I want to cut sugar, help needed

happystars13

Hello, I really want to cut all sugar from my heathly eating, I've read that is how Josie Gibson lost allot of her weight along with hard work!!, I want to cut sugar but on such a tight budget with my family, any suggestions on what foods, meals to eat, and any ideas on foods where sugar is present but you wouldn't realise it??? They say to look at labels but it baffels me....much appreciate any help given, also add me if you like!!

jlewisjr72

I would love to hear anything as well on this topic. Sweets are my weakness. While I have been able to curb them throughout the week, I know if I were to find a substitute; body fat would melt off! So tough though when kids are in the house!

salhold80

I'm also very keep on any receipes people may have that are not high in sugar. I've recently changed my diary to show sugar and am so surprised at how much I have a day - even just from a yogurt and fruit! Josie Gibson is my thinspiration too...

tekwriter

I have not been able to cut sugars completely, and I am a diabetic. I have however greatly reduced refined sweets. I don't eat them everyday, and if I do eat them, I make sure to reduce the amount of rice/potatoe/noodle that goes with my meal whether at lunch or dinner. One thing I found that was helpful for me was slim a bear. If I get one of these it feels like a real dessert and I don't feel deprived. I think that is a key. Not feeling as if you are missing so much. If you start cutting back it gets to a point where some things are just too sweet anymore. Lastly I normally make my own so I can control the sugar and replace some of it with splenda. I generally prefer things like a fruit cobbler, being very heavy on the fruit.

psuLemon

There is no reason to cut sugar out unless you are diabetic. It wont improve weight loss. You lose weight by cutting calories. There is no reason to eliminate fruits because they are great for micronutrients. Just set a moderate deficit and try to get high protein and plenty of fats.

lilpoindexter

I've made drastic differences in my diet since i decided I wanted to be healthier, but i continue to drink 3/4/5/6 cups of coffee with sugar daily. i really like coffee...it tastes good. I tried coffee black, but that seems like punishment rather than enjoyment. I think my fat loss would be quicker if I gave it up, but that wouldn't be a long term sustainable change for me...so I continue to work it into my diet, and it seems that it works.

MerlinWilliams

Ridding my diet of wheat totally killed my sweet cravings.

mklassy123

You can't cut all sugar from your diet. Dairy products have lactose, which is a natural sugar. Many fruits and vegetables (many of what we think are vegetables are really fruits) have natural sugar. Added sugar is what we need to limit, but it's everywhere. Salad dressings, cereals, EVERYWHERE. The ADA gives guidelines on how much ADDED sugar we have in our diets. The key here is ADDED. MFP counts all sugar grams. I subtract the natural sugar grams from my total and then see what I have left. This way I can have a treat (if I want to) but my treat will depend on how much added sugar grams I have left for the day.

I HATE artificial sweeteners, I add 1/2 teaspoon to one large mug of coffee (2 grams added sugar, plus 1 gram from one tablespoon half and half). A big treat for me is non fat plain greek yogurt (7 grams natural sugar from lactose) with one very carefully measured out level teaspoon of REAL CANADIAN MAPLE SYRUP (so yummy but 4 grams of sugar. Even though it's natural it's still added).

NanzyBoek

Check out 8wk Challenge on youtube, they teach you how to cut it out.
Tosca Reno chats about the "white Death" as well on youtube.

RachelSRoach1

I am sure that for most people when refined sugar is cut from the diet there is a lot more focus put into eating something better. So not necessarily anti-sugar but more pro-health? I would suggest not cutting ALL sugar, simply because fruit contains a lot of natural sugars (fructose) and other wonderful things that our diet needs. Refined sugar, however, is challenging because there are so many different forms. For example, not eating a Hershey chocolate bar because of sugar is fine, but what about high fructose corn syrup, which is in so very many processed foods? Not to mention, all carbohydrates turn into sugar (maltose I believe it's called) during digestion so perhaps it would be good to cut back on bread too? Not all... just the highly processed stuff of course.

I guess that is a long way of saying that you might be able to have more success by aiming for something, not aiming against something if that makes sense. Try reading the book In Defense of Food.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

DonaA123

bump

Cait_Sidhe

There is no reason to cut sugar out unless you are diabetic. It wont improve weight loss. You lose weight by cutting calories. There is no reason to eliminate fruits because they are great for micronutrients. Just set a moderate deficit and try to get high protein and plenty of fats.

This times a million. No one macro or micronutrient will make you fat. Certainly not sugar. Only going over calories will. I'm personally trying to avoid sugary treats but only because it's a trigger for me. Once I get this under control you can bet I'll be eating ice cream, cookies, cake etc in moderation. As long as it fits in your macro and calorie limit, there is no reason to deprive yourself.

lveh8lve

I have cut out a ridiculous amount of sugar out of my diet. And contrary to some people's beliefs sugar 100% hinders my weight loss. If I even have a cookie, I can screw myself up. My body does not metabolize sugar very well at all. I have played around for years and I have been able to figure out what my trigger is.

I normally keep my sugars around 60 a day. And thats extremely difficult. I consume mostly real sugars. I eat little to no processed foods (since you can't find anything quick and easy that is low in sugar and not loaded with other garbage). I really don't think that it's realistic to be at 0 sugar in a day. Remember these changes are meant to be for life, so if I find 60 hard for a day, then I dont think 0 is realistic.

I cook my lunches & dinners, I started using a meal planning service that basically tells you what to eat from fresh organic whole foods. (PM me if you want the name, Im not going to advertise).

bearwith

You have to go cold turkey. This may mean avoiding foods and drink that you associate sugar with in meals.

Your body fools you into needing it because it is so refined it gets an instant kick from it.

It only took me two days and I have not looked back.

cwolfman13

OP...the real thing you want to watch is your intake of refined sugar, particularly in copious amounts. Sugar is not inherently evil...it's the copious amounts of refined sugar in average American's diet that is causing a lot of problems...i.e. obesity/diabetes, etc. Sugar itself doesn't make you fat, but food containing a lot of sugar tends to be high in calories (many of them empty) which is why when people cut down on their sugar...and thus their carb intake, they lose weight...it's not the sugar, it's that they're eating less calories in general when they cut it out.

Like I said...just watch the refined sugars...white breads....white rice...other highly refined grains (these pretty much have been refined to the point that they don't have much nutritional value...mostly sugar). Replace those refined grains with whole grains (not whole wheat, whole grain)....brown and wild rices, whole wheat pasta, etc. Get your fruit and veg...more veg than fruit, but a couple servings of fruit per day is a good thing. Fruits and veg get most of their calories from sugar, but they are nutrient dense and their sugars are "wrapped" up in lots of fiber which changes the way your body metabolizes the sugar (slower..and that's a good thing).

hemlock2010

What to do about sweets with kids in the house:

Introduce new breakfast options instead of sugar-sweetened cereal (waffles, bagels, grilled cheese sandwiches). I know those take more work, but the payoff will benefit all of you. Experiment with alternatives to syrup on waffles (applesauce, jam, peanut butter), but pay attention to how much you're using!!

Grilled cheese sandwiches have a bad reputation, but if you use something like Brummel and Brown spread instead of margarine or butter (and spread it thinly), it doesn't have to be a fat-fest. Also, use real cheese (e.g. kraft or store brand mild cheddar) NOT processed cheese squares)

Get rid of the bags of cookies in the cupboard. Just go cold turkey. The kids will complain at first, but they will get used to it. Switch to pretzels with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter for dipping or tortilla chips with a dip made of 2T sour cream and 1-2 T of salsa.

Switch to Skinny Cow ice cream treats instead of bowls of ice cream.

Keep PLAIN dark or milk chocolate in the house for emergencies. My experience as a chocoholic and recovering sweet addict is that I have to know chocolate is in the house--otherwise I go crazy. But if I know it's there, I don't have to eat it. And if there is only one kind of chocolate, I eat it only as needed, not recreationally.

To be honest, the most important change I made with my kids (besides breakfast and snacks as listed above) was to 1) stop buying cookies, and 2) only buy one kind of chocolate. When we had a variety of candy choices, we all ate more and ate just because it tasted good. Now that we only have plain milk chocolate Hershey nuggets, we eat what we need to satisfy chocolate cravings. Some days that's none at all. We have it in the house, so nobody feels deprived.

Stop buying sugar sweetened beverages. I use Jitterbeans for my caffiene fix because I was getting a lot of sugar in coffee. I still drink one sugar-sweetened coffee a day as a mood enhancer, but I save a lot of sugar not drinking the other 2 (or 3!).

lynnmariestan1

My body definitely does not process sugar well. If I have one cookie, it's like the flood gates opened, and they cant be closed until I have eaten enough cookies to feel sick. Sugar and breads definitely are two things that trigger massive eating binges for me. Check out this website yourlighterside.com. SHe has tons of low carb and low sugar recipes. If you do a google search for sugar free low carb blogs, you will find a lot of great ones, with really good, heatlhy recipes, so that you can still enjoy sweets.

I think that when people say that sugar wont make you fat, excess calories will make you fat, they must not metabolize sugar like we do. Some people really can have a sweet a day, so they dont feel deprived. Other people react to sugar like it's heroin. If I'm at a party and there's a cake on the table , I am sitting in a trace with my mouth hanging open, mesmerized by it. It isnt pretty.

mactaffy84

I've made drastic differences in my diet since i decided I wanted to be healthier, but i continue to drink 3/4/5/6 cups of coffee with sugar daily. i really like coffee...it tastes good. I tried coffee black, but that seems like punishment rather than enjoyment. I think my fat loss would be quicker if I gave it up, but that wouldn't be a long term sustainable change for me...so I continue to work it into my diet, and it seems that it works.

Doesn't sound like the coffee tastes good. Sounds like the sugar in your coffee tastes good.

lmataloni

I agree with everything mklassy123 said - but you have to find what works for you. I think over time my sensitivity to sweetness has gone up so that I do not like foods with added suger. I could not stomach a bottled salad dressing or many chinese dishes at this point. I just cook from scratch and take a little real sugar in the form of cane (raw) sugar, maple syrup or honey as needed - which is less and less. Good luck!

ALH1981

There is no reason to cut sugar out unless you are diabetic. It wont improve weight loss. You lose weight by cutting calories. There is no reason to eliminate fruits because they are great for micronutrients. Just set a moderate deficit and try to get high protein and plenty of fats.

I actually disagree with this. I know its not a 'scientific' fact, but for me, sugar hinders my weight. Anything else i can work around but sugar alters my mood as well as my phsyique.... I actually think there is some truth in the fact it assists weight loss.

CKJ118

Ridding my diet of wheat totally killed my sweet cravings.

I find the same to be true for me...when I start the day with wheat or processed foods the day is a lot harder to get through. I try to avoid processed foods with wheat most of the time. I still eat sweets, but I do the Fiber1 bars alot because they are just sweet enough but leave you satisfied. Also buying things that kids like that you do not is a way to get around the cravings. I rarely will look at Spiderman Gummies and be like "I have to have that".