Favorite foods with no sugar?

Processed sugar is bad for you, but you don't have to cut it down, just cut down. Calorie restriction is what causes weight loss, not just cutting one thing out of your diet.

That's why all these "Eat only spinach" diets work. Honestly, how much spinach can you eat in a day? :laugh: The problem with all of these is that they're not sustainable and you'll burn out so fast trying to be perfect and avoid certain foods. It's not that they don't work but rather that they aren't necessary and not something you can live with for very long.

Agree - the keto diet is good if you eat more sugar than you wish to. It's all personal choice. You won't see me demonizing this way of eating or whatever one you do. I liked the keto/low carb high fat (LCHF) diets - kicked my sugar cravings. Was a bonafide addict. Slowly reintroduced things like fruit, etc. Still stay away from the refined stuff most of the time.

What do I LOVE? Roasted veggies. Roasted broccoli with garlic. Roasted brussels sprouts with salt and pepper AND the Eating Well Balsamic and Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower are a few of my favorites.

If you don't mind eating lots of eggs, meat, cheese (be careful - lactose is a sugar too) it's a fine way to eat for some. If you like to have plenty of variety - stick with If It Fits Your Macros. In other words, calorie count. What I liked about the LCHF is that I didn't necessarily need to count. Protein was so filling for me, I defaulted to eating less than I did eating crap that fit in my macros. I could easily eat 1200 calories of Twix bars and still feel hungry. Not a good idea, but knowing that I was going to stick to protein and veg was a good motivator for me. Still works out to be calorie restriction except I never feel hungry and I'm less likely to snack on the junk food. Oh, and bacon. Beautiful bacon.

I have a friend who lost a lot of his weight by cutting down his sugar to just 20g a day.

This is nothing more than calorie restriction. It's difficult to eat a lot of calories if you exclude nearly all sugars. Just stick to your calorie goal and try to hit your macro (Carbs, Protein, Fat) numbers. There's nothing magical about excluding sugars. You could eat nothing but ice cream and still lose weight if you didn't go over your calorie goal. That's all that really matters.

This. Exactly. People try all sorts of restrictive diets that reduce or eliminate certain foods/food groups. The only reason they have success is because they're reducing their calories. If you like sugar so much, it may be simpler and more sustainable for you to work on limiting overall calories while still allowing yourself the sugary foods that you love.

It's easy to see somebody have success with a certain diet and want to emulate their results, but it's important to understand the science behind WHY it's working for them before deciding whether or not you truly want to follow suit. If you choose to give up sugar, that's totally up to you - - your life, your body - - I just wanted to give some input. I gave up added sugar and "unhealthy" foods for over a year and I was miserable without my Reese's Cups. The worst part is, I was gaining weight while being miserable without my Reese's Cups. I was"eating clean" or something like that with all whole grains, chicken, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts. . . but whenever I had a craving for one of my restricted foods, I would stuff my face with other things to try and satisfy the craving away. I ended up eating more calories than I had been when I was eating whatever foods I wanted.

I did a ton of research after finding MFP and I've learned that no single food or type of food will make you fat or cause weight gain. Your weight is solely dependent on how many calories you consume. Any food can be fit into a healthy diet, including added sugars. It's about giving your body the carbs, proteins and fats that it needs in a healthy ratio.

Can you go the rest of your life without eating sugar in your food? Look at the long term changes you can make in your life. There's no quick fix or restrictive diet that going to give you the tools for life maintenance. Look at calories in vs. calories out. Limit the processed sugars and eat a variety of colorful fruit and veggies that have the good carbs your body need to function.

I been there and done that with the restrictive or "no" sugar mentality. It may work for the short term but it will not get you to your long term goal. Focus on changes you can make a daily part of your life and slowly the results will amaze you!