To begin, I must admit that I didn't make it all the way through my challenge. During a Sunday study cramming session I succumbed to the 1 lb. bag of Twizzlers in a package from my grandmother. While I regret that I didn't make it through my avowed week of no sugar, worse crimes have been committed, and I still think I learned a great deal. So without further ado, lessons learned from a week with no sugar:
1. Sugar is in A LOT of food. When I first began my week, I was prepared for many unprocessed foods I would have to live without--they were intuitive. No cake, no ice cream, no cookies... these things seemed obvious. However, as I began to scrutinize the ingredient lists of many of my packaged-food staples, I realized how much sugar was part of my daily life. It began with my breakfast cereal (even Special K has high fructose corn syrup as its second ingredient), continued to my salad dressing (my only option was olive oil and vinegar), and even made its way into my afternoon granola bars. I had to go to Hamilton Whole Foods to find granola without sugar, and even there only the local varieties use honey as a sweetener. Throughout the entire week, I found that there was sugar lurking in well over half of the processed foods I rely on as a college student, whether as a preservative or a sweetener. It was only when I switched my weight over to unprocessed foods that I was able to find satisfying snacks.
2. Sugar at the end of every meal is a habit for me. Though Mintz denies that a craving for sugar at the end of every meal is a biological tendency, my Twizzler-ravaging self would tell you otherwise. I found that overwhelmingly, the end of every meal marked a craving for sugar that I would have to satisfy with a piece of fruit or, on desperate occasions, a spoonful of honey. I found it amazing that a habit that is socially formed, such as the ritual of dessert, could be so ingrained in my daily life--my meals are just not complete without it.
3. I don't think about what I eat. The search for sugar in everything I put in my mouth over the past week has made me think more than ever about every piece of food that enters my body. Whether it involves reading the ingredient list on a granola bar or quizzing my house's chef on the ingredients of every meal, looking for sugar made me think about every meal, where it came from, who prepared it, and how it got to me. It made me realize that every time I eat something I am having a distant interaction with many people, in many parts of the world, whom I have never met. This, for me, was the best part of this challenge. The food we eat is such an important part of who we are, and putting a critical-thinking spin on my meals was fascinating. I'll definitely be up for the next food challenge (as soon as I get my week's fill of Twizzlers).
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