It's been nearly a month, and the changes are tangible.  I've lost seven pounds, which seems very healthy and sustainable, and I haven't been plagued with cravings the way I anticipated I might be.  On the contrary, I'm actually able to hear my body's responses in a new and startling way.

Before The Sugar Free Project, I had a bottomless appetite for sweets and baked goods.  I would continue to eat long past the point of satiety.  But no more!  The other day, I was enjoying a delicious vegan personal sized pizza.  I'd eaten two of the four mini slices when my body said, "OK, I'm done with this now."  I couldn't believe that two small pieces were able fill me, but they had.  I didn't get hungry again until a few hours later.

This morning at Whole Foods, I grabbed my usual vegan muffin as I passed the bakery aisle -- it's my weekend breakfast treat, and yes, it does contain a little sugar (but also lots of good stuff, too).  My husband usually splits it with me, but I'd just come from an hour of Pilates and was more hungry than usual, so I insisted on having one all to myself.  Well...what a surprise to discover that halfway through the muffin, my body decided it'd had enough!  And my husband got his share after all.

I never believed the people who insisted their bodies talked them and guided them toward proper nutrition.  Now I know it's true: once cleared of the noise of sugar and other processed nuisances, the body really does have a voice of its own.