Could Your Family Survive A Sugar Detox?

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For most people, treats are, well treats; something to be enjoyed in moderation on special occasions. not for Lisa and her family: although it’s not something she’s proud of, it’s not uncommon for her to scoff three slices of cake in a day. her husband, James, drinks coke like other people drink water, and the kids have, not surprisingly, picked up both their parents’ sweet-tooth habits. Sugar is a lot like a ‘drug’, so quitting the sweet stuff can be as hard as giving up smoking. Would the family be able to do it for a full week? here’s Lisa’s account of what happened...

Meet Lisa

Lisa Witepski, 39, is a freelance writer. She lives in Parkhurst with her husband James, 39, and their daughters Leya, five, and Jessica, two. I can easily sit, unmoved, while James munches his way through a slab of chocolate, but put a cake or pudding in front of me, and I become the Cookie Monster. I blame it on my mom. She’s always bustling away at the kitchen counter, whipping up some or other treat. When I tell her we’re popping in for a visit, her response is inevitably, ‘What shall we have for tea?’ I don’t think I have ever left one of her dinners without three helpings of pudding. She has a knack for making moments special and, sadly for my waistline, most of those moments involve something sinfully sweet.

It’s a philosophy that I seem to have passed on to my own daughters: one of our favourite ways to spend an afternoon is reading books, each with a coffee or babycino and a brownie in hand, at our local book shop, or hanging out at our neighbourhood ice cream parlour.