Question for fellow sugar addicts

okbuddha

How did you cut down on your sugar intake, gradually or otherwise?

AnnPT77

It doesn't work for everyone, but making it a point to eat more fruit helped reduce my cravings for higher calorie, less nutrient dense sweets like cookies, cake, candy, etc. I've read others here say the same, so might be worth a try.

I started with a minimum of 3 fruit servings daily as my goal, but after a while was able to be more flexible, without cravings returning.

Unless one has a medical condition such as diabetes, it's fine to eat sugar as long as it doesn't make a person exceed their calorie goal, or prevent getting good balanced nutrition within that goal.

seltzermint555

Really just logging my food and looking at my sugar intake here on my food diary helped me make a lot of changes early on, and realize some of the "hidden sugars" I was eating, such as condiments and certain frozen entrees that had way more sugar (and salt) than I would have expected.

Switching to diet soda, although I don't drink much of it. I actually did that decades ago but it certainly helps.

Not having candy/sweets around the house at all, and going out to buy them when I really want them. If I get a large bag of Haribo gummi peaches I'm going to eat them within about 2 days. If I go to a bulk candy shop and buy just 4-5 gummi peaches there, I'll eat them and satisfy the craving. Same with things like chocolate and ice cream. I still have them but smaller quantities.

I also agree with Ann about fruit! I like to make yogurt parfaits and fridge oats and other "sweet" breakfasts a lot, but have switched to plain Greek yogurt (4g sugar per serving) instead of the vanilla version (15g sugar per serving). Lots of relatively minor things like that really do make a big difference.

missysippy930

There are a lot of foods, not just with sugar, that I overate. I learned moderation of all foods I like and staying at a calorie deficit. No transitioning when achieving maintenance being able to keep eating everything I like, just a little more.

kimny72

Just to add another angle to the great advice already, some people struggle with negative goals (cut down on sugar) and do better with a positive goal. To do that, look at what you aren't eating enough if (because you're eating too much sugary treats) and make goals around eating MORE of that good stuff. Protein, fiber, veggies, fruit whatever - if you eat more of one thing and stick to your calorie goal, it will most likely push other stuff off to the side.

I don't really care about sugar, but even though I've never focused on it, I've seen in my diary that when I exceed my protein, fiber, and fat goals I almost always come in under my sugar goal. There are certainly exception days, but nobody's perfect

AprilSue

I have to do cold turkey. It’s tough and I’ll literally shake and get lightheaded the first two days but my cravings are almost non existent if I go cold turkey. If I have sugar all I can think about for hours afterwards is more and more sugar

RelCanonical

I focused on eating more nutrient-dense foods like fruit and vegetables rather than focusing on cutting back on added sugar. It kind of had a natural effect of decreasing added sugar intake because I had a calorie-limit, so by adding in foods, I had to reduce others. I always think that it is easier to push out things rather than cut them out because when you push out, it means there is something to fill the space left, whereas when you cut out, there is an empty space.