how to quit sugar

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HHdeern66
HHdeern66 Posts: 23 Member
edited January 28 in Getting Started
Hello, my name is Marianne, I'm 58 years old, 6 ft tall, about 100 lbs overweight and I'm a sugar addict. I quit nicotine and alcohol but sugar is a whole different story. Does anybody have advice on how to kick the habit for good?
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  • shellylynnowen
    shellylynnowen Posts: 1 Member
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    I’m working to remove sugar from my daily life as well. It doesn’t happen overnight so be kind to yourself. Replace white sugar with pure maple syrup, make sure it’s 100% pure though. If you just have to have a “sweet” you can always find healthy alternatives already made at your local Whole Foods store but check out the ingredients before checking out at the check out line, or have fun in the kitchen creating your own or find a healthy recipe and try it out. This morning I made my husband healthy raspberry muffins using pure maple syrup as the sugar substitute and whole wheat flour and oatmeal instead of white flour. He loved them. And kudos to you for getting rid of nicotine and alcohol out of your life.
  • lhfine2018
    lhfine2018 Posts: 2 Member
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    One day at a time. Looking at labels. Making a list of the brands of items you normally use and finding the ones with the least added sugar
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 2,919 Member
    edited January 28
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    Different ways to look at it.
    Which way will work for you?

    Cold turkey. Just quit. Get it out of the house. Small amounts of chromium picolinate or berberine may help you resist temptation. Lemon water, no sweet in it at all, or vinegar may help change your taste so sweet things suddenly become sickeningly sweet.
    If you do this, expect to be sick for a few days, so plan ahead for WHEN you do it. It's withdrawal, just like alcohol, caffeine or nicotine.

    Or slow changes. Each day set aside calories (Maybe 100) for sweets only. Decide each day when you want this. A very small dessert after dinner, an evening snack, or several small snacks. Tootsie Roll midgets were my choice at one time. 9 x 11 calories each. Portioned them out in the morning. Sweet any time I wanted it. Sweet enough to satisfy the craving, good enough to eat one, but not good enough to want more. Eventually I decided if I was gonna blow 100 calories, it was gonna be for something better than a Tootsie Roll. But it helped me through one stage of the process. My dietician said she used Hershey kisses, but I think they're only 4 for 100 calories. That wasn't enough for me, plus they tasted better, so I wanted more. What works for you?

    I've done it both ways. Both worked well. But ultimately it was up to me to stick with it. That is the hardest part.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
    edited January 29
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    i was a type 2 diabetic. i replaced sugar with stuff like erythritol, xylitol (not lower in calories but affects the body differently), stevia extract (with no other ingredients) and a variety of non-nutritive artificial sweeteners. like my husband's zero sugar maple syrup, which uses sorbitol and has almost no calories or a variety of sugar free syrups in flavors like vanilla, chocolate and toasted marshmallow.

    that did help my blood sugar, but ultimately my 100 pound weight loss came from food substitutions (eating lower calorie versions of foods i ate) and eating less of things i usually ate. cutting the sugar wasn't a driving force in my weight loss, just a side note.

    btw, one of my exes practically lived on candy bars, and he was extremely slim. he just didn't eat more calories from sugar or other foods than he burned.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,134 Member
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    It won't work for everyone, but I found that when I made it a point to eat more fruit (every day), my cravings for less nutrient-dense sweets like baked goods and candy tended to wither away. It took a little willpower for the first bit (maybe a month), before that effect kicked in. I'm not the only one here who had that experience, based on others' posts.

    At first, I made it a point to eat 3 servings of fruit every day. Eventually, I could reduce that, and keep the effect. I still eat baked goods or candy occasionally, but it's a choice, not a craving.

    But like I said, that won't work for everyone. Could be worth a try, as an experiment.
  • Bansheee24
    Bansheee24 Posts: 28 Member
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    Sugar free gum or drinks are good for tricking your brain into thinking you’ve had sugar, find sugar free replacements.
    you are better to completely quit anything sugary or adding it to anything. After a week you will be fine.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,915 Member
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    Bansheee24 wrote: »
    Sugar free gum or drinks are good for tricking your brain into thinking you’ve had sugar, find sugar free replacements.
    you are better to completely quit anything sugary or adding it to anything. After a week you will be fine.

    I did that forever while being on a ketogenic diet thinking 0 calories and no carbs I'd be good. I look back now and blame the sweet taste to be responsible for my periodic binges. I cut out diet pepsi 2 years ago in feb. and I have to say that desire is totally gone and to tell you the truth I don't get any urges whatsoever even staring a donut in the face. Strange because I thought not having any calories and carbs it would have not mattered, but it did, for me at least.

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