cut the SUGAR out

Drlaugh

I started picking out one item.

Picked cookies to eliminate.

It's been over. 9 years

The result I ate more of everything else.
3 + years ago, I gave up all the other sweet desserts.

Good luck.

cracklinrosi

If I am having a bad sugar craving, what I do is have a tablespoon of honey from our local grower. I keep it my mouth for a few minutes, and the craving subsides. Natural, local honey is a lot better for you than indulging in a sugary treat which contains more than the sugar you're craving.

cracklinrosi

For me personally it is the reduction of added sugar. That means for me less processed foods, and using less sugar in my coffee and finding alternatives in recipes. In my experience the more you have it the more you crave it, and so I feel better and desire it less by eating less added sugar. Let’s be clear there is a difference between Oreos and an apple, mainly fiber and enzymes that are not found processed crap which cause a slow release of insulin when you eat fruit vs. crap. That’s why you can eat a package of Oreo’s and still goes back for more (i.e. lacking fiber and enzymes) vs. eating an apple and being content with one.
On a side note I stopped using artificial sweeteners which I also believe contribute to the increased cravings. So I am ok with using the real thing in moderation.
I constantly read labels because we have Celiac, dairy and other food allergies in the house and so I am aware of all the great names sugar, gluten and dairy can be labeled as, and its mind blowing.
We have made an effort to buy from local farms through a CSA’s and buy 1/4 cow and butchers hog. We try to limit what we buy from the store to what’s necessary.
I think it’s being more mindful and taking a balanced approach.

Agree with what you said. We have the same here: my husband is allergic to artificial sweeteners and I have food allergies, so I read EVERY label. Very time consuming, but a necessary evil in our household. I've gradually moved from everything in a package to very little in a package, and that's mostly pop and chips when we're entertaining. I agree with your comment on artificial sweeteners increasing cravings, because I believe your body is looking for energy which is being represented to you as a sugar craving. Everything in moderation and variety as well is the key.

cracklinrosi

Well, this topic will go on forever with every opinion. I did not mean to imply that sugar is EVIL or that I NEVER, EVER have it. But those who watch their sugar intake will also automatically and without trying to follow a "diet" can lose weight simply by cutting out lots of sugar and the "junk" carbs. If you consume a lot of it, you might as well give yourself a huge dose of insulin, which = fat storing hormone. I steer clear of everything I know is loaded ... sugared cereal, cookies, cakes, etc. as well as TRANS fats. After a few weeks of this, I rarely have cravings for it. And no, all sugar is not equal. Someone (don't even recall what product it's for) runs a commercial where the person makes a statement that "sugar is sugar". That's not true. I'm not much of a fruit person, but I have the fruits I like (which happen to be some of the lowest sugar ones...strawberries, watermelon) but this natural sugar is not the same as the high fructose "CHEAP" sugar in processed junk food and hidden in lots of other foods so they don't have to list "SUGAR" as a top ingredient. There are studies that show the "CHEAP" high fructose syrup sugar inhibits our hormones from signalling the brain when we're full. And people who keep eating or eat when not hungry...which = gaining weight - what do people tend to eat when they're not really hungry...SUGAR or salt. Staying conscious of how much sugar you consume and being aware of it - helps you eat healthy without feeling deprived, it becomes a lifestyle and not a 'diet'.

Agree with you. I have several family members who are Type II diabetic, and it's all due to their diet: pop, chips, white bread, cookies, sugary cereals, etc. One teaspoon of sugar in your coffee or tea a day won't kill you, but eating all that other stuff will. I recently measured out the amount of sugar in a 710mL of cola into a measuring CUP. That's right. There was 3/4 cup of sugar in that 710mL bottle of cola. I also measured out the amount of salt and sugar in a bag of corn chips. I took pictures. When I feel like "treating" myself, I look at those pictures. Craving, gone! I stay as close to natural foods as I can, but do make desserts for special occasions.

SunofaBeach14

If I am having a bad sugar craving, what I do is have a tablespoon of honey from our local grower. I keep it my mouth for a few minutes, and the craving subsides. Natural, local honey is a lot better for you than indulging in a sugary treat which contains more than the sugar you're craving.

lol - how is honey any more natural than sugar, which comes from sugar cane or sugar beets? Besides, this whole line of reasoning is fallacious, particularly of the appeal to nature variety. You "believe" honey is better so it is. If you ate as much honey as your family eats sugar you would have the same problems. The focus must be on moderation, not the type of sugar you are consuming.

SunofaBeach14

OP, thanks for sharing what works for you.

Last year before finding MFP, I was bingeing on sugar all the time. In a span of 5 years, I gained back 30 of the 70 pounds I'd lost several years earlier.

I felt as if I was addicted to sugar because if I eat too much I get all loopy, and I was going to cut that evil stuff out of my diet FOREVER.

Then I began studying the people w/o have been/are successful with weight loss and....what? They ate sugar too? I made a deal with myself not to cut any foods out I love, including sugar, and began to practice the art of moderation.

Moderation works. We gain weight due to eating more than we burn.

Disregard any posts advocating that sugar makes you fat, is bad for you, or is the root of all evil, because these are lies. Only eliminate sugar if your doctor advises you to do so, in which case you will probably have diabetes or other sugar related problem.

That would be because being overweight is the problem, it may be caused by consumption of a lot of sweet drinks and sugary things, but the person is probably eating too much food overall. That is what we all did to gain weight...let's just be honest about it.

Um...no, sweet drinks and sugary things do not cause weight gain unless you eat over your calorie allowance all day with nothing by sweet drinks and sugary things. In other words, you can drink/eat nothing but sugary stuff at a calorie deficit and still lose weight. It's over consumption because that's all you are eating/drinking and not getting proper nutrients.

What you do to gain weight is to eat too much of ANYTHING (caps for emphasis), even all of what some would describe as "healthy" food. Heck, you can gain weight eating nothing but fruits and vegetables if you eat too much.

Let's say my TDEE is 2000 calories. If I eat 1800 calories of sugary drinks and 1800 calories of lentils, would I be likely to lose at the same rate?

Calories in and calories out as far as weight loss goes. 1800 calories is 1800 calories no matter where it comes from. Im not saying all that sugar wouldn't make you feel like crap, because it would me, but as far as weight loss your body is not going to differentiate and make you gain on the sugar and lose on the lentils.

I gained lots if weight eating only healthy food with no processed sugar and lost 42 pounds with some sugar in my diet. It's all about moderation.

I eat more fast food and sweets than I ever did when I was overweight. That said, no one is actually proposing that anyone eat a diet of 1800 calories of sugar a day, that's simply a straw man argument, though it still fails when one considers the Twinkie Diet. The issue there isn't a problem with CICO, but an issue of body composition. I focus on my macros and micronutrients, and by so doing, I eliminate any need to also worry about sugar as a separate item.

SezxyStef

Poor sugar - getting the bash so often...

I know and it's so sweet can't understand why all the hate....:laugh: