no sugar family challenge

Every so often Matt and I like to challenge our family.

When things are cruising along smoothly in our home {I am talking about 'general' every day things running smoothly - it actually does happen...sometimes!} we like to add a challenge to the mix to get us out of our comfort zones a little and stretch ourselves.

We do it to remind the kids that we can do hard things in our family and with the support of each other we can do 'incredible things'.

Of course I always feel I should be excluded from all 'stretching activities' as after having seven kids - I have been seriously stretched in more ways than one! Lets not go there.

Anyway, back to the challenge...

It all started when I began noticing that every day we seemed to be having some sugar type snack after school or sugar loaded dessert after dinner. It was being purchased, cooked and dished out like we were addicted to it.

So I came up with a plan.

The Plan.

Step 1. Go to the cheesecake shop.
Step 2. Buy the biggest, yummiest cake you can find.
Step 3. Put it in the fridge and don't tell anyone what it is for.

The cake selected for the challenge. Step 1, 2 and 3 complete!

Step 4. Gather everyone to the table.

Step 5. Bring out the cake.

Step 6. Smile whilst the ooohhh! and ahhhh's! take place.

Step 7. Start the talk:

I have noticed lately we have been eating a lot of sugar. A lot of lollies, cakes and treats. I think we need a break. It is not healthy to eat so much sugar. I would like to offer you a challenge.

The challenge is to not eat any food that contains lots of sugar for 10 days.
{meaning lollies, cake, chocolate, treats}

I chose 10 days to start with because my children are young and I knew it was a number they could cope with and count to.

To start this challenge we will have a piece of cake as a celebration of our last sugar fix and to remind you that we are not eating sugar.

{I know this sounds weird but I knew my kids would remember eating a cake from the cheesecake shop and know we are on a challenge}.

You can only have a piece of cake if you accept the challenge.

Who will accept the challenge and wants a piece of cake?

Let's see who wanted to participate in the challenge:

Hmmm....I count 9 cake plates.

By the way

~ can you see the hunker of a cake piece I cut for myself ~ 

Houston we have a problem!

You would think I was going on a sugar fast for 10 years

Oh! No! left overs...

The Result.

I was really impressed with my four oldest children. They took the challenge seriously.

They turned down offers of snacks from friends at school, they turned down chocolate cake at church and they were great at home. I know they were secretly counting down the days until the end of the challenge and could not wait for a sugar hit. I was so astonished that I only had to remind them a few times about the challenge when they started asking for lollies or cake. I thought I would have to be at them constantly and it made it so much easier to get through with their support.

The younger children did not understand the challenge as much as the older ones and to help them I made sure there was a lot of fruit on offer whenever they got hungry and wanted food out of our snack cupboard.

Overall, we really did not miss the treats. I felt so much better for not eating it and I noticed a difference in the behaviour of our children. It was worth the effort and I secretly want to keep it up. I am trying to add more fruit and vegetables to our diet and to provide healthier snacks after school. I find it takes more planning and money to eat healthier. The benefits are worth it and I am finding it a challenge to stay on top of it.

What do you do in your family? Do you create challenges or do you have enough already?