Sugar

melbushnell
melbushnell Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
Hello Everyone!

I was wondering if anyone has a problem with sugar? I find myself eating more foods with sugar and I know that I am consuming too much of it each day. How do you wean yourself off of it without the headaches, etc.? I'm also finding that if I don't have that cup of coffee with the 2 tablespoons of sugar, I can't seem to wake up! I also have graves disease and I know that coffee and sugar is NOT ok. I just don't know what to replace my coffee and sugar addiction without going crazy!
«1

Replies

  • Kelly_Runs_NC
    Kelly_Runs_NC Posts: 474 Member
    I switched to splenda a while back...just tough it out for a days...it will get better and go away.
  • Lovemydounts
    Lovemydounts Posts: 199 Member
    I use to pour lots of sugar in my coffee but switched to the pink pack it took a week but I got used to it .and energy drinks & sport drinks are really bad in high sugar I cut thous out to . I get my sugar high with one candy bar but not everyday ..
  • MarciRenee74
    MarciRenee74 Posts: 22 Member
    Fake sugar (splenda, sweet N'low, stevia, truvia, etc) are all worse for you than natural sweeteners (sugar and honey) for a myriad of reasons.

    If you want to cut the sugar carbs you are going to just have to bite the bullet and do it - there really isn't anything that works other than that. Cold turkey and then if you can handle it reintroduce a treat now and then later on down the road.
  • melbushnell
    melbushnell Posts: 2
    That's the thing, I'm definitely not doing any artificial sweeteners. With my graves disease anything artificial and/or processed messes with my endocrine system. I have to watch what I eat and watch all of those little things that are put into the processed foods and drinks. I use organic sugar and really only use it in my coffee and in some of the cereals I eat.
  • hill2423
    hill2423 Posts: 15 Member
    I have the same problem. Everyday I am in the negative. I eat alot of fruits which are high in sugar. Is this a bad thing?
  • EvyMetal
    EvyMetal Posts: 19
    When I started MyFitnessPal I decided to completely give up sugar. For me it had become a serious problem and I knew it was one of the keys to losing weight. Fruit has sugar and I eat it in moderation but my body processes that differently than white sugar. I have lost 60 lbs. since January 6, 2013 by eating whole foods, no sugar and walking every day.
  • BunkyBumBum
    BunkyBumBum Posts: 157 Member
    I avoid artificial sweeteners, but you can use agave nectar. It's much sweeter than sugar so you don't have to use as much and it's natural, so you won't be putting any weird chemicals or overly processed stuff into your body.

    So, for instance, if you take 2 tsp of sugar in your coffee, try with 1/2 tsp agave, if you need to add another 1/2 tsp, but you probably won't need more than that.

    I ignore natural sugars in my food journal, if my sugar is way over and I look and it's all fruit I don't care, if I notice most of it is refined sugar or "added sweetness" then I try to check myself so I cut back.
  • professorhuggins
    professorhuggins Posts: 72 Member
    two things--first, i found that when i started just putting milk (soy milk for me, actually, i'm a vegan) in my coffee, eventually i got used to it and now i don't miss it at all.

    second, i found that when i changed from sweet to savory breakfast, i tend not to crave sugar as much the entire day.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Stevia is a natural sugar substitute, no chemicals like some of the other ones. Check with your dr, but I bet it doesn't mess with your hormones. Plus many people with Graves eat sugar substitutes with no problems.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Fake sugar (splenda, sweet N'low, stevia, truvia, etc) are all worse for you than natural sweeteners (sugar and honey) for a myriad of reasons.

    If you want to cut the sugar carbs you are going to just have to bite the bullet and do it - there really isn't anything that works other than that. Cold turkey and then if you can handle it reintroduce a treat now and then later on down the road.

    Could you list those myriad of reasons?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Stevia is a natural sugar substitute, no chemicals like some of the other ones. Check with your dr, but I bet it doesn't mess with your hormones. Plus many people with Graves eat sugar substitutes with no problems.

    Hmmmm are you sure stevia is chemical free?

    What is this?

    Steviol-glycoside.jpg
  • Th3stral
    Th3stral Posts: 93 Member
    I use organic coconut sugar for sweetness, it's not filtered, processed or bleached and I find it doesn't upset my system at all. It might be worth considering if your desperate.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    I was never really 'addicted' to sugar so taking it out of my diet was pretty easy. As for the coffee, well just slowly cut down the amount of sugar you put in it and eventually you won't put any in. I used to get my coffee light and sweet. Then I changed to two sugars. After a while I realized I couldn't really taste the sugar in the coffee and ordered one without it and it didn't make a difference.

    I think the best way to do it is to just wean yourself slowly. Don't switch to a "natural" or "artificial" sweetener because that's just replacing one bad thing with another (and yes, sugar is bad for your health contrary to what people here will say).
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Can you try cutting to 1.5 tablespoons of sugar and see how it goes? I mean, you don't have to be a purist -- every little reduction will help.
  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    I know you are adverse to sweetners, but maybe you could try half and half so that you're reducing your sugar?

    I find sweetners so strong that you don't need much in your coffee anyway.
  • beckbar
    beckbar Posts: 2 Member
    I use organic Stevia for sweetening my drinks. It is not an artificial sweetener, it is from the leaves of the Stevia plant. When my Mom was dying from cancer and researching all of the foods that help cancer grow vs. help you fight cancer, she and her husband, who is a doctor, found that Stevia was the only sweetener she should use, as cancer loves real sugar and chemical sweeteners. At the time I was using Splenda and Mom lectured me on this topic and my sugar consumption. Her conclusions were, real sugar is better to consume than high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, but organic Stevia which is derived from a plant and does not have chemicals is best if you must sweeten. She begged me to only use Stevia and not to use the other products if I could at all help it. Once you get use to the slightly bitter taste of organic Stevia, it tastes just as good as sugar for sweetening.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    I use organic Stevia for sweetening my drinks. It is not an artificial sweetener, it is from the leaves of the Stevia plant. When my Mom was dying from cancer and researching all of the foods that help cancer grow vs. help you fight cancer, she and her husband, who is a doctor, found that Stevia was the only sweetener she should use, as cancer loves real sugar and chemical sweeteners. At the time I was using Splenda and Mom lectured me on this topic and my sugar consumption. Her conclusions were, real sugar is better to consume than high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, but organic Stevia which is derived from a plant and does not have chemicals is best if you must sweeten. She begged me to only use Stevia and not to use the other products if I could at all help it. Once you get use to the slightly bitter taste of organic Stevia, it tastes just as good as sugar for sweetening.

    What's that thing on the left hand side?

    Steviol-glycoside.jpg
  • OMGSugarOHNOS
    OMGSugarOHNOS Posts: 204 Member
    I have lost 60 lbs. since January 6, 2013 by eating whole foods, no sugar and walking every day.

    No. You lost weight because you created a calorie deficit.
  • agdyl
    agdyl Posts: 246 Member
    When I started MyFitnessPal I decided to completely give up sugar. For me it had become a serious problem and I knew it was one of the keys to losing weight. Fruit has sugar and I eat it in moderation but my body processes that differently than white sugar. I have lost 60 lbs. since January 6, 2013 by eating whole foods, no sugar and walking every day.

    This is basically me too. When I eat sugar, I crave it incessantly. Ito doesn't matter if it's sugar, honey, stevia, whatever. Artificial sweeteners give me migraines, so that's out, even if I didn't think they aren't good for you in general.

    I eat fruit, but that doesn't trigger cravings for me. And I know everyone is a bit different, but cutting back on sugar just makes things harder for me. If I eat none - within a few days I start to lose the cravings, within 1-2 weeks, cravings are gone completely. But if I eat a little - cravings are intense. Yeah, it sucks to get over it the first time, but I think for me it's better to just get it out of my system.

    I would think the headaches would come from cutting the caffeine suddenly more than the sugar though?
  • beckbar
    beckbar Posts: 2 Member
    Why don't you show me the chemical compounds that makes up the human body too. Everything on Earth is a chemical compound.
  • cseckinger1
    cseckinger1 Posts: 64
    I don't eat sugar. I use splenda or stevia. A 5 lb. bag of sugar will last my family for 6 mo. or more! Sugar is so bad for us.
  • jerzypeach
    jerzypeach Posts: 176 Member
    Agave nectar is actually worse for you than high-fructose corn syrup.....it has even higher levels of fructose due to the way that it is processed. Please be careful with this substance.
  • adioschubs
    adioschubs Posts: 384 Member
    Maybe you could switch to a different type of coffee? I switched from regular to french vanilla flavoured coffee and it tastes good without anything added.
  • amandzor
    amandzor Posts: 386 Member
    Looks like you've got Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen, Methelyene, and Hydrocarbons.

    Saccharine (Sweet ‘N Low) was the first to come on the market and presently carries a government mandated warning label that it is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals.

    Aspartame (NutraSweet) is broken down in the body to wood alcohol, subsequently broken to formaldehyde, a fixative and a known carcinogen (cancer causing agent). Formaldehyde is then broken down into formic acid, which is the same strong caustic used by fire ants to administer their sting.

    Sucralose (Splenda) was approved in 1999 as a general sweetener, so it has not stood the test of time, although it is the least controversial of the three sweeteners.

    Stevia is an herbal sweetener and is marketed in the U.S. as an herbal supplement because there is not currently enough scientific data to certify it as a food additive.

    In any form, real or 'artificial' sugar is bad for you when not consumed in moderation.
  • 123tryingtobefree
    123tryingtobefree Posts: 328
    I am on my 31st day if sugar rehab. I had a huge problem. The first week is hard. Now I just ignore the thing.
    I use stevia.
  • kellijauch
    kellijauch Posts: 379 Member
    Fake sugar (splenda, sweet N'low, stevia, truvia, etc) are all worse for you than natural sweeteners (sugar and honey) for a myriad of reasons.

    If you want to cut the sugar carbs you are going to just have to bite the bullet and do it - there really isn't anything that works other than that. Cold turkey and then if you can handle it reintroduce a treat now and then later on down the road.

    ^ All of this! It really just comes down to willpower. It was super hard for me to stop getting my venti vanilla latte every morning (I was totally addicted), but I did it, and my belly is getting smaller on the daily.

    Some people replace sugar with raw honey.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Why don't you show me the chemical compounds that makes up the human body too. Everything on Earth is a chemical compound.

    "but organic Stevia which is derived from a plant and does not have chemicals is best if you must sweeten"
  • conniedj
    conniedj Posts: 470 Member
    I use locally produced, raw honey. I used to use a heaping teaspoon of sugar. Then I was working on a movie and the director drank his latte with honey. I thought *hmmmmm*, I need to try that! I did, and haven't looked back. Now I use a small portion of a teaspoon. It's amazing when you start cutting down on sugar how much your sense of taste will change! In a year I have gone from "I WANT the SUGAR" to eating an occasional treat. Amazing really!
  • VorJoshigan
    VorJoshigan Posts: 1,106 Member
    two things--first, i found that when i started just putting milk (soy milk for me, actually, i'm a vegan) in my coffee, eventually i got used to it and now i don't miss it at all.

    second, i found that when i changed from sweet to savory breakfast, i tend not to crave sugar as much the entire day.

    Same here. I find that if I can avoid sugar in the morning, it makes it easier to avoid sugar the rest of the day. I did not quit sugar cold-turkey, and I don't avoid it altogether now, but I make it an occasional evening treat.
  • conniedj
    conniedj Posts: 470 Member
    Why don't you show me the chemical compounds that makes up the human body too. Everything on Earth is a chemical compound.

    "but organic Stevia which is derived from a plant and does not have chemicals is best if you must sweeten"

    She means additive chemicals, chemicals used to process--NOT the chemical structure, oh thread hijacker.

Categories