Do you ever find yourself eating chocolate, baked goods, and other refined sugar like there is no tomorrow?  Do you see other people pass on dessert, and wish that you had the will-power to do the same?  Well, I have a secret for you:  You don’t need will-power!

Today I’m going to share a little trick with you.

Have you ever heard of “No-Sugar November”?  It’s something that my sister-in-law does every year (not sure if she still does it), and I decided to join her once (about 10 or more years ago).

The exercise is pretty much what it sounds like –you don’t eat any sugar during the month of November, but you only have to go until Thanksgiving, and then you can enjoy all the pie you like!

You can take it so far as to not eat ANY sugar including but not limited to jam, syrup, ketchup, BBQ sauce, bread, etc.  Or you can just omit the “treats and desserts” types of sugar, which is what I did. 

Now, I told you I was going to teach you a trick, and instead you may be feeling tricked, thinking “Kayleen, this is just another so-called diet, not a trick!”

And you are absolutely right –up to this point.

Just stay with me!

So, as I was saying, I went three and a half weeks without eating ANY treats whatsoever!  I had never done this in my life and, to say the least, it was really hard. 

See, I was the person who would buy a bag of candy bars for trick-or-treaters, and then eat the whole thing single handedly before Halloween.

Also guilty of picking out all the Twix, Snickers, and Milky Way’s from my toddler’s hard-earned profits after trick-or-treating.  (Don’t worry, they always loved the colorful candy more than chocolate.  Who’s children are they anyway?  Haha.)

I used to eat fun size candy bars like nobody’s business, and they would satiate my cravings like no other.  But that was then, and this is now.  They no longer give me the same satisfaction and therefore I don’t eat 20 a day anymore.  Maybe a few just for fun, and that’s about it.

Do you want to know what changed?  Would you like the same thing to happen to you?  Do you wish to have your cravings and temptations deplete a little, making it less appetizing to partake of most any treat??

Just keep reading.

At that time, the only thing that helped me stay strong was counting down the days until Thanksgiving, when I knew I could spoil my tastebuds to my heart’s content.

Every time I was face to face with a treat (or walking past a cupboard that I knew contained goodies), I thought of the pie that I would indulge in on Thanksgiving day.

Pumpkin pie never sounded so good!  With an extra big dollop of whipped cream!

Or how about chocolate cream pie?!!!  Oooooooooh!!!

And right after thinking of the goodness to come, I’d reach for a cup of water instead.

Taking a drink gave me something to put in my mouth and somewhat satisfy my desire for a treat.  No, it wasn’t a fix for my sweet tooth, but after drinking a tall glass of H2O, my belly would immediately feel full enough to move on and focus on something else.  (I drank plenty of water that November!  Such a great way to help get your ounces in!)

“Take a drink, and leave the kitchen.”

This little trick worked wonders for me, helping me make it all 20-something days with no treats.  But that’s not even the trick I’m planning to share with you!  (Well, I guess it’s part of it).

This part of the trick required a degree of will-power, which is not sustainable long term.

When it was time to eat Thanksgiving dinner, I was excited for a plate smothered in gravy as usual, and my mind was also two steps ahead, thinking of the desserts that would follow –yes, that was plural desserts!

Imagine with me how you would feel in this same situation -being a person who normally eats treats several times a day, and then going almost a full month without ANY!

Since I hadn’t had refined sugar in all it’s glory for a few weeks, my brain was going crazy with messages of how AMAZING that pumpkin pie was going to be!

Later that evening when the pie was busted out, my tastebuds were primed and ready to receive.

And when I lifted the first fork full of goodness to my lips….

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . the world fell flat.

Something was wrong.

The pie was fine, but it wasn’t as satisfyingly good as it was supposed to be.

Maybe I just needed another bite…

Nope.  Still not.

Perhaps a different kind of pie would do the trick.

No.  I was let down again and again. 

Ironically, it went down in history as the Thanksgiving of least indulgence, when it should have been the most!

Why do you think this happened to me?

I’ll break it down:

• Let’s say that a certain dessert is about an 8 on the delicious scale of 0-10. If you are expecting it to be a 4 or 5, then you are going to be very impressed and think it’s the most delicious thing ever –because your expectations were so low.
• But if you are expecting it to be a 10, and then in reality it’s only an 8… well, you’re going to be disappointed.

Not to slander the reputation of the pie makers at that party, but I was expecting the pie to taste ten times better than anything I’ve ever put in my mouth, which just was not reality.

This experience also had lingering effects for me.

Over the next few YEARS, I found myself passing up treats and desserts because I was not enjoying them like I used to.  To be honest, it was actually kind of hard.

My brain remembered that Snickers give me a certain type of pleasure, and when I wanted to experience that pleasure, I’d eat a Snickers, but then I wouldn’t receive said pleasure.

So disappointing!

There was no conscience thought going into anything at first, just observing my experience each time I was let down by desserts.  Then in the middle of being frustrated that I no longer LOVE my baked goods, I remember realizing that it all goes back to when I did No-Sugar November!

So I have a challenge for you today!

Did you see this coming??

November 1st is nearly here, and I invite you to join me in participating in No-Sugar November!  I have not done it since that very first time!

What do you say?  Are you intrigued?

No sugar for 27 days!

If you want to give it a try, I encourage you to follow these 4 tricks:

• Every time you get the urge to eat sugar, take a drink of water instead. EVERY time.  Wherever there are treats, there is usually water as well, so this should work out.  This is just my guess, but I think there might be something that happens in your brain, creating a new neuropathway:  Desire to eat sugar = Drink water. 
• Allow yourself to salivate at the thought of indulging on Thanksgiving day! Remember, this will likely raise your expectations so high that it will result in a let down when you actually eat the pie. 
• Notice how much (or how little) you enjoy eating your first bite of dessert on Thanksgiving. Was it all you had been dreaming of?  Or did it seem a little muted?
• Also take note of your experience eating sugar from there on out. Decide whether you want to eat treats even if you’re not thoroughly enjoying them.  Consider focusing your appreciation on the meal you ate for dinner, and perhaps you will find that you don’t need something sweet to top you off. 

For me, after a few years of not necessarily caring as much for sweets, I went through a little phase of wanting that indulgence back in my life.  I remember pigging out on candy bars, telling myself that if I eat enough, they will eventually satisfy my soul once more.

I don’t know why I did that (other than, I think I was looking for a dopamine hit), but it did kind of work.  I started to enjoy treats more, just not to the same crazy-soul-satisfying-craving-can’t-say-no-have-to-eat-ten-more kind of enjoyment.

Now, I definitely relish in a good piece of dark chocolate filled with smooth caramel.  And at the same time, the joy that comes from eating such treats, stays in my mouth.  Haha!

In other words, instead of releasing hormones and getting the rest of my body involved, a yummy dessert will just get my taste buds dancing but nothing more. 

So keep that in mind and just find a different way to get that dopamine rush when you’re looking for it!

I wonder how this experiment will affect you, and I’m also curious what will happen to me.

I like being in a place of enjoying a yummy treat without feeling like they control me.  And I have been letting myself get out of hand recently, so I think a good refresher of this will be great!

Happy November!!!

Let me know if you decide to do No-Sugar November, and how it goes for you!

All my love and support,

Kayleen

SDG

You might also like some fun ideas for self-care, check out 27 Simple Ways to Rejuvenate Yourself.

Also, if you haven’t already joined my email club, make sure to subscribe on the home page!