I did this 6 years ago, also for a non-religious “lent”. I was actually very strict about it:
nothing with “sugar” (or an artificial sweetener as an ingredient)
nothing that is more than 5% sugar by mass.
The latter one means that most fruit was out (except lemons, limes, and (surprisingly!) strawberries & raspberries).
Everyone had told me this would have an effect on my mood or something, or that I would notice things if/when I went back to eating sugar. It didn’t. I have since concluded my body is uncommonly resiliant to eating different things.
Oh, except that that all 3 times I have tried a low-carb diet (2× “slow carb”, 1× keto) I have gotten ill (usually ~flu) about a week in. Could be a coincidence but feels worth noting.
When you tried low carb did you supplement electrolytes? I tried ~keto and it worked really well for about a week before making me feel worse, and the problem was eventually solved with a combination of drinking salt water and pedialyte.
I was going to make mine “No obvious sugar, unless there’s a special occasion and it’s a special dessert”, but I think this will have a more powerful effect if for the 40 days I completely stop obvious sugar, and then at the end I can decide if I want to eliminate it entirely or keep that “social eating” aspect.
I think part of what makes lent useful is that it’s easier to commit to more drastic measures if it’s only 40 days, and once you’ve done 40 days, the drastic thing might no longer feel drastic and you can just do it.
I’m giving up obvious sugar. Good timing, thanks for the push.
I did this 6 years ago, also for a non-religious “lent”. I was actually very strict about it:
nothing with “sugar” (or an artificial sweetener as an ingredient)
nothing that is more than 5% sugar by mass.
The latter one means that most fruit was out (except lemons, limes, and (surprisingly!) strawberries & raspberries).
Everyone had told me this would have an effect on my mood or something, or that I would notice things if/when I went back to eating sugar. It didn’t. I have since concluded my body is uncommonly resiliant to eating different things.
Oh, except that that all 3 times I have tried a low-carb diet (2× “slow carb”, 1× keto) I have gotten ill (usually ~flu) about a week in. Could be a coincidence but feels worth noting.
When you tried low carb did you supplement electrolytes? I tried ~keto and it worked really well for about a week before making me feel worse, and the problem was eventually solved with a combination of drinking salt water and pedialyte.
I like the term “obvious sugar”, and hereby commit to the same.
EDIT: On second thought, I’d like to allow for one slice of birthday cake per birthday, for social reasons.
I have a similar rule named “No sugar unless offered” that seems to work well for social events.
I was going to make mine “No obvious sugar, unless there’s a special occasion and it’s a special dessert”, but I think this will have a more powerful effect if for the 40 days I completely stop obvious sugar, and then at the end I can decide if I want to eliminate it entirely or keep that “social eating” aspect.
I think part of what makes lent useful is that it’s easier to commit to more drastic measures if it’s only 40 days, and once you’ve done 40 days, the drastic thing might no longer feel drastic and you can just do it.