30 days of sugar free

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  • orbinick
    orbinick Posts: 5
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    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
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
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    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
    dyannajoy Posts: 466 Member
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    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
    momof3and3 Posts: 656 Member
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    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
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
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    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
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
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    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
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
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    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
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
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    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
    KBjimAZ Posts: 369 Member
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    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
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
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    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!
  • KBjimAZ
    KBjimAZ Posts: 369 Member
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    It's always good to plan ahead! Maybe it will help to share with your friends over brunch what you are doing, and how awesome you feel and the great results you are seeing??

    Remember: YOU'VE GOT THIS!
  • skinnylion
    skinnylion Posts: 213
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    .... there is nothing wrong with fruit or dairy. It's a great idea to give up processed sugar, but giving up EVERY sugar in EVERY food is too extreme. You will never be happy living like that! And the benefits, if there even are any, will be superficial at most.
  • kathyms13
    kathyms13 Posts: 497 Member
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    hiya, 18 months ago i was told by my doctor im diabetic, i went straight into the sugar free diet by the way my blood sugar was over 18, in 12 months of sugar free living but zero drinks and sweeteners eating the 2 or 3 fruits a day i had lost a massive 4 stones thats 56 pounds . i put some on then near a stone hence my joining mfp and have lost the stone and little bit more, sweeteners wont harm you tho fructose is like a poison after a while you wont miss the sweetness of sugar. good luck . oh and now my blood sugar is 4 .
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
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    .... there is nothing wrong with fruit or dairy. It's a great idea to give up processed sugar, but giving up EVERY sugar in EVERY food is too extreme. You will never be happy living like that! And the benefits, if there even are any, will be superficial at most.

    couldn't agree more! But there is no harm in trying it for a certain period of time to try and break a cycle of addiction to sweets. I'm looking forward to adding fruit and dairy back in!
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
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    Still going! Today is Day 17!

    I have noticed that for almost two weeks I did really well and then even though I haven't slipped up on eating sugar, those old habits started creeping back in. Since I'm not splurging on sugary stuff then I've been overeating on the food I am allowing. It's the tendency to binge that I'm trying to get under control even as I break the sugar addiction. There have been a few days that I've thought "oh well I can eat the whole bag of pecans since I'm allowed to have nuts," not even realizing that I'm not hungry.

    My goal for this week is to get back on track with the self control. I have been able to say no to the stuff that is SO tempting and that I love (sweets, cookies, dessert, pretzels, snack-y stuff) that I should be able to say no to the stuff that is not nearly as tempting.

    I am also very proud because my fiance flew out over the weekend to surprise me. I had been doing the sugar free thing quietly, not wanting to talk about it much (beyond the MFP page, of course, where I want to talk about it all the time!) and hoping to surprise him when he saw me. He really noticed that I had lost a little bit of weight and he was really supportive when I told him what I was doing. We still went out and had some wonderful meals, and I was able to keep sticking with it (although I did break down and have two glasses of wine).
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
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    DAY 21!

    I feel great! Out of the past three weeks there have been two or three days where I haven't eaten 100% clean (last weekend I had champagne and a few glasses of wine with my fiance, and today I had a piece of rye toast with my scrambled eggs) but for the most part I've stuck to a total detox from sugar, processed foods and flour.

    I'm going to keep going for at least another two weeks.

    The hardest part has been pre-planning snacks and lunches so that I'm not caught out in the middle of the day starving and unable to find healthy alternatives. I'm going to try and work on that a bit more this week as well as eating bigger breakfasts.

    I've been reading a lot about Paleo and Primal and although I don't see myself adhering to either of those, I do admire and want to copy the commitment to fulltime clean eating.

    Anyway, just thought I'd update and if anyone else there is trying to go sugar free...hope you are seeing positive results as well :drinker:
  • juliesstar
    juliesstar Posts: 1
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    Hi! Awesome posts from everyone. I'm on day 2 of going sugar and sweetener free (with the exception of fruit). I feel quite tired / headachy today. Does this pass after a few days?

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