(Read the updates below!)
Was one of your New Year Resolutions to cut back on sugar? Have you been meaning to cut back on desserts or wean yourself off of refined foods? Do you feel that you are too addicted to even naturally sweetened foods? Well, the Sugar Cleanse Challenge might be just the thing for you!
For the last couple of years, I’ve done a sugar-free challenge, inviting you to join in cutting on refined sugar and flour, and, for those who feel they need it, even unrefined sugar. It’s been a community project with accountability and support from those doing the challenge with you.
This year the sugar cleanse was a little late in coming because of some scheduling conflicts (that is, I was trying not to schedule it when we were on vacation). If I am honest, perhaps there was just a little hesitation on my part as well. After the holiday sweets, I remembered that I do indeed like sweets! But it’s time. Both my five year old and I need a break from sweets, even naturally sweetened ones. Maybe you are in the same boat as us. In fact, several of you mentioned to me this last week that you needed to cut back on sweets!
So what is the Sugar Cleanse Challenge? Here’s the plan. For 2 weeks (just 2, mind you), we will be all giving up all forms of refined sugar and white flour. Some can choose to give up all sweeteners, others to limit it. Here are the categories.
Category 1: No refined sugar or flour (this includes white flour, white sugar, corn syrup and agave syrup)
Category 2: 2 teaspoons at a time (no more!), up to 2 tablespoons per day. (Read about the 2 teaspoon rule here)
Category 3: No sweeteners of any kind. Cutting out fruit or stevia is not required, but can be cut, if desired.
If you have any health issues related to yeast, two weeks will not be enough to heal you. However, doing the two week challenge successfully will get you started in the right direction. For me, I find that if I strictly adhere to the no sweet rule for two weeks, my taste buds adjust and I no longer crave sweets in the same way. That means that I find doing a two week challenge helpful for long term results. I am going to be giving information, encouragement, and resources for the challenge. Meanwhile, if you’d like a little push to do the challenge, read this article, Is Sugar Toxic?
For inspiration, read how taking out refined sweets changed one woman’s life. You can read other encouraging stories here.
Stay tuned for more resources, and when you are ready to join the challenge, sign up by leaving a comment below saying what category you are committing too.
Sugar Cleanse Challenge
1. Kimi Category 3
2. Elena-Category 3
3.Michele-Category 3
4. Jenny ~ Category 3
5. Flo Makanai-Category 3
6. Jessica G.
7. fern-Category 3
8. Tonya Scarborough-Category 2
9. Keri -Category 3
10. Kim and daughters-Cat 3
11. Cait-Cat 2
12. Shiloh-Cat. 2
13. Shannon-Cat. 1
14. Sarah-Cat 1
15. Jennifer-Cat 1
16. Allison-Cat 3
17. Laura-Cat 2
18. Ki Vick-Cat 2
19. Bethany@ Grafted Vine-Cat 3
20. Aneta-Cat 2
21. Katie Ellen@ A Humble Harvest-Cat 3
22. Dani-Cat 3
23. Stephanie R.-Cat 1
24. Nancy-Cat 2
25. Amy-Cat 2
26. Brooke-Cat 2
27. Allison-Cat 1
28. Kelly Powers-Cat 2
29. Jen-Cat 2
30. Amber-Cat 3
31. Christina-Cat 2
32. Jane-Cat 3
33. Vanessa-Cat 3
34. hillary-Cat 3
35. Betsy- Cat 2
36. Nicola-Cat 2
37. Liz-Cat 1
38. jacqui-Cat 3
39. Leigh-Cat 2
40. Wendy-Cat 2
41: Meghan-Cat 1
42: Sarah Jess-Cat 2
43: Karen B.-Cat 1
44: Pat-Cat 3
45: Jean-Cat 3
46: Amy M-Cat 3
47: Janina-Cat 1
48: stephanie-Cat 3
49: Shanna: Cat 2
50: Amy Carter-Cat 3
51: Lisa-Cat 2
52: sammiejo-Cat 2
53: Kathy Thierry-Cat 3
54: Daisy-Cat 1
55: Christina-Cat 3
56: Jenny Odegard-Cat 3
57: Meghann Milton-Cat 2
58: Beverly-Cat 3
59: Elisabeth-Cat 3
60: Kristi Cooke-2 1/2
61: Kelly R.-Cat 3
62: Ann Q.-Cat 3
63: Jenn Best-Cat 1
64: Jen B-Cat 3
65: Emi-Cat 1
66: Kei- Cat 2
67: xtina-Cat 2.5
68: Elena-Cat 3
69: Ruth Avery-Cat 2
70: Mellow-Cat 2
71: Sharon-Cat 2
72: Esther-Cat 2
73: Rebecca-Cat 3
74: Nance-Cat 3
75: Vikki Kay-Cat 3
76: Jennie-Cat 3
77:Kellie-Cat 2
78: andreab-Cat 2
79: Emily-Category 3
80: Renee-Cat 2
81: Celena-Cat 2
82: Tania Berg-Cat 3
83: Jamie-Cat 2
84: Katie @ Mexican Wildflower-Cat 2
85: jani-Cat 1
86: Emily-Cat 3
87: Jen C-Cat 3
88: Kathy-Cat 3
89: Sharon-Cat 2
90: Amanda-Cat 1
91: Becky-Cat 2
92: Sarah Laughlin-Cat 1
93: Stephanie-Cat 3
94: Naomi – category 2
95: Stephanie Marchbanks-Cat 2 1/2
96: Tonya Daniels-Cat 2
97: Sheila-Cat 2
98: Stephanie-Cat 1
99: Judee @ Gluten Free A-Z-Cat 1
100: Sara- Cat 3
101: Lauren-2 1/2
102: Colleen -Category 1
103: Giselle-Cat 3
104: Sharon-Cat 2
105: Jess-Cat 3
106: Andrea-Cat 2
107: Teresa-Cat 1
108: Kimberly-Cat 1
109: Ami-Cat 3
110: Jaime-Cat 1
111: Anne-Cat 2
112: cindy-Cat 2
113: Jessie-Cat 1
114: Rachel-Cat 2
115: Leala-Cat 2
116: Sarah-Cat 2
117: Meredith-Cat 1
118: Sarah C-Cat 2
119:Marliss Bombardier-Cat 1
120:Nicole Blackmon-Cat 3
121:lisa-Cat 1
122:Angela Kuhn-Cat 3
123:Hilary-Cat 2
124:Jacquie Olsen-Cat 3
125:Melody-Cat 2
126:Olga-Cat 2
127: Lechau-Cat 3
128:Melissa-Cat 1
129:april-Cat 3
130:Maria-Cat 2
131:Alicia-Cat 2
132:Holly-Cat 3
133:Shawnee Scott-Cat 1
134:Julie-Cat 2
135: Kristy-Cat 1
136: kris-cat 2
137: Rebecca-Cat 1
138: Amber-Cat 3
139: AndreaKJ-Cat 3
140: Raquel-Cat 1
141: Kristen-Cat 2
142:Carrie-Cat 2
143: Beth P-Cat 2
144: Martie – Cat 2
145: Denise-Cat 3
146: Juliet- Combo of Cat 1-2
147: Cat-Cat 2
148: Ashley Knight-Cat 1
149: Khandhi-Cat 2
150: Rhonda-Cat 1
151: Laura-Cat 3
152: Kate S-cat 2
153: Carol Harris-Cat 3
154: Gail-Cat 3
155: Rebecca Marchbanks: Cat 2
156: Anne-Cat 3
157: Gretta: Cat 1
158: Valentia-Cat 3
159: Amy-Cat 1
160: Natalia-Cat 1
161: BetsyB-Cat 1
162: Jessica langley-Cat 2
163: managersam-cat 2
164: Susan-cat1
165: Laurie R.- cat 1
166: Karen- Cat 3
167: Tanis- cat 2
168: Aubrey-cat 2
169: Shelly-cat 2
170: Barb- cat 2
171: Ash Bak- cat 2
172: Carolyn-cat 1
173: Karrie- cat 1
174: Jennifer- cat 1
175: Sherrie- cat 3
176: Kelli- cat 3
177: Jill Ward- cat 3
178: Kelly- cat 1
179: Jennifer Burns- cat 1
180: Theresa- cat 3
181: birgitte- cat 3
182: Karen Kwiatkowski- cat 2
183: Mara Lightwood- cat 2
184: Lea H @ Nourishing Treasures- cat 2
185: Natalie – cat 3
186: Celeste- cat 2
187: Amy M.- cat 1
188: Cindy- cat 3
189: Oly- cat 2
190: Anna- cat 1
191: Karen Ferris- cat 3
192: Dawn- cat 2
193: taylor kelch- cat 1
194: Laur- cat 1
195: Monique- cat 3
196: Teresa- cat 2
197: Valerie- cat 1
198: Sarah W- cat 2
Your turn now! Who wants to join us?
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Jean
Category 3!
Amy M
I’m going to do category 3 with a piece or two of fruit each day.
K
All of the above 🙂
KimiHarris
??? Do you mean you want to do category 3? 🙂
Janina
Janina, category 1 please.
Jennifer
Count me in on Category 2! Great invite!
stephanie
I am definitely in!! I basically eat no sugar as of now. I will attempt the no sugar at all except for fruit:)
Shanna
I’m in for category 2!
Amy Carter
category 2 but maybe trying for 3
Lisa
Thank you! I’ve been terrible since the holidays and this is the perfect bit of accountability. Category 2 for me.
sammiejo
category 2
Kathy Thierry
I’m in, level 3!
Daisy
Cat 1
Christina
Cat 3
Jenny Odegard
I’m gonna do level 3, but without eliminating fruits… need my bananna kefir! And here is a little tip I’d like to contribute for those of you who crave a sweet drink once in a while: I found a wonderful sassafrass drink in the tea section of my grocery store (Pappy’s Sassafrass Tea) .. it comes in liquid concentrate and is sugar free, gluten free, and caffeine free. A very refreshing drink and it may be the only thing I have found that actually complements the flavor of stevia!
Meghann Milton
Im in. Category 2.
Beverly
Cat 3.
Elisabeth
Oh, how perfectly timed this is–as the pan of blondies I just baked (organic, but that’s not saying much–they’re mostly sugar anyway!!) sits cooling on the counter!! I am SO addicted that I can feel the cravings every day, and have been telling myself I will just have to do a fast sometime soon… but soon never turns to “now” unless I get a nice invitation like this one–thank you!! I think I’ll try for category 3 (eek!) and see how I do. I’ve done it in the past and know it’s worth it–now to see if I can stick to it!
Kristi Cooke
I am currently on week 2 of a 5-8 week Candida detox diet, which is not new to me, but I have found (for me, anyway) that I have to revisit it every so often to keep Candida in check. I will be eating no sweeteners or fruit whatsoever, with the exception of a few berries and a dash of stevia in my morning smoothie, so I’m sort of a category 2&1/2. LOL! (Feel free to list me in the most appropriate category.) Thanks for the motivational support, Kimi, and kudos to you for helping others remove the ever-so-prevalent sugars and sweeteners from our diet!
Kristi Cooke, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
Nicole Blackmon
Hi Kristi – I’m actually on week 2 of my candida diet as well. I’ve been battling with it for 3 1/2 years but I’m going hard core with the diet this time. It’s so incredibly hard but I look forward to good results. If you have any tips or recipes, I’d love for you to share as this is my biggest issue with this diet. But for 2 weeks, I’ve eliminated pretty much ALL grains, with the exception of a taste of rice here and there, sugar and sweeteners, yeast and dairy. I have a grapefruit every other day though. Some days I feel like I’m starving but nuts (except peanuts) are my best friend! 🙂
Nicole Blackmon
Kelly R.
Cat 3
Ann Q.
Cat. 3 but will eat fruit.
Jenn Best
Category 1
Jen B.
It’s Cat. 3 for me. I’ll allow some berries if I can’t take it. 😉 Thanks, Kimi. Love, love, love your blog! Lord bless you.
Emi
Category 1
Kei
Kei- 2
xtina
Even tho I’m scared of failure I am open and willing to start a journey to a healthier and happier me. Thanks for the push Hill!
Cat 2.5
xtina
Kei
Kei-2
Elena
Cat 3
Ruth Avery
Ruth, category 2
Mellow
Mellow, Category 2
Sharon
Sharon, cat 2
Esther
category 2
Rebecca
Level 3 – already cut out all sugars, fruits and grain for the South Beach Diet phase 1…this will inspire me to stay off them a bit longer (refined sugars indefinitely).
Nance
Put me in the #3 category!
Vikki Kay
Cat 3 – Already doing 8 week challenge; started on Jan 1. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/i.quit.sugar.ebook?sk=wall has some very useful hints. I’ve lost 2kgs and have found the cravings battle easier than expected.
Jennie
Category #3
Kellie
Going to try category 2 this year! Thanks Kimi.
andreab
cat 2! I like stevia in my decaf!
Emily
Category 3!
Elaina
I started this kind of diet at the first of the month and most of the time I’m somewhere between category 2 and 3. I have used stevia, but do you think that’s cheating for category 3? I have seen no change in my energy level and I have not yet lost my cravings for sweets. I better sign up for category 3. BTW, I bought your book, Fresh, this month and it has helped a lot with my diet! Thanks!
KimiHarris
I think that stevia is fine for category 3. 🙂 So glad that my book has been helpful!
Did you want me to enter you into the challenge?
Renee
I’m in for Cat 2.
Perfect timing reading this today! I found myself taking MANY tastes of batter and frosting as I was making my son’s birthday cake today and tonight I feel like I have a hangover!!! I haven’t been having much sugar since Christmas, so I think today’s extra amount is really a shock to my system!
Anita Erhard
Today is day 6 for me of a 21 day no added sugar/sweetners and no animal products cleanse followed by 7 days of juicing. I feel great so far!
Celena
Category 2.
Tania Berg
Category 3. Thank you for this, I needed inspiration and now I have it! The support is wonderful! God bless.
Jamie
Category 2.
Jamie
Category 2.
Katie @ Mexican Wildflower
Level 2, thanks for having this chalenge!!!!
jani
Cat 1
Karrie
I have been doing cat. 1 for about 2 years now. I use honey once in a while. I hit my goal weight a year ago and now just treat myself on occasion. I am excited to see this! I am with you!
Emily
Category 3 (with fruit)!
Jen C
Me! Cat 3, but with fruit.