Sugar Free Challenge 2 - Friday

[Cooper27]

Morning

It's back to Friday already, and that means I'm back to thinking about meal planning.

Meal planning is something I've done for years - it's a helpful tool for healthy eating in general, and it helps me reduce my food waste too.

There are no hard and fast rules to meal planning, it depends on your circumstances and general lifestyle. I tend to cook every other night, and prepare enough leftovers to cover the next. I know many prefer to cook every night, but make leftovers for lunch instead.

I've heard decision making and willpower described as a fatiguing muscle, that gets tired out with each decision we make throughout the day. I think understanding this is helpful for meal planning - if you wing it, you're more likely to have worn down your muscle throughout the day, and so opt for the easier choice.

It's similar for the supermarket. You have to make hundreds of decisions (like which broccoli looks best) back to back, but if you have a list, you have already made those decisions, so the "easy" choices (like sugar-containing ready meals) are less likely to land in your basket.

I'll share my meal plan later today, but let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.

[Rosepetal60 Gluten Free]

Well, I’m now thinking of doing a second week for this sugar challenge as I have found it to be beneficial health wise. But I’ve run out of basic food ingredients in my freezers, so will have to start afresh. But at least, I now have a better idea of what to keep in the freezer. And I shall have to eat the frozen foods with dextrose in, once a week until all gone. But I would like to find some GF sausages that I like, without dextrose in. Ocado are good at showing the ingredients in foods, so that will be my first point of call. I’ve definitely lost 1lb. Maybe 2 by the end of this week.

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Rosepetal60]

I was able to find some preservative/dextrose free sausages in Waitrose, but I've struggled to find them anywhere else. There are online butchers who post boxes out to you too

I'm glad you've found the challenge helpful!

[Rosepetal60 Gluten Free in reply to Cooper27]

Very helpful , and thank you for the Waitrose tip. Will go and have a look in the next few days. And hope the pepper is way down on the list!

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Rosepetal60]

I've just had a look online, and I'm wrong on the dextrose! They're just Sulphite free. Dextrose is quite low down the ingredient list:

waitrose.com/ecom/products/...

[Rosepetal60 Gluten Free in reply to Cooper27]

Thank you for the update, it will save myself a trip. I notice sugar is included as well and that is a bit further up the list. So I’ll probably stay with my usual brand for now, but keep a look out for Butcher alternatives

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Rosepetal60]

I was so busy looking for dextrose, I missed the sugar!

[Rosepetal60 Gluten Free in reply to Cooper27]

I find thats very easily done when I'm looking for food products without certain ingredients.

[Subtle_badger in reply to Rosepetal60]

Perfect is the enemy of good.

I would regard myself as sugar free for about 18 months. I do try to avoid dextrose, but my body is not going to be able to detect trace amounts of it in a sausage, I am happy enough to eat it.

Currently buying naked sausages, as they have less than a gram of carbs per 100g. I really don't think that has any metabolic effect, and it's much better than a cheaper sausage that may have 20x the carbs.

[Rosepetal60 Gluten Free in reply to Subtle_badger]

Points taken thank you. I’ve noticed this morning, Rankin sausages ( the ones I like and buy) have sugar and dextrose in) 1.8 gms per 100 grams.