Anyone else doing a sugar free diet?

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  • paulwatts747
    paulwatts747 Posts: 60 Member
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    I note that the World Health Organisation recommends a sugar intake of no more than 5% of calories. That would amount to 100 calories or 25 grams of sugar on a 2000 calorie intake.

    I note also that MFP's recommended maximum is 3 times this much. So while I've been getting down to half recommended maximum sugar intake, I'm still 50% over that of the WHO.

    Those trying to reduce sugar intake probably should be aware of this. I'm not one to cast aspersions on MFP, which is a tremendous resource but why would they recommend 3 times the WHO sugar recommendation? Maybe someone from the MFP organisation can give a logical answer to this.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    edited July 2017
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    paulwatts747 wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    So why do you think people are getting fatter?

    Because they have a positive calorie balance.
    Too many people eat too much (of everything) and move too little.

    This is the long and short of it. Sugar is especially implicated because along with its derivative alcohol, it overrides the body's signals to stop eating. And it is completely empty calories in many instances.

    This is why we have a problem now that we didn't have half a century ago. Sugar consumption has exploded in that time. Junk food is not blameless either, but often it is loaded in sugar as well.

    It doesn't override my signals, I manage fine and I consume a lot of sugar if I am running double figure miles.

    We have an obesity problem because food is so convenient now. We don't need to go to a butchers, a green grocers and the local store to buy everything for tonights dinner. You can click and get it all delivered without moving.
    House work, normal work is much easier physically due to technological advances. Remember twin tub washing machines? How heavy it was to lift the wet washing from one side to the other?

    We don't move the way we used to.

    It is simply CICO. We put more in and less out.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    paulwatts747 wrote: »
    I note that the World Health Organisation recommends a sugar intake of no more than 5% of calories. That would amount to 100 calories or 25 grams of sugar on a 2000 calorie intake.

    I note also that MFP's recommended maximum is 3 times this much. So while I've been getting down to half recommended maximum sugar intake, I'm still 50% over that of the WHO.

    Those trying to reduce sugar intake probably should be aware of this. I'm not one to cast aspersions on MFP, which is a tremendous resource but why would they recommend 3 times the WHO sugar recommendation? Maybe someone from the MFP organisation can give a logical answer to this.

    Because the WHO recommendations are garbage?
  • paulwatts747
    paulwatts747 Posts: 60 Member
    edited July 2017
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Because the WHO recommendations are garbage?

    I'm assuming you have the necessary academic qualifications to make such a statement?

    Didn't think so. Maybe you should leave it to those from MFP who formulated their recommendations to justify them, because you aren't making much of a fist of it.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    TenderBlender667 wrote: »
    Story time! I managed to go 30 days without added/processed sugar last year. Eating out was impossible and shopping for groceries was a pain. Something as simple as marinara sauce, bacon or pickles contained sugar. I researched synonyms for sugar which was hidden in seemingly healthy products like dextrose, maltose.. anything that ended in "ose" was a no-go. I basically developed a fear of sugar and I was actually starting to crave it more than ever. I developed a serious infection during my sugar free journey which meant that taking liquid antibiotics containing sugar was a must. I refused to do so because it meant breaking my sugar free habit. Instead I ended up in the hospital with sepsis and it was the scariest week of my life all because of I refused to take even the tiniest amount of added sugar. In other words, don't let it become an obsession like it did for me. If you accidentally eat some sugar one day, just start over the next. You're only human and putting so many unnecessary restrictions on yourself can backfire. Goodluck!

    Just curious... I'm a diabetic, and I've never had to take antibiotics formulated with sugar. They couldn't find you another option?
  • paulwatts747
    paulwatts747 Posts: 60 Member
    edited July 2017
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    OliveGirl128 wrote: »

    Nope, I gained weight because I ate excess calories mostly from salty/savory foods, with very low sugar content. For example-I'd sit down at night with a book and proceed to eat an entire bag of chili cheese fritos, which contain less than 1g of sugar per serving. One bag contains 1,600 calories. I was doing this on top of eating 3 meals and other snacks throughout the day. My weight gain had very little to do with sugar and everything to do with me consuming too many calories. I also didn't drink alcohol when I was overweight....



    There's always an exception I suppose. SIXTEEN HUNDRED calories in a 28 gram bag of corn chips? They should be feeding those things to the starving in Africa. I hope it didn't take you too long to scour the net for a food high in calories but low in sugar.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited July 2017
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    RedSierra 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!

    FYI, your brain needs glucose to function (meaning sugar).

    You can certainly cut out processed foods and eat whatever you want, but (1) almost everything is "processed" to some degree and (2) some form of sugar is in all vegetables and fruit, plus dairy. You would have very little left to eat.

    I limit sugar in my diet because I have a medical problem -- and a control problem. It's easier for me to not eat sweets like donuts and candy than try to moderate them (more power to the people who have achieved moderation). If I want something sweet I will eat an apple or some strawberries -- the bulk in the fruit is good for me. However, I am still eating sugar.

    Your body can create glucose by breaking down fats. While your brain needs SUGAR to function, it doesn't need INGESTED sugar to function. Many people, including diabetics, do quite well on a ketogenic diet.

    Personally I don't eat keto, but I do eliminate most added sugars and refined grains, both because they are poor nutritionally and because they spike my blood glucose. (In different degrees - I can eat a surprisingly large amount of pasta - by which I mean half a recommended serving - without a spike, but this varies from person to person.)

    As an added bonus I've found that cutting sugar eliminates food cravings for me almost completely. I used to crave Coke icees so bad it almost hurt. Then I would crave a salty, greasy food such as chips, fries, or pizza to eat with it. Then I would crave something sweet to balance out the salty. And so on. Cutting sugar caused cravings for about two weeks, then no cravings at all. It's pleasant. If you have problems with food cravings, I recommend giving it a try.

    There's no need to make it into a religion - you're not getting banned from heaven if you eat a little ketchup, or eat healthy fruit. Don't kill yourself by skipping medication.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I have kept my free sugar consumption to a minimum for decades because of insulin resistance and then diabetes type 2. I am now in remission. I have never given up fruit. My remission and my weight loss is unrelated to sugar consumption. Frankly, white rice shot up my sugar numbers faster than anything.

    Something I learned on my job is that no problem is solved unless you get down to root cause. Chase the wrong bugaboo and you end up at the same place you started.

    Sugar and other refined foods are the wrong bugaboo.
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    edited July 2017
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    paulwatts747 wrote: »
    OliveGirl128 wrote: »

    Nope, I gained weight because I ate excess calories mostly from salty/savory foods, with very low sugar content. For example-I'd sit down at night with a book and proceed to eat an entire bag of chili cheese fritos, which contain less than 1g of sugar per serving. One bag contains 1,600 calories. I was doing this on top of eating 3 meals and other snacks throughout the day. My weight gain had very little to do with sugar and everything to do with me consuming too many calories. I also didn't drink alcohol when I was overweight....



    There's always an exception I suppose. SIXTEEN HUNDRED calories in a 28 gram bag of corn chips? They should be feeding those things to the starving in Africa. I hope it didn't take you too long to scour the net for a food high in calories but low in sugar.

    Didn't need to scour the internet, I just pulled the bag out of my pantry :p

    eta: many kinds of chips and pretzels have very low sugar, or even no sugar. Those are the foods I ate too much of and that's mostly where my 50lb weight gain came from. Once I learned how CICO worked though, I was able to then move on and lose the extra weight with minimal fuss.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Here is a completely decadent dessert free of all refining except for the energetic use of your own blender.

    http://talesofakitchen.com/desserts/chocolate-banana-cake-with-caramel-layer-and-cacao-nibs/

    For this dessert, calories are king.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Here is a completely decadent dessert free of all refining except for the energetic use of your own blender.

    http://talesofakitchen.com/desserts/chocolate-banana-cake-with-caramel-layer-and-cacao-nibs/

    For this dessert, calories are king.

    That looks really good! Do you happen to know the carbs / slice off the top of your head? I can see the dates are going to have a fair number. I've been struggling with birthdays since becoming diabetic.

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