Happy New Year! It’s that time of year when everyone is making resolutions, hitting the gym, and creating vision boards to inspire them to pursue their dreams. I love hearing what other people are doing to set themselves up for a great year. And today, I’m going to share a practice my daughter and I started last year – No Sugar January!
No Sugar January is exactly as it sounds. Starting January 2, we eliminate added sugar from our diet. That means no cookies, no candy, no chocolate, and no ice cream for 30 days. After all the holiday indulgences, No Sugar January is a great way to reset our taste buds and curb our sugar cravings. Is it hard? Yes. Is it worth it? I think so!
Here are a few ways we survive No Sugar January:
- We eat fruit: I’m a firm believer that fruit is good for you. Yes, it does have sugar, but in our house, naturally-occurring sugar is ok.
- We make smoothies: We love smoothies and continue to drink them during No Sugar January. Our smoothies include ingredients such as fresh or frozen fruit, fresh veggies, chia seeds, collagen powder, and turmeric powder, along with 100% fruit juice and/or coconut milk. My Mexico Smoothie and Cherry Berry Beet smoothie are my favorites.
- We avoid honey and maple syrup: Despite naturally occurring in nature, we do try our best to avoid honey and maple syrup as they are often an added sweetener.
- We eat sugar-free chocolate, in moderation: We love chocolate. And during No Sugar January, we treat ourselves to no sugar chocolate options like those offered by ChocZero.
- We make sugar free chocolate cake: We love this recipe and make it a few times during the month. The consistency is great and the dates give the cake a yummy sweetness without adding sugar.
- I eliminate alcohol: In addition to No Sugar January, I also do Dry January where I eliminate cocktails and wine. I do still enjoy mocktails made with 100% fruit juice, sparkling water, and alcohol-free spirits such as Seedlip.
As you can see, No Sugar January isn’t nearly as strict as programs such as Whole30. And because it’s our program, we make the rules! That’s why we allow ourselves to enjoy some sugar-free treats on occasion. And yes, we do realize that many people would say we’re “cheating” with some of our rules, but for us, it works and helps us reset after the all the holiday treats.
So tell me, how do you kick off the new year? I’d love to hear your resolutions or programs that kick start your year. Happy New Year!