Sugar, Sugar… Oh Honey Honey!
Breaking free from excess sugar, with the power of community and the magic of science.
“Sugar, sugar… oh honey honey…” It sounds so sweet. So, innocent. So irresistible. But for many of us, sugar is no longer just an occasional treat. It is the biscuit with the afternoon coffee, the chocolate when we are stressed, the dessert we “deserve” after a long day, or the pick me up when our energy crashes. Before we know it, sugar has moved in, like a houseguest who said they were staying for the weekend and, three years later, is somehow on the electricity bill. I know, because I was that houseguest’s landlord. I was a sugar worshipper. I craved it, thought about it and used it to reward myself, comfort myself and boost my energy. I genuinely thought I would be in its grip forever. Then something shifted. I decided sugar did not get to run my life anymore, so I started my own journey of breaking free from it. It was one of the best decisions I have made in years.
THE NO SUGAR CHALLENGE
I started the No Sugar Challenge because I wanted to give up sugar myself. I set out to write daily strategies for everyone taking part, explaining what to expect, sharing recipes and tips, and exploring the science around sugar and health. Somewhere in all that research and writing, I ended up convincing myself all over again.
WHY I DID IT
We know that eating too much sugar can mean excess calories, weight gain and tooth decay. Sugary drinks are particularly easy to overconsume because they can add substantial calories without making us feel as full as solid food. I was certainly excited about the possibility of losing weight, but since cutting right back on sugar, I have noticed so much more. My energy feels steadier, without the familiar afternoon crash. My skin seems calmer and clearer. My digestion and bloating have improved dramatically, I feel less puffy, I sleep better and my thinking feels sharper. My mood feels more even too, and perhaps most importantly, my entire relationship with food has changed. The biggest difference is that I no longer feel controlled by sugar. That alone has made the whole experience worthwhile.
YOUR TASTE BUDS CHANGE TOO
Here is the fun part nobody tells you about. Your palate can change. Once I stopped eating so much sweet food, naturally sweet foods began to taste different. A strawberry could taste like dessert. Blueberries felt like a treat. I stopped needing everything to taste intensely sweet in order to feel satisfied. It was as though my taste buds had started doing the work I had previously outsourced to a chocolate bar.
FROM ONE CHALLENGE TO A COMMUNITY
What started as something personal turned into something much bigger. We have now run two No Sugar Challenges, one lasting 21 days and another lasting 42 days, with 250 people taking part in each. That is 500 people choosing to do something difficult together.
The messages I have received have been incredible. People have told me about having more energy, fewer cravings, less bloating and greater confidence. Again and again, one emotion comes through more than anything else: pride. Pride in keeping a promise to themselves. That matters enormously. When you have spent years telling yourself, “I have no willpower,” “I can’t resist chocolate,” or “I’ll start again on Monday,” breaking that cycle can feel impossible. Until one day, you do.
21 DAYS TO SHIFT A MINDSET
The first few weeks can be an opportunity to examine habits that may have been running on autopilot for years. People start reading labels and noticing just how much added sugar can appear in everyday foods. They discover alternatives and begin planning ahead instead of simply reaching for whatever is easiest. Gradually, the question can change from, “How will I survive without sugar?” to, “Why did I think I needed so much of it?”
42 DAYS TO BUILD NEW HABITS
The 42-day challenge takes that process further. After six weeks, many of the choices that initially required thought can begin to feel much more familiar. It is enough time to experiment, to notice which foods make you feel good and, perhaps most importantly, to prove something to yourself: I can change my habits. Sugar is not the enemy. Being controlled by it is. This was never about fearing food or believing that one slice of birthday cake ruins everything. It is about understanding where added sugar appears in our diets and making a conscious decision about how much of it we actually want. Public health guidance recommends limiting free sugars rather than eliminating every form of sugar from our diets. For me, having a defined period without added sugar provided a reset. It gave me the opportunity to interrupt old habits and rediscover what actually satisfied me.
A CONFESSION
I am not writing this from some perfect, sugar free pedestal. Years ago, when my niece and nephew were still at school, I used to give them chocolate cake for breakfast as a “reward” for being good. Looking back, I was not rewarding them. I wanted the cake. They were simply my very convenient, very small accomplices. That is how deep my devotion to sugar ran. I could find almost any excuse, including “good behaviour in a seven-year-old,” to justify eating it myself.
MY BIGGEST LESSON
If you had told me years ago that I would one day, feel free from my obsession with sugar, I would not have believed you. But I did it. And my experience has taught me that habits we think are permanent can change. The real gift was never simply what I stopped eating. It was waking up and knowing that I was making my own choices. Five hundred people from around the world joined these challenges. Suddenly, I felt responsible for showing up for all of them, and that meant I had to keep showing up for myself too. I am enormously grateful to every person who joined us. They kept me as honest as I hope I kept them. To everyone who has taken part, whether you completed 21 days, continued to 42, slipped and came straight back, surprised yourself with what you could do, or simply turned up each morning and encouraged somebody else, thank you. You are the reason this has become so special.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
- “Such a powerful journey,” Vinnie Kochar
- “The thrill, the confidence, the self-assurance and self-nurturing that comes with saying ‘Sorry, no, I don’t do sugar!’ is truly exhilarating! Thank you, dear Anshu, for being our mentor and guiding us on the path of an invaluable treasure, GOOD HEALTH,” Cherene Nayar
So, sugar, sugar, oh honey honey, thank you for the memories, the sugar highs and the truly heroic number of “just one more square” negotiations. But I will choose freedom instead.
JOIN US
Our next No Sugar Challenge launches on our website on the 15th of October 2026. If you have ever wondered whether you could do this, perhaps now is the time to find out. To all my wonderful The Sun (Daily Mirror) readers, I would like to offer you a 50% discount if you join the next challenge. Please use the code “WELCOME50”
Online: www.wellnesscurated.life
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Anshu Bahanda is the founder of Wellness Curated, a global platform and podcast dedicated to making expert knowledge on physical, mental and holistic wellbeing more accessible. With a background spanning finance, technology, entrepreneurship and the arts, she brings a broad perspective to the way we think about health. Through conversations with leading experts and her writing, Anshu explores practical, evidence informed approaches to living healthier, more balanced lives. Instagram: @wellnesscurated.life
