no more sugar!

edptanner

Last night I let myself eat 2 of every kind of Halloween candy we bought. This is a vast improvement over previous years where I would start snacking on it a few weeks in advance and the Costco size bag would be gone by haloween. Some days, all I would eat was fun size candy bars. So. Even though I did better this year, I need to guard against eating all the leftovers. I need to commit publically, so I will feel a sense of accountability. My plan is to not eat any sugar until Thanksgiving. (Thats about 3 and a half weeks away.) My food diary is open. I am going to allow raw honey and agave and maple syrup, because I'm afraid if I say absolutely no sweets, I will not make it. I will only use these sweeteners when making "healthy" treats. Oh. And no chocolate. That will hurt at first, but I gotta do it. I hope that the empowerment from breaking free will feel better than the pleasure of eating it.

If anyone wants to join me, I'd love company! I know a lot of you probably already have such things mastered. Any advice or experiences shared would be great too!

rdbasile

I'll join you! I'm new to this group. I did better this year with the candy than previous years, but it was not ideal. I have developed a bad habit of eating chocolate on my commute home that I will break now. I also was eating ice cream at night every few days. I broke that habit. I'm off most other processed carbs now. My food diary is open, too. Feel free to add me.
Rob

neetneet46

I didn't have any Halloween candy at all but it doesn't mean I'm not tempted when I go to the store and see the half price mark down ! I was going to put some honey on my food but it was high in sugar so I passed on it. I'll join you too. This is one battle I plan on winning ! I'm slowly weaning off sweets but it's hard but every now and then I have to have something to reward myself because if I go too drastic that's going to make it even harder on myself . This is definitely a long process for me . I'll join you .

neetneet46

Didn't realize we already friends , lol !

edptanner

One day done, and I didn't eat any candy - even though my kids had it spread out all over the living room floor trading and comparing their loot. Of course it is easy at first because I'm super motivated. I hope this resolve will last. Hey RD I wonder if you could substitute something instead of the chocolate. So you don't feel deprived, and lapse back. Hi Neet. Yeah. Now we really have to work together to succeed!

retailwizard1

Hi.. like your plan.. I am trying to stay away from the sale halloween chocolate too! It's crazy how much sugar and calories are in one lil bar... I did break down and bought a few 80% treats at michaels but that was mainly for a gift to a friend

rdbasile

Had an issue today. An assistant principal brought us pastries from Panera during a meeting, and I was really hungry. I'll be better tomorrow. How is everyone else making out?

idrthrbupnrth

I will join you too. I have a major problem with sugar and really can't have anything with refined sugar in it without going on a binge. I've had no sugar since Halloween. Homemade banana bread with maple syrup instead of sugar helps curb my sweet tooth.

sheraisawesome

I would love to join... I think I ate all of your shares of Halloween candy. I seriously have a sugar addiction and would love the support of others to learn how to stop eating it. Do I need to share my diary? I have never done that (because I eat like crap probably).

rdbasile

No sugar today! I feel much better since yesterdays mishap. Back on track.

edptanner

Hey yeah, sheraisawes. You don't have to share your diary, but I'll tell ya what. Since I made my diary open, it has made a huge difference in the choices I make. I think of all my friends here who will see if I mess up. Yesterday, something made me really sad/ mad and I was sitting in the grocery store parking lot thinking about what I could buy and eat to drown my sorrows (sugar/ chocolate related) but then I remembered that I was doing this with y'all, and I decided to put on my big girl pants and be stronger than my sorrow. I did buy a "treat" but it was sushi instead of what I was initially contemplating. Then I felt so happy and empowered because I had had self mastery - even if it was just one situation on one day. So. That's my opinion about having an open diary. If I hadn't had the threat, I totally would have bonked.

edptanner

Woo hoo rdbaslie. Proud of you! May the force be with you today!

edptanner

How is everyone doing? It's Friday night and traditionally we eat pizza or make treats or something. I'm trying to keep myself distracted and not think about making a batch of chocolate chip cookies. It's cold and slightly snowy here. I'm really wishing for a quart of hot chocolate! Probably I'll go look at my favorite raw food recipe websites and find a treat that I can make that uses dates or something. It doesn't sound as satisfying though. I wonder how I could make a peach cobbler without sugar.

edptanner

Anyone still out there? I miss hearing from y'all!

Steve__McD

I'm 6 weeks off sugar (completely, no failures) with some help from some meds (designed for another purpose) and I have to say I am so happy to be free from the addiction. Small amounts of sugar are probably fine and life is short so perhaps the occasional treat is just being kind to your body, but I can't do a little given how bad my addiction was. I can only attest to the fact that the urge can go away if you are off it long enough, sleep well, and take care your health generally.

edptanner

Thanks for the good example and encouragement! I have done really great so far, and feel much better, but I know I could lapse back very easily. It helps to communicate with like minded people on this site.

daisychainforty2

I let myself down. Ice cream. I've had some super sugar cravings this past week and that's not usual for me. When you say no sugar, is fruit elimated as well or is it just free sugars?

edptanner

For myself, I am just saying no refined sugar. Like white sugar, corn syrup, etc. I do use raw agave and maple syrup & raw honey. I know these are technically refined also, but I think they are still pretty much whole foods. If I said "nothing sweet at all" I would have totally bonked after a few days. When I first started, I used my allowed sweetners every day, but now it's only a couple times a week. It is harder to make recipes or buy pre-made treats that I love (and binge on) with these more natural sweeteners and so I have had to find new recipes that are more healthful. I do eat fruit. I also use dates as a sweetener in things like crusts for raw "cheesecakes." I am eating fruit. My goal is to get myself away from all the processed stuff. I could eat a whole bag of cadburry mini eggs - all day long, and nothing else. I had such bad cravings (addiction possibly) that I knew I couldn't do "moderation." I just had to say "none" until I got it all out of my system. I do feel a lot better, and the cravings are less and less. But, I'm scared to try going back just yet.

People ask - what about ketchup and stuff. (I guess ketchup technically has a lot of sugar in it.) Well, yeah. I eat ketchup. I am in no danger of binging on a bottle of ketchup. Haha! So I don't usually read labels and forbid something if it has the word sugar on the label. I just look to make sure it's not in maybe the top four ingredients.

But you have to decide what works for you according to your goals. I don't want to dictate my rules onto someone else. I'm just looking for general support, swapping ideas, commiserating when we mess up, Saying hooray when we do good,etc. Maybe you could say you are allowed icecream a certain number of times a week, so you don't go into panic mode thinking that you are absolutely never ever going to be able to eat ice cream again. I have also seen recipes for icecream or frozen trats made with agave, or other whole food sweeteners.

What I did (still do) when I feel like I am craving sweet stuff: I make a quart of peppermint tea and put several teaspoons of agave in it. That is sweet and also gets more liquids in my and helps me fill full. I made some raw cheese cake with cashews, dates, lemon juice & some other stuff and froze them in individual portion sizes. It is a dense rich tasting dessert that totally makes me feel like I am having a nice suggary treat, but I don't feel sick and heavy afterwards, and I also don't have the desire to eat 3 pieces like I would if I had real cheesecake available. I have a recipe for pumpkin pie made with maple syrup that I will try, and I even found a fudge recipe that uses raw and healthy ingredients. Sometimes at the beginning when I was really desperate, I would go stick a spoon into the bucket of raw honey and eat it straight. I couldn't do that now. It doesn't even sound good, but at first, that was the only thing that would satisfy my intense sugar cravings in a legal way.

Whew! I got carried away! But it is all stuff I have been thinking about. Good luck to you and I hope you don't beat yourself up and quit. I'd LOVE to hear things that you do to manage!