Thoughts on "Quiting Sugar"?

IsaacHudson

ndj1979 wrote: »

IsaacHudson wrote: »

In contrast to many posters I believe there is a growing body of evidence that (refined) sugar is pretty nasty stuff. Cancer & diabetes type II being the major issues.

got anything to back that up….???

peer reviewed sources would be preferred..and not some BS fear mongering web site..

at work so I don't have time. Taking it from a summary page on www.abc.net.au/news which is evidence based...I'm sure someone out there knows.

Aviva92

I can control myself from eating too much sugar and can stop at one or two cookies, so no, never considered giving it up entirely.

kimny72

shaddowstorm wrote: »

Hi,

What are your thoughts on quitting sugar?
Has anyone ever quit sugar and what were you results?

OP, sugar is a hot-button topic here!
While it is trendy right now to consider sugar the root of all evil, there are a lot of theories but nothing as far as proof.

Having said that, I used to eat treats like candy, cookies, ice cream, etc mindlessly and it added a lot of calories to my life! When I started making sure to get enough protein and fiber to fill me up, I had to eat less sweets to stay within my calorie goal.

So if you are having trouble staying within your goal, or if you are making your goal but hungry all the time, cutting back on sugary foods could help with satiety. But if you are hitting your calorie goal and doing well, there is no reason to waste your will-power avoiding sugar, unless you have a medical reason. Just make sure you are getting enough nutrition and food, and if a candy bar or an ice cream cone fit, enjoy!

kmash32

IsaacHudson wrote: »

In contrast to many posters I believe there is a growing body of evidence that (refined) sugar is pretty nasty stuff. Cancer & diabetes type II being the major issues.

http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/be-aware/cancer-myths-and-controversies/sugar-and-cancer/?region=on

From the cancer society of Canada. They say sugar has nothing to do with cancer however being overweight can. Get your facts straight please.

shaddowstorm

goldthistime wrote: »

shaddowstorm wrote: »

Hi,

What are your thoughts on quitting sugar?
Has anyone ever quit sugar and what were you results?

OP are you considering quitting sugar because you have trouble resisting it or because you believe it to be very unhealthy or both?

I have thought about lessening my sugar intake as in from possessed foods. Which yesterday I realized that my 2 coffees per day with half a sugar was what was putting me over my intake which I changed to a sweetener. I pretty much wanted to know how sugar free people lived such as Sarah Wilson.

I have no addictions to high sugar foods

nelliegirl6

I keep refined carbohydrates to a minimum but I do eat complex carbs. For me, the refined carbs tend to cause cravings... and up go the pounds. Call me weak, but I've done well and feel much better when I don't eat processed foods and keep refined carbs to a minimum.

neanderthin

nelliegirl6 wrote: »

I keep refined carbohydrates to a minimum but I do eat complex carbs. For me, the refined carbs tend to cause cravings... and up go the pounds. Call me weak, but I've done well and feel much better when I don't eat processed foods and keep refined carbs to a minimum.

Actually most refined carbs are complex Carbs.

tq33702

'Dr Peter Brukner - Can Elite Athletes Eat LCHF And Win?' 36min vid @YT:
youtube.com/watch?v=JMuD4Z-Oxys

'...Peter Brukner OAM, MBBS, FACSP, FACSM, FASMF, FFSEM is a specialist sports and exercise physician and the founding partner at the Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre in Melbourne.

Peter is a world renowned sports medicine clinician and researcher.
He has recently been Head of Sports Medicine and Sports Science at Liverpool Football Club and is currently Team Doctor for the Australian cricket team...'
peterbrukner.com/about/

seltzermint555

neanderthin wrote: »

I like sugar, it tastes good and haven't found any logical reason to stop consuming it.

this.

If someone could promise me that quitting sugar would eliminate all anxiety, dental problems, and give me a perfect flat belly then heck yeah. Til then no way Jose.

ndj1979

shaddowstorm wrote: »

goldthistime wrote: »

shaddowstorm wrote: »

Hi,

What are your thoughts on quitting sugar?
Has anyone ever quit sugar and what were you results?

OP are you considering quitting sugar because you have trouble resisting it or because you believe it to be very unhealthy or both?

I have thought about lessening my sugar intake as in from possessed foods. Which yesterday I realized that my 2 coffees per day with half a sugar was what was putting me over my intake which I changed to a sweetener. I pretty much wanted to know how sugar free people lived such as Sarah Wilson.

I have no addictions to high sugar foods

Mfp sugar limit is insanely low...i track it out of General curiousity..

If you have no issues with sugar then you can eat it...

End thread/

Even though this won't ....

ndj1979

nelliegirl6 wrote: »

I keep refined carbohydrates to a minimum but I do eat complex carbs. For me, the refined carbs tend to cause cravings... and up go the pounds. Call me weak, but I've done well and feel much better when I don't eat processed foods and keep refined carbs to a minimum.

What do youdefine as processed ?????

goldthistime

shaddowstorm wrote: »

goldthistime wrote: »

shaddowstorm wrote: »

Hi,

What are your thoughts on quitting sugar?
Has anyone ever quit sugar and what were you results?

OP are you considering quitting sugar because you have trouble resisting it or because you believe it to be very unhealthy or both?

I have thought about lessening my sugar intake as in from possessed foods. Which yesterday I realized that my 2 coffees per day with half a sugar was what was putting me over my intake which I changed to a sweetener. I pretty much wanted to know how sugar free people lived such as Sarah Wilson.

I have no addictions to high sugar foods

So are you saying you find it difficult to include calories from added sugar and still stay under goal? Then reducing sugar sounds like a good plan. I am going at it another way. I increased my goal calories and am including sugar.

lemurcat12

I take a break from added sugar from time to time, mostly just to prove that it's not that hard, but also because at one point I was emotional eating with it as a crutch (mostly because it's available at my office, I'm also perfectly capable of doing it with popcorn or fries or cheese or some such), and I wanted to teach myself not to do that. Usually just being strict about snacking is enough, but if I find myself falling into a bad habit again I might take a break.

That said, I have zero interest in giving up either sugar or added sugar, which seems rather arbitrary to me. Lots of very nutrient dense foods have sugar and adding sugar to other foods doesn't add that many calories and the arguments that its bad for you in itself are weak. The mere fact that some of the foods I most enjoy in moderation, some of which I also enjoy preparing and associate strongly with special occasions like holidays (like ice cream, pie) have sugar is good enough reason for me not to quit it or think it's "bad."

Obviously, however, overeating high calorie desserts is going to be a challenge in meeting a calorie limit, and so cutting down on such foods is a sensible way to reduce calories, although for me--since sugar wasn't the main way I overate--there was a lot more to it.

I kind of think most people already know this, however, since you'd have to be really, really dumb not to know there are lots of calories in cake, and thus that advice to reduce high calorie sweets if you eat a lot of them really isn't necessary. It's certainly no reason to decide you must eliminate all sugar (or really anything) from your diet.

It is my goal to be able to eat any food I enjoy in moderation, which might mean a little most nights if calories permit or I worked out, and might mean twice a year, depending.

49Elle

I have been dieting most of my life..1st diet I was put on at age 11!
Gave up 10 years ago, but I am not happy being BIG, as I am 65 it's now or never

Last April I cut out cane sugar & processed foods, cookies, cereals etc substituted with glucose, rice bran syrup and occassionally Agave syrup. While I didn't lose weight, I did notice less cravings. Unsweetened tems like yoghurt less tart & on one (and only 1) time I had regular tomato sauce or ketchup it was cloyingly sweet..we buy sugar free wherever possible and both my hubby & me have really noticed a difference. My husband who does not have any weight issues, found eating regular baked goods -say at a party as it wasn't often, were way too sweet and he didn't enjoy them at all ( and he can eat anything)

Now that I have started with MFP counting calories and watching portion sizes, I am not wishing for my home baked goodies or dreaming of what I will make for my next cheat treat as I did on Atkins low carb, the cravings are gone and I dont have any hypoglycemic attacks either, so from personal experience I think cane sugar is addictive to some, you just have to observe your own bodies reaction to the foods you put into it to work out what's best or not for you.

IsaacHudson

kmash32 wrote: »

IsaacHudson wrote: »

In contrast to many posters I believe there is a growing body of evidence that (refined) sugar is pretty nasty stuff. Cancer & diabetes type II being the major issues.

http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/be-aware/cancer-myths-and-controversies/sugar-and-cancer/?region=on

From the cancer society of Canada. They say sugar has nothing to do with cancer however being overweight can. Get your facts straight please.

"I believe". Haven't had a chance to actually look for it.

shaddowstorm

goldthistime wrote: »

shaddowstorm wrote: »

goldthistime wrote: »

shaddowstorm wrote: »

Hi,

What are your thoughts on quitting sugar?
Has anyone ever quit sugar and what were you results?

OP are you considering quitting sugar because you have trouble resisting it or because you believe it to be very unhealthy or both?

I have thought about lessening my sugar intake as in from possessed foods. Which yesterday I realized that my 2 coffees per day with half a sugar was what was putting me over my intake which I changed to a sweetener. I pretty much wanted to know how sugar free people lived such as Sarah Wilson.

I have no addictions to high sugar foods

So are you saying you find it difficult to include calories from added sugar and still stay under goal? Then reducing sugar sounds like a good plan. I am going at it another way. I increased my goal calories and am including sugar.

I don't know how much sugar a day is good and how much is bad. my intake today says my goal is 45g and am currently on 26g today as I've already added my tea and it's only 3:20pm in Aus.
I'm surprised as my yoghurt is 170g per serving and 20.9g sugar to me this is high. Over my weight loss journey I worked from watching my calories to protein and fibre now looking at the sugar.

duna_pruna

Someone asked what I consider garbage food. I was eating a lot of pure glucose - hard candy, licorice, gummy bears etc. I was also eating chocolate and quite a bit of it. I replaced the pure glucose with more fruits and whole grains. I allow myself a treat of a Hershey bar every day. I am on maintenance, so I have some calories to use. I noticed that if I ate a bunch of sugar one day, I would wake up with a sore throat and end up with a respiratory virus. As I have asthma, these frequently end up in my lungs and require extra medicine and time off work. Since I changed my eating habits, I have not had to take antibiotics or extra steroids. I'm not trying to vilify food, but these experiences I've had are very real. My health has improved a lot since I exchanged low nutrient value foods for higher value ones - strawberries, blueberries, broccoli etc. Just my experience and not intended to force anyone else into a lifestyle they don't believe in.

Aemely

Sure, if you have trouble controlling your sweet tooth, you can stop eating desserts and added/refined sugar. I can keep my sugar down to 10 or so if I don't eat much bread, honey, jam, peanut butter, or chocolate. However, that sounds like no fun at all on a daily basis.

But, to each their own!

Nikkei74

shaddowstorm wrote: »

I have thought about lessening my sugar intake as in from possessed foods. Which yesterday I realized that my 2 coffees per day with half a sugar was what was putting me over my intake which I changed to a sweetener. I pretty much wanted to know how sugar free people lived such as Sarah Wilson.

I have no addictions to high sugar foods

The answer is that she isn't sugar-free, she avoids fructose, particularly in sucrose or HFCS form. She's ok with maltose and lactose, and suggests that up to 2 serves of fresh fruit a day are ok if you're not also having sucrose. She even promotes recipes with glucose. From an ease of adherence point, the recipes on the IQS site look pretty good to me. There's definitely plenty of sweet things in there if you want them.

Perhaps there is someone here who has cut a broader range of sugars from their diet who could fill you in a bit more with details on how they manage it.

So far as reducing sugar goes, in my opinion, coffee without sugar is an easy way to get more room for calories elsewhere. Same goes for soft drink, confectionery, and sweetened cereal. But that's because I have a preference for savoury foods over sweet ones. Go with whatever you can stick with long term.