I anticipated at the beginning of the challenge. I notice the ‘withdrawal’ most at work after lunch, because that's when dessert was really well established. Or getting through the afternoon slump with a piece of cake – pure habit, which fortunately can be remedied with a latte macchiato.

For me, a classic time for snacking on sweets is in the evening on the sofa, which is a classic substitute for boredom. Carrots actually work just as well here, because it's all about keeping busy, not the sugar itself. In a pinch, a small glass of milk has also done the trick. And extending the evening dog walk is good for both Rocco and me.

Conclusion of week 1: Everything has been easy so far, and that's without a ‘cheat day’. I'm excited to see how it continues.

Sugar-free week 2

At the beginning of the week, I asked myself: Hey, where's the challenge here? It's so easy. I don't even eat ‘substitute drugs’ like crisps or use my ‘emergency products’, nor do I eat more than usual.

In any case, it was super easy until Wednesday. Wednesday evening was when I first cracked, while sitting on the sofa. After work, I went out for dinner at a wine tavern, which was fine. But when I got home, I had such a craving – I circled around the biscuits in the kitchen cupboard like a starving vulture. Spoiler alert: I persevered! However, it cost me the caloric equivalent of two additional dinners because I consumed everything else I could find in the refrigerator.

Since Thursday, it has become much easier again, and overall I feel much better. I no longer feel guilty after eating sweets, and I am really hungry again in the evenings now that I no longer snack in the afternoon.

A new discovery: I love the sweets at the supermarket checkout. That's because as a child I wasn't allowed to take anything from there, or if I did, it was only after begging and only rarely. For me, buying these chocolate bars and the like is a kind of liberation from childhood – I can and am allowed to buy them whenever I want.
With my no-sugar challenge, however, I realise that my liberation is anything but liberating. Only now do I notice how automatically I reach for something and want to take it with me. Bounty and Kinder Bueno, here I come. Congratulations to the product placers in supermarkets, you are doing a great job, and I am a real victim.

Sugar-free week 3

When it comes to sugar, the current heatwave is actually quite nice. With outdoor temperatures of 32 degrees and above, I have little appetite for cakes, creams and chocolate. But it's a completely different story with ice cream. I love good ice cream, and it's slowly becoming the only thing I can eat.

But hey, what the heck – no normal ice cream then. Homemade frozen yoghurt with fruit is just as good: simply freeze the fruit, purée it together with yoghurt and freeze again. Refreshing, sugar-free and healthy too!

By the way, on the weekend of week 3, I enjoyed three days of Yoga in the Alps in Upper Styria. Our yoga teacher Malia placed a piece of nougat chocolate on our beds next to homemade lip balm and a business card. And here you can see this piece of chocolate – brought home as real proof of my new self-control! It is currently stored in the refrigerator, waiting for someone else to find it.

Sugar-free week 4

When week 4 comes around, everything is easy anyway. By then, my craving for sweets has long since given way to total indifference towards them. Martina, at the start of the challenge, completely clueless

I really didn't think that last week would be my toughest battle. Well, battle might be a bit of an exaggeration, as I was never really in danger of eating something sweet. But it was hard, very hard. Especially (as usual) in the evenings at home.

I also assumed that my ‘after lunch’ and ‘on the sofa in the evening’ cravings would be gone by week 4. What can I say except: Nope, they're not. There's something tedious about that.

But there is also good news: yesterday was day 28, the last day of the challenge, and at 12 noon I allowed myself to snack again. And I was seriously planning to polish off the whole packet of chocolate biscuits that my father has in his sweet drawer. Interestingly, I couldn't bring myself to carry out this plan. So the challenge did have some effect after all.Four weeks ago, I would have eaten the biscuits immediately. But yesterday, I somehow found it pointless. Why eat biscuits when you don't even really feel like it? YEAH!

Although, apart from two or three evenings, I didn't compensate by eating more, I didn't lose any weight. Perhaps this is because I started eating a (healthy) breakfast at the same time, which means consuming more calories. Besides, I'm not exercising at the moment (too hot, too lazy) and my beloved Aperol Spritz is unfortunately not exactly diet-friendly either.
Insight: Nur weil der Zucker wegfällt, wird der Hintern nicht automatisch kleiner.

What happens next?

I'm definitely going to keep going! However, I want to treat myself to something ‘meaningful’ and sweet every now and then. For example, ice cream on a hot day or a delicious piece of cake in a café. I will continue to avoid sugar for breakfast (brioche croissants), sugar cravings after lunch (cakes, tarts, Mannerschnitten) and boredom binges on the sofa in the evening (Drageekeksi).

Have you ever completed a no-sugar challenge? How did it go? Did you continue after it ended?

Update 16 August 2018:
Yesterday, I opened a box of butter biscuits covered in milk chocolate. I decided to eat only two of them, but I knew right away that I wouldn't be able to stick to that. At the table, I enjoyed my two biscuits – and afterwards, I didn't want any more! Really! I didn't feel like it! I couldn't believe it myself. So the challenge really does work!!