Call your best friend, your husband and your mom to warm them… you are planning to be cranky! Sugar withdrawals are not a myth, you will suffer. People around you will suffer, but you will come out of it stronger than ever.
Make a commitment
Just decide you will go without sugar for 5 days, and you can get through it. Trust me, if I can do it. You can do it. Once you don’t have sugar for a while, fruit and honey have just the right amount of sweetness.
Seriously, warn people
You will want to tell the people around you that you will be cutting out sugar and you may have symptoms. They need to be patient and supportive. Most importantly they should not take anything personally. Can you say “safeword”?
What symptoms you might experience with 1-5 days
- fatigue
- itchy skin
- crankiness
- flushed
- cravings
- headaches
- aches and pains
- the shakes
Now, I ate a lot of sugar each day. A lot! So how did I feel going cold turkey.
Within the same day, I felt very cranky, moody and hot. I was very tired, and that night I just wanted a cheesecake. Mind you this was day 1! Day two I had the same symptoms and felt itchy. Day three I felt great. Day five I felt really great.
What helps the sugar withdrawals
- Eating a great dinner helps quite a bit. Plan out your favorite meal and you will help to distract yourself. I made strip steak and brussel sprouts the first night, and went out to sushi the second night.
- Hot tea with raw honey helps to settle your mind and soul at bedtime.
- Eat fruit
- Stay away from ice cream shops and birthday parties. After day 5 it will be easier.
- Check your labels on peanut butter, yogurt and other packaged foods. Limit yourself to foods with less than 10 grams of sugar twice a day.
- Don’t give your self other limitations such as calories, fat and carbs.
- Go to bed early. Try Sleep Water or cold medicine if you have to. The first night I only slept 2 hours.
I will be expanding this page as I need to collect more resources.
