No more added or artificial sugar: who's with me?

RllyGudTweetr

More science:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21092228

The above study happens to look at women, rather than across gender lines.

jennyval7

I think it's a great goal but one you should def consider moving slowly. I didn't realize how much sugar I consumed until I started tracking on here. My goal is to stick to my allotted calories and consciously focus on my sugar intake. That may be easier for me than other because I don't have a sweet tooth and can't think of the last time I craved something sweet. I consume most of my sugar from fruit and fruit juices ...ok I admit it...Kool aid too. (I have kids)
Our goals are slightly different but if you'd like to add me we can motivate each other and steer clear of unnecessary sugar intake

msf74

You know, the really great part is that our laughing doesn't actually rely on you failing. If you can cut sugar, that's really great for you. If that's what makes you happy and healthy.

The point is that we are happy and healthy without cutting sugar. My health indicators have all improved to healthy levels through moderation, exercise. Yes, that includes my blood sugar levels.

Just because you couldn't be healthy while eating added sugar doesn't mean no one can.

Excellent post. Sums up both sides rather nicely.

thatgirlkellib

"fake"' artificial" "added" any susbtituted product that you use with these words are no good...
:blushing:

LeahFerri

Re: added sugar

My cookie dough comes with the sugar already in it, not added by me. Does that count as added? If yes than lolnope this isn't for me. If no then hey, I could be on board. I only add sweetener to tea and I drink too much tea anyway.

How could you possibly drink too much tea??? I'm chronically freezing, so tea is my BFF.

darbydh1982

I am no expert, but I believe that a lot of the people who read this were misinterpreting your meaning. I support you in your goal! From what I read, it sounds like you want to eliminate over processed type foods, you are not eliminating sugar all together.

I honestly had no idea that a potato was a vegetable for a very long time. I always thought, potatoes are a carb and therefore I should stay away from them. But its a complex carb, and it does have sugar, but its naturally occurring sugar and it does a body good. So here's to you and eating more potatoes (or whatever floats your boat) and less soda and over processed food!

Achrya

Re: added sugar

My cookie dough comes with the sugar already in it, not added by me. Does that count as added? If yes than lolnope this isn't for me. If no then hey, I could be on board. I only add sweetener to tea and I drink too much tea anyway.

How could you possibly drink too much tea??? I'm chronically freezing, so tea is my BFF.

I drink roughly a 2 quart pitcher a day. I love tea (I even get a little snooby with loose leaf expensive teas) but it's time I start acknowledging that I might be an addict.

Greytfish

You are setting yourself up with a basically impossible long-term goal (no sugar) that obscures your real goal (weight loss), thus leaving you with a situation where you WILL fail and then have nothing to blame but your own lack of willpower. This is a poor situation. Set up realistic goals and put yourself in a position to attain them by setting up methods that actually work and are sustainable.

^^^Please listen to this guy. Your current plan is only going to set you up for failure not due to your lack of willpower but due to an eating regimen that is too strict and unnecessary. The other thing you may wind up doing is giving yourself a case of orthorexia...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthorexia_nervosa

That was at least my experience. May not be yours but it is important that you know it can happen.

You know what's worse than unrealistic expectations? Fabricated mental illnesses. And, using Wikipedia as a primary source.

While I don't agree that avoiding added processed sugars and thigns like HFCS or regular corn syrup is a magic pill for weight loss, Americans consume both at alarming rates and not without health consequences. There's no reason the OP can't fill her sugar intake with naturally occurring sugars in everyday fruits and foods.

Most people here have made a rather large presumption that the OP's goal - and only goal - is to lose weight and advising against lowering added sugars. Notably, none of you asked her blood sugar numbers, or her A1C. You're all assuming she's doing this solely to lose weight, and that's short sighted and potentially dangerous. Both numbers could be fine, but her processed sugar and HFCS intake could be already making her body insulin resistant, thereby undermining health and weight loss.

Not only is what she proposes possibly for a 30 day period, millions of people on the planet eat that way all the time either by choice or because they live in a less gluttonous society. If avoiding sugar lifelong was going to cause her to eat poorly in other respects or to experience psychological ill effects, that would be a reason to not pursue this. Otherwise, there's no harm.

I don't know OPs blood work numbers but I do know mine, and my last fasting glucose test number was an 89. This is after having numbers in the pre-diabetic range previously. I didn't cut back on sugar to improve my numbers-lost over 50lbs while still eating the foods I enjoy and cutting back on calories.

You missed the point. You don't know *her* numbers. To say nothing of the fact that neither the OP, nor anyone not disparaging her has said there is no other way to get to any of her (perceived) goals. FWIW one time fasted blood glucose levels in routine bloodwork are next to useless.

GW1970

The point is that we are happy and healthy without cutting sugar. My health indicators have all improved to healthy levels through moderation, exercise. Yes, that includes my blood sugar levels.

Just because you couldn't be healthy while eating added sugar doesn't mean no one can.

Same here,
i lost 43lb in weight, through moderation and exercise, perfectly fine until i tried to maintian without loggin calories. sooner or later you put it all back on, and this is the case with a lot of people, if it wasn't then there would be no "diet" industry.
so something somewhere is wrong?
now glucose is the sugar that is in your blood stream, its will only show up abnormal if there is something wrong with your insulin production. and if you have a problem with glucose then you're in trouble as this is the basic energy that all life uses!
Fructose on the other hand is converted straight to fat, usually as close to the liver as possible and won't be detectable by a normal blood sugar test! and it would seem it is Fructose that prevents the Hormones that regulate appetite.
But hey don't take mt word for it. there is plenty of research starting to come out about this (else i would never have heard about it doh):huh:

lizziebeth1028

I want to write this down to help solidify my intentions into actually doing this. I want to see how long I can go without eating any added or artificial sugar. I know that it's only adding empty calories and I can get plenty of sweetness from natural sources. I can do this. Here we go! Who's with me?

Thanks but no thanks. Life is too short to worry about eating a cookie or 2 and it's just plain too sad to think that I'd never enjoy an ice cream cone or a glass or wine ever again.....why? It's all about moderation for me! Fill your day with awesome healthy foods...proteins, veggies, fruit, grains and please for godsake save a few extra calorie for some cookies!

stumblinthrulife

Re: added sugar

My cookie dough comes with the sugar already in it, not added by me. Does that count as added? If yes than lolnope this isn't for me. If no then hey, I could be on board. I only add sweetener to tea and I drink too much tea anyway.

How could you possibly drink too much tea??? I'm chronically freezing, so tea is my BFF.

I'm an Englishman in the US, so for me tea (so-called "builder's tea" - black tea with milk and sugar) was like a cultural lifeline to my home. I drank 5 or 6 mugs a day. Unfortunately this resulted in me getting too much oxalate and started giving me kidney stones. If you've never had a kidney stone, the medical community compares the pain to gun shot wounds and giving birth.

So for me, yes, you can definitely drink too much tea. And as much as it pained me to give it up, it hurt a heck of a lot less than the kidney stones :laugh:

GW1970

Well your single anecdotal case has opened my eyes, swayed me, and shown me the light.

Well there's 17,000 more just like that on Facebook alone!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sweet-Poison/157501174289687
thats either an awful lot of "wacko's" in one place (its facebook, its possible) or perhaps, or just perhaps its the start of people having their eyes opened?
only you can decide that:noway:

MostlyWater

Real life has sugar added, unless you're a diabetic. Deal with it.

Achrya

Re: added sugar

My cookie dough comes with the sugar already in it, not added by me. Does that count as added? If yes than lolnope this isn't for me. If no then hey, I could be on board. I only add sweetener to tea and I drink too much tea anyway.

How could you possibly drink too much tea??? I'm chronically freezing, so tea is my BFF.

I'm an Englishman in the US, so for me tea (so-called "builder's tea" - black tea with milk and sugar) was like a cultural lifeline to my home. I drank 5 or 6 mugs a day. Unfortunately this resulted in me getting too much oxalate and started giving me kidney stones. If you've never had a kidney stone, the medical community compares the pain to gun shot wounds and giving birth.

So for me, yes, you can definitely drink too much tea. And as much as it pained me to give it up, it hurt a heck of a lot less than the kidney stones :laugh:

Tea with sugar and whole milk directly contributed to the rapid expansion of my *kitten*.(or the overconsumption of tea with sugar and whole milk, rather) It was a sad day indeed when I switched to splenda and lemon.

Achrya

Well your single anecdotal case has opened my eyes, swayed me, and shown me the light.

Well there's 17,000 more just like that on Facebook alone!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sweet-Poison/157501174289687
thats either an awful lot of "wacko's" in one place (its facebook, its possible) or perhaps, or just perhaps its the start of people having their eyes opened?
only you can decide that:noway:

Gonna go with wackos. Like minded crazy tends to flock together.

stumblinthrulife

Well your single anecdotal case has opened my eyes, swayed me, and shown me the light.

Well there's 17,000 more just like that on Facebook alone!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sweet-Poison/157501174289687
thats either an awful lot of "wacko's" in one place (its facebook, its possible) or perhaps, or just perhaps its the start of people having their eyes opened?
only you can decide that:noway:

Or perhaps cutting sugar also leads to a caloric deficit and a significant reduction in weight - which is what actually improves your health.

In my experience when people who fail to cut sugar get unhealthy, it's because they cannot moderate it at all. They eat thousands of calories at single sittings, without adequate exercise to offset it. They get obese and unhealthy again, and blame it on the sugar.

Personally I eat nutrient rich whole foods most of the day, and then have a couple hundred calories of something I enjoy in the evening.

If you can't constrain yourself to a moderate amount of sugar, it's not the sugar's fault. It's your lack of willpower.

GW1970

You're funny...

why Thank you , whats the point in being serious?:laugh:

misguided

sadly i think not!

but funny none the less...

i'm only on here as my wife is bored with hearing it :flowerforyou: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

J72FIT

Same here,
i lost 43lb in weight, through moderation and exercise, perfectly fine until i tried to maintian without loggin calories. sooner or later you put it all back on, and this is the case with a lot of people, if it wasn't then there would be no "diet" industry.
so something somewhere is wrong?

You put it back on because you chronically ate over maintenance, not because of sugar or fructose...

CyberEd312

give up sugar , keep the alternativly sourced sweetners to help wean you off sugar, soon you won't want those either! eventually your natural appitite will return and you won't over eat.
but lets get it straight its not "sugar" its fructose you need to avoid!
as for what everyone else has said. well this is all new and i guess their response is no differant to smokers reaction when it became clear that was dangerous.
so i'm bookmarking this so i can come back and say "told you so":laugh: :laugh: :happy:

I have never tracked a gram of sugar (like ever), only concern myself with Carbs, Proteins, and Fats, and the whole calorie in calorie out thing.... Pretty sure it has worked well for me so far..... OP Sugar is a subset of Carbs and not the devil it is being made out to be... If you are eating a diet filled with lean meats, veggies, fruits, and whole grains and have the calories for some discretionary foods from time to time, there is no need to fear sugar..... Best of Luck

GW1970

Or perhaps cutting sugar also leads to a caloric deficit and a significant reduction in weight - which is what actually improves your health.

In my experience when people who fail to cut sugar get unhealthy, it's because they cannot moderate it at all. They eat thousands of calories at single sittings, without adequate exercise to offset it. They get obese and unhealthy again, and blame it on the sugar.

Personally I eat nutrient rich whole foods most of the day, and then have a couple hundred calories of something I enjoy in the evening.

If you can't constrain yourself to a moderate amount of sugar, it's not the sugar's fault. It's your lack of willpower.

yes exactly.
and if you read more about, pretty much the more that is said,
but with the emerging evidence that fructose effects the bodys abilitys to create the hormones that effect appitite. so when people get obese its looking pretty bloody likely it is the sugar doing it!
look this is all new. i was first told about it 6 weeks ago by my Australian dental hygenist. within the last week alone there has been 5 newspaper articles and one tv program about it in the UK.
so again
all Wackadoodle or the glimmer of truth?