Cutting out sugar in coffee and tea was one of the monthly challenges I set myself in April of this year. I was having around 12 cups of coffee and tea combined each day. Although I can’t say that I’ve ever overindulged in sugar and I wouldn’t really say I’ve got a sweet tooth, but I’ve always liked 2 teaspoons in both tea and coffee and the odd one in a hot chocolate. I’ve also got a little addiction to sweets such as midget gems and Haribos. I’m also partial to a bit chocolate every now and again – naughty but nice as they say.
I’m one of the lucky ones and I don’t put on a great deal of weight no matter what I eat and I have a really good fast metabolism (you are going to hate me now). I also don’t have the healthiest of diets, neither do I have the worst. Well, that’s what I thought anyway.
So, why did I make the decision and decide to do this as a monthly challenge?
The main reason was more so as a preventative measure. Research has shown that processed or refined sugar can lead to weight gain, blood sugar problems as well as an increased risk of heart disease, strokes and type 2 diabetes. As I’ll be approaching the big 50 next year it made perfect sense to me to start thinking about what I put into my body.
Was it an easy process and did it affect me?
Well, to be honest not really. It took a while to get used to the taste of both coffee and tea without sugar but after 30 days of going without it, I did try a teaspoon in my coffee and couldn’t drink it (it had worked). I did though start waking up in the early hours around 2 AM needing a sugar fix, which resulted in me scoffing a lot of biscuits especially bourbons and custard creams. This has now subsided thankfully.
So, the conclusion…
I found it to be an easy process in cutting out processed sugar in Coffee and tea and I do feel better for it. I also understand this may not be as easy for you as it was for me. So, below are my top tips Ito help you cut down…
- Restrict yourself to a daily weekly amount.
- Gradually reduce the amount until you can cut it out altogether
- You could start by swapping to sweeteners
- Try alternative hot drinks such as herbal fruit teas, hot squash, etc.
- Simply remove sugar from your home.
Just by cutting down one teaspoon of sugar per day could make a huge difference to your health as well as for trimming a large number of calories from your diet. Don’t just take my word for it have a look at the articles below..
Resources
11 reasons why too much sugar is bad for you – https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/too-much-sugar
Some tips on fully quitting processed sugar – https://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/02/09/tips-on-quitting-processed-sugar/
How to cut back on sugar without noticing – https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/sugar-salt-and-fat/how-to-cut-back-on-sugar-without-noticing
How to cut down on usage in your diet – https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-cut-down-on-sugar-in-your-diet/
The previous image on this page, which has now been removed, was used with permission from Coffee Geek (coffeegeek.tv).