I know you have been anxiously awaiting another challenge to push yourself to go above and beyond what you are currently doing to improve your health.  Good News, it is Follow Me Fit Challenge time once again.  I want to challenge you to a sugarless September.

We all know that sugar is bad for us.  Many nutritionist even call it white poison or an anti-food.  We know that it turns to glucose almost immediately upon entering our body, which is our body’s preferred form of energy.  In essence it becomes our energy supply and keeps our body from burning the stored fat that we all want to shed.  It is depleted quickly and brings us crashing down to a sluggish energy level that triggers hunger pains long before our body needs fuel.  It provides no nutrients to our body and despite what we might think or want, we can live without it.  Now, I am not an extremist nor am I suggesting that you cut all sugar from your diet.  I’m just saying we all eat too much of it.  Let’s break the habit together.

They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit.  So 21 days out of the month of September is our minimum goal to eat less sugar.  That leaves us some extra days to plan on a treat if needed.  This will help us not to feel deprived.  I encourage you to plan ahead which days you will have a treat so that when you are craving something you’ll know when you can have it.  This delayed gratification will help us strategically plan the treat we really want instead of mindless eating on the spur of the moment without true satisfaction.

Here are the rules…

• You may eat whole natural fruits—but not juices (they are concentrated and full of sugar)
• Don’t eat candy, cakes or sugary desserts
• Limit or don’t add sugar or sweeteners (we want to break the sweet-taste craving)
• Limit or don’t eat processed carbs that quickly turn to sugar in your blood stream (baked goods, white breads, simple cereals and pastas)
• Limit or don’t drink soft drinks, lattes, sweet tea or other sweet or sweet tasting drinks
• Commit to 21 sugarless days this month of following your rules
• Allow yourself a small treat on the other 9 days if desired—but do not over indulge

The goal is to eat less sugar than normal.  If the above rules are too harsh for your current sugar level, adjust them to fit your lifestyle.  I want everyone to be able to play.  For example, if sweet tea is what you can’t give up, try mixing half and half sweet and unsweetened for the challenge or cutting your servings in half.  You get the idea.

Follow this link: sugarless challenge calendar: for a reminder calendar to post on your fridge to keep you on track.  Creatively mark the days you successfully complete the challenge (maybe gold stars or smiley faces).  At the end of the month add up your days and let me know how you did so we can post our results.

Do you accept the challenge?  

(if you can’t view the form above in your browser just send me an email or leave me a comment to accept – be sure to include your name, desired challenge name and email address)

Feel free to forward and challenge your friends.  They more the merrier.

Be fit.  Be strong.  Be sugarless.

–Shelley