JoLynn over at thefitshack.com is up to something interesting. She’s put herself on a Ban The Refined Sugar Experiment. Here are her guidelines:

Here are the guidelines that I am committing to:

1. I will not ingest any sugar for the next 30 days.

2. I will be eating natural sugar in the form of some fruits, such as strawberries, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, grapefruit, and pineapple. I will not eat oranges as they are high in natural sugar and could give me cravings for refined sugar.

3. I will use the artificial sweetener Splenda in moderation. If I notice that it gives me any cravings for sugar then I will discontinue its use. I will know this by keeping a log of what I eat which will include my detailed use of Splenda. (I personally have never had a problem with this, which is the opposite of my experience with NutraSweet).

4. I will keep a detailed log of the food that I eat.

5. I will omit sugar-free gum and protein bars from my diet.

6. I will log emotions and feelings that can be triggers to emotional eating. This will serve as a log to (I expect) show how cutting out the sugar elevates the mood and brings clarity of thought.

7. I will give you a weekly update for the next 30 days to outline the changes that I note, whether positive or negative.

I think this is a great challenge JoLynn has set up for herself. My wife and I decided about 15 years ago to kick the sugar habit and we’ve never looked back. It’s made an incredible difference in our energy levels and our moods. After giving up sugar, my wife’s mood swings all but disappeared. We’re both grateful for that.

You might want to follow along with JoLynn and see if you can do it too! You can read her entire post here: http://www.thefitshack.com/2007/05/04/ban-the-refined-sugar-experiment/