Looking for friends who quit Sugar

I gave up sugar in my tea (well it's a start!) I need a little education about sugar, I recently got a lab result for an A1C test that was 5.7 and the doc said that is in the pre diabetes range. I had never heard of the A1C test and so now I am looking at what to do about it and kind am a little confused with all the info from reading about refined sugar as opposed to sugar in fruit, and the GI index .... confused : /

You A1C is calulated by looking at a part of your blood cells called glycosated hemoglobin. Because your blood cells tend to last about 3 months before they deteriorate and are destroyed, it can give you an idea of your daily average blood sugar level over the last 3 months. Looking at a conversation chart, an A1C of 5.7 means your daily blood glucose level averaged 117.

http://www.nhrmc.org/documents/Diabetes Health Plan/Class Materials/Diabetes Overview Class Materials/A1C to Blood Glucose Conversion table.pdf

Obviously, the lower the better. High levels of blood glucose mean calcified arteries and damage to very small arteries such as those in the kidneys, brain, and eyes.

The best way to lower your average blood glucose level is to eat less carbohydrates, and especially less at one meal (space them out through the day). Also intermittent fasting might give your body a chance occasionally to switch to burning ketones (made from the liver, a high efficient and neuro-protective form of energy). There is a lot of physiology involved here, but basically limit your carbohydrates. Overdoing protein in response to less carbs can mean too much work on the kidneys, but FAT is your friend. The old myth of low fat/low cholesterol diets for heart health has not been supported empirically.

http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/the-6-greatest-cholesterol-myths-debunked

Just as a general idea, I would keep carbs below 100-150 g per day subtracting fiber. Anymore than 50 g of carbs in one meal is probably overdrive for your blood glucose level and pancreas (which has to secrete the insulin). If you exercise, you can eat a little more carbs beforehand. Basically, as the diabetes educator at my hospital told me, it's a good idea not to eat any more carbs than you will burn on a given day.

I quit sugar 8 months ago. I'm under 20g total carbs a day, never felt better. I can sit at grandma's house with a plate full of cake and chocolate biscuits in the middle of the table and not even feel tempted.

I've got the old dear trained though, now when we go there will be a plate with cheese and kabana on it as well as the cakes and stuff

I'm in to my 3rd week of only having 1 sugar 'treat' day a week.

I find it much easier to stick to my goal without chocolate bars, and I don't crave sugar now. I'm going to try going 10-14 days now. I don't want to feel like I NEED sugar and chocolate/junk food. I've given up junk food as in chips/pizza/greasy food also within this time, bar once a week.

Without really trying, I've lost 3lb. I only had 8lb to lose, so now I'm only left with 5lb!

The first 3 days were really hard, and then after my first couple of cheat days I had cravings for 2 days. This week I haven't had any cravings, which is why I will try and go slightly longer now. I'm not going to never eat sugary crap again, but I want control.

What about the sugars in fruit? Do I need to worry about those too?

Don't be ridiculous.

Those sugars in fruit are entirely different...I mean, not even close to chemically the same...as those evil added sugars.

Ugh...anyway, OP...

I have a huge sweet tooth myself and went without sugar, fruit, and white carbs for three weeks, grasping for a solution to my digestive issues. The WHO does recommend no more than 25grams of sugar a day, equivalent to 6 teaspoons. The problem is sugar is in practically everything that's processed, and it's really easy to go over that amount. During my sugar abstinence I went through three weeks vilifying sugar and everything that had sugar in it. Eventually I lost my sweet tooth and came around to a saner approach to dealing with sugar. I make much of my own food to control my intake of sugar so I can save up the occasional sugary treat.

The WHO recommends no more than 25 grams of ADDED sugar, not sugar in general.

Hi there*

I'm an ex-sugar addict & I was hoping that I could have MFP friends who also quit sugar for motivation and encouragement. I'm quite new to this but doing extremely well. Quitting the white stuff is the best decision I've made for my health & if you haven't already, please go check out Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar website!

Hi!

I have a hard time with the mentality of "quitting" any food or food group, unless it's for medical reasons such as celiac or diabetes. I have tried it in the past and quit sugar and grains and find it just sets me up for a rebound where I say "*kitten* it" when I'm super tired or stressed or whatever. The all or nothing mentality does not work for most people and I believe is the reason a lot of us have re-gained lost weight in the past.

What I have done, instead of quitting, is that I have sugar as one of the macros that I watch carefully on MFP and I stay under the recommended sugar number (including fruits of course), at least 9 out of 10 days. 57 grams of sugar is my daily goal, as set by My Fitness Pal. Today is an average day for me, and I'm at 49 and finished eating for the day.

Best of luck!

This is what I mostly do... keep an eye on my macros and try not to eat sugar in excess. When I'm making food choices I will try not to eat things high in sugar (like getting coffee with just cream, or adding stevia to it, instead of using sugar) plus, I limit sweets... I just try not to buy them to be honest, because when I eat sweets it's hard to keep the portions small.

I tried completely cutting out sugar in the past, but it's very difficult to stick to... especially when you go to celebrations and they serve cake or drinks.

YOU can add me... I was diagnosed with diabetes about 2 weeks ago... as of that moment I quit all additional sources of sugar.. soda...sugar in my coffee... baked treats, ice cream, fruit juice with added sugar...white bread... which would include anything fast food that uses a white bread bun... French fries... THERE are good sugars... fruits with skin or high in fibre... ( skin fruits include berries, apples, oranges, peaches, pears, grapes). Anyway... when you stand on the edge of the abyss, brought there by your own action or inaction... you can drop to the ground and feel sorry for yourself.. or you can roll up your sleeves and get busy working on ways to move away from the edge...I am a roll up the sleeves kind of person.

YOU can add me... I was diagnosed with diabetes about 2 weeks ago... as of that moment I quit all additional sources of sugar.. soda...sugar in my coffee... baked treats, ice cream, fruit juice with added sugar...white bread... which would include anything fast food that uses a white bread bun... French fries... THERE are good sugars... fruits with skin or high in fibre... ( skin fruits include berries, apples, oranges, peaches, pears, grapes). Anyway... when you stand on the edge of the abyss, brought there by your own action or inaction... you can drop to the ground and feel sorry for yourself.. or you can roll up your sleeves and get busy working on ways to move away from the edge...I am a roll up the sleeves kind of person.

I'm a roll up my sleeves kind of person, too! The only way I can stop craving sugar is to stop eating sugar. I've been on and off sugar restricted diets for many years. During the times I'm restricting sugar, I'm happier, more alert, and definitely more in control of my eating in general.

This time around I'm determined to stay on track. I'm about 65 days off added sugars and white carbs, with only three very small indiscretions along the way. I try to stay under 50 g natural sugars per day, and I feel fine with that.

Hi there*

I'm an ex-sugar addict & I was hoping that I could have MFP friends who also quit sugar for motivation and encouragement. I'm quite new to this but doing extremely well. Quitting the white stuff is the best decision I've made for my health & if you haven't already, please go check out Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar website!

You can add me if you like. There's a group you may be interested in called "Say NO to Sugar." It hasn't been very active lately, but I think it would be a great tool for others like myself who find it helpful to talk about their experiences with giving up sugar. I would really like to see it become active again.

Resist all you want, people, but too much fructose is killing us...