Could Your Family Survive A Sugar Detox?

Almost everyone likes a little sweetness now and then, but for Lisa Witepski, it’s impossible to say, ‘No, thanks’ to cake (or rusks, or ice cream…). We asked her and her family to do just that for a week – here’s what happened

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.