What Really Happened When I Gave Up Sugar for 21 Days

What's so bad about sugar? Everyone I know seems to have quit eating it. I love sweets, carbs and getting my drink on every now and then. But my sugar- and carb-free friends insist that I'd be much happier—and come to appreciate sweets and drinks even more—if I'd try life without them for awhile. So, I decided to cut out sugar for 21 days. Was I happier?

The first 10 days were a killer. I was grouchy all the time. When I wasn't grouchy, I was despondent and probably even a little depressed.

For a few days, I'd convinced myself that I had the flu. I didn't want to get out of bed. While I didn't have a fever, runny nose or stomachache, my body felt wrecked. I ached. All I could do was lie around and sigh.

I also couldn't remember a thing! I felt as if I were walking around in a fog, only half paying attention. I couldn't remember why I'd walked into a room (probably to look for a snack I couldn't have) and had a hard time staying focused on work and in conversations.

I also slept terribly in that first week to 10 days. I woke up in the middle of the night and had a hard time getting back to sleep. I was restless and didn't feel like getting out of bed, but I couldn't figure out how to fall and stay asleep.

I cut out the sugar cold turkey. I tried to eat as low carb as possible, too. My sugar-free friends warned me that I'd have mad cravings at first—and I did. But I also felt constantly hungry, as if I couldn't get enough to eat. The key, I was told, was to eat something fatty like bacon, cheese or a pork chop or something. After a few days, I stopped feeling constantly empty. But I also never wanted to see a pork product again.

After Day 5, despite terrible sleep, my face looked more rested and my skin looked better. I had fewer breakouts and diminished dark circles. I even glowed just a little.

By Day 11, I started having more energy. Like, a lot more energy. I'd been going on walks to eat up time in the day and to get me away from the kitchen. At some point, I felt as if I could take off running, like I could go on forever.

Unsurprisingly (to me now), I lost weight. In the three weeks that I stayed completely off sugar, I lost about 10 pounds, just like that.

Because most of the weight seemed to come off around my stomach, my once-tight pants fit better. I could even notch down my belt. Overall, I felt less bloated.

That foggy brain that remembered nothing? Gone. Going into Week 3, I had a kind of clarity of thinking that had gone missing, certainly since I gave up sugar and something I don't recall having when I was eating sugar and lots of carbs.

I also stopped snacking and wanting to snack. I stopped having that bottomless-pit feeling and rarely even felt hungry. I started drinking more water and then pretty much stuck to three meals a day with nothing (or not much) in between.

Overall, I felt less anxiety. In addition to having more energy, I also had more patience at home and with my work. My kids' meltdowns seemed less dire to me. I felt less desperate for the day to end.

I also stopped dreaming about doughnuts and ice cream. Office birthdays with team cupcakes weren't hard to pass up. I could serve my family dessert without feeling cheated out of it myself. I didn't obsess over the fact that there was cake or muffins in the kitchen. I could walk by a bakery without longing to go in.

I started eating more vegetables. I've always loved fresh vegetables but probably wasn't getting the right number of servings every day. Without the other stuff, I had to fill in somewhere.

When I did eat fruit, which I tried to avoid since fruit also contains sugar, I noticed right away its intense sweetness. Had fruit always tasted like this? After giving my tastebuds a break from added sugars and other sweeteners, a piece of raw fruit tasted like candy.

I also blame altered tastebuds and less hunger for the radical decrease in the amount of coffee I drank, starting around Week 2 of my no-sugar life. One or two cups a day, with little or no sweetener, was enough. Sometimes it was even too much, which led me to switch to a cup of green tea on some days.

The last thing I noticed by Day 21 of no-sugar: I hadn't had as many drinks in those three weeks as before. Maybe it's because I went to bed earlier, especially for the first two weeks. Or maybe it's because I got buzzed from just one drink. But my body was telling me something, not just about alcohol but also sugar and carbs in general: I could live with much less and, after getting over the initial hump, feel great doing it.