No sugar challenge: the rules, a food list and 25 ideas from 7 to 30 days

No sugar challenge rules: pick your version

There is no official version, so write your rule down before day 1, and pick the one you can check with a yes or a no each evening.

• Eat no added sugar for 30 days: nothing with sugar, honey or syrup added by you or by the maker.
• Drink no sugary drinks for 30 days: no soda, sweet tea, energy drinks or fruit juice.
• Eat no sweets for 21 days: no candy, cake, cookies or ice cream.
• Drink your coffee and tea with no sugar for 14 days.
• Read the label of every packaged food before it goes in your cart, for 30 days.

7, 14, 21 and 30 day no sugar challenges

Start short: a 7 day challenge tells you whether the rule fits your week, and you can stretch it from there.

• Go 7 days with no added sugar, Monday to Sunday.
• Go 14 days with no sugary drinks, then add a second rule for 14 more.
• Go 21 days with no sweets after dinner.
• Go 30 days with no added sugar, one box for each day.
• Pick a day count equal to your age, like 35 days with no added sugar at 35.

No sugar challenge food list: swaps you can count

A food list works best as swaps, one sweet thing out and one plain thing in, like the sugar ideas on the nutrition goals list.

• Drink water or plain sparkling water with every meal for 30 days.
• Eat plain yogurt with fresh fruit in place of flavored yogurt, 5 breakfasts a week.
• Have a piece of whole fruit for dessert on 20 of the 30 days.
• Cook dinner at home 5 nights a week, so you know what went in.
• Write a list of 10 snacks with no added sugar before day 1.

No sugar challenge at work, at parties and eating out

Days away from home need their own plan, and deciding what you will do ahead of time is the idea behind if-then plans.

• Bring your own snack to work 4 days a week for a month.
• Turn down the treats at work every time this month, and count each one.
• Order water or unsweetened tea every time you eat out this month.
• Ask for the sauce or dressing on the side at 5 meals out.
• Decide what you will eat before each party or dinner out this month.

After the challenge: keep the rule you liked

The last day is a good time to choose one rule to keep, and to make it lighter than the challenge was.

• Keep one rule from the challenge for 60 more days.
• Have sweets on weekends only, for 8 weeks.
• Have at most one sweet thing a day for 3 months.
• Write down your hardest day of each week, and what made it hard, for 4 weeks.
• Run the challenge again in 3 months and count how many days you ticked each time.

What counts as sugar on a no sugar challenge?

There is no official no sugar challenge, so the first job is to say what "sugar" means. A clear place to draw the line is what the World Health Organization calls free sugars: the sugars added to food and drink, plus the sugars in honey, syrups and fruit juice. The sugar in a whole piece of fruit is not on that list. That is why "whole fruit yes, juice no" is an easy rule to check.

The WHO says to keep free sugars under 10 percent of the energy you eat in a day. A no added sugar challenge goes further than that, for a set number of days. If you have diabetes or another health condition, ask a doctor or a dietitian before you change how you eat.

Then make the rule one you can test. A review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals lead to higher performance than being told to do your best. "Eat less sugar" has no test. "No sugary drinks until 30 November" does.

How to track a no sugar challenge: a chart, one box a day

A no sugar challenge is a day count. Each evening, ask one question: did I keep my rule today, yes or no? A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that recording it beat keeping it in your head.

It works like a no spend challenge for your plate: one rule, a set number of days, one box for each day. A slip is one empty box, not day 1 again. In a study of how long it takes to form a habit, the median was 66 days, with a range of 18 to 254, and missing one day did not change the outcome.

A paper chart on the fridge works. A dot grid that fills one dot for every day you keep the rule shows the month adding up.

Frequently asked questions

What can you eat on a no sugar challenge?

Anything with no added sugar, honey or syrup, if you use the WHO's idea of free sugars as your rule: vegetables, whole fruit, eggs, beans, fish, meat, nuts, and any packaged food whose label shows no added sugar. Your own rules decide the edge cases, so write them down before day 1.

Can you eat fruit on a no sugar challenge?

It is your rule to set. The World Health Organization counts the sugar in honey, syrups and fruit juice as free sugar, but not the sugar in a whole piece of fruit. So "whole fruit yes, juice no" is a clear line to draw.

Does honey count on a no sugar challenge?

Yes, if you follow the WHO's definition. The sugars in honey and in syrups count as free sugars, just like the white sugar in a bowl.

Can you have sweeteners on a no sugar challenge?

Decide before day 1. Some people allow them and some do not, and this page does not pick for you. Whichever you choose, write it next to your rule so a hard evening does not decide it.

How long should a no sugar challenge last?

Start with 7 or 14 days to learn where sugar shows up in your week. Then try 21 or 30. A short challenge you finish tells you more than a long one you drop on day 3.