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- 05 February 2015 < Back to gossip

Carly's Sugar-Free story

Carly, one of Davina's five Sugar-Free challengers, spoke exclusively to Red Magazine about how she coped with her first three weeks into her Sugar-Free Challenge. Read her complete three-week diary as she tackles taking on a sugarless lifestyle...

Week One

Having worked Christmas and Boxing Day I certainly drowned my sorrows in the tub of chocolates a kind lady gave to my crewmate and I outside A&E. ‘Just because it’s Christmas!’ as she put it. Surely it would have been rude not to open them and enjoy straight away?!

This behaviour saw me through a few of my December shifts (and days off) before weaning myself off in preparation for this challenge. I tried not to make a big deal of it when the day finally arrived so as not to over complicate and worry about what I cannot eat. This is my general approach to most things, put it off and I’ll be fine… Only to wake up post night shift and have very little prepared on the 8th Jan, challenge start date!

I have since become more prepared, the book has a great section where it talks through meal planning, which post-night shift is a great simple reminder without having to do much thinking.

My kitchen, unfortunately, is crammed with sweets, chocolate and savoury snacks. Think sausage rolls, chocolate digestives, haribo and loads of bread! This is thanks to my lovely sugar-addict boyfriend and hungry 7-year-old son. My willpower has seen better days!

My plan was to firstly get myself on track; I needed to get to grips with the recipes and managing the juggling act of finding the time to cook from scratch. I have to admit, the odd microwavable mac cheese has been dished out to my son on occasions, and I hang my head in utter shame!

I have always been interested in what is good for my health and do actually have a well-stocked cupboard (along with the boys’ snacks!). I have found I feel less tired if I eat less meat, when I do enjoy meat it’s usually fish, and maybe chicken once a fortnight, so I am intending to carry this forward with the book, altering recipes as I go.

I began with the simple dishes, roasted veg and chicken, making a large pan of soup with the bone broth to store away ready for reheating at work and being a lover of salads I stuck with what I felt confident with, even in the colder weather! A lot of the dishes are one-pot dishes, which is exactly how I like cooking and leaves little to mess about with after.

Knowing my son and boyfriend never really entertain salads I tried the fish pie, we usually all eat at separate times as our eating habits are so different, so when we all sat down and ate together it was great to know I can rely on a really enjoyable dish that we all loved, AND it was healthy! I actually used buckwheat flour in place of the spelt (perfect for any gluten free readers intrigued). It worked perfectly in the sauce, and I had the leftovers for work the following day. I plan to use more of these homely dishes to encourage more eating together as a family even if it is just a few times a week.

The week has flown by and I haven’t really noticed myself missing anything, I have practiced more yoga than I normally would as I find this helps me focus on how my body feels. Not enjoying some of my son’s birthday cake was strange; normally it would be a good excuse to have ‘just a little slice!’ I have noticed I have less highs and lows while on a shift, my head is clearer and I have also lost 4lb unintentionally… bonus!! AND It’s only week one!

Week Two

So, while the first week brought me lots of motivation, new ideas and a clearer head, it is also as if I have been lead into a false sense of completeness. This is typical of me (and I’m sure others too) when trying to eat well: I start a new chapter or challenge and give it so much of my energy, full of optimism, that it burns out quickly, leaving me feeling like I’ve worked really hard and I deserve to slow it down and allow to relax it a little, right? 

Wrong: not this time! 

Watching the other challengers (who are doing so great!), and having the book to always fall back on has proved that you can relax it as much as you need ,and tailor-make it to suit how you are feeling, all without having to break the rules!!!

In-between shifts I always spend the first day a little dazed, and need that time to recharge. I have found that cooking is great while my son is at school; that way I can prepare my ingredients and take my time with it. I felt particularly hard-done-by at the beginning of the week, and really craved something naughty. I knew I had to do something about it, so I made the brownies. Knowing I could indulge without the guilt afterwards felt almost too good to be true! I was so impressed how great they tasted. They were made with raw cacao in powder form, one of my favourite treats, and my son and boyfriend also loved them.

I no longer felt so deprived afterwards and could keep my motivation up knowing I had not folded. Usually, without this book and the option of adding ‘sweet’ food, I probably would have folded… and then enter the guilt trip after, causing a binge of all sorts of bad things, thinking ‘I have already crumbled I may as well carry on’!

This was a huge turning point for me, albeit only week two. Usually the first low is when I revert to my prior behavior, so this option of being able to make great tasting foods when needed is perfect. If this can work for me it can work for so many others who also fall into this trap with food.

I am still learning how to do big shops in order to keep stock of food needed to make the dinners. I would usually buy as and when, but am finding that when I have leftover carrots/asparagus etc I can just chuck them into many of the other dishes too, meaning less waste.

Other dishes this week included the stir-fry, using halloumi instead of the beef, and the fish pie again as it was such a hit! I also made a rainbow salad, which was easy. I made a huge batch and it lasted enough to add to my lunches for three shifts, plus I used the rest of the halloumi in it too so nothing goes to waste!! Next on my list is the fish patties and I am really keen to try the ham and split pea soup.

Feeling very much motivated still and if/when the sweet tooth calls, I know I will have an option to call upon in the book! 

Week Three

This week was a real turning point for me, it’s clear to see that the second week is usually where I fall and find difficult to pick myself back up again. This week has felt so good to know I still had the option to make food that keeps any cravings at bay.

I have spent the week really excited to try new things and go out of my comfort zone a bit… there’s something very grown up about making your own coleslaw! So I must have turned a corner, as I made the amazing red slaw (pg. 80). It’s very simple and quick to make if you have a processor but still do-able if not.

I stirred in some cream cheese to help appeal to my 7 year old and he loved it.

Call me lazy, but what I like about the book is that there’s no need to go flicking through all the pages to get to the next dish that looks and sounds delicious. The page only next door (pg. 79) was the dish I served alongside the slaw, the halloumi, watercress, and pomegranate salad. I served this when entertaining and my friends loved it. I have seen a lot of food blogs using pomegranate in salads but never tried it myself. I was pleasantly surprised and when I boxed it up for lunch the next day it hadn’t gone all mushy like any other fruit normally would in a salad.

Early in the week I made chicken with chorizo, chickpeas and ‘spinach’ instead of kale. It made dinner for the night, as well as lunch for the following two shifts at work and I’m sure the source improved in flavor due to the chorizo, it was delicious!

I also made brownies and shared them out at a visit back to my university when I helped out with interviewing new students. They went down an absolute treat and they all couldn’t believe they were sugar free!

Next on the list are more of the salads and really keen to try the fruit loaf as it will make a great snack for work.