This past week, Jennifer Lopez finished her personal 10-Day-Challenge, where she went 10 days without eating any sugar or carbs. The challenge was announced in a video posted on her boyfriend Alex Rodriguez’s Instagram, and both challenged their fans to do the same and to tag more people to go 10 days without any carbs or sugars. Sounds crazy, right?
This challenge inspired some of her fans to attempt to go 10 days without sugar and carbs as well. J. Lo even took it one step further by challenging Today Show host Hoda Kotb, along with other celebrities, to complete the challenge. Kotb also challenged fellow host Carson Daly to go 10 days without the sweet stuff.
After finishing the challenge, Lopez said she is still “Jenny from the block” with a relatable junk food feast with A-Rod. Now, J. Lo is putting The Rock to shame with her epic cheat meal, which she shared live on her Instagrm story.
Kotb pigged out too after her challenge ended, posting a video to Instagram of her going in for some chips and guac during the Super Bowl. She totally earned it!
J. Lo and A-Rod seem thrilled that they finished the challenge. Lopez said she might even be down for round two sooner than later, saying “Maybe we’ll stop for a few days and then get back on it.”
But what are the actual health benefits, and potential risks, of cutting out sugar and carbs in this intermittent fashion. Nutritionist Keri Gans spoke with Livestrong.com about this 10-day challenge, warning potiential copycats of the dangers of cutting all sugars and carbs, explaining there is a huge different between sugar and added-sugar. So eliminating foods with added sugar is a smart move, whereas avoiding sugars all together, not so much. “Fruit, for example, has naturally occurring sugars and is packed with vitamins and minerals,” said Gans, who added that foods with added sugars are often just empty calories.
Moving on to carbohydrates, Gans explained that its unrealistic to cut them out completely. Foods as basic as a serving of vegetables contain around three grams of carbs, which isn’t a bad thing. “Our bodies number one source of fuel is glucose and that comes from the breakdown of carbohydrates,” she explained. “I would not advise anyone to eliminate carbohydrates from their diet, it is simply a matter of choosing healthier carbs.”
J. Lo admitted on her Instagram Stories, where she had been documenting most of the challenge, that she was feeling hungrier than ever during the early stages of the challenge. Lopez and Rodriguez are two of the fittest people in the world, so if they are having trouble keeping up, how would the rest of us do? Gans suspects not well. She recommends modifying the challenge to cut out only added sugars, leaving complex-carbs and natural sugars in your diet, because without them you could feel “sluggish, irritable, fatigue, perhaps constipated and bloated…and maybe even nauseous!”
So Jennifer Lopez’s physique may look incredible at the end of 10 days, but how much of that is just her being J. Lo and having access to celebrity trainers and nutritionists? We will keep our eye out to see if she tries to do another 10 days (no carbs, no sugar) cold turkey.
