21 Day Sugar Detox

usmcmp

Here is an article. Not one that I have read, but it is a study reflecting what I said.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

And aren't you jumping to conclusions about my relationship with food?

And thank you for insulting all the good work I have done in recovery the past five months. Real classy.

1. They never defined the source of the sweet substance/sugar they used, so they could have used fruit juice or sugar water.
2. They starved the rats for 12 hours then only allowed them short term access to a sugary liquid with a small amount of food.

If someone starved you for 12 hours and then let you chug something sweet you'd do it because you are hungry and you are trying to get full before being starved again. If this continued for a month then you'd have serious issues when they took the sugary substance away and only offered the small amounts of food. They were not just altering the rats food intake. Starvation and interrupted sleep schedules mess with hunger hormones and chemical responses in the brain.

There's really only 3 paragraphs talking about the actual study. The rest of the page is other studies that talk about addiction and have nothing to do with sugar.

tehmurphygrace

Here is an article. Not one that I have read, but it is a study reflecting what I said.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

And aren't you jumping to conclusions about my relationship with food?

And thank you for insulting all the good work I have done in recovery the past five months. Real classy.

1. They never defined the source of the sweet substance/sugar they used, so they could have used fruit juice or sugar water.
2. They starved the rats for 12 hours then only allowed them short term access to a sugary liquid with a small amount of food.

If someone starved you for 12 hours and then let you chug something sweet you'd do it because you are hungry and you are trying to get full before being starved again. If this continued for a month then you'd have serious issues when they took the sugary substance away and only offered the small amounts of food. They were not just altering the rats food intake. Starvation and interrupted sleep schedules mess with hunger hormones and chemical responses in the brain.

There's really only 3 paragraphs talking about the actual study. The rest of the page is other studies that talk about addiction and have nothing to do with sugar.

Fine, I won't do the "detox."

Good luck with your binge eating.

Your post was actually very relatable and inspiring.

usmcmp

Here is an article. Not one that I have read, but it is a study reflecting what I said.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

And aren't you jumping to conclusions about my relationship with food?

And thank you for insulting all the good work I have done in recovery the past five months. Real classy.

1. They never defined the source of the sweet substance/sugar they used, so they could have used fruit juice or sugar water.
2. They starved the rats for 12 hours then only allowed them short term access to a sugary liquid with a small amount of food.

If someone starved you for 12 hours and then let you chug something sweet you'd do it because you are hungry and you are trying to get full before being starved again. If this continued for a month then you'd have serious issues when they took the sugary substance away and only offered the small amounts of food. They were not just altering the rats food intake. Starvation and interrupted sleep schedules mess with hunger hormones and chemical responses in the brain.

There's really only 3 paragraphs talking about the actual study. The rest of the page is other studies that talk about addiction and have nothing to do with sugar.

Fine, I won't do the "detox."

Good luck with your binge eating.

Your post was actually very relatable and inspiring.

Good luck to you as well.

You may find some support in this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/6145-binge-eaters-trying-to-recover

tehmurphygrace

Here is an article. Not one that I have read, but it is a study reflecting what I said.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

And aren't you jumping to conclusions about my relationship with food?

And thank you for insulting all the good work I have done in recovery the past five months. Real classy.

1. They never defined the source of the sweet substance/sugar they used, so they could have used fruit juice or sugar water.
2. They starved the rats for 12 hours then only allowed them short term access to a sugary liquid with a small amount of food.

If someone starved you for 12 hours and then let you chug something sweet you'd do it because you are hungry and you are trying to get full before being starved again. If this continued for a month then you'd have serious issues when they took the sugary substance away and only offered the small amounts of food. They were not just altering the rats food intake. Starvation and interrupted sleep schedules mess with hunger hormones and chemical responses in the brain.

There's really only 3 paragraphs talking about the actual study. The rest of the page is other studies that talk about addiction and have nothing to do with sugar.

Fine, I won't do the "detox."

Good luck with your binge eating.

Your post was actually very relatable and inspiring.

Good luck to you as well.

You may find some support in this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/6145-binge-eaters-trying-to-recover

I am actually already in the Recovering from Bulimia/Anorexia group, but I will look into that as well.

Thank you.

kirkor

You are choosing avoidance over learning to deal with it in a healthy way.

Would you say that to an alcoholic?

PRMinx

You are choosing avoidance over learning to deal with it in a healthy way.

Would you say that to an alcoholic?

Well, in all fairness, alcoholics can easily avoid alcohol. People with food disorders can't avoid food. It's not an apples to apples comparison.

While a harsh delivery perhaps, I have to agree. I have already said here that I think abstaining from any one particular food (especially sugar, which is everywhere) is perpetuating the disorder and probably not the best strategy for recovery.

LookingBusy

Okay so I didn't read a lot of the responses, but I skimmed.

I never tried the detox but I did try to cut back on sugar.

I don't know if these will help but they worked for me. I got in to a bad habit of craving sugar around 3pm each day at work.

- buy a good quality chocolate bar (typically less sugar than cheap stuff) and have a square when you are craving
- slowly switch to a dark chocolate (again, typically less sugar)
- I've started planning sweet snacks to bring to work that are fairly healthy, like PB and an apple, berries, yogurt and pumpkin butter, small cup of apple cider
- I also started replacing snacks with a nice herbal tea. Some fruity teas and "dessert" flavoured teas allow me to beat the boredom cravings

Little things but they helped me curve my sugar cravings a bit Good luck!

tehmurphygrace

You are choosing avoidance over learning to deal with it in a healthy way.

Would you say that to an alcoholic?

Well, in all fairness, alcoholics can easily avoid alcohol. People with food disorders can't avoid food. It's not an apples to apples comparison.

While a harsh delivery perhaps, I have to agree. I have already said here that I think abstaining from any one particular food (especially sugar, which is everywhere) is perpetuating the disorder and probably not the best strategy for recovery.

I know you don't mean offense by this, but as a recovering alcoholic as well, alcohol is not easy to avoid and is in surprisingly many more foods that a lot of people realize. Especially fine dining cuisine...which OMG, not gonna lie, I miss.

Again, I'm talking about refined processed sugars. NOT natural sugars.

tehmurphygrace

Okay so I didn't read a lot of the responses, but I skimmed.

I never tried the detox but I did try to cut back on sugar.

I don't know if these will help but they worked for me. I got in to a bad habit of craving sugar around 3pm each day at work.

- buy a good quality chocolate bar (typically less sugar than cheap stuff) and have a square when you are craving
- slowly switch to a dark chocolate (again, typically less sugar)
- I've started planning sweet snacks to bring to work that are fairly healthy, like PB and an apple, berries, yogurt and pumpkin butter, small cup of apple cider
- I also started replacing snacks with a nice herbal tea. Some fruity teas and "dessert" flavoured teas allow me to beat the boredom cravings

Little things but they helped me curve my sugar cravings a bit Good luck!

Thank you for your tips.

I love dark chocolate. I never thought of yogurt and pumpkin butter together. That sounds super tasty.
And I LOVE herbals teas. Since I can't have caffeine, besides water, that is all that I drink. Sometimes with a little bit of raw honey, which has some great nutritive qualities.

Peace

PRMinx

You are choosing avoidance over learning to deal with it in a healthy way.

Would you say that to an alcoholic?

Well, in all fairness, alcoholics can easily avoid alcohol. People with food disorders can't avoid food. It's not an apples to apples comparison.

While a harsh delivery perhaps, I have to agree. I have already said here that I think abstaining from any one particular food (especially sugar, which is everywhere) is perpetuating the disorder and probably not the best strategy for recovery.

I know you don't mean offense by this, but as a recovering alcoholic as well, alcohol is not easy to avoid and is in surprisingly many more foods that a lot of people realize. Especially fine dining cuisine...which OMG, not gonna lie, I miss.

Again, I'm talking about refined processed sugars. NOT natural sugars.

Everything is relative. Alcohol is far easier to avoid than food. You can't just stop eating. I'm not diminishing the struggle for alcoholics, but it really is an apples to oranges comparison.

You know what I'm going to say....refined or natural, it's still an elimination/selection diet.

tehmurphygrace

You are choosing avoidance over learning to deal with it in a healthy way.

Would you say that to an alcoholic?

Well, in all fairness, alcoholics can easily avoid alcohol. People with food disorders can't avoid food. It's not an apples to apples comparison.

While a harsh delivery perhaps, I have to agree. I have already said here that I think abstaining from any one particular food (especially sugar, which is everywhere) is perpetuating the disorder and probably not the best strategy for recovery.

I know you don't mean offense by this, but as a recovering alcoholic as well, alcohol is not easy to avoid and is in surprisingly many more foods that a lot of people realize. Especially fine dining cuisine...which OMG, not gonna lie, I miss.

Again, I'm talking about refined processed sugars. NOT natural sugars.

Everything is relative. Alcohol is far easier to avoid than food. You can't just stop eating. I'm not diminishing the struggle for alcoholics, but it really is an apples to oranges comparison.

You know what I'm going to say....refined or natural, it's still an elimination/selection diet.

It's only apples to oranges if you're not going through it.

Besides, it has been stated that is it elimination/selective/restrictive. So is not drinking alcohol or ingesting caffeine with that argumentative thinking.

I shouldn't have brought it up. I know it's a sensitive topic. And I'm so done with it. Because listening to people tell you how to eat is also elimination/selective/restrictive. Because at the end of the day we all have our own bodies and we all have to listen to it and at least try what is best for it.

So I might be lying to myself or in denial or whatever people think about this post, but I am being monitored and have come to know my limits.

The funny thing is if I had not mentioned that I have an eating disorder most people (not necessarily saying you) would be like, "Yeah, all for it! Do it! Here are some other tips." With the occasional detox-scmetox comment. So my question then is, for someone not struggling with an eating or addictive disorder would it still be considered eliminating/selective/restrictive? Or would it just be another step for them?

But honestly, that is a rhetorical question. Mostly because we all know the answer to that.

I do appreciate your concern though.

PRMinx

You are choosing avoidance over learning to deal with it in a healthy way.

Would you say that to an alcoholic?

Well, in all fairness, alcoholics can easily avoid alcohol. People with food disorders can't avoid food. It's not an apples to apples comparison.

While a harsh delivery perhaps, I have to agree. I have already said here that I think abstaining from any one particular food (especially sugar, which is everywhere) is perpetuating the disorder and probably not the best strategy for recovery.

I know you don't mean offense by this, but as a recovering alcoholic as well, alcohol is not easy to avoid and is in surprisingly many more foods that a lot of people realize. Especially fine dining cuisine...which OMG, not gonna lie, I miss.

Again, I'm talking about refined processed sugars. NOT natural sugars.

Everything is relative. Alcohol is far easier to avoid than food. You can't just stop eating. I'm not diminishing the struggle for alcoholics, but it really is an apples to oranges comparison.

You know what I'm going to say....refined or natural, it's still an elimination/selection diet.

It's only apples to oranges if you're not going through it.

Besides, it has been stated that is it elimination/selective/restrictive. So is not drinking alcohol or ingesting caffeine with that argumentative thinking.

I shouldn't have brought it up. I know it's a sensitive topic. And I'm so done with it. Because listening to people tell you how to eat is also elimination/selective/restrictive. Because at the end of the day we all have our own bodies and we all have to listen to it and at least try what is best for it.

So I might be lying to myself or in denial or whatever people think about this post, but I am being monitored and have come to know my limits.

The funny thing is if I had not mentioned that I have an eating disorder most people (not necessarily saying you) would be like, "Yeah, all for it! Do it! Here are some other tips." With the occasional detox-scmetox comment. So my question then is, for someone not struggling with an eating or addictive disorder would it still be considered eliminating/selective/restrictive? Or would it just be another step for them?

But honestly, that is a rhetorical question. Mostly because we all know the answer to that.

I do appreciate your concern though.

I'm not going to debate with you about alcohol. I don't agree.

Pretty much everyone here would say no to a detox, no-sugar diet, regardless of your ED. In fact, people have been really nice here because you are struggling with ED. Usually, people are even more blunt.

tehmurphygrace

I'm not going to debate with you about alcohol. I don't agree.

Pretty much everyone here would say no to a detox, no-sugar diet, regardless of your ED. In fact, people have been really nice here because you are struggling with ED. Usually, people are even more blunt.

LOL.

Ok, well then, at least people are being nice. So thank you for being nice.

And I don't mean that facetiously. Truly, thank you for being understanding.

And maybe it is because I just joined and I don't scroll over the message boards that often, but I apologize for making the assumption.

Peace

parkscs

Ultimately it's only 21 days, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I don't know what if anything you'll gain from cutting sugar out, but if you think avoiding certain sugars for 3 weeks will help then I'd say go for it, because it can't really hurt in the long run. The physical side of weight loss is pretty simple and from that perspective I can't see how this would help you, but the mental aspect is highly individual and stuff that works for one person would only serve to make another miserable. If you think it'll help, give it a try and if it's not helping, reassess and readjust.

tehmurphygrace

Ultimately it's only 21 days, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I don't know what if anything you'll gain from cutting sugar out, but if you think avoiding certain sugars for 3 weeks will help then I'd say go for it, because it can't really hurt in the long run. The physical side of weight loss is pretty simple and from that perspective I can't see how this would help you, but the mental aspect is highly individual and stuff that works for one person would only serve to make another miserable. If you think it'll help, give it a try and if it's not helping, reassess and readjust.

Thank you,

And my plan is to reassess and readjust if it does not work. I figure though, like you say, it's worth it to give it a try because in the grand scheme of things, no, it does not seem like a long time.

Thank you for being understanding.

Peace

opus649

The funny thing is if I had not mentioned that I have an eating disorder most people (not necessarily saying you) would be like, "Yeah, all for it! Do it! Here are some other tips."

No, they really wouldn't.

tehmurphygrace

The funny thing is if I had not mentioned that I have an eating disorder most people (not necessarily saying you) would be like, "Yeah, all for it! Do it! Here are some other tips."

No, they really wouldn't.

I had already apologized for making that assumption, thank you.

tehmurphygrace

The funny thing is if I had not mentioned that I have an eating disorder most people (not necessarily saying you) would be like, "Yeah, all for it! Do it! Here are some other tips."

No, they really wouldn't.

I had already apologized for making that assumption, thank you.

And I apologize if it offended you.

soupandcookies

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, and I know you feel done with this topic, but I thought more about it, and I just wanted to mention 1 thing. When I was deep in my disorder, the idea of doing anything for 21 days, was laughable. A week was laughable.If I had tried a dietary change at that time, and committed to a month, I would have failed on day 2. It took truly adopting a "one day at a time" attitude. I would really encourage to start small, and try it for 24 hours.. Maybe tell yourself that you will try going without sugar or processed food, for one day. See if you are triggered by the restriction.See if you feel good. See if you feel bad. See if your head feels clear and positive. See if you have tons of cravings or feel crazed. Make changes daily, and never feel you've failed, if something isn't working for you. If you commit to the sugar detox, and you slip, you are likely to beat yourself up, and feel you've failed. Don't set yourself up for that. Instead, commit to treating yourself like you deserve to be treated (like the awesome, strong, fierce and fabulous woman you are), for a day. Deal with tomorrow when it comes.

Have a good 24, my friend.

tehmurphygrace

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, and I know you feel done with this topic, but I thought more about it, and I just wanted to mention 1 thing. When I was deep in my disorder, the idea of doing anything for 21 days, was laughable. A week was laughable.If I had tried a dietary change at that time, and committed to a month, I would have failed on day 2. It took truly adopting a "one day at a time" attitude. I would really encourage to start small, and try it for 24 hours.. Maybe tell yourself that you will try going without sugar or processed food, for one day. See if you are triggered by the restriction.See if you feel good. See if you feel bad. See if your head feels clear and positive. See if you have tons of cravings or feel crazed. Make changes daily, and never feel you've failed, if something isn't working for you. If you commit to the sugar detox, and you slip, you are likely to beat yourself up, and feel you've failed. Don't set yourself up for that. Instead, commit to treating yourself like you deserve to be treated (like the awesome, strong, fierce and fabulous woman you are), for a day. Deal with tomorrow when it comes.

Have a good 24, my friend.

Thanks so much.

This actually made me smile. I like your advice to take it one day at a time because yes, then I will not be likely to beat myself up over it. And my plan is that if this does not work out to take a few breaths and continue on in my life. The only reason why I was asking about the 21-Day Sugar Detox is because I have heard a lot about it, and because my psychiatrist did suggest a similar program. But I also asked for any advice for successfully reducing sugar intake. So thank you so much for answering all of my questions and giving very sound advice.

Honestly, I did not mean to start arguments with this thread, and I did not mean to insult anyone by bringing up a sensitive subject.
And while I do have more to say (not in response you you, soupandcookie) I will leave it at that.

Thanks again for your advice and understanding and for making me smile.

Peace