Woman Reveals the Shocking Changes to Her Body After Ditching Refined Sugar

Brain fog, headaches, low energy, and skin breakouts were just some of the things Stephanie was experiencing when she decided to cut refined sugar from her diet.

Two months ago, the 30-year-old who lives in Australia completely cut out refined and added sugar from her diet—and the changes she experienced were huge.

"I had been overdoing it with chocolate, other sweets, and highly processed foods for a few months and I was experiencing some negative side effects that I wanted to try and reduce and change," Stephanie told Newsweek.

"I honestly felt like I was addicted to sugar, and it wasn't a great feeling in many ways," she said. "I had headaches, sugar cravings all day long, low energy all the time, fatigue, poor sleep, poor mental health, brain fog, skin breakouts, and inflammation and puffiness."

After some research, reading articles, listening to podcasts, and watching videos on YouTube and TikTok, she learned about the benefits of cutting refined sugar from your diet.

Refined sugar refers to sugar that has undergone processing to remove any impurities and molasses, resulting in a product that is essentially pure sucrose.

During refining, the natural components of sugarcane or sugar beet are stripped away. This removes any fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants leaving a product that is high in calories but provides little to no nutritional value.

Widely used in processed foods, baked goods, desserts, and beverages to give a sweet taste, excessive consumption of refined sugar has been linked to multiple health issues including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Giving up refined sugar can have many health benefits, including weight loss, improved dental health, better energy levels, reduced inflammation, increased nutrient intake, and even better mood and mental clarity.

After looking into refined sugar, Stephanie was inspired and decided to make the change in her own life.

"I felt motivated to give it a try and thought if I documented it on TikTok, it would be fun and keep me accountable to the challenge," she explained.

Since April, Stephanie has been cutting out anything that has refined sugar in the ingredients.

"It's obvious things like chocolate, sweets, cakes, soft drinks, fruit juices, sauces," she explained. "But I also read the nutrition labels on other foods like yogurts, milk, and bread as these things often have refined or added sugar included. I make sure I buy the best possible option with the lowest amount of refined or added sugar I can find."

Like any big change, cutting out refined sugar isn't easy, and Stephanie struggled to begin with.

"I found it really difficult in the first week of cutting out refined sugar. I had lots of cravings and I experienced headaches," she recalled.

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But at just a week in, she started to experience the positives too.

"After the first week, I started to feel good and I noticed some changes in my wellbeing—that motivated me to keep going with the challenge," said Stephanie.

In just two months, the benefits have added up and Stephanie said she now feels amazing.

"I lost around 12 pounds, I have less overall inflammation and puffiness around my face, my skin is clearer, my appetite has reduced and I'm snacking less.

"I have clearer thinking and more focus, more sustained energy throughout the day and I am sleeping better at night," she explained.

There are even positives that she wasn't expecting, like improved mental well-being and fewer PMS symptoms leading to her period.

"I usually get bad cramps the few days before my period is due, however, I have not experienced this since cutting out sugar," said Stephanie.

Choosing foods that don't contain refined sugar isn't always straightforward, and Stephanie does sometimes find it challenging.

"I sometimes find it difficult now, mostly when I am hungry and want a quick snack," she said. "But the challenge has made me be really prepared with snacks and food so that if I do get hungry and crave sugar, I have something on hand."

Instead of high-sugar candy or chocolates, Stephanie opts for things like boiled eggs, a can of tuna, fruit, mixed nuts, or plain Greek yogurt.

"These satisfy my hunger cue and then I forget about having a sugary treat because I am no longer hungry," she explained.

Originally, Stephanie was only going to cut out refined sugar for a short time, but after all of the benefits of her new diet, she has decided to continue.

"I feel amazing, I feel so happy that I made the change," she said.