Kevin Gallagher took on the SoMoved UNSWEETENED Challenge and made some remarkable health improvements by eliminating the sugar in his diet. The challenge equipped participants with information about the excessive amount of sugar and sugar substitutes in food, equipped them with tools to find it and learn how it affects them, and challenged them to get rid of it. Nobody can tell Kevin's story better than he can, and we're excited about his results from it! Read on...
"I have good news to share...between June and December of last year, I lost about 30 pounds. Even better, I’ve maintained my weight loss (so far!) I am mildly diabetic, and check my blood glucose levels daily. Prior to the UNSWEETENED Challenge and weight loss, my 14 day average glucose levels were anywhere from 106 to 118. These are not dangerously high, but the medical profession says this number should not exceed 100. Now my dailies range from 80 to 96, and my 14 day average readings are usually in the low to mid 90s. This is the best thing for me about avoiding added sugars and losing weight.
Speaking in general terms, I’d been happy with my fitness level, but not so much with my fatness. I’m pretty active, so I knew it had to be diet and nutrition. Overall, I have a pretty good diet, but have a problem with junk food. Last June I decided to make some changes, and went after the easy stuff. I decided to cut between-meal snacking, and lower my junk food intake. I figured if I could be successful with this approach I could lose a little weight, and sustain new habits because the changes wouldn’t be too radical.
This worked well, and I was steadily dropping about 3 pounds per month. By November 1st I had lost about 14 pounds and was happy with this. While I was on this weight loss journey, you announced the UNSWEETENED Challenge. This appealed to me because it would build on what I had been trying on my own. Holy cow! Did removing added sugar from my diet make a difference...in November I dropped another 9 pounds. In December, another 10 pounds. Since then, I’ve dropped another couple of pounds but have pretty much stabilized.
I credit your encouragement and the UNSWEETENED Challenge with most of my success. More than half the weight I dropped came off after November 1st. Focusing to just one thing...no added sugar...made the challenge easy. I didn’t have to 'go on a diet,' or make difficult life style changes. And what an eye opener! Sugar lurks in our diet everywhere, often disguised. Even stuff labeled “sugar free,” or “no added sugar” contains sugar substitutes. This was surprising, and sometimes disappointing. I would have a Eureka! moment while grocery shopping which would lead to disappointment upon more careful label inspection.
So anyway, thank you. I feel better, I look better, I’m eating better consistently. I’m not as fanatic about avoiding added sugars as I was during November, but am doing pretty well with it. I intend to make the changes a permanent part of my diet.
I look forward to the next challenge!"
- Kevin Gallagher
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