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Sarah Wilson’s book I Quit Sugar has
taken Australia by storm, hitting the top of the bestseller lists a week
after the release and creating an eating plan that’s actually easy to
follow AND involves desserts. Ummm, sign us up!
Tell us about the I Quit Sugar plan.
A no-angst-required 8-week guide to quitting sugar, losing weight, getting well and getting your vibe back... for good!
What prompted you to quit sugar?
I have an
autoimmune disease and had been told for years I should quit sugar. The
idea was far too scary to contemplate, as it is for most. (Tell someone
to quit, say, peanuts and they just don't shudder in the same way). I
then decided to experiment with the idea and quit for two weeks. I wrote
about it for the newspaper column I was writing at the time. It felt so
good, so right - I lost weight immediately and had much better energy -
that I just kept going. And going. It's been two years now.
What are your Top 5 quitting sugar tips?
- Eight weeks is how long it takes to overcome both an emotional and
physical addiction to sugar. There are three foods you can stop eating
right now: fruit juice (there's the same amount of sugar in a glass of
apple juice as a glass of cola), low-fat dairy (they replace the fat
with sugar in most cases) and packaged sauces (barbeque sauce is 50%
sugar)
- Do this: put a slice of halmoumi in a sandwich press at work or
home, cook and eat as an afternoon snack instead of a muffin or
chocolate bar. Why? The good, healthy fat will tell your brain it's full
within about 5 minutes.
- Drink licorice tea...it tastes sweet and it actually curbs sugar cravings on the spot!
- EAT FAT! Fill up on wholesome, unprocessed fats and quality protein
because full-fat products and protein trigger a chemical and hormonal
reaction in the brain that tells us we’re full.
- DETOX! Sugar messes with our blood glucose and hormone levels,
sending us on a roller coaster of highs and lows until we get a fix.
Therefore once sugar is out of the equation, you can expect to
experience detox symptoms like lethargy, headaches and even feel a bit
down. It’s all part of overcoming the addiction
Short term, you get more energy, your skin clears and you lose
weight (weight loss generally kicks in after just a few weeks). Long
term, you keep the weight off (unlike most diets) and you can reverse
all kinds of chronic "modern" diseases, such as high cholesterol and
diabetes. I've seen this reported many times.
Does this mean no dessert?
Not at all. The recipes I’ve included in the book are the kinds of
things you can make in an instant when a craving hits. They look and
taste like explosive indulgences, but on closer inspection contain
highly nutritious ingredients – coconut, nuts, cream, low-fructose fruit
and raw cacao. Most of my mates now ask me to bring dessert because
they know you can eat it and not gorge on it…and not have a sugar
hangover in the morning. They love the "excuse" to eat sugar-free.
What are your Top 5 foods to eat to help you through the I Quit Sugar diet?
- Haloumi cheese (choose organic varieties where possible; store leftover chunks in a container filled with water)
- Nut paste: macadamia, almond, peanut (not the processed kind), cashew. Buy one at a time and work out which one you like best.
- Coconut water
- Rice Malt Syrup
- Frozen Berries
What is your best advice for those that think they can’t live without sugar?
Try it for 8 weeks and see if you become a nicer person. I also dangle
the fact that pretty much everyone - of the 30,000 people who've done my
program - loses weight. That generally gets people in.
Do you have any tips on how to avoid sugar when eating out?
If I'm out at dinner, I'll order a cheese platter for dessert. Or a big
pot of tea (which I can fiddle with to distract me from others eating
chocolate mousse). If I'm going to someone's place for a dinner, I'll
offer to cook one of my sugar-free desserts! Mostly, people are actually
happy to have a reason to forego sugar when they're around me.
Take us through a regular day of meals for you – what did you eat yesterday?
For breakfast I had scrambled eggs with avocado. I then had a late
lunch/snack of sautéed celery and sprouts in chicken stock with feta and
macadamia oil. And for dinner, a delicious steak with some veggies.
I Quit Sugar has been very popular since release and rocketed
up the bestseller charts. What’s been the best part of the success of
the book?
I think there's three factors.
- It's not a bossy, draconian diet book. It's not full of should
nots. It's very much about being kind and gentle to your body and
learning to trust that it knows what to do. Humans don't like being told
NOT to do something. See a Wet Paint sign...all we want to do is touch
it!
- It's not a mean diet. The whole point - and this is actually what
makes you lose weight - you replace sugar with other treats, mostly good
healthy fat and protein-based treats. There's no missing out. No
misery. In fact, it makes eating more fun.
- I've done the program myself (and researched and trialled all the
different ways to quit sugar....I was the human guinea pig) and I write
not as a boring scientist but as someone who's gone through the pain. I
think this makes things more approachable.
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