Quitting Sugar - any success stories out there

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NorthWoodsMomma
NorthWoodsMomma Posts: 18 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am drastically reducing the sugar I eat and noticed much less energy this week for exercise. I would say I'm more tired than normal. Drinking about 60 ounces of water a day and my calorie limit is 1270. Barely made a two mile walk this evening and would like to hear from others who have quit sugar. When does the energy level return? Maybe I'm just tired from fighting the urge to dive into the ice cream lol!!
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  • Equus5374
    Equus5374 Posts: 462 Member
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    Perhaps it was too drastic and you didn't taper slowly enough. Personally I haven't "quit" anything. Everything in moderation and within my calorie allotment.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I reduced (never "quit", not sure that's possible) the amount of added sugar in my diet about 14 years ago. The first week or so was tough. Beans helped in the beginning.

    I've never looked back.
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
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    Are you making other big changes in your diet? What's replacing calories from sugars and refined carbs?

    Are you a sedentary person or active? If active, you need to 'eat back' those calories burned or yes you will be fatigued.

    Let's assume for a moment you are eating a very balanced diet of good healthy whole foods and it's just the sugars that are missing - you'll probably find you adapt to burning the fats in your diet within a couple of weeks.
  • NorthWoodsMomma
    NorthWoodsMomma Posts: 18 Member
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    I'm not sedentary, maybe lightly active - 40-60 minutes a day about 4 days a week is average for me. Trying to replace sugar with whole grains, eggs (I don't eat meat), veggies. I'm the type of person that doesn't do moderation very well, if I have one chocolate kiss then I have 10, so I wanted to knock out the sugar cravings.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I quit eating added sugar and, while I did not notice any change in energy level (I was eating enough calories that my body still had plenty of fuel), I did have MAJOR intense cravings for about two weeks. However, after that it got much easier. What I did notice regarding energy level, is that it was much more steady...I no longer had the energy slumps I used to.

    I gave it up because having a little sugar always, without fail, set off cravings for more.

    If you are noticing a decline in energy, maybe you could try just eating a little more of something high in protein or fat. It could be you just aren't eating enough. Otherwise, wait it out. If you are eating enough calories, then this is a temporary thing until your body adapts.
  • inked_Calimom82
    inked_Calimom82 Posts: 143 Member
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    I was drinking 5-6 sodas a day! Omg yes a day it was bad. I had a whole dr pepper even when I smacked on a kit Kay or some chips. I started my "diet" or should I say quest for eatin healthier almost a month ago. I have been free of sugar for almost 4 weeks now and absolutely loving it. All I drink is water now :)
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
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    NorthWoodsMomma wrote: »
    I'm the type of person that doesn't do moderation very well, if I have one chocolate kiss then I have 10, so I wanted to knock out the sugar cravings.

    I've been there. You should have seen me at Halloween. For years I put on pounds at Halloween, which blends into Christmas... well you get the picture.

    My solution early on was not to buy ice cream or sweets. I didn't tell anyone in the family at first. My wife hasn't got a weight issue and can moderate her intake of sweets so I kept her stash of nice chocolate around often enough so as not to arose suspicion. If I had any at all, I'd allow myself one really good chocolate piece (70cals) and that's it.

    Fast forward to today... there is an untouched pail of ice cream in the freezer. It's been there for weeks that way.

    What really made the difference? When I started in September it took a while but eventually I start to see results, and that motivated me to keep going and that's all I needed to stop taking seconds, thirds, fourths, of everything and to stop sneaking a sweet.

    Everyone will be different in this regard. I guess I was just tired of buying my own B.S., sabotaging my own health in the process.
  • jojopaleorn
    jojopaleorn Posts: 1 Member
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    That seems like a pretty low calorie limit, especially with that amount of activity - even if it is light activity. I've been eating mostly sugar-free for several months now (I say mostly because some days I'll still have one or two pieces of fruit). I didn't have an energy slump, but I began increasing my fat intake before I really dropped the sugar. Since you don't eat meat, maybe try adding more avocado, nuts/seeds, and healthy oils?
  • NorthWoodsMomma
    NorthWoodsMomma Posts: 18 Member
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    Yes, I'm cooking with coconut or olive oil, having walnuts or almonds as snacks sometimes too. It's probably just an adjustment period that'll hopefully go away in a week or so. Tomorrow will be my longer walk/run (7 miles) so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. I do usually eat the calories back that I burn exercising, but not all of them because I think the numbers might be overestimated. It's weird but I tend to go over my calorie limit on the days I don't exercise.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    NorthWoodsMomma wrote: »
    Yes, I'm cooking with coconut or olive oil, having walnuts or almonds as snacks sometimes too. It's probably just an adjustment period that'll hopefully go away in a week or so. Tomorrow will be my longer walk/run (7 miles) so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. I do usually eat the calories back that I burn exercising, but not all of them because I think the numbers might be overestimated. It's weird but I tend to go over my calorie limit on the days I don't exercise.

    If you're still feeling fatigued, try adding a half a cup of beans a day.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Well, not eating sugar is pretty much the definition of less energy. But to be honest, it just sounds like your calorie goal may be too low, especially if you don't eat your exercise calories.
  • MistyinTN
    MistyinTN Posts: 78 Member
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    I went sugar-free last Thursday and I felt like crap for a couple of days and had no energy. This week has been much better and I'm feeling fantastic! Good luck to you!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    I quit eating added sugar and, while I did not notice any change in energy level (I was eating enough calories that my body still had plenty of fuel), I did have MAJOR intense cravings for about two weeks. However, after that it got much easier. What I did notice regarding energy level, is that it was much more steady...I no longer had the energy slumps I used to.

    When I dropped sugar for a while this was my experience too--not the cravings, as I didn't have any, but the smoothing out of energy level. I've since managed to sustain that by just making sure I combine carbs or especially sugary things with other foods containing enough protein and fat and fiber.

    So my guess is the energy level might be simply the lower calories.

    I do find that I mostly crave sugar in the first place when I'm low on sleep, so that also is something I'd think about re energy level.
  • GrandmaCarole
    GrandmaCarole Posts: 35 Member
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    Eating higher protein, high fiber and including fruit helps me. But I am diabetic and include sweeteners as well. Still, I had been cheating with a candy bar in late afternoon. Now I have 3 meals a day plus a snack at bed time. And my food is not always eaten at one time if I stop and post in the middle of it. Spreading out the calories keeps the blood sugar more level.
  • GrandmaCarole
    GrandmaCarole Posts: 35 Member
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    Plain yogurt with fruit, low fat cheese and cottage cheese, beans, and peanut butter--I get the freshly ground type.
  • br3adman
    br3adman Posts: 284 Member
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    More eggs and plain yogurt. 2 cups of plain yogurt is 200 calories and 20g of protein. It will help with sugar while you're in with drawls.
  • shreddedtrooper
    shreddedtrooper Posts: 107 Member
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    hollydubs85 wrote: »
    Well, not eating sugar is pretty much the definition of less energy. But to be honest, it just sounds like your calorie goal may be too low, especially if you don't eat your exercise calories.

    This.

    Also, when OP states drastically are we talking from like 100g to like 0? Or is under 20g daily drastically reducing?

    Essentially fruits etc will add to this but not really too significant holding moderation/intake etc. But that is another topic

    Explore intake requirements for you based on age/activity level. The idea of reducing sugar is a good start but energy will have to come from somewhere and each diet should have those micronutrients so some sugars are inevitable. Show me someone who has zero sugar and that is someone who doesn't even eat fruit..no one says you have to have fruit but again, micros along with protein/fat/carb etc.

    My 2 cents: Adjust intake, moderation over elimination. :) Best of luck and great job on being so active!

    Of note: sodium intake. Different topic as well but often I find those that deal in absolutes (all or nothing) can at times reduce their sodium so low as well, which again works but we still need some sodium at some point or another. Drastically reducing sodium will of course have the body adjust and there is various positives that sodium (moderation) gives especially when involving training.
  • NorthWoodsMomma
    NorthWoodsMomma Posts: 18 Member
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    br3adman wrote: »
    More eggs and plain yogurt. 2 cups of plain yogurt is 200 calories and 20g of protein. It will help with sugar while you're in with drawls.
    Eggs and yogurt are two of my favorites so I'll try that.
  • NorthWoodsMomma
    NorthWoodsMomma Posts: 18 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    I reduced (never "quit", not sure that's possible) the amount of added sugar in my diet about 14 years ago. The first week or so was tough. Beans helped in the beginning.

    I've never looked back.
    14 years, that's amazing!
  • NorthWoodsMomma
    NorthWoodsMomma Posts: 18 Member
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    mistypile wrote: »
    I went sugar-free last Thursday and I felt like crap for a couple of days and had no energy. This week has been much better and I'm feeling fantastic! Good luck to you!

    Good luck to you too!

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