Sugar free diet: Your three day plan to get you started

In recent months, there’s been a major backlash against sugar. Everyone from. Millie Mackintosh to Gwyneth Paltrow is cutting back and it’s little wonder, as experts say sugar is as addictive as alcohol and tobacco.

Last year Josie Gibson famously went from a size 20 to a size 8, losing 6st in the process, and she credits cutting sugar and gluten from her diet for helping her majorly slim down. She told Closer: “It’s not hard to be fat in this day and age – we have far too much sugar in our diets!”

So, why are we all hooked on the white stuff and why is it so bad for us? When you eat sweet foods, whether sugar or sweeteners, your blood sugar levels shoot up, so your body releases insulin to take it out of your bloodstream. But that causes your blood sugars to crash – leaving you craving more sugar!

Even seemingly healthy foods can wreak havoc with your blood sugar. Many foods labelled “low fat” are full of either sugar, or salt, to ensure they’re tasty. And as sugars are converted to fat in your body, they can have an adverse affect on your health.

But it’s not just “low fat” foods that contain hidden sugars – it’s everywhere, from soup to bread. The only way to avoid hidden sugars is to make your own meals from scratch, and to cut back on soft drinks, fruit juice and booze, as they contribute roughly a third of the sugar in our diet!

To help you kick-start a healthier way of eating, and begin to shift those pounds, we’ve put together a three-day low-sugar diet with Closer nutritionist Juliette Kellow. In three days, your major sugar cravings should be beaten. And, if you can carry on eating this way for 10 days, that sweet tooth should be under control. Just choose a breakfast, lunch and dinner option and say goodbye to the sweet stuff for good...

Sign up to Closer Diets for your very own tailored diet plan!