In his own routine, the coach cuts sugar periodically, for stretches of about a week to two weeks and at times much longer, such as a month and a half. He returns to it afterward because he enjoys it.
After each break, the first taste of sugar feels dramatically stronger to him. He describes single servings after abstention as drug-like, comparing the feeling to heroin or cocaine.
The first three days without sugar are the hardest for him; after that it becomes easier.
The coach normally drinks water, or ayran at most. He keeps sugary drinks for before competitions and important events, because his body is unused to the sugar and reacts much more strongly to them.
The coach enjoys sugar and feels his body asking for it. He considers sugar very harmful and keeps planning to quit, but cannot stop.
He considers unsweetened dark chocolate the better option but cannot get used to it, because his body keeps wanting sugar.
Sugar triggers tooth pain for him; he says the pain would not come if he did not consume sugar.
He also drinks beet juice himself and found it very good.
