What Happens When You Go 30 Days Without Sugar?

What happens when you go 30 days without sugar? I struggleddd on a weekend getaway where I figured sugar could be the culprit, so I decided to try 30 days without sugar!

A few months ago, me and my best friend went on a girls trip to the Greenbriar (again.) We always have the best time at the Greenbriar! This year however, my little frienemy came to visit the morning we left…

I had been getting my period on weekends for a few months so my cramps didn’t seem to be a huge burden. They were obviously uncomfortable, but I was always able to stay home, relax, and nap through it.

I felt fine on the drive down, but a few hours after we got there, I wasn’t feeling well at all. My cramps were so painful that they were making my legs ache and my stomach was hurting so bad. I tried to power through, I even stopped at the Greenbriar gift shop to buy overpriced advil…I hate taking advil, but desperate times call for desperate measures. My period was not going to ruin my weekend.

I went to bed around 10:30, which is way earlier than I go to bed on a normal day. When I woke up the next morning still in pain, gave in and took the advil. Finally, I started to feel better after breakfast! I was so annoyed that I wasted almost an entire day of our trip feeling awful.

When I got home, I decided to do 30 days without refined sugar.

I used to not suffer from period cramps or any PMS symptoms really, but recently they have progressively been getting worse. My diet hadn’t been the best recently either, so I figured it had to be all the sugar I’d been eating.

I got into the habit of brunching a few times a month, eating dessert every night after dinner, and eating more gluten than I should have been. (Gluten makes me inflamed which gives me headaches, digestive issues, acne, cramps, etc. when I eat too much of it.) I figured going refined sugar free for 30 days would make a big difference in my monthly symptoms.

You’re probably thinking, “Why don’t you just go on birth control to get rid of your cramps.”

I will never go on hormonal birth control because it doesn’t prevent issues, it just covers them up. It can also lead to breast cancer, infertility, and even worse hormone imbalances. Unfortunately, these are things that doctors don’t tell girls before starting hormonal birth control. There are non-hormonal options however, they don’t help with symptoms and they can sometimes make symptoms worse. 

If birth control works for you, that’s great! I try to live a more natural, holistic lifestyle. Birth control doesn’t align with my lifestyle or views on health and wellness. 

So anyways, I had so much willpower to stick with no sugar that I really didn’t experience any kind of withdrawal symptoms.

That could also be because even when I’m eating bad (for myself), it’s exponentially less refined sugar than the Standard American Diet. Me eating a junky diet probably still wasn’t enough sugar to cause any withdrawal symptoms.

By the end of the first week, I had noticeably more energy! I was working out 4-5 times a week without having to “make” myself work out. I just had plenty of energy for it! Also, I was sleeping better too (which could also explain having more energy.)

By week 2, my skin was looking really good! I don’t suffer from regular breakouts, but every once in a while I’ll get a few little spots. Week 2, I had no little spots on my face and my skin was noticeably smoother! It also looked more hydrated.

Also during week 2, I started to notice more muscle definition! My skin wasn’t feeling “thick” so it was really making my muscles pop! When you eat too much processed foods, you can tell by how thick your skin is. Especially if you’re in the process of losing weight and you just can’t seem to get rid of the last little bit, or if you’re down to your goal weight but still look like your skin is thick, it’s probably due to processed food. 

I’ll talk more about this in the future, but a lot of “health foods” have enriched flour as an ingredient. Enriched flour is super processed! That’s just one of many crappy ingredients in some “health foods” that could be preventing you from losing the last few pounds. 

Weeks 3 and 4 I didn’t notice any big changes. My skin still looked great and my energy levels were still high, but that was it.

When I got my period again the following month…

I still felt awful! I’m still trying to cut way back on sugar and only eat it for special occasions because I just feel better and look better overall, but I was disappointed it didn’t make a difference in how I felt during my period. 

It may make a difference for some other women though! If you’re struggling with time of the month issues, it’s definitely worth a try! It just wasn’t the root cause of my symptoms and that’s okay!

I’m in the process of trying some other methods and working on figuring out exactly what is causing my symptoms so I’ll definitely keep posting on the process!