Well hello everyone it’s been a long time since I did a blog but I plan on changing that, so if you don’t see a weekly blog I want you to shout at me!!

So sugar free February, what is it all about I hear you ask? and why choose to do it?

It is a new way to fund raise by cutting out all refined sugar for the 4 weeks of February, this may sound quite easy on the surface especially if you don’t eat a lot of cakes, chocolate or biscuits but believe it or not there are far more foods that contain sugar as an added ingredient and it is quite frightening.

Pretty much all jar and bottle sauces, loads of crisps, baked beans, some take away foods, most processed foods, loads of soft drink and some fruit juices to name a few!!! So unless its been cooked from scratch by me I am pretty much avoiding it. I am now 2 weeks in and apart from a few days where I could have murdered someone for a bar of chocolate or a cream bun I think I have done quite well. It has made me question why sugar is in foods that don’t necessarily need it and it goes a long way to explaining why we are a nation that loves all things sweet. If we are eating sugar in large amounts in foods we don’t expect it to be in then we crave more, so we snack, usually on something sugary. This in turn leads to all sorts of medical issues from obesity to diabetes.

So have I gained anything? I’m really not sure yet, I guess the fact that I am questioning why it is in so many foods means I’ve gained an understanding about eating better and I am quite surprised that I am not really missing the sugary foods as much as I thought I would. I have swapped out sugary snack foods for nuts and fresh fruit, and all our meals have been cooked from scratch with no added preserved sauces. I have also noticed I am drinking more water and snacking less too so it has to have an overall long term benefit but we shall see when we get to the end of the month 😉

So now the why!! Well the back end of last year my sister in law was diagnosed with breast cancer, she has since had a lumpectomy and is now undergoing chemotherapy. We have a long and bumpy road ahead but it has highlighted just how important medical progression and support really is, if it had been 10 years ago chances are her  outcome for survival probably wouldn’t be as good as its looking today and that is all down to research. I was thinking that I wanted to do something to raise some money for cancer research UK and one day this popped up in front of me, I hadn’t seen it before and didn’t know of anyone else doing the sugar free for charity so knew it was the perfect one for me to try. I am a long way off my target of £100 but hopefully by the end of the month I will get there.

One thing I have learned is that there is no such thing as too much awareness so below are a few check yourself pictures. If you see of feel anything not quite right in yourself always go to see a doctor, you never know it may just save your life.

If you would like to support me in this with a donation I would be very grateful and my fundraising page is here

On February 13, 2017   /   GeekKraft Blog   /   2 Comments