
A month ago I was mocking the sugar-free girls on Instagram smiling into their salads.
I would comfortably devour two jam and cream filled doughnuts, whilst lounging on the couch watching Man VS Food because judging Adam Richman for eating a 190-pound (86 kg) burger made me feel a lot better about my own poor eating habits.

But unlike Adam Richman I’m not under a contract to eat unhealthy food, which means all my poor food decisions are on me and instead of a fat paycheck I just got fat.
With Richman’s swollen face in mind and doughnuts slowly clogging up my arteries I decided to go totally sugar-free for two weeks to give my body a much needed cleanse.
That’s 14 days, 336 hours and 20,160 minutes of torture that I’m hoping will improve my physical and mental wellbeing.
Last year the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that one in two Australians (52 percent) are regularly exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations that your daily free sugar consumption should be no more than 10 percent of your total caloric intake. They further suggested that a reduction to below 5 percent would have added health benefits and is overall the more preferred target.

This means that the average free sugar intake for women is only 6 teaspoons (25.2 grams) and 9 teaspoons for men (37.8 grams).
To see how I compared to the recommendations, I measured how much sugar I consumed in the day before I started the cleanse. Here’s what I discovered.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdAw-eDUmSc&w=560&h=315]
Before I started, I had a consultation with Naturopath Anna Talaj, who for the next two weeks would guide me through the food choices and habits that I had to adopt.
Note: If you are interested in completing any form of diet or food cleanse it is highly recommended to visit a health professional first who can help you set out a plan that is appropriate for you.
“Going cold turkey in the initial stages is best because you learn how much you can actually tolerate without eating sugar” Anna explained as she gave me a list of what I could and couldn’t eat.


Specialising in healing the gut Anna emphasised how important eating for my blood type in conjunction with being sugar-free would be if I wanted to see long term results.
“The theory behind blood type is that there are certain foods that are more compatible with your blood type than others. When you follow this way of eating most of the time, your risk factors for developing preventable lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, cancer and poor cardiovascular health are reduced.”
Too often, Anna treats patients who are completely unaware that common poor health symptoms like migraines, allergies, eczema, constipation and diarrhoea are usually associated with their eating habits.
“Many people I see have become so accustomed to these types of poor health symptoms that they don’t think it can be fixed, let alone comprehend how their diet could be a major cause of it. But once their diet has been evaluated and changed appropriately to their blood type and needs, usually these inflammatory reactions begin to subside.”
In my case being a blood Type O, means I should not be consuming any dairy (except white cheese), wheat, corn, peanuts and white potatoes. This may come across quite extreme but because all these foods were already on the NO GO list, I did not feel as if I was being further food deprived.
Week 1
I woke up on Day 1 forgetting that I was cleansing, so just as I was reaching for a warm chocolate croissant I was yelled at by my family who for the next two weeks will be my hype team ensuring I don’t crash and burn.
For breakfast I cooked medium sized meals loaded with protein, vegetables and healthy fats. This not only sat well with my stomach (Blood Type focus) but also sustained my energy for longer.
Anna assured me that by Day 3 my intense craving for sugar would begin to pass as my body starts to remove the waste that was still in me. Three days passed however and I was still waking up feeling faint and extremely hungry which didn’t help my mood one bit.
The biggest struggle this week was being able to control my emotions.
I’m already a very emotional character, but my family made it very clear that this week my mood was all over the place and they couldn’t handle it.
One moment I was arguing with my sister over tasting my expensive almond milk then five minutes later I was initiating a High School Musical duet. The final straw though was when I burst into tears because Dad ate three pieces of my sashimi.
I am convinced my roller coaster behaviour was purely because I was not eating enough during the day. Yes, I was having a solid breakfast, lunch and dinner but because I was too lazy to create suitable snacks for the diet, between these meals I was choosing to go hungry. So with that in mind, I made another appointment with Anna.
Results at the halfway mark
My goals and expectations |
Was I successful after 7 days |
The results |
Lose weight |
Yes |
It is important to note that I did not exercise at all this week or any extra physical activity. This means my weight loss was all because I changed my diet.
|
Clearer skin |
Yes |
|
More energy |
No |
|
Better mood |
No |
|
Lose the cravings |
Yes |
|
Stronger will power |
Almost there but not quite |
|
Save money |
No |
|
WEEK 2
My poor behaviour in Week 1 meant I had to go back to have another consultation with Anna who now needed to rearrange my GO TO list so that I could survive another week without killing my family or my family killing me.
I felt defeated, that I couldn’t last 14 days of just eating wholesome good food and was convinced that I was going to lapse to my bad eating ways.
Fairy Godmother Anna, however, had other plans and assured me I hadn’t failed the challenge. The fact I had lost the sugar cravings meant my body had finally adjusted to a sugar-free diet and that it was safe to re-introduce some natural sugars into my meal plan without relapsing.
Good things come in threes and it was only three new foods that were needed to help keep me motivated for the next week and most importantly improve my mood.
Frozen Banana
Fresh Dates
Blueberries
She then pulled out her magic wand and whisked me off to Dymocks to purchase top selling ‘clean lifestyle and sugar-free cookbooks’ by Sarah Wilson and Jessica Sepel to inspire me to be more creative in the kitchen.

Let me tell you, readers, my life changed on the very first day!
THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS YOU CAN MAKE WITH A FROZEN BANANA and these three extra food options were the simple sweet additions I needed to stay motivated as well as control my emotions.
Instead of eggs in the morning, I was having delicious smoothie bowls and banana “ice cream” to settle any desire for sweetness during the day. Between the three books, I had an endless supply of recipes to choose from and I found myself tweaking meals specific to my Blood Type so that each meal was even more perfect for me.
Yes, it did take time but because I was so motivated I made the effort to plan out and prepare meals well in advance! Here are some of my favourite creations.
- Banana ‘ice cream’ with dates, cocoa nibs and shredded coconut
- I can’t plate up like a Masterchef but this frozen acai bowl was my ultimate go to meal
- Roasted zucchini chips, lightly salted.
- Broccoli soup with halloumi
- More broccoli soup that night with roasted vegetables
- Vanilla chia pudding with almond milk and raspberries for sweetness
- Raw brownies with raspberries. They look better than they taste!
- Sugar free avocado chocolate mousse with blended raspberries.
Week 2 results
My goals and expectations |
Was I successful after 14 days |
The results |
Lose weight |
Yes |
|
Clearer skin |
Yes |
|
More energy |
Yes |
|
Better mood |
So much better but my family still says there is improvement needed
|
|
Lose the cravings |
Yes |
|
Strong will power |
Yes |
|
Saving money |
Much better
|
|
LAST THOUGHTS
Quitting this amount of food was never going to be easy, but now at the end of it, I can happily say I have never felt better both mentally and physically.
The results have been so clear that I have decided to continue this diet plan in hope that one day it will simply become second nature.
I hope by now you are at least a little bit tempted to give it a go. I am positive you too will feel and see some amazing results.