Here's one of my smoothie concoctions: strawberries, lychees, hemp seeds, rice milk, and ice.
We're now two and a half months into our going sugar little journey as I make the habit change of going from eating 80g to 25g of sugars per day. To refresh those who haven't been following, I based my 25g of sugar per day on the American Heart Association's (AHA) recommendation that we consume no more than 25g of added sugars per day...which does not include natural sources like fruit. I took it a step further and just made it a lump 25g/day no matter the source.
I don't know exactly how many grams of sugar per day I'm eating now, but I've gone down significantly to see..or rather I should say experience...the change in my taste buds. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that there are foods that I ate all the time back in January when I started this sugar weaning venture which I have a really hard time eating now because it's just too sweet to my taste buds. I call that some significant progress because I am, or was, a serious sweet-toothaholic.
I also talked about how I've been having weird...because I've never had them before...but good cravings like wanting to eat greens like spinach or kale, and fiber. I've seriously been on this fiber trip lately. I now eat something green everyday, mostly mixed Herb Salad mix, spinach, or kale. I really have been loving kale like this simple kale salad with avocado,cherry tomato, onion, and toasted walnuts.
And now the newest weird change is that I'm also noticing that my desire for salt is dropping. Again, I'm experiencing it in the taste buds. Salty things that I used to love before are now starting to taste too salty to me.
For example, instead of getting salted pistachios, I prefer the raw versions now. I got a small bag of potato chips at Whole Foods the other day and the chips just made me cringe a bit because they were just too salty. In my cooking, I'm using pinches of salt versus many shakes.
Besides the high sugar intake, I also knew that I consume high amounts of sodium, but I figured I would tackle that issue after I was settled with the sugar weaning. Well, interestingly enough, it seems as if the sodium change is starting to happen naturally on its own in concurrence with the sugar wean.
When you let the body do its thang
But hey, I'm not complaining. In fact, I'm thrilled. It's like I'm getting a two-fer. It got me thinking though. I'm wondering if these changes are not just about sugar or sodium but just that my palate in general is adapting to a new level...a lower one...of seasoning, flavorings or whatever.
As well, I'm not forcing my body with radical change like trying to go cold turkey with the sugar. I'm doing a slow wean and just focusing on everyday moments and tiny changes as I really have no grand eat less sugar plan. I've just been winging it and making choices literally at each meal or craving of the day.
I wonder if my body is sensing that I want to work with it versus forcing it and in return because I'm basically letting it be, the bod is able to do what it wants on its own like reducing the desire for salt as I reduce the consumption of sugar.
Who knows the answer, but all I can say is that so far this whole sugar weaning process has been painless and interesting...and the most important aspect being "pain-free."
So, how's your sugar weaning been going? Have you noticed any weird changes or cravings?
