30 days of sugar free

wanderinglight

I know it's not the first day of the month or anything but I happened to be reading about Alec Baldwin's weight loss after his doctor made him cut out sugar from his diet because he was pre-diabetic.

Over all the years that I have been trying to lose weight -- limiting my calories, working out 500+ calories per day, eating my exercise calories, sticking to primarily whole foods, etc etc etc -- I have never been able to cut out the sugar. Even if it's sugar from honey, agave, artificial sweeteners, etc. I think I am truly addicted to it.

I'd like to try to limit my sugar for the next 30 days, with a plan to eventually go sugar free.

For two weeks I'll be limiting added sugar (in processed foods: cake, candy, cookies, etc.) as well as sugar in dairy (nonfat milk, yogurt, etc.). I'm going to try and stick under 12mg per day.

Then for the next two weeks I will go completely sugar free (even sugar occurring in fruit). I know that a lot of people can eat this "natural" sugar and they don't have an issue with it but I think it is a problem for me. Actually, I know it is an issue for me because just the thought of giving it up makes me nervous and agitated. I guess that's what an addiction is...

I'm looking for support and advice, especially from anyone who has done this already! I'm going to try and post every day, and if others want to join and share that would be great!

joyspear

:flowerforyou: Good luck! I too am a sugar addict, I admire your bravery. May the force be with you!

SportsMom82

Good Luck!!!

dyannajoy

I know it's not the first day of the month or anything but I happened to be reading about Alec Baldwin's weight loss after his doctor made him cut out sugar from his diet because he was pre-diabetic.

Over all the years that I have been trying to lose weight -- limiting my calories, working out 500+ calories per day, eating my exercise calories, sticking to primarily whole foods, etc etc etc -- I have never been able to cut out the sugar. Even if it's sugar from honey, agave, artificial sweeteners, etc. I think I am truly addicted to it.

I'd like to try to limit my sugar for the next 30 days, with a plan to eventually go sugar free.

For two weeks I'll be limiting added sugar (in processed foods: cake, candy, cookies, etc.) as well as sugar in dairy (nonfat milk, yogurt, etc.). I'm going to try and stick under 12mg per day.

Then for the next two weeks I will go completely sugar free (even sugar occurring in fruit). I know that a lot of people can eat this "natural" sugar and they don't have an issue with it but I think it is a problem for me. Actually, I know it is an issue for me because just the thought of giving it up makes me nervous and agitated. I guess that's what an addiction is...

I'm looking for support and advice, especially from anyone who has done this already! I'm going to try and post every day, and if others want to join and share that would be great!

I am with you! I have actually been sugar free for 7 days as we speak.......it has been easier than I thought. I do still eat fruit however. I am also giving up all grains except oatmeal and flax seed. I have fibromyalgia and am trying to find ways to help relieve the pain. the first 4 days I felt so much better and almost pain free........then I overdid it physically over the weekend and it kicked my butt with a venegence.......so while diet is definitely helping.......I need to REALLY focus on self care and balance too.....

Anyway..........short story long:bigsmile: yes I will do this with you. Please feel free to friend me and we can support each other! Good luck!! Dyanna

p.s. I think 30 days will tell a real story don't you?

wanderinglight

Thanks, Dyanna! It's really nice to hear from someone who is taking on such a challenging program.

And yes, 30 days should definitely tell the tale!

I think I have to remind myself that it's not forever, and apply that "one day at a time" mantra. I'm really glad to hear that you have gone 7 days successfully!

For grains I'm trying to only eat Ezekiel bread, brown rice, and/or oatmeal. I hadn't thought about flax seed but it's a good idea.

wanderinglight

Day One and I'm dying! I am realizing how much I crave something sweet to eat with my afternoon coffee. And I didn't plan too well -- although I brought my lunch (poached chicken, steamed zucchini, and mixed succotash from Trader Joe's) I didn't realize how much sugar was in corn and so I'm almost at my limit for the day already! I had also brought some Greek yogurt with strawberries that I won't be able to eat today. My goal is to get through today, work out tonight and then pack a lot of options for tomorrow.

Sabine_Stroehm

Consider joining the south beach diet thread. Lots of folks there who would agree with going sugar free. They eat lots of carbs (vegetables, fruits, whole grains) but skip the sugar and white flour.
I've gone without sugar, white flour and beer for 10 or 12 years now. Best weight maintenance decision I ever made!:drinker:

wanderinglight

Thank you! I will join that forum as well. Although reading up on it, SBD seems like it allows sugarfree candy, fudgsicles, etc. Not sure I can let myself do that yet. I might modify Phase 1 to stay away from those for now at least for the first two weeks.

Sabine_Stroehm

Thank you! I will join that forum as well. Although reading up on it, SBD seems like it allows sugarfree candy, fudgsicles, etc. Not sure I can let myself do that yet. I might modify Phase 1 to stay away from those for now at least for the first two weeks.

Allows, but not required. :-)

wanderinglight

Day 2 is over safely! I'm realizing my worst cravings (like everyone, I suppose) are at 4pm and then again when I come home. I have been soooo craving something sweet today. I have also cut out white flour and most of the other processed stuff. This wasn't so hard as I rarely ate them prior to starting my 30 day challenge. The only tough part on that front has been pretzels. I love pretzels!

I'm plotting menus for tomorrow. I do allow myself Ezekiel bread, as it has no sugar. So it will likely be peanut butter on the 'zeke for breakfast, hard boiled eggs for a snack, and tons of veggies and lean proteins for lunch and dinner. On to Day 3!

wanderinglight

Hooooo boy yesterday was tough!! I'm on Day 4 of going no sugar. I had to modify my plan -- realized that 12g a day is not really realistic. I cut out all sugar, including that from dairy, processed, unprocessed, fruit, etc. and I still average about 15 or 17 because of the vegetables. I'll never give up vegetables!

My diet for this week is almost exclusively whole grains (Ezekiel bread or brown rice), veggies, a little bit of Laughing Cow cheese, eggs, and lean meats. I'm not usually hungry but the cravings for sugar -- any sugar -- are almost unbearable. I am dying for strawberries, pretzels and gummi bears. Sigh.

Still, I am interested to see if this two week "reset" allows me to move forward on breaking this habit completely. After two weeks I'm going to slowly add in naturally occurring sugar from yogurt and fruit but still limit it according to the MFP guidelines of about 25g a day.

Today I'm armed with: hard boiled eggs, a peanut butter sandwich for my afternoon "sweet" craving, steamed veggies with rice and black beans and then more veggies with grilled salmon. Wish me luck!

laurieblair2012

I'm on day 86 without processed flour or sugar. I've replaced everything I can think of in my kitchen with it's sugar free counterpart, so even my kids are having to suffer through this with me. I do eat fruit a few times a week, but I've eliminated other kinds of sugar wherever possible. I'm finally used to sugar free coffee creamer, which was probably the biggest or hardest thing for me. We all have our vices, you know!

I get a B12 shot weekly, but some weeks I go for the B12-B6 combo injection because the B6 allegedly helps with sugar cravings. I think it does...I mostly need that during PMS cravings, which are usually chocolate or sugar related.

It is not easy. It is not particularly fun. I figure it's more fun than an insulin pump or toe amputations later on, so I keep on swimming, as Dory says. Good luck to all of you as we swim along.

nsblue

Having been a diabetic on 2 needles a day of 170 units of insulin and now on NONE, I have to say that keeping your sugar low in your diet... plus diet and exercise helps your health tremendously.... not to mention staying away from high sugar things keeps those cravings at bay.... thats not mentioning the head hunger for that is different.

Keeping your sugar content to 9 grams and under for an item of 100 cals is what I use as a guideline. Yes fruits do have up to 14 grams...but fruit is fruit and we do need it...but limited and balanced in your caloric range.

best of luck...heres to health

treatdream

You can do this!!!

I am addicted to sugar and I have something called candida overgrowth which made me have to give up ALL sugar (carbs, fruit, dairy, alcohol - anything that turned into sugar in the body). I started with a fast/cleanse and I think it really helped get the sugar out of my system so I wasn't craving it. After that, it really wasn't so bad. As long as I had plenty of healthy, easy food options available and I didn't let myself get hungry, I was ok. I maintained a completely sugar free diet for three months and lost approx 20 lbs. Since then I have maintained my weight but have not been as strict with my diet. I am strongly considering going back to a completely sugar free lifestyle - I just feel so much better in SO many ways.

Friend me if you want to know more or would like some extra support.

These are a couple of my favorite resources. I didn't buy these peoples books but they offer a lot of great info on their blogs...
http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/
http://whole9life.com/category/whole-30/
http://www.mariahealth.blogspot.com/

wanderinglight

Thank you nsblue and treatdream!

I am curious...I am cutting out artificial sweeteners as well. For me the taste of something sweet seems to trigger the same cravings. I'm wondering if this two weeks of stopping sugar and artificial sweeteners will reset that "trigger effect" or if it will always be that way and eating sugar free candy will just make me crave it more. I have heard so much about giving up the artificial stuff too. I guess there's only one way to find out...

nsblue

getting hooked on sugar free candy can be a trap..so watch out...for one can mindlessly pop in alot of sugar free candy and blow their diet plan all to pieces. A sugar addiction is a bit of a habit and behavioural modification comes into play of making a plan of what to do when those cravings happen. keeping your protein even... limiting your higher carbs will make you feel full n will help keep cravings at bay. limited splenda etc limited fruit I found ok. more you get into it..more u have sugar free candy..that sweet craving will return...just be careful...moderation with it is key.

treatdream

I agree with nsblue that moderation is key. For now, I would stay away from all sugar substitutes though. Once you aren't craving the sweet sensation I think it is safe to allow yourself things that contain substitutes in moderation. Also, natural sugar substitutes such as xylotol and stevia can have some health benefits too. I would stay away from anything artificial but that is just me.

Here's an address to a PDF with all kinds of natural sweetener info...
http://tinyurl.com/czomvde

wanderinglight

Today is Day 5 for me. I'm pretty proud of myself -- I almost canceled my drinks plans last night but instead went out and had soda water with lime, which was a heroic act of self control. I'm not so far into my 30 days that it's easy for me to keep going. Five days doesn't really look like much on the calendar and it's been hard not to say "well I'll just have that piece of warm berry crumble that they are passing around the office and I'll start over again next week."

I really want to do this right. I really want to have success with this goal and I'm so hoping that I will see some sort of change. I feel like this is my last chance to really lose weight -- it truly is the only option I have never tried.

I think staying away from artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes will be key for me now. Once I'm through this initial two week phase then I'm so looking forward to having a handful of berries or a piece of fruit!

I'm worried about the weekend and am trying to work out a plan for every day so that I'm keeping busy. I relocated to NYC for a temporary assignment and luckily there's no shortage of things to do. The key will be getting out of the apartment and eating enough so I'm not tempted to stop at every pretzel stand, bakery and pizza shop!

treatdream

You're doing great and should be proud of yourself. This isn't an easy change to make. It will get easier though. "One more day" doesn't seem so hard when you've already gotten through so many. For me, not having fruit was the hardest, so once you add that back in you should be much happier. Keep up the great work!

Also, maybe trying looking into some farmers markets in your neighborhood. It will give you something fun to explore and you'll probably be inspired by all the fresh, in season, local produce.

KBjimAZ

A couple of other good resources are 21daysugardetox.com as well as balanced bites. Wife has been on their program since Jan 1 and loves it. And it was cheap too! Good luck to you.

wanderinglight

Treatdream thank you for the support! Five days looks so sad on the month of May calendar but it still feels good. I love the idea of visiting the Farmer's Market! It's just one more wonderful thing that NYC has to offer.

KB that's a great link -- checking it out now!

I must admit, I'm completely confused about things like Stevia and agave nectar. Last night instead of eating I was reading and I've ended up far more confused than I was when I started. I know they are all natural and therefore "safe" but it seems like a cheat to be able to make brownies, muffins, etc. especially since I'm still cutting out flour as well (white and wheat). I'm going to stay the course and avoid any type of sweeteners (whether natural or artificial) and see where I am after two weeks. Maybe after two weeks I'll want to keep on avoiding them...

orbinick

The issue I'm having with so called natural products is that more and more of them have become so deceptive in their descriptions and for obvious reasons, they need to sell their products. On the other hand, I wonder if there's a problem with glucose levels on a very strict sugar free diet that does not include foods that are processed as sugar by the body. Glucose is very necessary for the nourishment of the brain, the ringleader of the body.

wanderinglight

Today was Day 7 for me of no sugar and I felt AMAZING all day. Tons of energy, tons of positivity, tons of hope that I might be over the worst of the cravings. I stopped at my favorite NYC coffee shop today where they brew each cup individually (a total splurge at $4 for black coffee). Usually I have cream but today I drank it black and I swear I could taste cherries and chocolates in it! It tasted sweet and flavorful. This has been a really interesting journey so far and I'm feeling good about this upcoming week!

dyannajoy

Today was Day 7 for me of no sugar and I felt AMAZING all day. Tons of energy, tons of positivity, tons of hope that I might be over the worst of the cravings. I stopped at my favorite NYC coffee shop today where they brew each cup individually (a total splurge at $4 for black coffee). Usually I have cream but today I drank it black and I swear I could taste cherries and chocolates in it! It tasted sweet and flavorful. This has been a really interesting journey so far and I'm feeling good about this upcoming week!

WOW!!! so proud of you for hanging in there and reaping the rewards!! You are inspiring me to continue to do this too. Thank you sooooo much!:flowerforyou: Dyanna

momof3and3

Can you open your diary? I am curious as to your meals and calorie count...I have such a sweet tooth, and the more sugar I eat, the more I crave, so I would love to see how you are doing it. Is it a low carb diet plan? (I can't do low carb, it affects me really weird, I get shakey. lethargic, bad headaches...it gets worse as days go on, plus I run...a lot, so I need the carbs...)

Thanks!

graelwyn

I am on my second day of cutting my sugar/sweeteners right back. I am trying to cut out splenda, which I think caused me extra issues on top of already craving sugar a lot. I am still eating fruit, as I do not want to go too extreme, and I am sticking to 85% dark chocolate in small amounts, and avoiding milk chocolate altogether. My main issues were chocolate and ice cream. as I tend to eat pretty clean for my meals. I am not going totally without however, I am going to have a day a week where I allow myself a dessert somewhere out.

wanderinglight

Can you open your diary? I am curious as to your meals and calorie count...I have such a sweet tooth, and the more sugar I eat, the more I crave, so I would love to see how you are doing it. Is it a low carb diet plan? (I can't do low carb, it affects me really weird, I get shakey. lethargic, bad headaches...it gets worse as days go on, plus I run...a lot, so I need the carbs...)

Thanks!

Will do! I thought it was open but I realized I had it set to just friends (feel free to friend me too, of course )

I'm not doing low carb. I don't really believe in a world where bacon is "good" for you but tomatoes aren't! I'm not eating any processed foods. And I didn't want to allow myself any treats that have been made low carb or "Paleo-fied." It was important for me to know that I don't NEED candy, cookies, muffins, etc even if it's "technically" okay because it has no sugar or low carbs. The carbs that I've had have been from either Ezekiel (sprouted) bread, brown rice or quinoa.

I have to say, now that I've started Week 2, that I am SO happy to be trying this. I feel so great. I still get insane cravings, especially when I see someone eating oh, I don't know, a S'MORE BROWNIE WITH MARSHMALLOW FLUFF (sigh) but I tell myself that I'll never know if I can do it unless I commit fully.

Let me know what you decide!

wanderinglight

I am on my second day of cutting my sugar/sweeteners right back. I am trying to cut out splenda, which I think caused me extra issues on top of already craving sugar a lot. I am still eating fruit, as I do not want to go too extreme, and I am sticking to 85% dark chocolate in small amounts, and avoiding milk chocolate altogether. My main issues were chocolate and ice cream. as I tend to eat pretty clean for my meals. I am not going totally without however, I am going to have a day a week where I allow myself a dessert somewhere out.

Stick with it, Graelwyn! Days 4 and 5 were really tough and then all of the sudden it got loads easier. It was easier for me to say no to sugar altogether because I think the taste of something sweet triggers the desire for me to have more...and more...and more. When the cravings are completely gone I'm really looking forward to adding in fruit and possibly dark chocolate!

wanderinglight

I just wanted to say thank you for all the support. I hope anyone else who is trying to lower their sugar intake is hanging in there! I'd love to see your diaries if you're willing to share

Today is Day 10 for me!!!! I can hardly believe it. Although it is not easy, it is getting better every day. I've been reading a lot about Paleo or Primal eating. I don't agree with it 100% but what I like about that style of eating is that it is not a "diet." You have to tailor the lifestyle to what makes sense to you. I may continue to eat whole grains. They fill me up, I feel great, and I don't believe that just because cavemen didn't eat them that they don't have benefits. I'm eating them now and I'm losing weight.

I don't want a life without EVER being able to have a chocolate chip cookie (warm, from the oven, mmmmm) nor do I want a life filled with "candy cigarettes" like "Paleo pancakes" or "chickpea brownies" or whatever. Trying to make versions of the things that I'm addicted into something that is "technically legal" is not what I want. Instead, I want to break free of the endless desire to eat cake, cookies, candy and pretzels but still allow myself to have the occasional treat. That's what I'm focused on for the rest of my 30 days. Otherwise I fear I'll just put in my 30 days and then "celebrate" with a pan of brownies for doing so well.

KBjimAZ

I detoxed from sugar when wife did, but didn't go as hard core as she did (I can't live without dairy). Since the detox period, some things have been re-introduced (fruit, etc) but we stay away from processed stuff. Now instead of pasta we eat spaghetti squash with ground turkey tomato sauce......and amazingly don't even miss the entire loaf of italian bread that formerly accompanied such a meal.
As far as baked goods, coconut flour, dates, and pure maple syrup make awesome subs in a banana bread recipe that actually tastes better than "the old way".
We are certainly not zero carb, but cutting out the processed crap has made a huge difference.

wanderinglight

DAY 12
I'm facing the weekend -- always the hardest part. This will be my first weekend out with friends who are coming in from out of town to visit me in NYC. Friends who love to brunch and drink and get sushi and drink and get coffee and drink. I haven't told them yet that I'm trying this. Oh how to stay strong?

Well I guess the best way is to have a plan of attack.

My plan had been to do the sugar detox for two weeks and then slowly add in minimal amounts of naturally occurring sugar (from dairy or fruit). I still haven't decided if I will do that or continue with the full sugar detox for all of the 30 days.

I'm glad that I'm at Day 12 as I think it will make it easier for me to have the willpower NOT to stray. I'm so close to my original goal of 2 weeks that I know I will at least see that part of it through.

Here is my weekend strategy for success:
FRIDAY -- do a fun workout tonight after work. Nothing too crazy but enough to tire me out before an early bedtime. Girlie pampering...deep conditioning treatment, face mask, & a good book in bed!
SATURDAY -- weigh myself and work out in the morning. Return some stuff to the store and bring healthy snacks.
SUNDAY -- brunch with friends. Research healthy options ahead of time and make the decision to order them. Sunday's are made for walking!