January, 2012

This challenge is officially closed. Thanks to everyone who participated, and please stay tuned for the next challenge!

Welcome to the Third Sugar-Free Challenge Homepage!

Everyone has loved the first and second challenge, and now it is time to kick it up a notch to create a New Year’s Resolution Challenge! This challenge will be a bit different because it is longer, has the option of an exercise challenge, and starts with a “break the habit” phase.

Here’s the Challenge:

“Don’t eat any sugar for one month. This includes honey, molasses, syrups, artificial sweeteners (like Splenda), sugar alcohols (like maltitol or xylitol), and no refined sugar.”

The challenge will start on January 1st and end on January 31st.

Challenge Options:

Break the Habit: You may start the challenge with a “Break the Habit” phase where you may eat 1 piece of sugar each day for the first 7 days. If you are someone who has a hard time staying away from sugar, it might benefit you to use this phase. For example, 1 piece of sugar might be your daily soda, small dessert, or a piece chocolate. If you do not feel like eating your sugar that day, then please listen to your body and stay away from it.
Exercise Option: This option is for those who do not exercise regularly and would like to jump start their new year with an easy exercise routine. Each round of exercises take just a few minutes to complete. It would also be wise to add a bit of cardio to your day like walking, jogging, bike riding, or jump roping. Right when you get up in the morning, during lunch breaks, or before bed would be an excellent time to complete this routine:
- Week 1: 10 crunches, 5 squats, 5 pushups, 10 calf raises
- Week 2: 30 crunches, 15 squats, 10 pushups, 20 calf raises
- Week 3: 50 crunches, 10 squat jumps, 15 pushups, 20 1-legged calf raises (10 each leg)
- Week 4: 75 crunches, 15 squat jumps, 20 pushups, 40 1-legged calf raises (20 each leg)
Water Option: Are you someone who does not drink water regularly? Try the water option and challenge yourself to drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day (each glass represents 8 oz.). Please note, however, that we receive water from the food we eat, and everyone’s required daily water depends on size and activity per day. If you choose to do the water challenge, do not force yourself to drink water when you are not thirsty. If you feel that 5 glasses of water was enough for that day, then that is fine.

Daily Checklist:

In order to help you stay on track with the challenge, I have created a pdf file that you can print off and use daily. You can record your exercise, meals, water, thoughts, and feelings.

Click Here to View and Download the Challenge Checklist

How to Join the Challenge:

Simply leave a comment below to join the challenge. After signing on-there is no turning back! Just kidding, if you wish to be removed for some reason, email me.

Bloggers:

I would love for you all to spread the word and join the challenge! During the challenge, it would be great for you to post your sugar-free eats so that you can inspire others. I will be featuring your sugar-free eats and recipes during the challenge, too. Here’s a badge you can add to your site to help promote this:

HTML: <a href=”http://spoonfulofsugarfree.com/sugar-free-challenge-2/january-2012/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee464/acetennis94/JanChallengeBadge.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Photobucket”></a>

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Email me at spoonfulofsugarfree@gmail.com. If you ever need any help, don’t hesitate to ask. I am creating this challenge so that we will have a big sugar-free support group! If you would like to send me your story on how being sugar-free helped you, I would love to publish it! Any other ideas you have? I’d love to hear!

Frequently Asked Challenge Questions:

Are you allowed to eat fruit during the challenge?

Yes, you are allowed to eat fruit. Try not to overdo it, though (as in, don’t eat 15 bananas a day!). Other than that, I believe the naturally occurring sugars found in fruit are perfectly healthy in small amounts. Fruit contains plenty of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins to help your body.

Is stevia allowed during the challenge?

Since stevia is considered a sugar-substitute, I am not allowing it in the challenge. This makes the challenge, well, more challenging! Challenging is fun! If you think that you absolutely cannot complete the challenge without stevia, then feel free to use it.

Is alcohol allowed during the challenge?

Yes, as long as it isn’t a “mixed” alcoholic beverage like margaritas, because they have added sugar. Mixed alcoholic drinks that use only fruit juice and no added sugar are accepted. Plain wine, beer, etc. are allowed.