Why 30 Day No Sugar No Whatever Challenges Don't Work

Filed Under: Anti-Diet

13 September 2015 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis

January is here and with the start of the new year comes new beginnings and changes, often accompanied by new quick fixes and diets, detoxes or challenges.

I am seeing all sorts of  “CHALLENGES” on Facebook. The one that caught my attention was the 30 Day No Carbs No Sugar Challenge.  When I saw it all I thought was “OMG the horror of rules and restrictions”. If you are contemplating it, think again and again and once more…

I totally get how tempting it is to go on a 30 day Challenge. It promises you a solution after only 30 days! All you need to do is switch off and follow the rules! Hand over your power to the challenge. In some ways it’s easy but it doesn’t get to the bottom of WHY you overeat carbs and sugar.

Here are some reasons why I think challenges (aka diets) are a bad idea:

Cutting out food groups (unless you have a medical reason or a food intolerance) doesn’t serve us – especially if you have a history of dieting and you are prone to comfort eating.

We all have an inner dictator in us that can assist us to eliminate foods for 30 days and yes the weight will come off. BUT… what happens AFTER the 30 days? That is the question…

I remember going on a 21 day sugar detox a while back and stretched it to 30 days and guess what? On day 32, I was inhaling wine gums, jelly tots and Sally Williams nougat!

Challenges don’t help you normalise your relationship with forbidden foods. They entrench the idea that sugar and carbs are the enemy to be avoided and eliminated and at all costs! Whilst I agree that too much sugar and white processed carbohydrates don’t feel good in your body, they do give us pleasure!

Rules, restriction, control, elimination and willpower eventually just lead to overeating, binge eating and create a dysfunctional relationship with food. If you want to read some more manageable and sustainable guidelines for eating, Food Rules by Michael Pollan is a good place to start.

Challenges focus on short-term change and not long-term, lasting behavioural change, because they don’t address changing habits.

Basically a challenge is just another term for diet – and they don’t work for the same reasons diets don’t work. The more strict and rigid the challenge is, the worse the backlash post-challenge will be. Once you revert to your normal habits, the weight you lost on the challenge will come back on again.

Read this blog for more reasons why diets don’t work long in the long term.

Now, what can you do instead?

  1. Moderation NOT elimination. Eat sugar and carbs some of the time just for the pleasure of the taste.
  2. When eating food for pleasure – eat slowly and savour your food for maximum enjoyment.
  3. Eat Mindfully – here’s how you can benefit.
  4. If you overeat sugar and carbs don’t beat yourself up emotionally. Learn and let go.
  5. Instead of giving up carbs and sugar, here are some ideas of what you can give up instead.
  6. Focus on progress and not perfection. Small, consistent changes to your relationship with food lead to long-lasting results.
  7. By taking small turtle steps you create a path, whereas with giant leaps (challenges) there’s just a lot of air in between and a path to sustainable change is not created.

So before you jump on the CHALLENGE bandwagon remember there is another way, the middle way. Moderation not elimination.

Love,
Xen.

“From our first meeting - two faces on Zoom across the world from each other, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort that was a healing balm for a lifetime of food struggles and dieting. Without realizing how much damage I had done to myself by adhering, for decades, to restrictive food plans and rigid diet programs, Xen had a way of redirecting the harsh and negative self-talk and sending me forth each week with compassion, mindfulness and a new way of seeing myself in the here and now. Gone are the maybe somedays, and if-only, and when-I’m-smaller thinking. Now I am committed to the imperfect and rocky path to listening to my body, accepting my perfect imperfections, and rejecting diet mentality. Those negative voices will revisit me from time to time, I know, but Xen has offered valuable tools for meeting each day as a fresh start - another choice, another chance. Her devotion to this work and her belief in her clients is a remarkable gift; I am so fortunate to have found her. It is never too late to let go of the drama and embrace joy, ease and self-acceptance.”

Karen L, Denver, USA

“I felt hopeless and helpless in my daily struggle with mindless eating for many years. Then I found Xen which is exactly what I needed! My decision to work with her helped me to finally repair my relationship with food. It's changing my life for the better, one day at a time. Now I have control over the food, instead of it having control over me, which is the way it should be. I highly recommend Xen to anyone who has a desire to overcome similar food struggles. Xen, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

Karen J, Colorado, USA

“I reached out to Xenia because 2021 started on a tumultuous note for me. Between deaths, businesses suffering, hospitalizations, and job losses in our personal circle, I felt depleted and found myself being available for everyone but myself. Then I was hit with an unexpected health diagnosis, which was the last straw as it meant giving up “healthy foods” and workouts that I leaned on for my well-being and stability. Despite working in wellness (Yes, coaches and healers are vulnerable too!), I found myself reaching out to desserts for comfort. I like to live a life of permissions (not labels or deprivation leading to bingeing), so I wanted to work with someone who approached healing from a place of mindful compassion. I didn’t want to be my own client. Xenia was great in reminding me to be kind to myself. Working with her, brought me peace and helped shift my mindset. I love how desserts and I look at each other now.”

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Daniela Velásquez, Ottawa, Canada

“Working with Xen was a game changer for me. After working together for a few months my relationship with food radically changed. I no longer felt like a failure. I now have the tools to nourish my body with foods that feel good in my body. I don’t feel guilty about eating cake or chocolate, I also don’t overeat cake and chocolate. I no longer feel the need to exercise to compensate for my eating. I feel much more free around eating and I am more accepting of my body. Xen has a nonjudgmental and compassionate approach to coaching and really supports you in the process.”

Rachel, Dublin, Ireland

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Michelle, Johannesburg, South Africa

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