I am having a hard time giving up sugar in my tea!

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greatestchelseaever
greatestchelseaever Posts: 7
in Food and Nutrition
I love herbal teas with sugar, but I'd also love some muscle! I am working towards a 6 pack abs. I am very tiny and have been, but my abs just aren't pushing through! I had a baby 7 months ago, and I have a cup of coffee or tea with 2 or 3 tsp in the morning. And then one around bed time. Sometimes a I will with my,lunch too. So that is about 6-8 tsp of sugar daily! :/

On here, it says I am allowed 35g of sugar. How bad is this tea addiction for my goal? I work as a Barista so it's even harder!

I've been working out, breastfeeding, eating lots of protein, and water!
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Replies

  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
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    Cut down a half teaspoon at a time with every cup.

    I used to drink my tea (black tea) with three sugars and a healthy 'splash' of milk. Now I take it with one teaspoon of sugar and a smaller splash of milk. It just takes a while to get accustomed to the taste. =)
  • buffty
    buffty Posts: 83
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    Google Stevia, there's your answer :)
  • djc315
    djc315 Posts: 585 Member
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    I highly doubt 6-8 tsp of sugar a day is going to stop or slow down your weight loss or muscle gain. You don't have to give anything up, just switch things around and skip out on sugar in other places you can.

    Enjoy your tea with sugar.
  • lachesissss
    lachesissss Posts: 1,298 Member
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    If you really think it's hindering your goals, you can wean yourself off - or switch to sugar free sweeteners. But if you're targeting your macros appropriately, the sugar you consume should fall nicely within your carbs, and you may not need to cut it out entirely. Maybe try doing mixtures of sugar and other types of sweeteners? Good Luck!
  • greatestchelseaever
    greatestchelseaever Posts: 7
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    Cut down a half teaspoon at a time with every cup.

    I used to drink my tea (black tea) with three sugars and a healthy 'splash' of milk. Now I take it with one teaspoon of sugar and a smaller splash of milk. It just takes a while to get accustomed to the taste. =)


    It's not the same! But I suppose you are right. I am in the process of giving up my Hazelnut and Peppermint Mocha Coffeemate as well. Those are my indulgences! So difficult. It could be ice cream or something way worse though!
  • hidensee
    hidensee Posts: 21 Member
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    Have you tried some other herbal teas? Some of them are very sweet like Tazo wild sweet orange or honeybush. Experiment with some different flavors and brands. I'm sure you can find one that doesn't need so much sugar
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
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    As long as it fits into your calories and meets the macros you want/need, then it's not all bad!

    Honestly, just trying tea the way I used to drink it (my mother-in-law still hasn't got the memo and makes it this way every time) leaves a really bad taste in my mouth and is actually kind of sickly!
  • peacemongernc
    peacemongernc Posts: 253 Member
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    Have you experimented with different kinds of tea to see if some are good with less sugar?

    I am a serious, SERIOUS tea addict. Mostly just black, orange pekoe, unsweetened. I used to drink sweet tea (southern belle here) and it took 9 months of cold turkey to get past that addiction.

    But sense then I've found that if I mix herbal teas with my black tea, or use some floral herbal teas with other herbal teas, I like them more and it almost replaces the sugar for me.

    My daughter, who is still a sweet tea drinker, likes me black tea when it has the floral herbal teas in it.

    I like a little Earl Gray in my black tea. But my FAVORITE is a little of a tea called "Arabian Night" from TeaGschwendner, mixed into a big pitcher of iced black tea.

    I didn't think I would like floral teas, but they are pretty awesome! Might be worth a try!
  • ShandaLeaS
    ShandaLeaS Posts: 136 Member
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    I was an avid sweet tea drinker...we're talking 2 gallons a day with 1 cup of sugar per gallon and it was that way for 15 years. When I decided to change my lifestyle I cut it out completely. I have been 1 month completely tea free and while its been HARD it is slowly getting easier.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    i use good raw natural honey. sweet and loads of health benefits!
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
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    I highly doubt 6-8 tsp of sugar a day is going to stop or slow down your weight loss or muscle gain. You don't have to give anything up, just switch things around and skip out on sugar in other places you can.

    Enjoy your tea with sugar.

    I agree. :drinker:
  • PrincessLaundry
    PrincessLaundry Posts: 2,758 Member
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    May I ask? How much sugar is "too much" here? I use a tiny sugar serving spoon in my warm green tea. I switched from drinking a gallon of creamer with coffee in it. lol
  • Dunkirk
    Dunkirk Posts: 465 Member
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    I gave it up by nibbling on a couple of dates while I drank my sugarless tea. Got the sweet taste accompanied by fibre from the dates, while getting used to the sugar free tea.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    Cut down a half teaspoon at a time with every cup.

    I used to drink my tea (black tea) with three sugars and a healthy 'splash' of milk. Now I take it with one teaspoon of sugar and a smaller splash of milk. It just takes a while to get accustomed to the taste. =)


    It's not the same! But I suppose you are right. I am in the process of giving up my Hazelnut and Peppermint Mocha Coffeemate as well. Those are my indulgences! So difficult. It could be ice cream or something way worse though!


    You don't need to give up anything, just use in moderation. If you don't allow yourself a few indulgences this is not going to work for you in the long run. My creamer is one thing I refuse to give up, I just fit it in.
  • amyk0202
    amyk0202 Posts: 667 Member
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    I love sweet tea. I used to drink at least half a gallon a day made with actual sugar. Now I make my hot tea with granulated sucralose which is very sweet. I have a bottle of liquid "Sucralose To Go" that I keep in my purse so I can get unsweet tea & add the sweet to it without all the calories. I hate herbal & fruit teas. I know that cutting out something I really love is not realistic for me. I will not maintain my good choices if I am denying myself all the things I like. I know many people don't like artificial sweeteners, but I will take the risk to keep drinking sweet tea.
  • greatestchelseaever
    greatestchelseaever Posts: 7
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    May I ask? How much sugar is "too much" here? I use a tiny sugar serving spoon in my warm green tea. I switched from drinking a gallon of creamer with coffee in it. lol

    It will tell you your limit on your profile in your food diary I think!
  • greatestchelseaever
    greatestchelseaever Posts: 7
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    i use good raw natural honey. sweet and loads of health benefits!

    I have tried subbing half the sugar for a tsp of honey. So delicious, but I was not sure if it was any better than cane sugar!
  • mahanaibu
    mahanaibu Posts: 505 Member
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    My Russian grandmother got me started on tea so I learned to drink it the Russian way---with a sugar cube between my teeth, drinking the tea through the cube. talk about sweet! That wasn't someting I wanted to stay with.

    It's not that this amount of sugar will be so terrible for you...but that doesn't make it good, either. It's more than calories. Sugar is inflammatory and it causes blood-sugar spikes. It's good habit to cut down if you can, not the biggest deal if this is the treat that helps you get through the day.

    You might want to try Good Earth's original sweet and spicy tea. It is really sweet, hard to believe it doesn't have sugar in it. I also really like Republic of Tea's Coconut Cocoa tea, which tastes kind of like an Almond Joy (though not that sweet).

    I like Truvia as a sweetener more than Stevia. I'm not sure why; I think they're pretty much the same thing.
  • greatestchelseaever
    greatestchelseaever Posts: 7
    Options
    Have you experimented with different kinds of tea to see if some are good with less sugar?

    I am a serious, SERIOUS tea addict. Mostly just black, orange pekoe, unsweetened. I used to drink sweet tea (southern belle here) and it took 9 months of cold turkey to get past that addiction.

    But sense then I've found that if I mix herbal teas with my black tea, or use some floral herbal teas with other herbal teas, I like them more and it almost replaces the sugar for me.

    My daughter, who is still a sweet tea drinker, likes me black tea when it has the floral herbal teas in it.

    I like a little Earl Gray in my black tea. But my FAVORITE is a little of a tea called "Arabian Night" from TeaGschwendner, mixed into a big pitcher of iced black tea.

    I didn't think I would like floral teas, but they are pretty awesome! Might be worth a try!

    Thank you for the advice and yes I have a bit, I love Tazo Awake and Bigelow Chinese Oolong, but it just doesn't taste good without sugar. I have tried "Hot Cinnamon Spice" by Harney and Sons and it is sweet on it's own. I added honey and it was too sweet! I am not a fan of cinnamon though. There is another by the same brand 'Coconut Vanilla Green Tea" It's too die for and taste good with a tsp of sugar.
    Arabian Night eh? Sounds very interesting and exotic. Mint leaves help me a bit! But that is bad for breastfeeding.
  • greatestchelseaever
    greatestchelseaever Posts: 7
    Options
    My Russian grandmother got me started on tea so I learned to drink it the Russian way---with a sugar cube between my teeth, drinking the tea through the cube. talk about sweet! That wasn't someting I wanted to stay with.

    It's not that this amount of sugar will be so terrible for you...but that doesn't make it good, either. It's more than calories. Sugar is inflammatory and it causes blood-sugar spikes. It's good habit to cut down if you can, not the biggest deal if this is the treat that helps you get through the day.

    You might want to try Good Earth's original sweet and spicy tea. It is really sweet, hard to believe it doesn't have sugar in it. I also really like Republic of Tea's Coconut Cocoa tea, which tastes kind of like an Almond Joy (though not that sweet).

    I like Truvia as a sweetener more than Stevia. I'm not sure why; I think they're pretty much the same thing.

    I love hearing about foreign traditions. Thanks for sharing. Those are some good recommendations. I will check them out!

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