Have you Quit Sugar?
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amusedmonkey wrote: »breefoshee wrote: »I'm friggin' about to have to. I have debated people over sugar for months now-- how its not that big of a deal and that weight loss is calories in vs calories out. And I couldn't wait to live that out so that some of the people in my life could see that you can live a moderate life and still lose weight-- especially my bestie who thinks that cutting out sugar, dairy, meat and gluten (but binging on it every weekend) is the only way to lose weight and live healthy.
Then... I found out that I'm insulin resistant this past week. And that I'll have to drastically cut carbs, sugar, and friggin dairy. I'm totally bitter about it.
The good news is that in many cases this can go into remission once you lose weight and start exercising. I used to eat much lower carbs back when I had my average fasting blood sugar at 112. After losing a lot of weight and following up with exercise my average is now 75! Best of all, I can eat whatever and my blood sugar won't go an inch over 130 after a meal. So patience!
Thanks! Yea, I say I'm bitter... but at the same time I'm hopeful and glad to know that I'm not crazy. Putting in a lot of work and hardly seeing the scale go down is discouraging... but knowing now that I'm insulin resistant, I now know what to do to move forward.
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Ive quit snorting it..if thats what you mean.
But... if youre talking something along the lines of never eating ice cream again, Im going to have to say that will never...ever...ever ever ever happen. And pie. I like pie.
Oh and fruit. Those are cool too.0 -
I've cut down a great deal and am significantly more mindful of the sugar that I intake...but, no, it just isn't a realistic thing for me to cut it out all together right now.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »It's amazing how my tastes have changed. I'll pass up pancakes now if artificial syrup is all that's available, even though it's what I grew up on.
I feel the same way, or at least substitute something else entirely. Last time I made pancakes I tried a sauce I'd made of rhubarb and strawberries (and generally used the strawberries as the sweetener, although there may have been a pinch of sugar) and it was delicious. Not quite maple syrup, but what is?0 -
AmazonMayan wrote: »I've not been fond of white commercial bread and even some of the wheat for years because it's really sweet
homemade white bread is a whole different story 
Agree with this. As a child my mother thought I was difficult because I would not eat packaged bread (I still don't care for it and never buy it--we got whole wheat, actually, but I didn't like any of it), but homemade bread, both whole grain and not, I've always enjoyed, and of course various other sorts of bread like the naan in good Indian restaurants (which I think I talk about incessantly). I wonder if part of it was the extra sweetness, as I've always been somewhat sensitive to and not liked sweetness in foods I didn't think should be sweet (partly why I've never liked ketchup and back when I drank lots of wine it took me the longest and some exposure to really good dessert wines before I developed a palate for any sweeter wines).0 -
I ate a huge amount of sugar -- nothing was ever sickeningly sweet to me, the more the better. Even when I started MFP my sugar intake was at least 100g and 150g-200g days weren't out of the question. Cutting waay back was a good decision for me and happened in stages.
I had already stopped eating most sweets and desserts when I joined and compensated with fruit (counting calories dessert was the first thing to go for me). I then cut back on packaged foods and measured out the sugar in my coffee instead of dumping it in. Next I decreased my carbs overall so almost all sugar, like in my coffee, had to go. That was the hardest part. I actually had to quit drinking coffee all together because it was bitter and disgusting to me without sugar. After a few weeks of low carb, vegetables started tasting sweet to me and ripe fruits were a delicious indulgence.
Halloween was a complete shock; candy that I loved and couldn't get enough of before was actually sickeningly sweet -- for the first time ever. Six months in and I tried drinking coffee again and it was absolutely delicious with cream.
Your tastes will change if you cut it out long enough. These days fruits and vegetables are satisfyingly sweet and actual sweets are saved for holidays and special occasions -- and even then they need to be a higher quality, it's just too much sugar to be delicious otherwise. Like I said, it was a good decision for me. My diet is more nutritious, I'm healthier and life is good. 0 -
I just make sure I consume plenty of fibre, after that how much sugar I consume is of no concern.0
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Unless you have a diagnosed medical issue, there is no reason to completely cut out sugar. Elimination diets generally don't work long term. Work on moderation, I still eat sugar, just a lot less than I used too, I've lost 79 pounds so far, and ate a delicious (90 calorie) cookie last night.0
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After watching a documentary about sugar I am really considering quitting altogether.
Has anyone else done this and what was your experience??
Yes - I have done it and I have more energy than before. I lost some serious weight just going totally off sugar altogether (and kept it off!). I only eat sugar that's in a whole food, like fruit, or veggie - anything that's naturally occurring can go into my mouth - anything that required processing to high fructose corn syrup or sucrose (table sugar) is a hell no!0 -
tedboosalis7 wrote: »After watching a documentary about sugar I am really considering quitting altogether.
Has anyone else done this and what was your experience??
Yes - I have done it and I have more energy than before. I lost some serious weight just going totally off sugar altogether (and kept it off!). I only eat sugar that's in a whole food, like fruit, or veggie - anything that's naturally occurring can go into my mouth - anything that required processing to high fructose corn syrup or sucrose (table sugar) is a hell no!
Do you believe sucrose doesn't exist in nature?0 -
The other day I could not find the WHO guidelines on sugar other than the invitation for contributions a couple years ago. But today I found their guidelines. They are recommending no more than 5% to 10% of total energy intake be from free sugars. 5% would be about six teaspoons daily.
http://www.who.int/nutrition/en/
The WHO is using the term "free sugars" to refer "monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar) added to foods and drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates."
It would be quite impossible right now to track this on MFP, as there is no distinguishing on the nutrition labels between "free sugars" and naturally occurring sugars and carbohydrates.
I predict there will be new label requirements down the road, to distinguish "free sugars" from the rest.0 -
After watching a documentary about sugar I am really considering quitting altogether.
Has anyone else done this and what was your experience??
No, I haven't quit sugar but I don't wear tin foil hats either. I also know not to take any information from emotionally manipulative, fact poor documentaries as anything more than exactly that.
Documentaries: The bane of rational thought and good decision making.-2 -
breefoshee wrote: »Then... I found out that I'm insulin resistant this past week. And that I'll have to drastically cut carbs, sugar, and friggin dairy. I'm totally bitter about it.
The diabetic life is all about balance. Watch the carbs but you don't have to cut them! What I did is pair my carb with protein always. And why cut dairy? I don't understand. Milk is about as close to a "complete" macro deal that you can find.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I have been LIMITING my added sugars for about 15 years now. I find that the more even I can keep my blood sugars (i.e. no mid morning crash) the easier it is to eat the way I want.
I also very much limit heavily refined carbs (think: white bread) for the same reason. I aim for more whole or intact grains.
I actually do this same thing, although for me it's been helpful to put the focus more on having a balance of macros at each meal -- even a whole grain like steel cut oats doesn't work for me for breakfast unless I include it in a meal with protein and fat (and I usually add veggies too, since I like having veggies at each meal--this was my breakfast today, in fact). For me the overall amounts of carbs and sugars seem less important than balancing them and not eating them on their own usually (when I have a sweet item it's generally close in time to a meal), but I generally do eat whole grains or other forms of starches (even more) rather than lots of heavily refined grains. (White pasta affects me no different than whole wheat, given the importance of the sauce, so although I generally have whole wheat at home I have no problem ordering white in a restaurant for a splurge.)0 -
No, because sugar is delicous and I've yet to hear a good reason to cut it out.0
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »Your tastes will change if you cut it out long enough. These days fruits and vegetables are satisfyingly sweet and actual sweets are saved for holidays and special occasions -- and even then they need to be a higher quality, it's just too much sugar to be delicious otherwise. Like I said, it was a good decision for me. My diet is more nutritious, I'm healthier and life is good.
I'm glad this worked for you.
Not everyone will find that their tastes change (or want that), however. I've always liked many sweet foods (good homemade pie, ice cream, what I call fancy chocolates, cannoli, etc.), but I've also always enjoyed fruit and veggies. I haven't found that being more sparing about the calories (and sugary items) I eat has much changed my palate.
I was probably less tolerant of some sweet things to start with, though, but not sweets in general.
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tedboosalis7 wrote: »After watching a documentary about sugar I am really considering quitting altogether.
Has anyone else done this and what was your experience??
Yes - I have done it and I have more energy than before. I lost some serious weight just going totally off sugar altogether (and kept it off!). I only eat sugar that's in a whole food, like fruit, or veggie - anything that's naturally occurring can go into my mouth - anything that required processing to high fructose corn syrup or sucrose (table sugar) is a hell no!
Hello cognitive dissonance
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I stopped adding sugar to things like coffee and tea and slimmed down a little within a month
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Ive focussed on giving up the refined sugar and it has had an enormous impact on the way I feel! I was a hard core sugar-a-holic! The cravings for it diminish greatly once its out of your system, and foods taste better once youve desensitized yourself to the super sweet tastes of artificially isolated sugars and sweeteners0
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No I haven't. 73 pounds down, and successful insulin resistance reversal. I have found, through using IIFYM that my sugar intake is naturally low as I'm focused on making my calories count. And that my taste for super sweet stuff has changed. A lot.0
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GiveMeCoffee wrote: »Nope haven't given it up, I wouldn't be able to enjoy my nightly dessert if I did. I also prefer to base my decisions on my research not based on the agenda they are pushing in a documentary.
/\/\ This is a fantastic answer... and is exactly what I am doing... do more research we beg you...
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Ummmmm. Negatory.0
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GiveMeCoffee wrote: »Nope haven't given it up, I wouldn't be able to enjoy my nightly dessert if I did. I also prefer to base my decisions on my research not based on the agenda they are pushing in a documentary.
/\/\ This is a fantastic answer... and is exactly what I am doing... do more research we beg you...
Do you think you have done more research than WHO, Harvard School of Public Health, The American Heart Associasion, and other health organizations that recommend limiting added sugars?0 -
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I am not quitting sugar. I am quitting the majority of processed foods (which is where the majority of the sugar in our diet comes from). I will be creating a lot of my own meals and not pulling them out of a box and putting them in the oven or microwave. I like to cook so I'm looking forward to this experiement. I have started a video blog. I'm going to make it public at some point but for now it's just for me to view. I would never "quit sugar." Sugar is in so many fruits that are so good for your health. I prefer to say I'm phasing out added sugar.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »GiveMeCoffee wrote: »Nope haven't given it up, I wouldn't be able to enjoy my nightly dessert if I did. I also prefer to base my decisions on my research not based on the agenda they are pushing in a documentary.
/\/\ This is a fantastic answer... and is exactly what I am doing... do more research we beg you...
Do you think you have done more research than WHO, Harvard School of Public Health, The American Heart Associasion, and other health organizations that recommend limiting added sugars?
The main reason they recommend that is because it's a big factor in overeating calories. If you're watching those calories, that reason is irrelevant for your decision.0 -
I too, watched a documentary about the detrimental effects of refined sugar on our bodies, but this particular documentary was about taking anything from nature and manipulating it in such a way to make something completely unnatural. It went so far as to compare refined white sugar and flour to cocaine. For a while, I went cold turkey to anything with refined sugar and flour in it (even canned tomatoes with HFCS). That kick-started my weight loss and I actually felt like I had a lot MORE energy. I didn't feel sluggish all the time like I did after eating a whole plate of pasta or drinking a giant glass of sweet tea. I didn't have to rely on these things for energy anymore, and it was a huge relief. It has been 6 months since then, and I still have not added pasta/breads or sweet tea back to my diet. I have gradually added refined sugar and flour back to my diet, but definitely not in the amounts it was before. I believe moderation is the key, and try to find these items in the least refined form you can if that is what you are worried about. Since quitting refined sugar, I have added natural sugars into my diet more so than before, such as my daily apple and any other fruit. I still have that celebratory desert or that quick sandwich now and again, and I even sneaked a Reese's peanut butter egg the other day. YUM. Just try to be conscious about what you are fueling your body with.0
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Take the documentaries with a grain of salt....I mean sugar.
If there is a medical reason to limit sugar, have at it....otherwise.......where are the KitKats?0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Not good wines. Moscato may be.DawnieB1977 wrote: »Yes- pretty much. I know that sugar is in some foods that I eat and I like to drink beer and wine which also contain sugar but in general I don't eat sugary food- cakes, biscuits, chocolate etc. It works well for me. If I don't eat it I don't want it but if I eat it I crave more and I wanted to rid myself of cravings and I have done so. I don't eat much processed food but if I am buying it I check labels and if sugar comes within the first three ingredients listed I regard it as a sugar product and I don't buy it. Be careful with bread- you'd be surprised how many breads on the market have sugar in the first three ingredients. In my case it's what makes it "moreish" and hard to resist eating too much of it. Christmas, Easter etc can be a huge challenge. I usually indulge at Christmas and put on several pounds which I often regret. This Easter I plan on sticking to my no sugar. I will have treats but they will be wine, beer, and diet coke. I really feel so much better without sugary food. A slice of apple tart is about 350 calories and is eaten in a few seconds and I always want more! For 350 calories I could treat myself to some wine or beer or something that I really want and not experience cravings afterwards. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Wine is pretty sugary.
We don't tend to have sugar in bread in England, at least not the bread i buy. One of my friends went to the US and said the bread was really sweet.
I agree with not having too much added sugar, but like anything it's ok in moderation.
+ 1 Good wines are not sugary.
They have natural sugars.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »GiveMeCoffee wrote: »Nope haven't given it up, I wouldn't be able to enjoy my nightly dessert if I did. I also prefer to base my decisions on my research not based on the agenda they are pushing in a documentary.
/\/\ This is a fantastic answer... and is exactly what I am doing... do more research we beg you...
Do you think you have done more research than WHO, Harvard School of Public Health, The American Heart Associasion, and other health organizations that recommend limiting added sugars?
"Have you Quit Sugar"
Why did you add "added" into it? And their recommendations are based off crappy data sets, they should not be making recommendations at all.0
This discussion has been closed.
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