I went six months without sugar.

I used to check my weight after each workout session, only to get disappointed. My muscles were shaping up, but my body was still at 77kgs after days, weeks, months of workout.

The problem, and the solution, were both right in front of me — diet.

My eating habits were pretty bad. Every chance I got, I’d replace my meal with fast food. I’d snack in between the meals with a bag full of chips or an entire chocolate bar. This has been the case for as long as I can remember.

But outside food wasn’t the only problem. Even the meals cooked in an Indian household use plenty of oil and sugar. When I started paying attention, I noticed how we’d casually stuff ourselves up with Pakoras, or eat multiple bowls of Halwa without breaking a sweat.

Okay, time for a change!

I decided to start a no-sugar, no-fat diet. The rules were simple:

1. No sugar in any sense — no Kheer, chocolate, cola, cookies, etc.

2. No fried food — No Poori, French Fries, chips, etc. Minimal fat intake in other forms is okay.

3. No processed food of any sort. I’d reject anything that comes packed.

When trainers ask to replace white rice with brown, wheat with ragi, sugar with jaggery, dinner with salad, I don’t think that’s a practical advice. You may be able to pull it off for a couple of months, but then what? You’re likely to return to the old lifestyle.

So rather than making it super hard for me, I laid a (relatively) simple diet plan. All I was allowed to eat was unfried, unsweetened, homecooked food. It’s sustainable because the menu and the ingredients remain unchanged, there’s no overhead.

How did it go?

June 1st, I start my diet. And soon enough, I realize that pretty much everything contains sugar. A lot of sugar.

Morning tea comprised 2 spoons; I stopped drinking tea altogether. Breakfast yogurt had 3-4 spoons; replaced it with salted yogurt. Any urge of sweetness I felt during the day, I satisfied with fruits (mostly bananas). And I’d end the day with a glass of plain milk or coffee.

With each passing day, my craving for sugar reduced. I realized that the less you consume, the less you desire. Soon, it completely vanished.

Furthermore, my sense of taste improved. Without sugar, I was able to experience many flavors for the first time. I could appreciate the bitterness of coffee and cocoa. I got sensitive towards the natural sweetness of milk and fruits.

How did it feel?

People say that sugar translates to energy, and without it, I’d feel chronic exhaustion. In the beginning, I did feel reduced strength during weight training. But that’s because I was cutting calories and reducing weight. It’s natural.

Today, after six months, I’m as energetic as ever. I do two hours of workout every day and rarely feel weak or exhausted.

Did I cheat?

Of course! For the first four months, it went very well. I didn’t consume a drop of sugar. But last two months, not so much.

The past two months comprised the festive season and a family wedding. Now I don’t lack will power, even when surrounded by sweets. But Indian families can get super pushy when it comes to food, especially during occasions. So, no matter what I did, I ended up eating a lot of snacks.

However, only the fat intake escalated on cheat days. Sugar intake still remained close to zero.

How much did I lose?

Today, I weigh 69kgs. That’s a loss of 8kgs in 6 months.

What does this mean? This means that I’m able to do pull-ups which was impossible four months ago. This means that I can hold plank for five minutes. This means that I able do pushups on two fingers.

This also means that I look good in pictures :)

Now what?

When I set this goal, I also set a reward for myself — the biggest cake that my neighborhood bakery makes. It’s called “Chocolate Chocolate Cake” and is at least four times the size of an average pastry.

I did not start this diet to end it. The timeframe of six months was set to experiment and see whether I can make it. Now that I did, we can stop counting!

Would you like to take the no sugar challenge for a month? Try it!

Stay healthy,
Aachman