Less Sugar without using Artifical

momto2girls

Hey all, I am fairly new here but I struggle with being over on my sugar intake. I don't want to use any artificial sugar including things like splenda, stevia and the like. Any ideas???

Thanks,
Jen

jamie1888

Can you post an example of your daily food log so we can see where your sugar is coming from?

weaklink109

First of all, you need to understand the difference between natural and artificial sugar substitutes. Splenda, thought it comes from sugar, IS NOT a natural sweetener, and it is just as well avoided. For some people, artificial sweeteners increase their cravings for real sugar and carbs, as though the body is trying to "make up" for not getting the real thing.

Stevia, on the other hand is made from a PLANT, it is NOT artificially processed, and perfectly fine to use in place of sugar. Another product "Agave" is a liquid that is naturally very sweet. It is also from a plant.

Since I use fruit in place of processed desserts most of the time--sometimes with yogurt, I don't have sugar cravings. I discovered the "Splenda connection" to cravings for myself last winter. I got into the habit of having some artificially sweetened Swiss Miss hot chocolate in mid-afternoon as our office tended to be cold. Within a few days, I noticed I was fighting impulses to "graze" that I hadn't had in months. I got to thinking about other posters who talked about their own similar experiences, and also realized that since I stopped drinking coffee regularly, therefore not having Splenda in it, my cravings had all but disappeared, until I started the hot chocolate habit.

As soon as I stopped, things went back to normal (since MFP) for me--no cravings.

momto2girls

Thank you both for the feedback. Jamie, yes I can post this evening if I can figure out how to do it. WeakLink I thank you for the info on Stevia. I have never used artificial sweetners for the reasons you mentioned in addition to the harmful effects of the chemicals in my body, I know they work for some people, not a judgement. I really appreciate the rapid replies and I wil post a typical food day ASAP.

Thanks again,
Jen
Edited for typos (hiope I got them all)

LaTerri

I eat more fruit to satisfy my sugar needs... You should pick fruits low in sugars too like grapefruit, plums, cantelope, blue, black, raspberries... I agree with putting in season fruit in yogurt for a tasty dessert...

Getting cofee and other drinks you need to sweeten out of your diet might be something to think about too...

momto2girls

Hey guys, I can't figure out how to paste my food journals in here but I did notice that my fruit and yogyurt consumption is where my sugar is being tallied. I switched to Activia with fiber versus yoplait and saved myself about 10g right there. MFP wants me to consume about 26g of sugar and I have been almost doubling it. My calories, fat and carbs are under and my protein is high too. Anyway, thanks for the feedback, anything else you can think of would be great.

Thanks,
Jen