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So, we’re into week 4 of the 8 weeks – halfway there! I hope you guys are feeling great…the Myers are! 
Part of the idea of T-Tapp exercises is that you really don’t have to change your diet in order to benefit from the program. How awesome is that?! Of course, you can always expedite things by changing a few of the things you eat.
You might remember before that we tried to partake in a Sugar Detox Challenge. We cut out high fructose corn syrup, white flour, and white sugar…but then the challenge got a little wacko and well…we quit. Yep – the Myers are quitters. We like pie, what can I say?
We did not reintroduce corn syrup, white flour, or white sugar into our diet. We continued to use natural sweeteners, but I noticed that our use of them had inched up…until we were eating entirely TOO MUCH sugar. Healthy or not – sugar is sugar.
Brownie Pie
There is a lie circulating that eating fat makes you fat. That’s false. Fat is good for you (traditional fats) – fat does not make you fat. Eating SUGAR makes you fat.
Even if it is “good” sugar, your body will still respond the same way – blood sugar will spike and weight gain ensues. For me, this has taken a while to learn. I’ve always heard that low fat is the way to go – if you eat fattening things, you’ll get fat.
But, I’m a testimony to that fact that this is NOT true. When we started eating full fat dairy, I didn’t gain a bit of weight. At all. None. Nada.
Sugar is meant to be a treat – not an everyday occurrence. And yet, I was plugging us full of sugar every day: syrup, honey, ice cream, dessert each night, a handful of chocolate almonds. Something that was meant to be special was now something we ate every day.
When I eat too many desserts, I can feel my pants getting tight. I try to tell myself it’s the stupid dryer shrinking my pants again. But no. The dryer is not the devil. This isn’t because dessert is bad…it’s because too much sugar packs on the pounds.
Coconut Chocolate Cake
So, as part of our lifestyle change with T-Tapp, we decided that sugar would once again be a treat. We only eat dessert on Sunday or during special occasions like birthday parties and holidays. Even then, I try to make the dessert myself and make sure I use natural sweeteners.
With this change and the T-Tapp exercises, I can already tell a big difference in how my pants are fitting. It was an easy switch – I’ve not sworn off sugar…I’ve just decided that it will only be on Sunday.
We don’t want a crash diet – we want a lifestyle change. To swear off sugar and desserts entirely is sure to fail for us because we really do enjoy a sweet treat now and then. Who doesn’t? And don’t lie to me – your eye is twitching.
Since we live an 80/20 lifestyle, this fits right in. Sugar? Yes…but only occasionally. As a TREAT like it’s meant to be. All things in moderation – including pie.
Coconut Pie from Smart Sweets
So, what does Stacy do when she does want a dessert on Sunday? Well, I’ll tell you. I either fix one of my stand-bys like Coconut Chocolate Cake, Brownie Pie, or perhaps a dessert from Crock On.
OR, I fix a dessert from my new favorite dessert cookbook – Smart Sweets. My friend Katie from Kitchen Stewardship has a rockin’ awesome eCookbook all about DESSERTS. And man, let me tell ya – they are delicious!!! The book is only $8.95 and it’s well worth the money.
There are no weird desserts in there – nothing on fire or calling for some odd ingredients from the Orient. It’s all easy stuff using whole food ingredients. I’m not into weirdo cookbooks – if I can’t pronounce it, I don’t wanna cook it.
Our family LOVES the Coconut Pie and Rice Pudding. SO good. If you don’t have this cookbook yet, you’re really missing out on some deliciousness. For real, yo.
Katie is giving Stacy Makes Cents readers a discount! WOOOO!!! Use the code CENTSFORSWEETS for 25% off when checking out. (good through 2/8/13).
So, who’s with me?! Are y’all willing to cut back on sugar to one day a week to see if you can shed some pounds? Pair this lifestyle change with T-Tapp and you’re sure to lose weight and keep it off!
How often do you eat sugar? Should you cut back?
**I am an affiliate with Smart Sweets…because I’m smart. HA!**
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About Stacy
Hi, I'm Stacy! Welcome to Stacy Makes Cents! I'm a naturally-minded, frugal living mama, who likes to blog about living debt free in everyday life. Delicious (and healthy) recipes, money tips, and frugal living posts abound here! Enjoy your stay. Romans 13:8 
Okay, I’d like to cut back on five pounds too. So I have been sweetening my daily kefir shake with honey. What can I use now? It needs something! I either make banana, strawberry or strawberry/blueberry. I am gonna trust you on the fat not making you fat thing… because recently we have changed to raw dairy and we are putting fats back in our diets. That is hard to do after years of going low fat!
Since we’re cutting back, and not cutting out, I think honey in your kefir is okay. I sweeten Annie’s daily kefir with maple syrup. You could try stevia? I use it to sweeten kefir smoothies.
I find that if I use a sweeter fruit like a handful of red grapes or some orange or tangerine I really don’t miss the sugar. We usually throw in a handful of spinach too.
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Reducing your intake of sugar can be a sticky situation especially if you are in the habit of eating a dessert after dinner daily. I am usually more lenient during the summer months when there isn’t so much sickness going around. During the winter season we don’t eat dessert very often so I agree with what you are saying. Because we don’t have dessert very often it is a real treat for my kids to pick a dessert at a potluck. If we were eating desserts daily it wouldn’t be a treat so it’s a win/win in my book. Everything in moderation are words of wisdom, you are right on.
“Sticky.” Pun intended? Ha! Yes – I think it makes dessert taste even better when it’s a treat instead of a regular occurrence.
Oh, don’t wreck my dysfunctional rationalization! Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been like, “hey Stacy likes sweets and they do whole foods…”
Maybe that’s creepy.
I have Smart Sweets and love it! Great cook book.
Ha, ha!
We still eat sweets – just occasionally instead of every day. Did you try the Coconut Pie in there? SO good!
Just wanted you to know, Stacy, that I got your cookbook and I Love it! I made the Mexican chicken spaghetti. Twice. So easy and delicious. I need to try some of the desserts very soon.
Ok, so I totally have a love/hate relationship with sweets
I love them, because let’s face it, they are just so darn good!! I hate them because the wise and sensible side of me says they are not so good after all! I try to exchange honey for sugar in most recipes and try to make it a treat instead of a necessary part of a meal. It’s tough, but worth it I know! Thanks for the encouragement!!
SO worth it….and dessert just tastes better as a treat instead of a normal thing.
we do weekly baked goods, breads & muffins and use honey w/ these what do you use? do you eat baked goods?
Yes, we eat baked goods.
I love to bake. We just don’t eat them too often. And when I do, I like to use healthy sweeteners. We just want sweets to be something we have in moderation instead of something we eat a lot of. 
I love when you said, “If I can’t pronouce it, I don’t cook it”!! That has been my motto for years. The other is, 20 ingredients…not making it into my cooking routine…unless it is something super yummy!
Seeing as how I have a hard time pronounoucing things, this has really cut back on what I buy. LOL
I have to admit those pictures make me want to have a piece of pie!
But I loved/appreciated your post. Special occasions, that makes sense.
I know – it was almost a cruel joke. LOL
The dryer is too the devil, and denial is my (false) friend.
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And I am your REAL friend.
You make me smile big, like this
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I’d rather see it in person than a silly little emoticon.
My emoticon is offended.
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Oh well – I’m always offending someone.
Thanks for the encouragement to cut back on sugars. I have sugar in my coffee every morning. The stevia just doesn’t taste right to me. I don’t usually make desserts, but my husband is a big fan of ice cream before bed. Sigh. (But we try to keep that to a night or two a week.) And it’s Girl Scout cookie season. Yeah. So we’ve been doing pretty good with cutting back…until the cookies arrived. But they will soon be gone…and it will be back to fewer desserts.
What type of stevia are you using? Because I agree with you – some of it is just AWFUL! A lot of “stevias” have added ingredients and aren’t really the pure stuff.
For beverages I use NuNaturals NuStevia. It comes in little packets. I can make lemonade, sweet tea, etc. that really tastes good. No wierd after taste. It does contain maltodextrin which might be an issue for some. I purchase it at our local grocery store. For baking I use Slimtevia. It’s not as good in beverages but it comes in a bag. It also has fructose in it… derived from fruit not corn. I bought that off the internet. I have a peach pie recipe that uses stevia and agave nectar that is quite drool worthy….
Thanks for chiming in.
We use Sweet Leaf stevia but I want to try the Nu Naturals liquid. We like buying the liquid version for our drinks – there are no additives and I can just put however many drops I want that day…some days it’s more than others. 
We don’t use agave either – but we do use honey. Mmmmmmmm, honey.