Family,

Today is the day: the last day of the Sugar Free Summer Challenge. I cannot believe we are here and I wanted to share 3 of my main learnings from the challenge.

#1: I feel incredible, mentally and emotionally. In my first video about this challenge I talked about not being able to outrun Oreos, well for the past 60+ days Oreos couldn't catch me. And this all just feels liberating. These were foods I thought I "needed." They were where I drew "comfort" and how I often dealt with stress. And now I feel released from these health deteriorating patterns and I don't want to go back. I now know a much different kind of comfort and it is just awesome.

#2: I am also surprised at how much better I feel physically. I feel like I have more energy, I feel healthier, and frankly, I don't miss the sugar crashes I often had when I ate a lot of sweet junk food. Knowing that I am now eating in a way far more in line with dietitian's recommendations, and scientific research on health, makes me feel a great sense of personal pride.

#3: I learned from looking at so many food labels that added sugar has crept into so many of our foods. It is remarkable how many products that are even advertised as natural or healthy contain unnecessary added sugars.

So much of this is unclear to the average consumer, and even as a U.S. Senator passionate about food and nutrition, I am still checking my phone to find the many definitions for added sugars.

Although this challenge is over, rest assured our conversation about what we eat is not. I am planning to do more conversations on Instagram Live and other platforms, bring more awareness to this issue, and continue to push for policies that make sure everyone can make informed healthy choices about what they eat.

For now, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for joining me or following along on this journey, the only way I have been able to do it is knowing I had all of you with me. In those first few days, knowing we had made this commitment together kept me on track.

My next email will be sharing stories from all of your experiences. If you have more to share click below. Thank you!

With love, respect, and gratitude,

Cory