No added sugar diet

shn00ky55

I am looking into starting a lifestyle change of not eating any foods with added sugar. Has anyone done this or is currently living this way? If so, I would love to share ideas and encourage one another to keep plugging along.

barbaradilisio

I'm trying to do this too. The hardest part for me was finding out how many foods have added sugar in them! Things I didn't expect at all, such as pasta sauce. Reading labels on food was really eye opening.

_lyndseybrooke_

SUGAR IS THE DEVILLLLLLL!

No, but seriously - this sounds like a huge hassle to me. Why?

asciiqwerty

I don't eat much that's processed - and it would never have occured to me to check this, however, since i started logging, I have picked up some things that were a lot higher in calories from sugar than i expected.
What i've decied is that when these are natural (part of a fruit or vegetable) I will prioritise the 5-7 fruit + veg a day over the sugar
if they're added i'll decide if that item is really worth it.

So far most of my sugar is from fruit and fuit juice - I have one small glass of fruit juice at breakfast and usually 1-2 portions of fruit during hte day - so i haven't changed that though i do now measure my fruit juice glass and stretch it out with water

My biggest sources of added sugar so far are: nesqwik milk flavour and grenadine type syrups for water flavouring.
On balance i've cut down on the syrups and I've started using angostura bitters from time to time to flavour my water when i'm not by a kettle in which case i have a fruit or green tea. I've decided to keep the nesquik but now it's a treat from time to time, rather than a staple.

I never had jars of pasta sauce at home, when i first tasted them at college i was really shocked at how sweet they were. The same with baked beans. Far too sweet for me.

You can make a lovely simple pasta sauce from tinned chopped tomato, onion and garlic, the trick is cooking it low and slow to get all the flavours at their best and maybe add a dash of balsamic vinagar to bring out the natural sweetness.

Good luck with the sugar watch - beware though - it's everywhere

WendyTerry420

I am looking into starting a lifestyle change of not eating any foods with added sugar. Has anyone done this or is currently living this way? If so, I would love to share ideas and encourage one another to keep plugging along.

I tried it for about a week or two when I first started. I used to believe that sugar makes you fat. I'm glad I found MFP and learned that sugar is a just a carb, and it's perfectly healthy, so long as it doesn't interfere with eating enough protein and other essential nutrients. That is, you can have a piece of cake, but you can't eat *only* cake all day. :bigsmile:

ncorkett

I have also started working on a low sugar diet. I did good for 3-4 days and felt so much better, but completely fell off the wagon. It's so hard. I had a hot chocolate this morning and it had 20g of sugar. The recent announcement that the WHO is pushing for 25g of added sugar for adults has inspired me to do some research and pay attention to how much of it I'm eating. I easily eat double that in a day. If it's a bad day, then it's about 4 times that since chocolate makes me feel better. I would love to hear tips from others on what they are doing to reduce their sugar.

helizi

I avoid refined sugar, because it's terrible for your teeth and I'd rather my calories come from something nutritious. You can do it without much difficulty if you cook your own food. If you eat a lot processed food and ready meals it'll be trickier.

_Zardoz_

I avoid refined sugar, because it's terrible for your teeth and I'd rather my calories come from something nutritious.

Well refined sugar is no worse for your teeth than any other form of sugar such as in fruit and personally I just brush my teeth twice a day. Also sugar contains calories your body needs calories so it is nutritious in that way. Also the body needs sugar to function so you still need some source of it.

I understand that people may want to reduce their sugar intake but demonising it with all this misinformation is silly

henriettevanittersum

I just love how avoiding added sugar opened my taste buds for other tastes! So much to enjoy in foods besides the sweet!

helizi

Well refined sugar is no worse for your teeth than any other form of sugar such as in fruit and personally I just brush my teeth twice a day. Also sugar contains calories your body needs calories so it is nutritious in that way. Also the body needs sugar to function so you still need some source of it.

I understand that people may want to reduce their sugar intake but demonising it with all this misinformation is silly

Fruit has vitamins and fibre in it, so it's worth eating, and the sugar content is far lower than an equivalent amount of chocolate or similar. There are numerous other sources of calories and energy, the body is perfectly capable of breaking down starches and similar into the glucose we need: you won't somehow starve without refined sugar. And calling the correlation between sugar and tooth decay 'misinformation' is ridiculous. Find me a single dentist who would disagree.

Chipidies

I just love how avoiding added sugar opened my taste buds for other tastes! So much to enjoy in foods besides the sweet!

I noticed this too! I've completely cut out white sugar and corn syrup and was astonished to find my taste buds changed. Fruit is so sweet now! My only sweeteners are honey and palm sugar, both of which I use rarely.

Spacegirlley

If you want some recipes for no added sugar that work and taste good go to www.SucroseFreeLiving.com

The coconut jam slice and baked chocolate cheesecake have to be my favourites.

I try to eat no added sugar as I'm sucrose intolerant, but I still eat the natural sugars myself. Honey has become a lifesaver for me in my recipes as an alternative to sugar, as well as jam.

patsypooter

I'm mostly sugar free. I've been getting a bit more naughty over the past couple of weeks but typically I eat a low sugar diet. I eat whole unprocessed foods almost exclusively. I do eat oatmeal with some sugar and frozen berries in it once in awhile. I don't allow myself to eat processed foods because it causes problems for me with IBS. I used to use honey instead of sugar but actually found that honey bothered my IBS while sugar didn't!

If you want to be friends with someone who (mostly) eats a no sugar whole foods diet, add me on here.

jofjltncb6

Well refined sugar is no worse for your teeth than any other form of sugar such as in fruit and personally I just brush my teeth twice a day. Also sugar contains calories your body needs calories so it is nutritious in that way. Also the body needs sugar to function so you still need some source of it.

I understand that people may want to reduce their sugar intake but demonising it with all this misinformation is silly

Fruit has vitamins and fibre in it, so it's worth eating, and the sugar content is far lower than an equivalent amount of chocolate or similar. There are numerous other sources of calories and energy, the body is perfectly capable of breaking down starches and similar into the glucose we need: you won't somehow starve without refined sugar. And calling the correlation between sugar and tooth decay 'misinformation' is ridiculous. Find me a single dentist who would disagree.

If your chocolate has more sugar than typical sweet fruit, then you're eating the wrong chocolate.

Dentists are great at treating teeth problems, but not so much at predicting specific individual causes of tooth decay. Parents can attest to the drastically different outcomes of children with similar eating and dental hygiene habits. There are some dentists out there who acknowledge this, but still far more continuing to tout the ADA's outdated position from decades ago.

bcattoes

I did it for a while. Close to a year. I don't remember exactly as it was many years ago. I didn't really find it all that hard after the first couple of weeks. Except for maple syrup and birthdays.

I still eat a diet low in added sugar, but not totally free. Probably 85% of my added sugar is maple syrup though. :laugh:

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fedup30

I make an effort to avoid the added sugars for the most part. But, if I want a piece of chocolate, or cookie or something every once in a while, I will! I am not physically able to give up my chocolate forever. Can't-WON'T! Lol, but I figure as long as it is not a part of my daily diet, it really can't be that big of a deal

MapleFlavouredMaiden

No. I don't see a point in restriction when you can just eat whatever as long as you maintain a negative energy balance. That being said, I don't like to eat junk or processed food, but that's just a preference. I do use sugar in baking and stuff. I'm not afraid of it.

laserturkey

It's funny; I grew up with a diabetic mother and was kind of raised on a minimal-added-sugar diet. It's only been fairly recently that I've gotten comfortable with adding sugar and honey to things I am making, and I've found certain recipes really do taste better with that. Why not make peace with sugar and take control over the amount of it you consume without attempting to eliminate it entirely from your diet?

tennisdude2004

Well refined sugar is no worse for your teeth than any other form of sugar such as in fruit and personally I just brush my teeth twice a day. Also sugar contains calories your body needs calories so it is nutritious in that way. Also the body needs sugar to function so you still need some source of it.

I understand that people may want to reduce their sugar intake but demonising it with all this misinformation is silly

Fruit has vitamins and fibre in it, so it's worth eating, and the sugar content is far lower than an equivalent amount of chocolate or similar. There are numerous other sources of calories and energy, the body is perfectly capable of breaking down starches and similar into the glucose we need: you won't somehow starve without refined sugar. And calling the correlation between sugar and tooth decay 'misinformation' is ridiculous. Find me a single dentist who would disagree.

What would happen to your teeth if you ate nothing but fruit 24/7?

How many times can they be brushed in that 24 hr period?

helizi

What would happen to your teeth if you ate nothing but fruit 24/7?

Apparently fruitarians often do suffer from bad tooth decay. But I can't say I have any personal experience with the diet.

tennisdude2004

I am looking into starting a lifestyle change of not eating any foods with added sugar. Has anyone done this or is currently living this way? If so, I would love to share ideas and encourage one another to keep plugging along.

Great idea cutting back on sugar - a moderate amount of sugar in the diet is fine IMO. I think a lot of westernised diets have way to much.

I should think most people on MFP (looking to lose weight) will be on a lower than average (average being most no dieters sugar) intake.

If you really are keen to cut back as much as possible then fair play to you - your life, your rules.

AlabasterVerve

Too much sugar is too much sugar for me no matter what the source so I prefer to just keep my sugar below a certain level and leave it at that. When I first stared out (and gave up junk food) I was eating so much fruit it wasn't unusual for my sugar to reach 100g - 200g a day and fool myself into thinking that was ok because it was natural/healthy fruit.

But I think for most people -- especially dieters -- reducing added sugar is a great place to start. Just be mindful you're actually reducing your total sugar and not just masking it by increasing the "natural" sugars in your diet. I don't think there's any health benefits to be had from that.

kgeyser

I just saw an article about this yesterday. Granted, these people got into it by reading Lustig, who many people regard as a bit of a quack, and they are trying to market their book now, but you might find the interview interesting. I know, it's HuffPost, but I think the interns were busy with the majestic dog slideshow and didn't have anything to do with this article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/07/year-of-no-sugar_n_5084561.html

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asciiqwerty

everything in moderation

calories are calories wherever they come from
all sugars are bad for the teeth where ever they come from
weight loss is about deficit - not source

but avoiding "hiden" sugar (by which my mean sugars in food that you wouldn't expect - like a noodle soup dish I found the other day with more sugar in than a coal) leaves you move calories available to consume a range of filling and nutritious stuu

for baking - i like to use brown unrefined sugars or honey as i prefer the flavour - but by trial and error i've found that some recipes are fine with less

my general approach tends to be that I prefer to know what i'm eating, and appart from sugar (in all its varieties) i also like to check labels for high levels of salt and ingredients that i can't pronounce or don't have in the kitchen cupboard.

cocolo89

I need help in this department. ?

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kgeyser

I just saw an article about this yesterday. Granted, these people got into it by reading Lustig, who many people regard as a bit of a quack, and they are trying to market their book now, but you might find the interview interesting. I know, it's HuffPost, but I think the interns were busy with the majestic dog slideshow and didn't have anything to do with this article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/07/year-of-no-sugar_n_5084561.html

Lustig? No thank you. If Lustig is someone's source of knowledge......keep it moving buddy.

I agree with you on that which is why I mentioned it, but I did find their experience to be an interesting read. They did not end up sticking with the no-added-sugar diet beyond the one year experiment and admit that changing to this diet did nothing in terms of weight loss. They also did not list any benefits other than they "felt better" and "seemed to get sick less often" but they had no data to back up their claims in terms of health markers or records of illnesses prior to trying this out. They did talk about their difficulties finding foods with no sugar added, even bacon.

KimmieSue2011

I gave up added sugar and artificial sweeteners in January of this year and it helped me lose weight and not overeat. I don't eat sweets or pastries or artificial sweeteners, but I will eat products that have sugar in them (fruit, pasta sauce, salad dressing, dairy, etc.) What I've noticed is that the more sweet things I ate, the more I craved them. And now its easier for me to not binge/overeat. I was never a chips/salty overeater anyway. I feel far better than I did before -- no afternoon energy slump.

WendyTerry420

If you want some recipes for no added sugar that work and taste good go to www.SucroseFreeLiving.com

The coconut jam slice and baked chocolate cheesecake have to be my favourites.

I try to eat no added sugar as I'm sucrose intolerant, but I still eat the natural sugars myself. Honey has become a lifesaver for me in my recipes as an alternative to sugar, as well as jam.

Well crap! You have to buy the book!