I kicked the tobacco habit 16 months ago. Sugar is next.

Sugar=/=Nicotine

As long as you don't have insulin sensitivity or other metabolic issues and you have a daily caloric deficit, there is nothing wrong with sugar.

Congratulations on quitting smoking, it's a tough thing to do but it is a wonderful freedom to achieve.

It's not easy to quit sugar but is a whole lot easier than quitting smoking!

When I quit sugar I also quit coffee and dairy, I just found it easier to completely quit. I know that sounds tough but it isn't anywhere near as bad as it sounds. I did find I felt ill for the first few days, this was my withdrawal then after that it was so easy.

When I felt I needed something sweet I ate fruit, this made the transition really so much easier. As the body seemed very happy with the choice, seemed so satisfied and I wasn't feeling the withdrawal as I had anticipated.

Nicotine = addictive substance not needed by the body.

Sugar = non addictive substance required by the body.

You can't quit sugar, you can cut back, not necessary without a medical reason to do so.

Eating at a calorie deficit is all that is needed to lose weight.

The fact that I enjoyed smoking made it tough. I love sugar. This is almost mission impossible, My morning coffee was a Large triple triple. Yesterday I changed it to a double double. Baby steps. Chocolate raises your heart rate enough to burn off as much as you eat. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Yeah, sugar PLUS fat (like the combo in chocolate) make things like this super irresistible. But you can do it. I don't recommend baby steps though. Let MFP help you decide on a healthy calorie deficit and just do it.

So far I have cut my morning coffee from an extra large triple triple to a large double double and now its a medium regular. I have been drinking a lot more water than ever and so far that much is working. As for why I am cutting sugar, nothing I have read anywhere has anything good to say about it's effect on the human body. It seems to be the engine that drives the mechanism for inflammation. Inflammation seems to be at the root of most diseases and illnesses. They don't call refined sugar "the white death" for nothing.

Actually, sugar drives the mechanism that is your body. It's fine if you want to cut it down, but you could never cut it out completely. As far as 'white death'? I have never heard that one. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

There is so much information / mis-information out there, but if you can trust that anyone has the data to back it up I will defer to Harvard on his. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/eating-too-much-added-sugar-increases-the-risk-of-dying-with-heart-disease-201402067021

That is an opinion from a blog writer, not a doctor. And is certainly not Harvard's medical opinion on it, if there was such a thing.

Chocolate raises your heart rate enough to burn off as much as you eat.

Score!!! I never realized Chocolate was a neutral calorie food!

Well done on kicking your smoking addiction and I hope you can kick sugar as well if that is your goal!xx

It is reporting on an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association and was written by the following doctors.
Added Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality Among US Adults
Quanhe Yang, PhD1; Zefeng Zhang, MD, PhD1; Edward W. Gregg, PhD2; W. Dana Flanders, MD, ScD3; Robert Merritt, MA1; Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD4,5

Interestingly enough, their findings are a good example of correlation does not equal causation. Here is another example of that, using real numbers:

They don't call refined sugar "the white death" for nothing.

lol. "they" say a lot of silly things, don't they?