Help Me Get off the Sugar!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics · February 2013

I know there are people on here that have cut out virtually all sugar from their diet. I'm not one of them. I want to enjoy things like ice cream, pie and cake. And I drink beer. And I eat pizza 2-3 times a week. Hell, I had Wendy's today (a chicken sandwich but Wendy's nevertheless).

My point is, focus on what really matters: calories, and macro- and micronutrients. If you have calories left, you have gotten sufficient protein and fats, and you've consumed sufficient micronutrients, then enjoy your sweets so long as you do not go over on your calories. I find that this is a great motivator to do cardio. The more exercise, the more you are allowed to eat and stay within your goals.

You will see people on here and other places calling this "IIFYM" or "If It Fits Your Macros." There is a wonderful flexibility in this that frees you from the pain and agony of diets and the entire concept of "bad foods." Use it. Be happy.

I will be looking into the Macro thing as I have never heard of it b4. I was happy and felt great on wholefoods after the first few days. I just wanna get through the withdraws without all the pain and then I think I'll be okay and on my way.

Your macros are your fat, protein and carb ratios.

Sugar is part of carbs. What I do is to first make sure I hit protein. I have mine set at 97 grams per day because I'm trying to preserve muscle. I usually hit fat with no trouble thanks to protein. That's another 45 grams. Everything else can be carbs. By focusing first on those two it doesn't leave as much room for sugar.

But I don't have any trouble limiting myself. I just like sugar, I don't really feel out of control.

mtzrose2001 · February 2013

Seriously if you eat more cooked vegetables, in particular greens it will help detox you, taking away the cravings. Drink water primarily. Read food labels for hidden sugars, like dextrose, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, etc.

Thanks for the tip! I defiantly plan on eating tons of veggies and love my veggies

))))

vanessamcinnis · February 2013

I am way addicted to sugar. It's scares me to reflect on the amount of sugar that I actually consume. It is way too much! This is most likely the main reason I am overweight. I am 5'8" and 210 lbs. I was heavier last year. Then I managed to loose 30 lbs quite quickly with a diet of natual and whole foods. I quite all unnatural sugar and ate all whole foods. After I lost enough weight that I felt satisfied with my appearance, I began to slowly regain my bad eating habits back. I regained 20 of the pounds I lost. I made a plan to start eating healthy again and to cut out the sugar. However, I could not make it thorough even one day I felt soooo horrible and got a really bad headache. I think this is when I realized how much my body really is counting on it's daily dose of sugar. I really need some guidance and help this time around with cutting out my sugar. I'm sure that my blood sugar levels are are up and down all day. I get really insane cravings for sweat things all day long and they are really intense at times. I feel like I need large amounts of sugar for my body to feel okay. I would love to know how to get off of this crap b4 it kills me! I can feel that I am unhealthy. I am almost certain that this will turn into diabetes down the road. I am the only person I know that eats as much sugar as I do. I really just want to get a start on kicking this sugar additions butt. Is there a way to cut it out cold turkey without going through the headaches and such. I'm not good at sustaining a long term goals that includes me weening off sugar. I feel I need to just set a date and cut it all at once if I'm going to be successful at this thing. Is there something that I can take (besides over the counter pain relievers) to help the headaches. Is there anything that will help to level off my blood sugar levels? Has anyone been through this? I could really use and appreciate some advice. Please, add me as a friend if you are or have struggled with this kind of thing. I would love to make some friends here and support each others efforts!
Amanda

http://drrodgermurphree.com/yeast-overgrowth/ You may not have stomach issues but I do. I have to go on this diet I'm 100% I will be finding out this Thurssday. When you cut sugar out there will be symptoms. It's going to be tough

mtzrose2001 · February 2013

it will take 3 days to get to feeling better. day 3 was the worst for me.

I found this to be true as well the last time I tried. Just about 3 days to not crave it at all. Right now I can feel it in my body like a body buzz.

mtzrose2001 · February 2013

I started the paleo diet ten days ago so I know exactly how you feel. If it helps, my headaches were only on the 3rd and 4th days and they weren't debilitating; more like a dull pain. Of course, everyone is different, and your headaches might be worse than mine but keep telling yourself that it'll pass. I was addicted to white rice, I ate it with every meal, but I got through that because reading about the paleo diet motivated me to keep going and I'm so glad I did, because I can already feel the difference. Seven days after completely cutting off the sugar, I took a sip of my son's root beer, and it tasted sooo gross! I felt like I drank pancake syrup, so now, I don't miss it. Even when I'm around a lot of carbs and sweets, I'm okay eating lean and veggies. Good luck! You can do this!

Good to hear that you got the headaches too. I can leave the sugar behind. Iv'e done it b4. I'm really hoping to do it less painfully this time around! I just kept thinking okay this is not going to kill me. It was like three days of headaches and sweating and feeling sick! I really wish that I would have stayed off it. I'm not looking forward to going through it again. But this time for sure I won't go back to it!

SanteMulberry · February 2013

Carbohydrate, and especially sugar addictions are common. You stated it perfectly. You are out of control, you feel icky when you try to stop, you have health consequences (overweight).

Go to Overeaters Anonymous. Or look it up online. Sugar is absolutely an addictive substance. Been there. You can wean yourself off, or quit Cold Turkey. Eventually you will be able to control it. Have faith. You can do this.

Actually, researchers are pretty sure that it is the fructose portion of sugar that is addictive (sugar, that is sucrose, is 50% fructose). Fructose seems to cause an "anti-satiety" response in test subjects. I don't generally eat any added sugar at all, but on my heavy exercise days, I sometimes have a craving for chocolate (could be the magnesium that I crave in it). I make my own with pure glucose (the industry name for glucose is "dextrose") and unsweetened baker's chocolate. While I wouldn't recommend eating a lot of glucose (because of the obvious problem of jacking up your blood glucose levels if you eat a lot of it), it can help you get past the sucrose withdrawal. The headaches, by the way, are likely from what naturopaths call "the die-off reaction". Certain organisms (like the fungus Candida Albicans) proliferate in the gut when a person eats a lot of sugar. When the sugar is suddenly withdrawn, those fungus and other assorted nasties that thrive on a diet of sugar, start to die off and put out a lot of toxins as they die. Those toxins are absorbed into the bloodstream and they are very inflammatory--thus the headaches. Drink lots of water (helps the body to eliminate toxins) and the headaches will likely go away after a few days of staying strictly away from sugar. Good luck. I have been off of added sugar for almost three years and have benefited a lot from staying away from it.

SanteMulberry · February 2013

I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant and have diabetes on both sides of my family. I do better with a lower carb diet. That being said I indulge in dark chocolate and sweets here and there. I've done Atkins (too severe) and South Beach (too salty) and Paleo.. too restrictive... Once you cut your sugars down you crave them less & less. I'd much rather have 200 calories of steak than 200 calories of cake... = )

I do find also that cutting sugars down helps you to stop craving them less. The problem for me personally is that any sugar in my diet eventually leads me to craving more and more over time.

It works that way for a LOT of people--you are certainly not alone. It is similar to an addiction to alcohol in its effects. Fructose (sugar, that is sucrose, is 50% fructose) is metabolized in a way that is very similar to alcohol in the liver. Most natural sugars come encased in fiber, protein and fat and our bodies know what to do with them. Concentrated fructose is another matter. Some people simply have a very addictive response to eating fructose and must limit it to a serving or two of fruit per day. A small to medium orange has about 2 grams of fructose. A 12-oz. can of "orange" soda has about 26 grams of fructose in 44 grams of high fructose corn syrup. :noway:

gloglorinn · February 2013

Me too! I'm bloody addicted to sugar. :noway: BUT I realize that eating oranges (but not juice, of course) make me feel better.

I prefer them because later I get thirsty so I drink a lot of water too!! :drinker:

stefanopsimaris · February 2013

Sugar does not lead to diabetes. all studies surgesting this are done on sedetary individuals. Although exess sugar can lead to diebets due to inproper insulen responce over time the level of sugar one must eat if they have a low BF% and exercise would be massive like 40% of your dailey intake of sugar.

This is somewhat confusing because you said that sugar does not lead to diabetes but then said that it does (indirectly).

i meant to say 40% of your caloric intake in sugar. I guess if you add sugar to the extreme you do it could increase ones chance however it is verry rare that you would get diabetes from sugar if you exercise have relatively low BF% and your family does not have a history of diabetes.

366to266 · February 2013

Track your Macro's. And if it fits your Macros Eat dat sugar brahette

I think sugar and refined sugars are making up at least half of my daily calories:(
All I drink in sweetened drinks. Mostly coffee with tones of sugar. That's all day every day. I don't drink any water. Just for example today I ate a Hershey pie for breakfast along with a brat and a giant cup of coffee with about a 1/4 cup sugar in it and cinnamon slavered syrup. Then for lunch I had about 2 cups of pasts with about 1/2 cup of shrimp. Then I went on to drink a couple cups of Lipton iced tee. Then I had a chocolate moose (the one from Applebees.) I also had 2 of the real little bags of Cheetos. Oh and I had one package of oatmeal with about about 3 teaspoons of sugar on it. I'll probably have a bowl of chocolate/ peanut butter cereal before bed. Soooo, Yeah.... It's bad and I don't think I should just keep eating it Kind of wish it were that simple! I have an insane amount of willpower and determination. I feel like this is one thing that I am definitely going to need some help with and some tools.

Yep - that was me 10 years ago.
You have to go cold turkey. Honestly, it's the only way.
I tried moderation, substitution, reduction.
All that worked was cold turkey.

Lupercalia · February 2013

Track your Macro's. And if it fits your Macros Eat dat sugar brahette

I think sugar and refined sugars are making up at least half of my daily calories:(
All I drink in sweetened drinks. Mostly coffee with tones of sugar. That's all day every day. I don't drink any water. Just for example today I ate a Hershey pie for breakfast along with a brat and a giant cup of coffee with about a 1/4 cup sugar in it and cinnamon slavered syrup. Then for lunch I had about 2 cups of pasts with about 1/2 cup of shrimp. Then I went on to drink a couple cups of Lipton iced tee. Then I had a chocolate moose (the one from Applebees.) I also had 2 of the real little bags of Cheetos. Oh and I had one package of oatmeal with about about 3 teaspoons of sugar on it. I'll probably have a bowl of chocolate/ peanut butter cereal before bed. Soooo, Yeah.... It's bad and I don't think I should just keep eating it Kind of wish it were that simple! I have an insane amount of willpower and determination. I feel like this is one thing that I am definitely going to need some help with and some tools.

Yep - that was me 10 years ago.
You have to go cold turkey. Honestly, it's the only way.
I tried moderation, substitution, reduction.
All that worked was cold turkey.

I was a sugar monster, too. I also found completely cutting myself off was the only way I could do it. I stopped back in July 2012. Changed my diet to one based entirely around whole foods. I started cooking EVERYTHING from scratch, and I mean everything. I make my own condiments these days.

I've had to carefully watch my fruit intake as well, as I found I can get a bit crazy with that if I let myself have as much fruit as I want. I try to keep mostly to berries these days, but have the occasional apple or orange, sometimes a bit of grapes.

At the same time as I got off the sugar, I realised I would also need to cut out a lot of the grains and starchy carbs I was eating, in order to better control my blood sugar, so I wouldn't have to deal with cravings and awful hunger pangs. That worked a treat, let me tell you. I felt pretty crap for a couple of days during the first week, but quickly got over that and felt great. Tons of energy!

So yeah, I eat a paleo/primal whole foods, low carb diet these days and I have never felt better in my life! I never have cravings or fight with hunger pangs. Never! I eat lots of veggies, meat, eggs, fish, and healthy fats...a little fruit here and there, and the occasional sweet potato.

ikinga · February 2013

Hi, I had (and still have) a similar problem to yours. First step is to be aware of it and to admit it, so you are one step closer to solve this. I was 138lbs when I have decided to change something as I was getting fat, I had 32% body fat... At that time I wasn't doing sports and I was eating a lot of sweets. I have managed to loose 18lbs. When I have stopped training, my bad eating habbits were slowly getting back and I gained again 10lbs when I have decided to not let my self gain more weight. Then I've started working on a plan to keep me on track on the long run.
So, here is what I have learnt. Don't change your diet sundenly, don't cut sugar in a way like: "from tomorrow I won't touch any sugar". It affects you psychologicaly in a negative way and your body will miss a lot the sugar. If you resist to the carvings, when you'll give up you'll eat up everything you would find in your house. So here are some trick, some small steps you can take to improve your healty habbits.
1. For the beginning, replace white sugar with brown sugar. For example, if you usually get your tea with 2 tablespoons of sugar, reduce that to 1 and half the first week, then try to slowly decrease quantity to 1TBS and so one. This is how I got used to drink tea without sugar and I enjoy it. If it doesn't work (you can't give up to the 1TBS sugar), replace that with honey or even better with stevia (natural sweet herb with no calories). The idea is to reduce sugar slowly, not to eliminate it.
2. Your diet starts in the supermarket when you choose your food. Don't go when you are hungry. Make a list at home with what you need and stick to it. Don't buy sweets. You know many times I feel I need something sweet but I don't have any at home... so it is easier to resist.
3. Treat yourself now and then with something sweet. Instead of cookies with 200 incredients, chemicals, satured fats etc, but something sweet that is not so bad for your health. You can have that after a nice 2h workout. Not every day, but 2-3 times a week you can have that, IF you give up to all other sweets, of course. Here is what I eat: icecream! One cup of icecream (not filled to the top tough, but more than half cup): 80g. It has around 150kcal. Not bad, huh? If you keep quantity lower (60g) even better. It has also some proteins. On top of it you can use delicious berries and 1TBS of ahorn syrup (tastes like caramel). So you have a super delicious sweet treat with less than 200kcal. If you worked out and burned, let's say 600kcal, and keep the rest of your diet clean and kcal near the goal, you will still have a deficit of 400kcal for that day, even if you cheated with a nice sweet. Plus, you will feel satisfied of your day, happy and the next day it would be easier to stay away from cookies (you can tell yourself that "tomorrow" you can have again some delicious icecream, if you work out).

In time, your sugar carvings would get easier to deal with. Another secret is to eat small quantites. If you can't resist to something (in my case, colleagues bring sweets to work, homemade cakes etc), instead of saying no than think about it everyday, just eat a small bite.

Keep track of everything you eat so you can keep under control the small bites.

By the way I am starting my diet today... I need to loose 10lbs, but this time is different, my body fat is at 20%.

appelsiinipuu · February 2013

Go read Sarah Wilson's blog. She has written an ebook and a cookbook 'I quit sugar':
http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/

ikinga · February 2013

Sorry for the long post, I forgot. In order to "burn" that cup of icecream, you would need to:
walk for 45 minutes
swim (at a good peace) for 20minutes
HIIT for 20 minutes
bike for 30minutes

Think about that when you walk, so if you plan to have your ICEcream but still loose weight, you'll have to walk at least 1h, or just make sure you slowly raise training intesity every time you go to gym, so that you can burn more!

travel_kat · February 2013

I read this book : http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/i-quit-sugar-ebook/ on how to do it.

Its full good of really good tips and advice. Not saying I don't get cravings every now and again, I do, but I can walk away from them. Which for someone who 'HAD' to have chocolate/sweets every day is a bit of a miracle. Its been over 2 months now, and for the first month it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but by blood/emotions/weight have stabilised so much its incredible.

Help Me Get off the Sugar!

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