You can still join me in my No-Sugar/ No-Booze Challenge!

Much to the surprise of people who know me, I’ve committed to avoiding any alcohol whatsoever, or any added sugars (including honey, maple syrup etc) for the month of November!

Why, you may ask?

People who know me will tell you that I don’t believe in deprivation of any kind, as it can lead us to obsess, think about what we want all the time… And eventually, we cave in.

However, we don’t need added sugar for sweetness. Nature has kindly given us fruits of all sorts, such as coconut, and spices like cinnamon, vanilla, etc.

So I want to prove that we can absolutely survive without it.

Yes, fruits are allowed, although I suggest limiting to two to three portions daily.

And although I’m generally ok with a little raw honey or maple syrup, I’m going to suggest that for November, we do without, as it’s easy to go overboard on these. That said, if you need your Manuka for medicinal purposes that’s fine – there are options within this challenge. You decide your poison, so to speak, and write your own rules around that.
I want us to share great recipes – ice cream, chocolate, energy balls, cakes, cookies – that use only fruit bases as a sweetener.

Come December, I’ll be more than happy to add a little honey and healthier sweeteners back in.

Now, BOOZE!  Why would I ever give up my beloved red wine for a month? Well, I guess to prove that I can do it. For me, red wine is one of those things that just calls out to me once the bottle is uncorked  When asked what is the hardest thing for me to do for charity, my answer was: Give up red wine! Not that I drink copious amounts of it, but Singapore is a boozy place, and December is full on right? So I thought, to be a little kinder to my aging body, and to do something positive, red wine – and all alcohol – is out!

Why For Charity? As you know, I work closely with a few charities in Cambodia. I see the damage that sugar does to kids’ health and dental health, and we are all aware ot the damage that  booze can cause to personal and family relationships ( we don’t need to go to Cambodia to see this!). At Christmas, I usually organize a gift-giving event for the 60 kids at the Sok Sabay shelter, and head there with my princes to distribute. However, I thought this year it would be better to give funds as the kids are now older and in need of tutoring, school items etc. On that note, if anyone, along with their kids, wants to visit the shelter with us (week of Dec 19^th), you’re more than welcome to come along – I know many of you are keen.

So, for every day of November I’m off both. My kids are going to surrender $0.50 daily each of their weekly $10 pocket money. My husband has yet to confirm, but I know  he’s on board too – and that, my friends, can be up to $5 daily!

And as for YOU?  You might just want to go with one challenge (sugar or booze), or you may want to soften or toughen the ‘rules’; the main thing is that we share and blog about this, keep each other on the right track, and do many positive things together as a group.

How creative can we get? I’ve the perfect non-alcoholic red wine drink recipe I can share, I make ice cream without any sweetener all the time, and I’m sure you’ve lots of ideas to.

My tag line is #BeingHealthyShouldBeFun – I want to PROVE that we can do this, especially the November group. Even without sugar and booze!

So if you’re in, make your commitment below – what exactly are you doing for November, and can you commit to charity (it of course can be one of your own chosen charities). I will set up occasional blogs to see how everyone is doing.

Please feel free to get others roped in, and when blogging, use: #NoSugarNoBoozeNov

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^{This article was originally published on Health and Vitality blog and has been reposted on Executive Lifestyle with the permission of the author. 
Edited by Michelle Sarthou
Image credit: Shutterstock}

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