Joe Wicks, aka The Body Coach, is known for inspiring millions to eat well and exercise more. But the dad-of-four is also open about his own struggles with motivation and diet, including his love of sugar.
Wicks, 39, has previously said he’s “struggled” with sugar since childhood, and the foods and drinks he particularly loves are “fizzy drinks, chocolate, cakes, cookies, sweets and ice cream”.
This weekend, though, he opened up about how he’s beaten his lifelong love of the sweet stuff, calling it “the most life-changing thing I’ve ever done”.
Sharing an update on Instagram Stories, he revealed it had been six weeks since he “massively reduced” his sugar intake and shared the benefits he’d seen.
“For the first time in 39 years, I don’t feel dependent on sugar for energy or see it as the answer when I’m stressed,” he told his followers. “I have zero desire to eat it now and can walk away from it quite easily.”
Wicks, who shares daughters Indie, six, Leni, two, and sons Marley, five, and Dusty, one, with wife Rosie, decided to start cutting down on sugar at the end of May.
Posting on Instagram at the time, he shared a video, captioning it, “I am addicted to sugar. I really struggle with it so I’m setting myself a challenge”.
Explaining that he was going to cut out sugar for seven days, he noted that his motivation was for “internal” health rather than weight loss reasons, as sugar affected his mood and energy, and caused him bloating and stomach pains. He added that even the “tiniest bit” would lead him to binge and want more.
The fitness coach revealed he wasn’t expecting giving up to be easy though.
He said he’d tried strategies to cut down before, like brushing his teeth to make the thought of sugar less appealing and focusing on fruit, yoghurt and dried fruits but said these methods would still cause him to go “gangbusters” on sugary foods, and he believed the only strategy that would work for him was complete abstinence.
So, how did he do it?
How Joe Wicks beat his sugar “addiction”
Seven-day circuit breaker
Wicks started with a “Seven-day circuit breaker” and cut out sugar completely for a week to see if it could change his relationship with it.
Cold turkey
For the first seven days, he didn’t eat any refined sugar or natural sugar from fruit. As well as cakes and biscuits, he also excluded less-obvious foods with added sugar including ready-made sauces and ketchup. Instead he focused on carbs from rice, pasta and noodles, protein and lots of veg.
While there’s no need to limit your fruit intake when cutting down on sugar, some people choose to at first to get used to less sweetness in their diet. Sugar found naturally in fruit does not count as free sugars – those added to food and drink and found naturally in honey and syrups – and fruit contains a whole host of vitamins and healthy nutrients.
Adding fruit
After the initial seven days, Wicks started eating fruit again, which he says he loves and is now his main source of sugar.
While he adds that he’s not sugar-free every day, as “I think it’s virtually impossible”, he hasn’t eaten cakes, sweets, ice cream and other sugary foods since the initial seven days and says his cravings and desire have gone.
Do what works for you
Updating fans on his sugar journey, Wicks said he wasn’t interested in seeing if he could eat chocolate and cakes in moderation because “they don’t make me feel good”. “For now I’m sticking to abstinence which is working for me,” he added.
However, he said his advice to others is “do what works for you”. “If pure abstinence for seven days is what it takes then go for it and see the difference in your body and energy and mood,” he said.
What is the recommended amount of sugar?
The recommended daily amount (RDA) of free sugars – those added to food and drink and found naturally in honey and syrups – is 30g a day.
The government recommends that no more than 5% of our daily calorie intake comes from free sugars but some estimates suggest people in the UK are eating nearly double that at 9-12%. And with a single can of Coke containing 35g, it’s easy to see how.
Eating too much sugar can cause issues such as tooth decay and weight gain, which increases the risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, according to the NHS.
Some studies have also linked a diet high in sugar to emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression.
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