Anyone up for a sugar-free challenge?

SuperMotivated56

Once I start, I just can’t stop! I gave up sugar for about 8 weeks and it was fabulous! I’ve unfortunately given in to the sugar cravings again recently and I’m finding it hard to shake.... Would love any suggestions or motivation

amusedmonkey

Not doing this challenge because I don't need it, but I wanted to share my experience. When I stopped actively trying to control sugar it became just like any other food, I eat it when I want and I don't feel the need to overeat it because I can eat it again any time I want. It took time, but the change in mindset was powerful. No need to fight and try not to give in all the time because to me a cookies are just like tahini cauliflower. Foods that I like and want to eat sometimes, but need to do work harder to fit them in, which makes eating them in large amounts too often less desirable than eating them in large amounts occasionally or in smaller amounts more often.

sijomial

Sorry no - I enjoy fruit and vegetables.

missysippy930

Are you saying sweets (cookies, cake, candy, pies, ice cream, donuts, pastries, bread, pop, etc) or all sugar? That’s kind of impossible and ill advised. Our bodies need sugar.

brasgold

I disagree our bodies do not need sugar. IMO sugar is a drug. More addictive then nicotine or cocaine. I’ve struggled with weight like all of us my whole life. Up down WW low carb etc. a few years ago I stop eating sugar ! No cookies cake candy ice cream. No added sugar in sauces drinks etc. I read all labels. I eat fruit. Well I lost 50 lbs. it’s been years I have never gained it back. I eat plenty all day just not sugar. It’s hard to get fat in lean means fruit and veggies. I have no bloat. I have no heartburn. My stomach is flat. I didn’t even exercise. Aside from quitting smoking 12 years ago this was by far hard but the second best decision I ever made. You don’t eat it you don’t crave it. Period full stop. Life is fabulous when your not addicted to anything. Just my 2 cents from a 54 year old size 4 woman.

sugarismyweakness

@missysippy930 It isn't impossible to give up all of those sugars. Far from it, actually.

I can count on one hand the amount of pieces of fruit I've eaten in the past 2 years (fruits caused me IBS issues) and many low carb/keto dieters spend their lives living without sugar. You don't need sugar to survive, natural or otherwise. You can get a lot of what you need from green vegetables.

@SuperMotivated56 how long you thinking of doing this challenge for? I'd definitely consider joining you. Been struggling to get back on the Keto wagon and a challenge like this might help me!

cupcakesandproteinshakes

Nope I like sugar and it’s fine for me to eat it as part of a balanced overall diet.

missysippy930

sugarismyweakness wrote: »

@missysippy930 It isn't impossible to give up all of those sugars. Far from it, actually.

I can count on one hand the amount of pieces of fruit I've eaten in the past 2 years (fruits caused me IBS issues) and many low carb/keto dieters spend their lives living without sugar. You don't need sugar to survive, natural or otherwise. You can get a lot of what you need from green vegetables.

@SuperMotivated56 how long you thinking of doing this challenge for? I'd definitely consider joining you. Been struggling to get back on the Keto wagon and a challenge like this might help me!

I didn’t say you couldn’t give up those foods. I was asking which types of sugar the OP means to give up.

Sugar is needed by our bodies.

MikePTY

brasgold wrote: »

I disagree our bodies do not need sugar. IMO sugar is a drug. More addictive then nicotine or cocaine. I’ve struggled with weight like all of us my whole life. Up down WW low carb etc. a few years ago I stop eating sugar ! No cookies cake candy ice cream. No added sugar in sauces drinks etc. I read all labels. I eat fruit. Well I lost 50 lbs. it’s been years I have never gained it back. I eat plenty all day just not sugar. It’s hard to get fat in lean means fruit and veggies. I have no bloat. I have no heartburn. My stomach is flat. I didn’t even exercise. Aside from quitting smoking 12 years ago this was by far hard but the second best decision I ever made. You don’t eat it you don’t crave it. Period full stop. Life is fabulous when your not addicted to anything. Just my 2 cents from a 54 year old size 4 woman.

Uh if you eat fruit, you eat sugar. So I am curious how a substance is more addictive than cocaine but you have still been eating it for years with no problems? Perhaps it was not actually the sugar that was the problem in the things that you cut out of your diet? After all, cookies, candy, cake, ice cream, etc, get most of their calories from fat, not sugar.

missysippy930

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, processed meats all have sugar.

Steff46

OP do you mean added sugars? I'm really trying to watch added sugars. Like recently I've switched to plain Greek yogurt that has no added sugars and I add my own fruit for flavor.

AwesomeOpossum74

SuperMotivated56 wrote: »

Once I start, I just can’t stop! I gave up sugar for about 8 weeks and it was fabulous! I’ve unfortunately given in to the sugar cravings again recently and I’m finding it hard to shake.... Would love any suggestions or motivation

Moderation is key to success; I haven't completely removed any food types from my diet. I have my cravings, and when they get bad, I remind myself I don't want them, try to substitute a 0-calorie version, or just hit the fruits/veggies. I also distract myself with activities that remove me from the food.

lemurcat2

sugarismyweakness wrote: »

@missysippy930 It isn't impossible to give up all of those sugars. Far from it, actually.

I can count on one hand the amount of pieces of fruit I've eaten in the past 2 years (fruits caused me IBS issues) and many low carb/keto dieters spend their lives living without sugar. You don't need sugar to survive, natural or otherwise. You can get a lot of what you need from green vegetables.

@SuperMotivated56 how long you thinking of doing this challenge for? I'd definitely consider joining you. Been struggling to get back on the Keto wagon and a challenge like this might help me!

Green vegetables have sugar.

For fun, I copied just the non-starchy vegetables (so no potatoes, etc., although I did have some winter squash), along with a serving of almonds and half an avocado, from a recent day and found that together they added up to 79 g carbs (although only 48 g net), and 30 g sugar.

I eat a lot of vegetables, intentionally, but still -- plenty of sugar, even without counting the fruit I ate that day (which I also think is healthy).

lemurcat2

SuperMotivated56 wrote: »

Once I start, I just can’t stop! I gave up sugar for about 8 weeks and it was fabulous! I’ve unfortunately given in to the sugar cravings again recently and I’m finding it hard to shake.... Would love any suggestions or motivation

I'm assuming you mean added sugar?

I did this when I first started, mainly as an experiment and because people claimed it was hard. I actually found it not hard at all. My approach was to eat only at meals (I had 3, pretty traditional pattern), and I'm not someone who really ever adds sugar to regular meals, as I like savory breakfasts and only have a few recipes that use a little honey or sugar. Because of the experiment I avoided condiments with a little added sugar too, but I don't think that had any real benefits.

Getting used to only eating at meals didn't take long, and I was fine.

Later I noticed that lots of people were losing and fitting in occasional sweets, so I decided that when I had the calories I'd add back in an occasional dessert after dinner and mixed it up -- often ice cream, but sometimes just fruit, and sometimes a good cheese or some nuts -- so I didn't always expect something sweet after a meal. The parameters that I could only have an amount within my calories and ate it after dinner made it controllable.

I've pretty much stopped eating added sugar lately just because I've lost my taste for it (I think it's partly that I've been eating more fruit -- a conscious effort earlier in the year, then my normal pattern in the summer, and now more of a conscious effort again). I never find myself wanting anything sweet after dinner anymore. I am not currently bothering with avoiding it in condiments since I don't consume a lot of them anyway, but for fun I might do so for a while and join a thread if you started one for people doing this.

If you mean all sugar, like from fruit and veg (which I assume you do not, again), I would not be interested in that.

SuperMotivated56

I do mean added sugar - of the sweets, pastries, cookies, etc. kind. Not natural sugars like fruit. Apple 🍎

psychod787

Nope... I like fruit too much...

cathipa

SuperMotivated56 wrote: »

I do mean added sugar - of the sweets, pastries, cookies, etc. kind. Not natural sugars like fruit. Apple 🍎

Its not the sugar in these foods that cause weight gain - its the fat (because at 9cal per gram these foods are high in calories) and not being able to know when to use moderation. Also the fat and sugar combination are what cause cravings (most people don't crave cotton candy or sticks of butter, but they do crave the sugar and fats together when made into cookies or cakes). Most of these foods are more fat calories then carb calories. Why not just eat healthy foods the majority of the time and if there is a special reason to eat the "added sugar" foods then make it fit.

candylilacs

No, the low-fat version of causes the weight gain. The sugar when combined carbohydrates, also with no protein and no fat, also causes eater to be unsatisfied.

lemurcat2

candylilacs wrote: »

No, the low-fat version of causes the weight gain. The sugar when combined carbohydrates, also with no protein and no fat, also causes eater to be unsatisfied.

I'm pretty sure one can gain weight eating any macro mix, and that cookies with lots of butter and ice cream with all the cream are just as likely to cause weight gain, to the extent one eats over calories, as some sad low fat cookie (poor old Snackwells) or hard candy. Personally I find it very difficult to overeat sweets that have no fat (or most plain carbs -- starches without protein or fat or veg in some kind of tasty combination just tend to be meh to me).

Maybe some people were silly and thought low fat cookies couldn't cause weight gain and so ate ridiculous amounts of them, but that's no different than people thinking only carbs cause weight gain so, yay!, unlimited cheese or fat bombs or whatever.

And when the US was supposedly eating low fat, it's in fact true that total cals from fat consumed by the average person increased (and the average person also continued to ignore the advice to eat more vegetables, fruit, whole grains instead of refined, and to limit added sugar, as well as added fat).

Personally, many low fat foods (like a plain roasted potato) are much more satiating for me than the carb + fat option (say, really good french fries). The latter are much easier to way overeat, calorie-wise.

AnnPT77

Nope. I eat relatively little added sugar, but every since I discovered how usefully much iron and potassium is in blackstrap molasses, I put a tablespoon of it in my oatmeal every day. Tasty and nutritious, but sadly it's added sugar.

In general, I don't find most added-sugar-y foods very tempting at all, let alone addictive, so I don't feel much need to control them. On the rare occasion I want a cookie, I eat a cookie.

If it helps others to give up added sugar, that seems fine.

missysippy930 wrote: »

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, processed meats all have sugar.

So does plain dairy food like skim milk, plain unsweetened unflavored yogurt, etc.

SuperMotivated56

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Not doing this challenge because I don't need it, but I wanted to share my experience. When I stopped actively trying to control sugar it became just like any other food, I eat it when I want and I don't feel the need to overeat it because I can eat it again any time I want. It took time, but the change in mindset was powerful. No need to fight and try not to give in all the time because to me a cookies are just like tahini cauliflower. Foods that I like and want to eat sometimes, but need to do work harder to fit them in, which makes eating them in large amounts too often less desirable than eating them in large amounts occasionally or in smaller amounts more often.

SuperMotivated56

Thank you for sharing your experience - thought provoking! 💭

SuperMotivated56

Thank you all for your varied insights and points of view. For anyone who would like to take on this challenge of giving up the added sugars, it would be great to have you join me. I say - LET’S DO THIS!!

40 days?

SuperMotivated56

“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken!”

jenilla1

I did a brief sugar challenge - my husband was talking crap about how it can't be that hard to cut out sugar - so it was basically a dare. I'm stubborn and I do what I set out to do, so I knew I would succeed no matter how ugly it got. I told him he couldn't handle it, though. He couldn't, of course. But I ended up being OK.

I had read how people go into withdrawals like addicts, and how hard it is, etc. I expected it to be really terrible giving up sugar. Turns out, I think it's mostly a psychological thing. I didn't have any negative physical feelings when I cut back. I went from having candy every day, chocolate syrup in my coffee, lots of fruit, etc. to letting myself have a max of 25 grams of total sugar every day - from WHO guidelines - that's not just added or refined sugars - that's natural sugars, too. I was shocked at how much I had to cut back on broccoli just to stay within goals. (I love broccoli - can't have just one serving.) And I had to give up my daily apple (15 grams of sugar.) Poo to that.

Anyway, it was not difficult from a physical standpoint, but it was a lot of work to figure out combinations of meals that stayed within the bounds of all my goals. I had to eat a lot of fat and too much cheese and eggs. Those things are OK, but I'm not a glutton for them. I don't love them. Got a lot of fiber and protein from the lentils and chicken and whatnot I had to eat as filler. But it was hard to meet my calorie goals without the extra sugar. (I'm on maintenance and not trying to lose, and I have a lot of fitness activities, so I have a lot of calories to eat back.)

The primary benefit I noticed was that I didn't feel like I needed my daily naps anymore. I just wasn't as tired. I think I took one nap the whole time, when I usually sneak a nap in every day if I can. Other than that, I didn't notice huge changes. The biggest drawback is the hassle of worrying whether or not some piece of fruit is gonna put you over the edge. At least now I know that cutting back sugar is do-able, and not anywhere near as scary as people make it out to be.

25 total sugar grams was not maintainable long-term for me. At least, it's not when I'm healthy enough to NOT have to. So instead, ever since the challenge, I have modified my diet to stay within 25 grams of ADDED sugars and 45-50 TOTAL grams of sugar. (That's half the sugar I used to have every day.) That way, I can have all my broccoli, my daily apple and the occasional treat. My coffee has been permanently modified to include sugar-free syrup now (I don't have a problem using sugar free options. Doesn't bother me at all - I'm no purist) and I don't have daily candy anymore. I don't actually think I need it now that I've discovered walnuts as an alternative.

We'll see how this all plays out when the holidays roll around...yikes!

SuperMotivated56

First 24 hours successfully achieved 😃

lemurcat2

What are your specific rules? Are you avoiding all added sugars, even a tiny bit in something savory, or simply sweets?

I might join just because I need motivation to start actually logging again and if I'm doing that it might push me back into logging. I'm weird in that I like stuff like this.

SuperMotivated56

I’d be happy to avoid sugars like can sugar and artificial sweeteners in things like you said - sweets, chocolates, pastries, cookies, desserts, baking. That would be a fantastic achievement, without being overly pedantic about the trace sugars in savouries. 💭

lemurcat2

Yeah, I think that's a reasonable approach. When I did my one month experiment before I avoided it all, just because so many people claimed it would be so hard and I didn't think it would be (and it wasn't), but my own impression is trace sugar in savory things is pretty irrelevant to any kind of habitual or control issues with sugary items.

SuperMotivated56

I’m on board! 😊

lemurcat2

I'll join tomorrow. I didn't have any dessert type stuff today (I was going to disqualify myself since we had a BBQ lunch at work), but I want to include logging too, and lunch was impossible to log.