Can you eat sugar and sweets during the fast?

I remember talking to my spiritual mother right in the middle of the Nativity Fast, when I was out in California. I said, "You know, Mother, I'm not eating any sweets." And she said, "Oh, that sounds very Catholic." I said, "Should I eat sweets?" She said, "Eat sweets. It's fine." If sweets were part of the fast, they would be included in the fast. They're not included. You can always become more ascetical as time goes on, but the reality is that the holy fathers didn't prohibit us from eating sugar during the fast.