Sugar free

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lawanddean
lawanddean Posts: 46 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
just started to try and go sugar free, anyone tried it?
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  • houstongary0311
    houstongary0311 Posts: 1 Member
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    idk if I can go completely sugar free. I searched "Sugar" in this area and saw your post. I'm 48 and went to the doctor and found out my glucose levels are nearing the diabetic levels. My mom has diabetes and I don't want to become diabetic if I can help it. Yesterday was my first day on this and I was under on everything EXCEPT sugar. Although most of it was from apples and peaches - it wasn't all from fruit. But even things that I don't expect to have sugar have it. Right now I'd be happy with just limiting my sugar to well below what my daily requirement allows.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    edited August 2015
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    Are you trying to go sugar free or added sugar free? Because fruits and veggies have sugars but they also have a lot of nutrients.

    Having said that, sugar isn't the devil.. calories are. Going sugar free won't guarantee weight loss if is your objective. But depending on your goals, reducing sugars (e.i. added sugars) can lead to more nutrient dense food choices and may help keep you in a deficit.

    Personally, i believe in eating 80-90% of my calories from nutrient dense sources and the rest from treats. For me, moderation has worked well.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    lawanddean wrote: »
    just started to try and go sugar free, anyone tried it?
    Absolutely not. Sugar is in fruits so there isn't any way I'm giving those up. Also, there is no inherent advantage to giving up sugar. Sugar is just a carb, and like all other carbs has 4 calories per gram. Calories determine weight loss so you can certainly have sugar providing you still maintain your calorie deficit. Now I don't eat tons of things with lots of added sugar as those foods are usually less filling with higher calories. I'd rather use my calories on more filling foods. That is no to say I don't eat things with added sugar in moderation, I do. The point is, eating sugar free isn't necessary at all for weight loss, and is actually a bad idea IMO because it places a HUGE restriction on what you can eat, especially fruit.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    I do limit the amount of sugary foods I eat, but no, not sugar free. I find going high fiber works better for me than worrying over grams of sugar.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    Nope!! Lost 121 pounds and reverse my heart disease all while eating sugary foods. I also do approx. 80/20.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Funny, I just had this conversation with my son last night. I told him I was sorry he was giving up fruit. Shocked, he replied, "I'm not giving up fruit! I'm talking about the bad sugar; refined sugar!" I wished him well.

    Now that my diabetes is in remission, I eat a little more refined sugar in my day. This month I made a home-made jam from my sister's rhubarb and I must say it's very good. This recipe called for soaking the rhubarb for 48 hours in the sugar (a delightful word; macerate). I used up every sugar I had in the house to make it including white refined sugar, corn syrup, agave syrup, and honey. Based on the proportions of sugar, I'd say the resulting product is mostly fructose.

    It's very, very good. I eat in moderation just as I am cautious with fats and butter, no more than a tablespoon at a serving.
  • freeza12
    freeza12 Posts: 33 Member
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    Yeah, I gave it up, it's easy. Don't buy products with sugar in it. After a few weeks of no sugar you won't miss it. There's nutritionally very little positive about sugar.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    freeza12 wrote: »
    Yeah, I gave it up, it's easy. Don't buy products with sugar in it. After a few weeks of no sugar you won't miss it. There's nutritionally very little positive about sugar.


    So no veggies, fruits or dairy? Or you just talking added sugar?
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    I take it you mean you are looking to reduce your sugar - good for you. great thing to cut back on to reduce the calories.

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited August 2015
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    tennisdude2004 wrote: »
    I take it you mean you are looking to reduce your sugar - good for you. great thing to cut back on to reduce the calories.

    This^

    Cutting out 100% of added sugar is not necessary for weight loss. Temporary changes made to lose weight don't help you maintain the weight you lost. For me maintenance is actually harder than losing, so logging a sugary treat here, or a sugary treat there teaches me what a portion looks like. Only lifestyle changes for me.
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,514 Member
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    i watch my sugars, particularly added sugars as i have a medical condition and sugars from all sources can make me very ill if i have too much particularly in liquid forms (sugary drinks, smoothies etc)

    i once had a no added sugar jelly without reading the label, heart rate shot right up, hot, sweaty, dizzy and then i passed out..... stupid me the little pot had 22 grams of it, twas made from fruit juice
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Nope. Nor do I wish to. I'm doing just fine without eliminating foods that I enjoy.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I eat very little sugar, but I am eating a very low carbohydrate high fat diet to treat insulin resistance and autoimmune issues. My sugar grams are usually under 10g per day, and often barely register. I do not eat a lot of fruit except a handful of berries here or there, which suits me because I never have eaten more than one fruit a day. I do not eat grains, and skip most starchy veggies like potatoes.

    I eat nothing that has added sugars if I can avoid it.

    I find it very easy to eat this way. Cutting my sugars way back also led to the added benefit of my sugar and carb cravings being eliminated. This is no small feat since I used to have a pop every day and had candy on a weekly basis.

    One does not need to severely restrict sugar in order to lose weight, but if you have IR, other health issues affected by sugar, or intense sugar cravings, cutting sugar may help. Sugar is not needed for health but most people want it in their lives. Just remember that those issues will return if you increase your sugar intake again.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    If you mean added sugars, I reduced them a great deal. I take in less than the recommended maximum amount. It wasn't easy. I struggled (and failed) sometimes, but in the end, I did it. I focus on the healthiness of my diet and that guides my food choices. If the food will harm me, it's out. If it's perfectly healthy for me, it's in. If it's somewhere in the middle, I make a judgement call. I want an overall healthy diet that tastes great and gives me all my vitamins and minerals.

    If you mean ALL sugar, no way...and for the same reasons.

    I cut most of the added sugars because those foods are high-cal, low-nutrient foods that aren't going to help me with my goals. I need the fruits and veggies because they do give me what I need. And berries are so very, very yummy. :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    lawanddean wrote: »
    just started to try and go sugar free, anyone tried it?

    I gave up added sugar for a period of time for my own reasons.

    You have to know what your reasons are and specifically what you are trying to do (for example I think it is not a good idea to give up some foods with sugar, like vegetables and fruits and dairy -- I've generally increased my consumption of those). I also think unless you have a specific reason for cutting out added sugar for a time or in general and simply think you consume too much of it that it's often best to start by just cutting down. Why make it all or nothing?

    But if you have specific questions about what I did I'm open to them. On the whole it wasn't much more than just not eating them and I didn't really feel any different. (I mostly eat whole foods and don't put sugar in beverages so it meant cutting out sweets--my consumption from processed things is pretty low already.)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Funny, I just had this conversation with my son last night. I told him I was sorry he was giving up fruit. Shocked, he replied, "I'm not giving up fruit! I'm talking about the bad sugar; refined sugar!" I wished him well.

    Now that my diabetes is in remission, I eat a little more refined sugar in my day. This month I made a home-made jam from my sister's rhubarb and I must say it's very good. This recipe called for soaking the rhubarb for 48 hours in the sugar (a delightful word; macerate). I used up every sugar I had in the house to make it including white refined sugar, corn syrup, agave syrup, and honey. Based on the proportions of sugar, I'd say the resulting product is mostly fructose.

    It's very, very good. I eat in moderation just as I am cautious with fats and butter, no more than a tablespoon at a serving.

    Yum. I should try making jam, although I never use jam on anything now so it would be more for fun/because it sounds delicious. (Anything with rhubarb is up my alley.)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    tennisdude2004 wrote: »
    I take it you mean you are looking to reduce your sugar - good for you. great thing to cut back on to reduce the calories.

    Going "sugar free" does not = "reducing sugar."
  • Aceydeal
    Aceydeal Posts: 25 Member
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    One thing a lot of people forget when looking for added sugars in foods is that many products contain concentrated "natural" sugars (like using concentrated apple juice as a sweetener instead of cane sugar). I personally do not avoid sugar. I'm just working on calories right now and my sweet tooth is too strong for me to cut back drastically (I'd probably binge).
  • lawanddean
    lawanddean Posts: 46 Member
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    Well progres so far I've limited sugar, I only have it from fruit and I've limited that, I'm eating much more but more healthy foods and I've lost 7 pounds in a week and feel amazing. I'm not touching process foods again, I wish I had tried this years ago
  • lawanddean
    lawanddean Posts: 46 Member
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    Also I've increased my calories from 1400 which was recommended by this site too 2000 as my food now is high in calories (nuts, dairy) I've always struggled to lose weight unless I exercise but having twin babies has meant I am unable to go to the gym 5 times a week (which I did pre babies) I've never thought it was possible to eat more, do less exercise (which I'm not recommending as I will be back to the gym ASAP) and still lose weight which isn't water retention

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