The lovely Jules
People often think of ‘Stronger Without Sugar’ as a weight loss programme, but it wasn’t created that way. People take up the challenge for many reasons.
Meet Jules. She has no problem with her weight, although she was concerned about her ‘spare tyre’, but before joining ‘Stronger Without Sugar’ she was literally eating sugar all day long. She says:
Sweet, starchy foods hautned Jules every day.
“I have always been a sugar junkie. It wasn’t so much a case of not a day going by without sugar, it was just one long all-day conveyor belt of doughnuts, chocolate digestives, Twix, fudge, you name it. I could eat a packet of Jaffa cakes in a sitting, and scoff three choccie bars in one go. I loved sugary flavoured lattes, and believed the best part of a meal out was the pudding. I was totally hooked – but knew it wasn’t doing me any favours, especially coming up to the menopause.”
Jules knew that developing healthy habits alone can be really hard. She was looking for practical support to enable her to achieve her goals with a positive mindset.
I was there for Jules to answer her queries and affirm her whenever she needed.
“I clearly could not do it on my own, so I signed up for the Stronger ‘Without Sugar’ challenge. Without, I have to admit, much expectation of it actually working. But it did, and I am still not sure how. It succeeded when all else failed. I did not even follow it to the letter and never intended to cut sugar out of my life altogether. I just wanted to get to a situation where I could enjoy it as an occasional treat – and not a staple part of my diet.”
What was it that enabled Jules to achieve the success she wanted?
“I think the support I got from Susannah really was the key. She is non-judgemental, but somehow I could see her face floating in front of me when I made food choices, and that kept me on track.”
So, what benefits did Jules notice?
“The change in my diet has been unbelievable. Gone are the whole packets of Jaffa cakes (not had one since I started and not planning to). Also gone are the two bars of choccie watching telly each night. And the packets of value choc digestives are a memory. I am not planning to slip back. And if I say it myself, I am looking pretty fab in my jeans these days, now the out-of-proportion spare tyre has shrunk”.
That sweet feeling of success.