I know sugar's not the devil but.....

beth0277

So, I know that weight loss is mostly CICO but I also believe I have some hormonal issues at play with my weight gain. I am diagnosed as likely PCOS. I also struggle, BIG TIME, with binging. I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges. I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits. I'm prediabetic but have never been instructed to do anything other than lose weight (as far as eat a specific type of diet). I feel that if I lose about 50 pounds, all of my weight related health problems would go away.

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

lemonychild

You should ask ur self what sets you off on a binging parade-? I hear about these trigger foods but really they are like any other calorie if you view them as such. I can't speak on moderation of sugar because you have medical conditions and I'm not a doc. Maybe decrease in sugar WILL help your medical but a deficit is the only thing that will help ur weight loss.

GaleHawkins

Losing 50 pounds can be a game changer.

15 months ago I cut out all forms of grains and most all sugars. All cravings started to fade after a couple weeks and most joint and muscle pain left by day thirty. 15 months later all health matters greatly improved over 20 years ago.

macchiatto

When I was diagnosed with prediabetes and high triglycerides, i followed a low carb diet, lost 11% of my body weight and reversed the prediabetes and dropped by triglycerides to 52.

I also have PCOS and many of us are carb-sensitive. A low carb diet (ideally LCHF, low carb high fat adequate protein) is often successful. I have discovered in recent years that I really can't lose weight unless I go low carb (or extremely low calorie ... but low carb and a more moderate calorie deficit is much preferred over that!).

I'm doing keto now and it's been amazing for getting my carb cravings and binges under control along with weight loss, relief of joint pain, relief of acid reflux and GI issues and increased energy.

macchiatto

Also, when I switched to keto, I didn't change calories at all, just macros, and I went from struggling to lose weight at all, to losing 17 lbs in 10 weeks. (For reference, I was aiming to lose 17-20.)

ilex70

Some people are successful with low carb. You could certainly try it.

As far as setting off a binge, that is more likely to do with sugars/fast carbs because of how it spikes and then drops your blood sugar. Drink a soda, blood sugar goes up, body releases insulin to deal with the sugar, blood sugar quickly drops down and you feel hungry.

Lots of diabetics in my family and they are told to limit total carbs, but also that when they have fast carbs to balance it with fat and protein, so ice cream is okay, soda isn't a good idea unless blood sugar is low and they need to bring it up quickly.

I would cut most simple carbs (sugar/white flour) and prefer complex carbs (vegetables/whole grain) in your diet just to help keep your blood sugar level; maybe prevent feel the need to binge due to blood sugar dropping low too quickly.

auddii

Cutting sugar specifically did not help with my binging. I would not buy sweet stuff (although I bing on most hyperpalatable foods, not just sugar), but I'd bing on whatever I had in my pantry. Some days that would mean eating corn out of can with some stir fry sauce poured in.

I had more success addressing the emotional problems, then I was able to cut back on the binging. I've been able to reintroduce hyperpalatable foods into my diet and my house (still have almost a full jar of pumpkin cookie butter on the counter!).

Cutting out trigger foods can help, but you have to address the root cause of the problem. And I still have binges, they are just much further apart.

lemurcat12

beth0277 wrote: »

I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges.

Do you notice a connection between binges and sugar consumption? Do you track what's going on when binges occur? That's something I think is helpful (I don't binge, but I did that to find patterns of overeating).

I think being very restrictive can backfire re stuff like uncontrollable-feeling eating, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are talking about. Have you been going over calories? If so, absolutely finding a way to cut calories or avoid episodes of binging will help.

I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits.

If you aren't counting fruit, 10 g actually seems high for a meal. In a meal I rarely eat anything with sugar besides fruit, veg, and maybe some dairy or perhaps beets and sweet potatoes. For me, none of those foods would have any negative effect, and nor would a tomato-based sauce or the like.

How are you getting most of your sugar?

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

I cut out added sugar for a while to address a pattern of mindless and emotional eating. After a couple of weeks I found I could eat sweets in moderation without problem, especially if I mostly did so after a meal. I also realized that a bigger issue for me with mindless/emotional eating was snacking/eating outside of mealtimes. So long as I mainly eat at mealtimes with perhaps a planned dessert I make healthy choices. It took a bit of time to get used to this, but once I was in the habit of eating that way I stopped wanting food at other times (and could easily tell myself there was no need to eat before the next meal and it wasn't real hunger if something happened so I did).

I don't eat huge amounts of sugar (really never have), but I do often have something sweet in my day (like some ice cream after dinner), and I don't worry about intrinsic sugar from fruit, veg, dairy, or sweet potatoes/plantains at all.

I also eat lots more fruit in the summer than the winter (I like seasonal fruit) and so more sugar then, and for me it makes 0 difference. Eating lots of sweets throughout the day would make it hard to stick in my calories, of course, and would for me tend to lead to a pattern of harder to control eating.

GaleHawkins

I agree it is more than just cutting out foods high in carbs. In my case I replaced most all carbs with fats. My first cup of coffee typically has 500+ calories from coconut oil and 200 from heavy whipping cream. While I have lost weight by replacing carbs with fats I have lost many inches of fat. The improvements in weight, blood pressure, blood labs, range of motion, etc are awesome in my case.

beth0277

lemurcat12 wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges.

Do you notice a connection between binges and sugar consumption? Do you track what's going on when binges occur? That's something I think is helpful (I don't binge, but I did that to find patterns of overeating).

I think being very restrictive can backfire re stuff like uncontrollable-feeling eating, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are talking about. Have you been going over calories? If so, absolutely finding a way to cut calories or avoid episodes of binging will help.

I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits.

If you aren't counting fruit, 10 g actually seems high for a meal. In a meal I rarely eat anything with sugar besides fruit, veg, and maybe some dairy or perhaps beets and sweet potatoes. For me, none of those foods would have any negative effect, and nor would a tomato-based sauce or the like.

How are you getting most of your sugar?

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

I cut out added sugar for a while to address a pattern of mindless and emotional eating. After a couple of weeks I found I could eat sweets in moderation without problem, especially if I mostly did so after a meal. I also realized that a bigger issue for me with mindless/emotional eating was snacking/eating outside of mealtimes. So long as I mainly eat at mealtimes with perhaps a planned dessert I make healthy choices. It took a bit of time to get used to this, but once I was in the habit of eating that way I stopped wanting food at other times (and could easily tell myself there was no need to eat before the next meal and it wasn't real hunger if something happened so I did).

I don't eat huge amounts of sugar (really never have), but I do often have something sweet in my day (like some ice cream after dinner), and I don't worry about intrinsic sugar from fruit, veg, dairy, or sweet potatoes/plantains at all.

I also eat lots more fruit in the summer than the winter (I like seasonal fruit) and so more sugar then, and for me it makes 0 difference. Eating lots of sweets throughout the day would make it hard to stick in my calories, of course, and would for me tend to lead to a pattern of harder to control eating.

So just as an example, my lunch today has 13 grams. I am eating a turkey sandwich with white american cheese on whole grain bread with wheat thins, a laughing cow cheese wedge and then a chia bar (which will be more like a snack after lunch).

Typically every afternoon I have a cup of warm apple cider for a pick me up/snack, which has 17 grams.

auddii

beth0277 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges.

Do you notice a connection between binges and sugar consumption? Do you track what's going on when binges occur? That's something I think is helpful (I don't binge, but I did that to find patterns of overeating).

I think being very restrictive can backfire re stuff like uncontrollable-feeling eating, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are talking about. Have you been going over calories? If so, absolutely finding a way to cut calories or avoid episodes of binging will help.

I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits.

If you aren't counting fruit, 10 g actually seems high for a meal. In a meal I rarely eat anything with sugar besides fruit, veg, and maybe some dairy or perhaps beets and sweet potatoes. For me, none of those foods would have any negative effect, and nor would a tomato-based sauce or the like.

How are you getting most of your sugar?

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

I cut out added sugar for a while to address a pattern of mindless and emotional eating. After a couple of weeks I found I could eat sweets in moderation without problem, especially if I mostly did so after a meal. I also realized that a bigger issue for me with mindless/emotional eating was snacking/eating outside of mealtimes. So long as I mainly eat at mealtimes with perhaps a planned dessert I make healthy choices. It took a bit of time to get used to this, but once I was in the habit of eating that way I stopped wanting food at other times (and could easily tell myself there was no need to eat before the next meal and it wasn't real hunger if something happened so I did).

I don't eat huge amounts of sugar (really never have), but I do often have something sweet in my day (like some ice cream after dinner), and I don't worry about intrinsic sugar from fruit, veg, dairy, or sweet potatoes/plantains at all.

I also eat lots more fruit in the summer than the winter (I like seasonal fruit) and so more sugar then, and for me it makes 0 difference. Eating lots of sweets throughout the day would make it hard to stick in my calories, of course, and would for me tend to lead to a pattern of harder to control eating.

So just as an example, my lunch today has 13 grams. I am eating a turkey sandwich with white american cheese on whole grain bread with wheat thins, a laughing cow cheese wedge and then a chia bar (which will be more like a snack after lunch).

Typically every afternoon I have a cup of warm apple cider for a pick me up/snack, which has 17 grams.

But are you binging every day? Are you tracking trends of what your food habits look like when compared to when you have the urge to binge? My guess is that it may not be food related at all (or at least possibly not sugar related).

zoeysasha37

auddii wrote: »

Cutting sugar specifically did not help with my binging. I would not buy sweet stuff (although I bing on most hyperpalatable foods, not just sugar), but I'd bing on whatever I had in my pantry. Some days that would mean eating corn out of can with some stir fry sauce poured in.

I had more success addressing the emotional problems, then I was able to cut back on the binging. I've been able to reintroduce hyperpalatable foods into my diet and my house (still have almost a full jar of pumpkin cookie butter on the counter!).

Cutting out trigger foods can help, but you have to address the root cause of the problem. And I still have binges, they are just much further apart.

This!

It was helpful for me to address the underlying cause of my over eating. Restricting foods or food groups didn't work for me. If anything it just made me want them more. After addressing the emotional issues I was able to control my intake without depriving myself.

Sheri2016

I am the same way never been told i'm a diabetic but told it was a good idea to lose weight. I also have PCOS and with that when I'm watching my calories I can tell when I've had something sugary to eat because it seems to throw off my whole weigh loss for the week, although I've never watched in my meals just when i'm having a dessert and chocolate is really when I can tell. I also have binges but I don't know what triggers them whether is being home alone or just being hungry.

beth0277

auddii wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges.

Do you notice a connection between binges and sugar consumption? Do you track what's going on when binges occur? That's something I think is helpful (I don't binge, but I did that to find patterns of overeating).

I think being very restrictive can backfire re stuff like uncontrollable-feeling eating, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are talking about. Have you been going over calories? If so, absolutely finding a way to cut calories or avoid episodes of binging will help.

I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits.

If you aren't counting fruit, 10 g actually seems high for a meal. In a meal I rarely eat anything with sugar besides fruit, veg, and maybe some dairy or perhaps beets and sweet potatoes. For me, none of those foods would have any negative effect, and nor would a tomato-based sauce or the like.

How are you getting most of your sugar?

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

I cut out added sugar for a while to address a pattern of mindless and emotional eating. After a couple of weeks I found I could eat sweets in moderation without problem, especially if I mostly did so after a meal. I also realized that a bigger issue for me with mindless/emotional eating was snacking/eating outside of mealtimes. So long as I mainly eat at mealtimes with perhaps a planned dessert I make healthy choices. It took a bit of time to get used to this, but once I was in the habit of eating that way I stopped wanting food at other times (and could easily tell myself there was no need to eat before the next meal and it wasn't real hunger if something happened so I did).

I don't eat huge amounts of sugar (really never have), but I do often have something sweet in my day (like some ice cream after dinner), and I don't worry about intrinsic sugar from fruit, veg, dairy, or sweet potatoes/plantains at all.

I also eat lots more fruit in the summer than the winter (I like seasonal fruit) and so more sugar then, and for me it makes 0 difference. Eating lots of sweets throughout the day would make it hard to stick in my calories, of course, and would for me tend to lead to a pattern of harder to control eating.

So just as an example, my lunch today has 13 grams. I am eating a turkey sandwich with white american cheese on whole grain bread with wheat thins, a laughing cow cheese wedge and then a chia bar (which will be more like a snack after lunch).

Typically every afternoon I have a cup of warm apple cider for a pick me up/snack, which has 17 grams.

But are you binging every day? Are you tracking trends of what your food habits look like when compared to when you have the urge to binge? My guess is that it may not be food related at all (or at least possibly not sugar related).

My binging is more of a "I know I said I was going to "start" today but I could go to Wendy's on my lunch break. That sounds so good. Then I will stop and grab a cupcake at the bakery next door since I'll have already ruined my day. I'll finish the day with pizza since I'm already way over on calories and I'll start fresh tomorrow". Lather, rinse, repeat.

auddii

beth0277 wrote: »

auddii wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges.

Do you notice a connection between binges and sugar consumption? Do you track what's going on when binges occur? That's something I think is helpful (I don't binge, but I did that to find patterns of overeating).

I think being very restrictive can backfire re stuff like uncontrollable-feeling eating, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are talking about. Have you been going over calories? If so, absolutely finding a way to cut calories or avoid episodes of binging will help.

I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits.

If you aren't counting fruit, 10 g actually seems high for a meal. In a meal I rarely eat anything with sugar besides fruit, veg, and maybe some dairy or perhaps beets and sweet potatoes. For me, none of those foods would have any negative effect, and nor would a tomato-based sauce or the like.

How are you getting most of your sugar?

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

I cut out added sugar for a while to address a pattern of mindless and emotional eating. After a couple of weeks I found I could eat sweets in moderation without problem, especially if I mostly did so after a meal. I also realized that a bigger issue for me with mindless/emotional eating was snacking/eating outside of mealtimes. So long as I mainly eat at mealtimes with perhaps a planned dessert I make healthy choices. It took a bit of time to get used to this, but once I was in the habit of eating that way I stopped wanting food at other times (and could easily tell myself there was no need to eat before the next meal and it wasn't real hunger if something happened so I did).

I don't eat huge amounts of sugar (really never have), but I do often have something sweet in my day (like some ice cream after dinner), and I don't worry about intrinsic sugar from fruit, veg, dairy, or sweet potatoes/plantains at all.

I also eat lots more fruit in the summer than the winter (I like seasonal fruit) and so more sugar then, and for me it makes 0 difference. Eating lots of sweets throughout the day would make it hard to stick in my calories, of course, and would for me tend to lead to a pattern of harder to control eating.

So just as an example, my lunch today has 13 grams. I am eating a turkey sandwich with white american cheese on whole grain bread with wheat thins, a laughing cow cheese wedge and then a chia bar (which will be more like a snack after lunch).

Typically every afternoon I have a cup of warm apple cider for a pick me up/snack, which has 17 grams.

But are you binging every day? Are you tracking trends of what your food habits look like when compared to when you have the urge to binge? My guess is that it may not be food related at all (or at least possibly not sugar related).

My binging is more of a "I know I said I was going to "start" today but I could go to Wendy's on my lunch break. That sounds so good. Then I will stop and grab a cupcake at the bakery next door since I'll have already ruined my day. I'll finish the day with pizza since I'm already way over on calories and I'll start fresh tomorrow". Lather, rinse, repeat.

That actually doesn't sound like a binge at all; it sounds like overeating. When I binge I have an unquenchable need to eat that feels as if it cannot be satisfied, and it's all mental. It's not related to the food (and I have eaten myself sick several times).

Try helping yourself stick with it: try meal planning for the week and buying foods to make those meals. Pre-log your day and have a plan to eat when you know you're going to get hungry (account for a mid-afternoon snack if you already know that's when you get munchy). I also batch cook so that I can freeze leftovers because I know there will be days I don't want to cook. I need something fast that I know will be a good choice.

Sabine_Stroehm

Lots of women in the PCOS group here find that limiting refined carbs and therefore sugar does help. Perhaps join that group?
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3070-p-c-o-sis

auddii

Ah, I forgot about the PCOS. Many women with PCOS seem to have better luck with lower carb (but don't necessarily have to go LOW carb). Maybe look at some of your go to foods and identify which ones have relatively high carbs and see if there's a better alternative. I don't know if you eat sandwiches because they're easy on the go, but I have switched to essentially eating leftovers from dinner (I have access to a microwave which makes it easier), and so veggies, some kind of meat, and a small apple (or other small fruit). This is where I think pre-logging really helps. You can identify what could work best and switch things out.

Some good low carb snack options: jerky, greek yogurt, cheese, nuts/nut butters, vegetables, etc.

RodaRose

Sometimes I save my carbs for the end of the day. It kind of works for me now but I keep making adjustments.
I have learned that there is no one right way for me to eat. I try something and stick with it as long as it works. When I feel that it might not be working, I happily make changes.

lemurcat12

auddii wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges.

Do you notice a connection between binges and sugar consumption? Do you track what's going on when binges occur? That's something I think is helpful (I don't binge, but I did that to find patterns of overeating).

I think being very restrictive can backfire re stuff like uncontrollable-feeling eating, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are talking about. Have you been going over calories? If so, absolutely finding a way to cut calories or avoid episodes of binging will help.

I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits.

If you aren't counting fruit, 10 g actually seems high for a meal. In a meal I rarely eat anything with sugar besides fruit, veg, and maybe some dairy or perhaps beets and sweet potatoes. For me, none of those foods would have any negative effect, and nor would a tomato-based sauce or the like.

How are you getting most of your sugar?

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

I cut out added sugar for a while to address a pattern of mindless and emotional eating. After a couple of weeks I found I could eat sweets in moderation without problem, especially if I mostly did so after a meal. I also realized that a bigger issue for me with mindless/emotional eating was snacking/eating outside of mealtimes. So long as I mainly eat at mealtimes with perhaps a planned dessert I make healthy choices. It took a bit of time to get used to this, but once I was in the habit of eating that way I stopped wanting food at other times (and could easily tell myself there was no need to eat before the next meal and it wasn't real hunger if something happened so I did).

I don't eat huge amounts of sugar (really never have), but I do often have something sweet in my day (like some ice cream after dinner), and I don't worry about intrinsic sugar from fruit, veg, dairy, or sweet potatoes/plantains at all.

I also eat lots more fruit in the summer than the winter (I like seasonal fruit) and so more sugar then, and for me it makes 0 difference. Eating lots of sweets throughout the day would make it hard to stick in my calories, of course, and would for me tend to lead to a pattern of harder to control eating.

So just as an example, my lunch today has 13 grams. I am eating a turkey sandwich with white american cheese on whole grain bread with wheat thins, a laughing cow cheese wedge and then a chia bar (which will be more like a snack after lunch).

Typically every afternoon I have a cup of warm apple cider for a pick me up/snack, which has 17 grams.

But are you binging every day? Are you tracking trends of what your food habits look like when compared to when you have the urge to binge? My guess is that it may not be food related at all (or at least possibly not sugar related).

Yes, I would track this.

One thing that helped me was keeping a journal and whenever I felt an urge to eat off-plan I noted it down and if something was going on. It helped me not eat most of those times, and also was educational.

lemurcat12

beth0277 wrote: »

auddii wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges.

Do you notice a connection between binges and sugar consumption? Do you track what's going on when binges occur? That's something I think is helpful (I don't binge, but I did that to find patterns of overeating).

I think being very restrictive can backfire re stuff like uncontrollable-feeling eating, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are talking about. Have you been going over calories? If so, absolutely finding a way to cut calories or avoid episodes of binging will help.

I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits.

If you aren't counting fruit, 10 g actually seems high for a meal. In a meal I rarely eat anything with sugar besides fruit, veg, and maybe some dairy or perhaps beets and sweet potatoes. For me, none of those foods would have any negative effect, and nor would a tomato-based sauce or the like.

How are you getting most of your sugar?

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

I cut out added sugar for a while to address a pattern of mindless and emotional eating. After a couple of weeks I found I could eat sweets in moderation without problem, especially if I mostly did so after a meal. I also realized that a bigger issue for me with mindless/emotional eating was snacking/eating outside of mealtimes. So long as I mainly eat at mealtimes with perhaps a planned dessert I make healthy choices. It took a bit of time to get used to this, but once I was in the habit of eating that way I stopped wanting food at other times (and could easily tell myself there was no need to eat before the next meal and it wasn't real hunger if something happened so I did).

I don't eat huge amounts of sugar (really never have), but I do often have something sweet in my day (like some ice cream after dinner), and I don't worry about intrinsic sugar from fruit, veg, dairy, or sweet potatoes/plantains at all.

I also eat lots more fruit in the summer than the winter (I like seasonal fruit) and so more sugar then, and for me it makes 0 difference. Eating lots of sweets throughout the day would make it hard to stick in my calories, of course, and would for me tend to lead to a pattern of harder to control eating.

So just as an example, my lunch today has 13 grams. I am eating a turkey sandwich with white american cheese on whole grain bread with wheat thins, a laughing cow cheese wedge and then a chia bar (which will be more like a snack after lunch).

Typically every afternoon I have a cup of warm apple cider for a pick me up/snack, which has 17 grams.

But are you binging every day? Are you tracking trends of what your food habits look like when compared to when you have the urge to binge? My guess is that it may not be food related at all (or at least possibly not sugar related).

My binging is more of a "I know I said I was going to "start" today but I could go to Wendy's on my lunch break. That sounds so good. Then I will stop and grab a cupcake at the bakery next door since I'll have already ruined my day. I'll finish the day with pizza since I'm already way over on calories and I'll start fresh tomorrow". Lather, rinse, repeat.

I think something like my journal idea would help with being more mindful, but this actually makes me think of something else too. What was so incredibly helpful this time (I started in Jan 2014 and lots most of the weight by the end of the year and have been maintaining for the past year) is that I decided not to be hard on myself and get over the black and white thinking. If I messed up (in my own mind), treat it as a learning experience (why did it happen as opposed to "what's wrong with you!") and also to think logically about it. If you do the latter, and are logging, going to Wendy's for lunch might not mess up a day, whereas using it as an excuse to eat a bunch more food and not log that day will.

I did that for ages before really starting -- I'd have impossible standards and as soon as I was imperfect use it as an excuse to day "oh well, starting tomorrow, might as well make this day crazy since I won't be able to eat whatever after this." Getting over that way of thinking about it is SO helpful. Also, kinder to yourself. You don't have to be perfect for it to work, you just have to learn to regularly eat fewer calories than you were before.

auddii

lemurcat12 wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

auddii wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

beth0277 wrote: »

I'm wondering if paying attention to my sugar intake would help not only lose weight (while also counting calories) but also help avoid binges.

Do you notice a connection between binges and sugar consumption? Do you track what's going on when binges occur? That's something I think is helpful (I don't binge, but I did that to find patterns of overeating).

I think being very restrictive can backfire re stuff like uncontrollable-feeling eating, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are talking about. Have you been going over calories? If so, absolutely finding a way to cut calories or avoid episodes of binging will help.

I don't mean cut it out completely, but I take in a lot of sugar as it is, so I'm thinking maybe trying to keep each meal under, say 10 grams, with the exception of naturally occuring sugars in fruits.

If you aren't counting fruit, 10 g actually seems high for a meal. In a meal I rarely eat anything with sugar besides fruit, veg, and maybe some dairy or perhaps beets and sweet potatoes. For me, none of those foods would have any negative effect, and nor would a tomato-based sauce or the like.

How are you getting most of your sugar?

So, what do you all think? Has anyone cut sugar to help with cravings/binges and noticed a difference?

I cut out added sugar for a while to address a pattern of mindless and emotional eating. After a couple of weeks I found I could eat sweets in moderation without problem, especially if I mostly did so after a meal. I also realized that a bigger issue for me with mindless/emotional eating was snacking/eating outside of mealtimes. So long as I mainly eat at mealtimes with perhaps a planned dessert I make healthy choices. It took a bit of time to get used to this, but once I was in the habit of eating that way I stopped wanting food at other times (and could easily tell myself there was no need to eat before the next meal and it wasn't real hunger if something happened so I did).

I don't eat huge amounts of sugar (really never have), but I do often have something sweet in my day (like some ice cream after dinner), and I don't worry about intrinsic sugar from fruit, veg, dairy, or sweet potatoes/plantains at all.

I also eat lots more fruit in the summer than the winter (I like seasonal fruit) and so more sugar then, and for me it makes 0 difference. Eating lots of sweets throughout the day would make it hard to stick in my calories, of course, and would for me tend to lead to a pattern of harder to control eating.

So just as an example, my lunch today has 13 grams. I am eating a turkey sandwich with white american cheese on whole grain bread with wheat thins, a laughing cow cheese wedge and then a chia bar (which will be more like a snack after lunch).

Typically every afternoon I have a cup of warm apple cider for a pick me up/snack, which has 17 grams.

But are you binging every day? Are you tracking trends of what your food habits look like when compared to when you have the urge to binge? My guess is that it may not be food related at all (or at least possibly not sugar related).

My binging is more of a "I know I said I was going to "start" today but I could go to Wendy's on my lunch break. That sounds so good. Then I will stop and grab a cupcake at the bakery next door since I'll have already ruined my day. I'll finish the day with pizza since I'm already way over on calories and I'll start fresh tomorrow". Lather, rinse, repeat.

I think something like my journal idea would help with being more mindful, but this actually makes me think of something else too. What was so incredibly helpful this time (I started in Jan 2014 and lots most of the weight by the end of the year and have been maintaining for the past year) is that I decided not to be hard on myself and get over the black and white thinking. If I messed up (in my own mind), treat it as a learning experience (why did it happen as opposed to "what's wrong with you!") and also to think logically about it. If you do the latter, and are logging, going to Wendy's for lunch might not mess up a day, whereas using it as an excuse to eat a bunch more food and not log that day will.

I did that for ages before really starting -- I'd have impossible standards and as soon as I was imperfect use it as an excuse to day "oh well, starting tomorrow, might as well make this day crazy since I won't be able to eat whatever after this." Getting over that way of thinking about it is SO helpful. Also, kinder to yourself.

Yup, I try to log everything, even bad days. The more I log, the easier it is to get on track. Building the habit of logging makes it easier once you add in other new things (like eating in a deficit or exercising).