30-Day No Sugar Challenge with a Friend

What it is

A no-sugar challenge usually means no added sugar: sweets, desserts, soda, sweetened coffee drinks and sugary snacks are out; whole fruit, plain dairy and unprocessed food stay in. Some people cut sweeteners too. Decide your rules before day one and write them down, because labels are full of edge cases.

Cravings are short and social. They show up with the office cake, the afternoon slump and after dinner. A partner doing the same challenge gives you someone to message instead of opening the cupboard, and someone who understands why you turned down the birthday cake.

Thirty days is the most common length because it takes you through a full month of birthdays, weekends and bad days.

How to do it

1. Write your rules: added sugar is out, and decide in advance about juice, honey, sweeteners and sauces.
2. Clear the house of the things you'd reach for first, or ask whoever you live with to keep them out of sight.
3. Check in each evening. The day counts if you stuck to the rules you wrote.
4. Keep a fallback snack ready for the afternoon and after dinner, the two most common craving times.

Day by day

1. Days 1–3

   Set it up

   Write the rules, clear the cupboard and read the labels on what you eat most. You'll find sugar where you didn't expect it; decide together what to do about it.

2. Days 4–10

   The novelty wears off

   Cravings are often strongest in the first days. Message your partner when one hits and wait ten minutes before deciding. Most of them pass.

3. Days 11–24

   The long middle

   The cravings fade and social pressure takes over: birthdays, dinners out, someone else's dessert. Agree on your answer in advance, and tell your partner when you've made it through one.

4. Days 25–30

   The finish line

   Decide with your partner what you'll keep after the challenge, whether that's no soda or dessert only at weekends, before it ends.

Where people quit, and how a partner helps

• The office treat

  Cake in the break room is the classic first slip. Say no before you look at it. Telling your partner afterwards turns a moment of resistance into a small win you both count.

• The hidden sugar

  Sauces, cereals, granola and coffee drinks catch out people who thought they were on track. Read labels together for the first few days and agree on what counts, so neither of you fails on a technicality.

• The bad-day reward

  Sugar is the default reward after a hard day. Pick a different one in advance. A partner checking in at the same time is often what interrupts the habit.

Your 30-day tracker

Print this page, or tick the boxes here. Ticks are saved in this browser only. In the app, you and your partner see each other's check-ins as they happen. One tick a day.

How to start it in the app

1. Create your free account, then install Friends with Habits from Google Play and sign in.
2. Tap New Pact and pick “No added sugar” under Health & Body.
3. Keep the schedule the template suggests: every day.
4. Invite your friend by link, text or email. Once they accept, you both check in each day and see each other's progress.
5. A pact in the app runs 30 days, so this whole challenge is one pact.

Questions