No added sugar for a month, with the rules agreed first.
Most no sugar challenges don’t end with a craving. They end with an argument: does honey count, is fruit allowed, what about the sauce? Settle that before day one and the month gets much simpler.
By the Antamio team · Updated
The rule, in one line
No added sugar today. No sweets, desserts, soft drinks, juice, honey or syrup, and no sugar in your coffee or tea. Whole fruit, vegetables, plain milk and plain yoghurt are fine.
It follows the World Health Organization’s idea of free sugars: sugar added by a manufacturer, a cook or you, plus the sugar in honey, syrups and fruit juice. The sugar inside whole fruit, vegetables and milk is not part of it. We also count smoothies, which the WHO definition doesn’t name.
Why bother? The WHO’s advice to cut free sugars rests on evidence about body weight and tooth decay. A month without added sugar is a way to see how much of it you eat out of habit.
What counts
| Out | Fine | Decide before day one |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar in drinks, honey, maple and agave syrup | Whole fruit, fresh or frozen | Sweeteners (stevia, sucralose) |
| Sweets, chocolate, biscuits, cakes, desserts | Vegetables, beans, nuts | Dark chocolate of 85% or more |
| Soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit juice, smoothies | Plain milk, plain yoghurt, cheese | Dried fruit |
| Flavoured yoghurt, sweetened cereal, ketchup and sweet sauces | Bread, pasta and rice without added sugar | Bread with a little sugar |
| Cocktails, liqueurs, sweet wine, alcopops | Eggs, fish, meat, tofu | Other alcohol |
The third column has no right answer. Pick one, write it down and keep it for the whole month. Doing it with friends? Agree on it together, so nobody has to judge anybody’s lunch.
A 30-day plan
The rule is the same every day. What changes is where you look for sugar.
| Week | Focus | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drinks and the obvious sweets | Water, sparkling water, coffee and tea without sugar. Clear the sweets out of the cupboard you open most. |
| 2 | Labels | Check breakfast, yoghurt, sauces and snacks for the names below. Find a swap for each one you eat often. |
| 3 | Other people’s food | Birthdays, the office cake, dinner out. Plan your answer before you get there. |
| 4 | What comes next | Decide which sweet things you want back, and how often. |
What to eat instead
- Breakfast: plain yoghurt with berries and nuts, porridge with banana or cinnamon, eggs on toast.
- Snacks: an apple or a pear, a handful of nuts, cheese, carrots with hummus.
- After dinner: fruit, plain yoghurt, a cup of herbal tea.
- Drinks: water, sparkling water with lemon, coffee and tea without sugar.
Shopping first makes the month easier: when the cupboard holds the swaps, the evening craving has somewhere to go.
The first week
The first days are usually the hardest. Many people notice cravings after meals and in the afternoon, often at the times they used to have something sweet. Expect it, plan a swap for those moments, and keep the rule simple. It tends to get easier as the new routine settles in.
Sugar’s other names on a label
Sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, glucose syrup, glucose-fructose syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, molasses, malt extract, honey, agave, maple syrup and fruit juice concentrate are all sugar. If one of them is in the ingredients, it counts.
Plan for the hard moments
An if-then plan helps more than willpower alone. Write one or two before the month starts:
- If someone brings cake to work, then I take a coffee and say I’m on a challenge.
- If I want something sweet after dinner, then I have fruit or plain yoghurt with berries.
- If I slip, then the next meal is a fresh start, not the next Monday.
Keep the swaps where you used to keep the sweets. The first week is usually the hardest.
Who should ask first
This is about added sugar, not about eating less. If you take insulin or other diabetes medicine, are pregnant, or have had an eating disorder, talk to your doctor or dietitian before you change how you eat. Treating a low blood sugar with glucose tablets or juice never counts against you. If the challenge starts making food feel tense, stop. That is a good decision, not a failure.
Start with 7 days
Not sure about a whole month yet? Try the same habit for one week first, with a friend, then go longer. Start with 7 days
Track it in Antamio
Set it up as No sugar, a daily check-in, 30 days.
- Just say done. No sugar is a once-a-day check-in: no grams to count, no food diary.
- Write down what counts. Put your rule in the challenge description before you invite anyone; everyone who joins gets it in the challenge info.
- A slip isn’t a restart. The Streak Shield covers one missed day automatically, so one cake doesn’t end your month. Plus renews it every week; strict groups have no shields.
Questions
Can I eat fruit on a no sugar challenge?+
Yes. Whole fruit is fine: its sugar comes with fibre and water and isn’t added. Fruit juice and smoothies count as sugar.
Does honey count as sugar?+
Yes. Honey and syrups such as maple and agave are free sugars in the World Health Organization’s definition, so they’re out.
Are sweeteners allowed?+
That is your call: some challenges allow them and some don’t. Decide before day one and keep the same rule all month. If you hope to lose weight, note that the World Health Organization advises against using sweeteners for weight control (a conditional recommendation that doesn’t cover people who already have diabetes).
What happens if I slip?+
Make the next meal a fresh start. In Antamio, check in honestly; the Streak Shield covers one missed day automatically, so one slip doesn’t reset the month (strict groups have no shields).
Will I lose weight without sugar?+
Some people do, some don’t: it depends on what replaces the sugar. We don’t promise weight loss or other health effects. Many people say the month changes how sweet things taste to them.
How much sugar is fine after the challenge?+
The World Health Organization recommends keeping free sugars under 10% of daily energy and suggests under 5% for extra benefit: roughly 25 grams, or six teaspoons, a day for an adult.
Can I do it with friends?+
Yes, and it helps. Invite a friend or start a private group in Antamio, write the rule in the challenge description before you invite anyone, and everyone who joins gets the same rule.
