Lol imagine cooking with 38°C temp. So hard to not burn anything.

Had to use the third rule, got some meds with honey concentrate lol

Lol. Bought a fancy spice mix for potatoes with sugar to try. Checked only at home AFTER I used it. Gotta give these to my partner :( This mix also has salt in it, probably not right, because if you use less/more spices, you have to figure out the right amount if salt too

Damn it, I used too much of fancy spice mix for pork, it contains salt too, but no sugar (this one I checked in the shop). Now meat is too salty :( As a garnish I used microwaved potatoes with just butter and pepper, fast and tasty

Started this work trip with too much of grilled pork, but now returned back to chicken as the main protein source. I like that I can just ask and there would be no sauce (99% contains sugar). But the dish is designed to have it, and the chicken just lacks spices without it. But I'm certainly getting used to such bland taste, I can eat it and even enjoy.

I think I succeeded so far only because there are so many places where we can choose to eat. An the company pays mostly for canteens with healthy food! Also, there are free breakfasts in the hotel (which are too light, but I drink enough coffee at least) and many fruits in the office. And, of course, brain is overwhelmed with conversations and work, not much time left to think about cakes and pancakes

That's hard to find a good place to eat, but I try. Spent already more money than I wanted to (per day), but the meat was nice. Found a canteen with true pilaf, it was nice. They also bring an onion+tomato salad, that's quite an interesting combination

I could find cheaper food, but it wouod contain added sugar :( Had to refuse pizza from a colleague who celebrated a birthday. That was insane, but ketchup has added sugar

@klauwier I love your updates! They keep me going :)

Day 13: almost failed, but pulled myself together

Had less sleep that was enough. In a shop could only think about junk food. If it weren’t for this market, I would’ve eaten some ice cream. Also, I think I ate too much fat today and didn't eat enough protein.

Day 12: We have a contract with the cafeteria near the office, and there’s a limited amount we can spend there. But it's hard to find a dish for a peeky eater. Got a stomach ache today. Probably the only food without added sugar (potatoes and champions, also fried eggs) was not fresh or smth. Never gonna eat there anymore

Day 11 (2025-10-12): still no added sugar.

I went to a far district of the city and was hungry for few hours. It's easier to be hungry without the habut to eat sweets. I would usually take some chocolate or chips on the way.

Also tried new protein bars (labeled with "no added sugar", but with sweeteners), I think I should return to the previous ones, these ones are stickier and harder to eat because of it. But the previous ones are more expensive (x1.5) :(

@traders

I want to determine if isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO) and steviol glycoside should result to NO.
I see the purpose of the market to adapt receptors, brain, insulin level, all that to a lower level of sugar consumption.
But why anyone may want that?

(Note: I am not a biologist/medic, just read some articles)

First, overconsumption of sugars correlates with diabetes type 2. If you consume too much glucose, your pancreas releases too much of insulin, but if your cells (liver & fat cells) cannot react to it, then the pancreas releases more insulin, but the cells still cannot react to it, instead they become resistant to insulin.

Second, consumed sugar correlates with overweight. It doesn't cause it alone, it is hard to create a long lipid (triglyceride) from a small glucose, that's not the main fat income. The main income is a combination of high insulin level with consumption of fats. If you look up the worst sweets like cakes, you will see a lot of fat that's coming with sucrose (glucose + fructose). Another example, fast food: cola with sucrose with some fatty meat (e.g. deep fried). Again: too much insulin and fats.
But fruits, dairy have glucose too?
That leads to another topic: glycemic index. This represent how fast glucose level (and insulin level as a response) raises after consumption of the same amount of carbohydrates compared to a pure glucose (which is 100%, or simply 100). You may google GI or look here for different food or even measure it at home: just buy a blood glucose monitor, some pure glucose, and measure your glucose level few times, then calculate GI.

Let's compare an apple (golden) with a snickers bar. Apple has GI=39 (low), sugar/carb=10/14g (per 100g), a snickers has GI=69 (medium, but almost high), sugar/carb=28/32g (per one bar, 52g). This basically means that if you replace a bar of snickers with 3 medium apples, you will get approximately the same amount of sugars, but the level of glucose will raise slower and for a longer time because it contains many other substances.

I think about GI now just because my body got used to high peaks of glucose and I was dizzy in the first days because I stopped eating food with high GI due to the market. And I noticed long before that I cannot concentrate without a milk chocolate or other sweets. My brain just got used to a certain glucose level and failed if it was lower.

And that leads to a next thought: companies use high levels of sugar to make their product more attractive and more addictive. They are just superstimuli for our bodies and brains, which evolved in a world where no such stimuli existed. Consumption of sweet superstimuli requires human body to adapt: the pancreas produces insulin preemptively, your tongue tends to sense sweetness only in large amounts. You just have to keep consuming these superstimuli, or you’ll start to feel a little fatigued or dizzy, and food won’t taste as good. Also these sweets are everywhere: in the workplace, a lot of shelves in any shop is dedicated to sweets. Their wrapper has bright, contrast colours, they catch your attention, you ate it since childhood. Even if you go to a competition (e.g. ICPC), you may get a snickers as a snack.

But let's get back to IMO and steviol glycoside. They are both sweeteners that are used in a food without added sugar. You see, it’s hard to sell something like dietary food on a large scale if it isn’t sweet. People won't like eating it, they won't like to buy it again, and your competitor who adds a sweetener will roll in money. Dietary food is just a way to trick you it's healthier while some sweeteners are as bad as sugar, many of old sweeteners are not used anymore because of that.

Other sweetener is a sucralose.

Why I even thought they may resolve the market to NO? Because of the group 4: “Natural” sweeteners. But the examples (honey, maple syrup) lead back to group 1. Honey consist of fructose and glucose, maple syrup consist of sucrose. I don't think that group 4 should be listed at all, it only misleads.

Do they raise insulin level? IMO has GI=35, steviol and sucralose are not digested at all. Does it the trick with your brain? Certainly, but in my experience at least protein bars are not as sweet as snickers, some are even hard to eat because of that strange texture and lack of taste. They are probably even less sweet than an apple.

So I consider that these three substances are OK: isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO), steviol glycoside (stevioside), sucralose.

@klauwier They're not chemically sugars per se, and the title of your market was "I don't eat any sugar in October?", NOT "I don't eat any sweet substance in October?", so I think you're ok

Days 9 (2025-10-10): still no added sugar
I'm too busy this week.
It's easy to eat no sugar, but I still remember how tasty sweet food was and when I see full shelves of sweets in a shop, I still want to buy and eat them.

Day 8 (2025-10-09): still no added sugar
Almost forgot to have dinner today.

Also, my partner bought cola, I see it every time I go out of my working room. I didn't think that would distract me so easily every time. I even don't like the taste!

Anyway, I'm trying to keep carb/fat/protein balance to not overeat fats and keep enough protein to train. Just got a barbell and plates! So happy, but have to wait for better clamps that don't move so easily.

Forgot to tell about my work trip in 10 days. It would be hard to determine which food has added sugar, gotta read a lot and opt for simpler food like eggs, coffee, stewed/fried chicken, dairy. Asked a question about protein bars on the main market, but probably will have to think about replacement for protein bars.

Day 7 (2025-10-08) : no added sugar
Ran out of meat and had no prepared meal today because of that. Usually I would buy something from the shop nearby, but everything I could buy there either has added sugar or is too expensive. Had only some eggs and apples. But bought some chicken after work, finally some proper food.

Day 6 (2025-10-07): no added sugar

Day 5 (2025-10-06):
TL;DR: no added sugar today
It seems to be easier with every day. I even don't miss sweets.
Probably should bet more on YES, got more spare coins

Day 4 (2025-10-05):
TL;DR: didn't feel dizzy today, still didn't eat any added sugar

Maybe the easiest day: I wasn't in the shop so I didn't see any sweets.
Was busy with weekly tasks the whole day, just had no time for the planned coding experiment, but felt well the whole day while doing all my things. Tomorrow is a work day, I'll go to the office, and there are a lot of sweets (and fruits, fortunately) in the kitchen.
I think my body has already started to adapt, I'm OK with only apples and milk.

Day 3 (2025-10-04):
TL;DR: still haven’t eaten any added sugar, but felt dizzy today.
Found out that sugar-free yogurt is a nice thing. My sweet taste receptors shouldn’t change so fast, but maybe a small change was enough — or I just experienced a placebo effect.
Felt dizzy today and slept more than yesterday. Not sure what to blame: my bad sleep schedule, caffeine deprivation (forgot to make coffee), or low glucose levels because of the experiment.
Gonna try to mess with glucose levels tomorrow: eat something every 2–3 hours and also code something to check my performance level.
Made pilaf today as intended. Tried different meat and different rice, made a few mistakes: some meat pieces are too dry, and the rice is partially soft (overcooked, maybe?).

Day 2 (2025-10-03):
TL;DR: everything is OK so far.
It was fun to check all ingredients in food I usually eat. Raises awareness. Found out that local bakery adds margarine into one of my favorite types of their bread, I think I will buy only other types. It was quite in time because I just ran out of bread few days ago.
It seems I forgot how to cook chicken properly without any marinade, gonna search for a better spice combination later. Today's chicken was not so tasty because of that, kinda ruined main meal. But tomorrow I am going to cook pilaf; in a way my mom cooked it.
Wanted to eat chocolate few times today, but took apples instead. That is going to be expensive if I will eat so many apples every day. Gonna go to the office instead of working from home next week to eat free apples there.

I believe in you!

Day 1 (2025-10-02):
Start is easy. First, it was not a proper day, but just half a day. Second, I ate sugar not so long ago, so the "cancel syndrome" for sugar still awaits me.
Had to change recipes for the food I cook at home because the rules are very extreme. Had to put away ketchup and soy sauce I used for chicken marinade. Had to put away dark chocolate I eat every day and order a 99% one. Always wanted to try, so that's OK.
I would prefer a threshold instead of a total taboo, but I already agreed to the terms so I try to follow them precisely.

You got this!!! 🤝🏼