Anyone else doing a sugar free diet?

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147Daneen
147Daneen Posts: 11 Member
in Getting Started
I'm writing about my sugar free process on my blog here at myfitnesspal. Was wondering if anyone is also doing sugar free - no sugar, and no processed food at all. (white bread, pasta, tortilla, white rice), basically I'm only eating what I cook myself.

Thanks!
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  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Welcome Daneen. I see you have joined us only recently. I hope you have broad shoulders, proposing a sugar free diet can go down like a lead balloon on here, a friendly indication.

    There are so many reason for going sugar free be it for a week or for what one hopes will be a life time decision. I followed a yeast overgrowth regime suggested by my BANT registered nutritionist, after rounds of testing. Doing so for 9 months really helped me but it probably will not benefit everyone. Our bodies have their personal foibles which can shadow those of others so we can form loose groups of similar minded people.

    Coming to your other idea of preparing what you eat is something completely different. It makes sense to me because I can control my personal allergies and intolerances but that not on everyone's need to do list.

    All the best for your blog
  • 147Daneen
    147Daneen Posts: 11 Member
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    Juliechilli wrote: »
    I just started today - clean eating. No processed anything, no added sugar etc. Sure I will be miserable soon haha but it's so worth it.

    Sounds good! we can do this together. I'm doing this for life =)
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Another attempt to define clean eating has been unleashed. Me, I don't need or care to define it. I shop in the produce aisle, never touch a sugar bowl, don't buy foods in the store that are already cooked or prepared and eat fish or lean meat. That said I don't need to run for the exit if my wife makes me a sandwich with whole grain bread that...wait for it...is processed.
  • 147Daneen
    147Daneen Posts: 11 Member
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    ESinc1118 wrote: »
    Good for you! I've been no sugar (no added sugars and no fruits or anything) and no white flour/carbs/anything processed for over 3 months now. The closest things to "processed" that I eat are treats I make at home myself with coconut flour and stevia, but even then those are rare. I will NEVER go back to eating sugar or processed carbs again. Though I haven't lost any weight (I started off within ten pounds of my goal weight though) I have seen so many great benefits that I don't miss the sugar or carbs or junk at all. Within a few weeks, my skin cleared up and is so much brighter and softer, with all around better tone, my moods are more even and elevated, I sleep better, and I don't get digestive discomfort or that exhausted feeling after eating. I have TONS more energy overall as well. The first week or two is hard, I won't sugar coat it for you (ha!) but after about two weeks your body finishes its "detox" and you won't crave that crap anymore. Honestly the things I miss most are the natural sugar items, like fruit and starchy carbs. But I am saving those as treats, or possible to be incorporated in small amounts once I have reached my goal weight.


    wow, that's so great! looking up to you! I'm seeing the same with my skin, and I don't really miss the food...I think my energy after lunch is a lot higher and I don't feel like i need to take a nap...
  • 147Daneen
    147Daneen Posts: 11 Member
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    ESinc1118 wrote: »
    Good for you! I've been no sugar (no added sugars and no fruits or anything) and no white flour/carbs/anything processed for over 3 months now. The closest things to "processed" that I eat are treats I make at home myself with coconut flour and stevia, but even then those are rare. I will NEVER go back to eating sugar or processed carbs again. Though I haven't lost any weight (I started off within ten pounds of my goal weight though) I have seen so many great benefits that I don't miss the sugar or carbs or junk at all. Within a few weeks, my skin cleared up and is so much brighter and softer, with all around better tone, my moods are more even and elevated, I sleep better, and I don't get digestive discomfort or that exhausted feeling after eating. I have TONS more energy overall as well. The first week or two is hard, I won't sugar coat it for you (ha!) but after about two weeks your body finishes its "detox" and you won't crave that crap anymore. Honestly the things I miss most are the natural sugar items, like fruit and starchy carbs. But I am saving those as treats, or possible to be incorporated in small amounts once I have reached my goal weight.

    ESinc, have you found any online community for doing this with? Ideally some kind of sugar free what'sApp or Facebook group? If not, I'm thinking about forming one....
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I can see the value of cutting back substantially on added sugars and processed foods...I see very little value in avoiding whole foods like fruit and starchy vegetables, etc...sugar fear mongering run amok IMO.

    Agreed. Some might find it helpful to experiment with carb level, but that's different from avoiding foods like fruit just because "sugar" and of course vegetables and dairy have sugar too, which is why I asked up front if added sugars were meant.

    Personally I cut out added sugar for a month initially as an experiment and found it helpful (it wasn't that hard because I didn't eat many packaged foods with sugar anyway, so it was mostly watching a few things and not eating sweets). Since then I've been limited in sweets and tend to eat mostly whole foods, but see no reason to pretend like getting a little sugar in a sauce or adding a bit to some rhubarb is going to have some terrible effect, and I still have a sweet dessert on occasion. I've also experimented with low carb, so have been extremely low sugar, but now am enjoying seasonal fruit. From a health perspective, I think fruit is positive, not negative.

    I also find that how processed seems to be used is puzzling. I mostly eat whole foods, because I enjoy cooking, but don't see a thing wrong with smoked salmon or plain greek yogurt, for example, or a huge variety of other things.
    ESinc1118 wrote: »
    Good for you! I've been no sugar (no added sugars and no fruits or anything) and no white flour/carbs/anything processed for over 3 months now. The closest things to "processed" that I eat are treats I make at home myself with coconut flour and stevia, but even then those are rare.

    But stevia and coconut flour are, of course, processed, just as much so as butter and flour and sugar. Not saying you shouldn't avoid the latter if that works for you (I think low carbing can be helpful for some, for example), but claiming one is processed and the other not makes no sense.

    "Junk" means (to the extent it means anything) low nutrient density and high calories -- it's certainly not carb specific. I love cheese and include it in my diet, but IMO that's more of an indulgence (i.e., something included for the taste, in smaller quantities, and not so much the nutrients) than a plain roasted potato.
  • ESinc1118
    ESinc1118 Posts: 19 Member
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    @147Daneen , I have not, but I haven't really looked for one aside from on MyFitnessPal. If you find or create one let me know, I'm in! I've been getting pretty creative at making sugar free foods and snacks and would love to share recipes and tips with people.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    Juliechilli wrote: »
    I just started today - clean eating. No processed anything, no added sugar etc. Sure I will be miserable soon haha but it's so worth it.

    @Juliechilli I have been eating this way since Oct 2014 at the age of 63. The first two weeks were hellish then the cravings just started to fade very fast. I still keep my carbs <50 grams daily so I can live in a state of nutritional ketosis. Being able to see major health issues reverse over the past few years is SO WORTH IT. :)

    Best of success and welcome to MFP Forums.
  • 147Daneen
    147Daneen Posts: 11 Member
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    wow, amazing! Glad to know there are other people doing this! I'm mostly resorting to my own cooking, and when eat out I have a salad without the sauce.

    Here is my link GaleHawkins, thank you!
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/147Daneen
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    147Daneen wrote: »
    I'm writing about my sugar free process on my blog here at myfitnesspal. Was wondering if anyone is also doing sugar free - no sugar, and no processed food at all. (white bread, pasta, tortilla, white rice), basically I'm only eating what I cook myself.

    Thanks!

    @147Daneen I left them cold turkey Oct 2014. The first two weeks was hellish after 40 years of abusing carbs but my health is recovering nicely. Wish I had started this WOE long ago and what waiting until I was 63 with health crashings.

    It is not something all can do because carb addictions can be really hard to walk away from for many. The funny part for all of these years I did not realize I was an addict.

    What is the link to your blog?

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