Day One: Sugar Free Summer + 30 for 30 Tacos

So I got it into my head that this summer, I was going to go sugar free. The weeks leading up to today were spent splurging on sugary foods, drinks and snacks, especially this last week. I wanted to hate sugar as much as I could to make this transition both easier (and much more difficult). The last time I went sugar free was for the month of December (2014). I did this to break some bad habits of consuming the majority of my calories through sugary drinks (coffee and energy drinks). I was successful, but the first week and a half was bad. This time, I just want to make some changes so that I feel better overall. Thankfully this is not my first rodeo and I have a strategy to make this challenge a reality.

Before I go into depth on what my strategies for success are, let me layout what I am challenging myself to do.

The Challenge:

Avoid all processed sugars and artificially modified sweeteners for 90 days. Natural Sugars in fruits are okay, Honey, Molasses, Maple Syrup are not.

 Simple right? Not so much. These first two-weeks are easily the hardest and for those who believe that the struggle is not real, stay tuned. Thankfully, this time around I have a few strategies that I will use to hopefully take the edge off of a painful few weeks.

Strategy One: Identify the foods that have hidden sugars and cross reference them with those that I like to eat. Below is a list of hidden sugars that are not clearly identified as sugar. From the documentary Fed Up, the hidden names of sugars:

Okay, so this list seems reasonable. Now it's time to cross-reference the foods I like to eat and see which ones have these ingredients.

Foods that I have eaten over the past 30 days:

For Breakfast:
Coffee with Sweet Creamers
A variety of Quiche
Eggs (Variety)
Bacon
Breakfast Sausage
Ham

For Lunch and Dinner:
Soda
Xing Fruit Teas
Gatorade
Frozen OJ
Not Your Daddy's Root Beer/Ginger Beer
Beer/Wine
Hamburgers (w/bun)
Hot Dogs (w/bun)
Brats
Chicken (Teriyaki)
Tacos
Quesadillas
Spaghetti
Fettuccine Alfredo
Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (w/bun)
A variety of Meat Sandwiches
Mac & Cheese
Sushi
Spam Musubi
Pizza
Kimchi
Egg Rolls (Homemade)
Egg Rolls (Store Bought)
Rice

For Dessert/Snacks
Ice Cream
Pie
Cake
Strawberry Short Cake
Chocolate
Cupcakes
Muffins

So this list is not exhaustive, but definitely representative of what I have eaten. This looks aweful.Looking at this list, my eating habits look and are terrible.

Now let's cross-reference my list with the list of hidden sugars and see what is left.

For Breakfast:
Coffee with Sweet Creamers 
A variety of Quiche 
 Eggs(Variety)
Bacon
Breakfast Sausage
Ham

For Lunch and Dinner:
Soda
Xing Fruit Teas
Gatorade
Frozen OJ
Not Your Daddy's Root Beer/Ginger Beer
Beer/Wine
Hamburgers (w/bun)
Hot Dogs (w/bun)
Brats
Chicken (Teriyaki)
Tacos
Quesadillas
Spaghetti
Fettuccine Alfredo
Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (w/bun)
A variety of Meat Sandwiches
Mac & Cheese
Sushi*
Spam Musubi
Pizza
Kimchi
Egg Rolls (Homemade)
Egg Rolls (Store Bought)
Rice

For Dessert/Snacks
Ice Cream
Pie
Cake
Strawberry Short Cake 
Chocolate
Cupcakes
Muffins

So after reviewing this list, if I want to eat food that I am used to, I am stuck eating the foods in red. There are only two real options above for some semblence of balance and that is Tacos and Sushi. As Sushi is expensive, I can see myself eating a lot of tacos this summer.

More to come later with additional strategies. For right now, I need to sleep for another hour or so before I work all day.