Sugar as evil

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Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Real fooders then. This treat is also non-baked. I also no longer drool past the bakery aisle, after two decades of eating as a diabetic. This recipe was for my chocoholic hubby, using up walnuts before they went rancid.

    Allowance or no allowance, it would be hard not to gain weight eating whole foods like that torte.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    My intent is to drive the natural dieters crazy. Try and fit THAT baby in to your allowance. I am happy to report that it has a pleasant fruity undertone that could be dangerously addictive. Not to mention the chocolate.

    Not sure what you mean by natural dieters. Myself and people I know who stick to whole foods no longer have any cravings response to pictures of deserts or even with walking by the bakery section. It's about as stimulating as the light fixtures. Actually, I've had many cases when the smell made me sick. And I used to drool over baked deserts back in the day. We also don't have allowances.

    that would seem to be a personal preference and have nothing to do with what kind of food one eats...

  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    EWJLang wrote: »
    EWJLang wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I'm going to post this on the sugar is evil threads from now on. Totally vegan, no-cook, gluten-free, very sweet, no manufactured sugars.

    1c5a7317ec82e60290dfb750b2c0a269.jpg

    You posted that without a link to the recipe? What good are you!?!?!?

    http://talesofakitchen.com/desserts/chocolate-banana-cake-with-caramel-layer-and-cacao-nibs/

    You're my new favorite.

    Although, that just looks like more work than something with flour and eggs. I'm lazy and unafraid of Teh Sugarz and Teh Glootinz.

    Gluten is what makes my pizza crusts crispy. Long live gluten!
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  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    it would be hard not to gain weight eating whole foods like that torte.
    If you eat an entire one every day, surely, but I still don't get your point.

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Serah87 wrote: »
    In our neighborhood you would think it was a retirement community, you hardly ever see children outside playing and their probably 20+ children living in our subdivision.

    I've noticed the opposite in mine. It seems like very recently my street has become infested with little kids. They are all out playing when I get home from work. It's a slow cautious drive the last hundred yards. Especially sweet is that there's a grandpa out there playing with them as often as not.

    I was begining to think that things had turned back around and that kids were wanting to play outside again (and that parents were allowing it) but from reading other posts here, I guess that's not the case.

    Kids play outside where I live as well. But honestly, in many neighborhoods it's simply not safe for children to play outside alone anymore. When I was young our parents kicked us out of the house and said 'be home for dinner'. That's not always wise in today's world. It's not all about being lazy.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    @Gianfranco_R , I can live with your befuddlement.
    @Need2Exerc1se , have you heard of the Free Range Kids movement?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    @Gianfranco_R , I can live with your befuddlement.
    @Need2Exerc1se , have you heard of the Free Range Kids movement?

    I have not. But what a sad state of affairs that something like this is needed. :\
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    If could maintain good health while smoking, just by counting how many I smoke, I would be a smoker right now. But hey at least it works for eating, and it's more than worth the few minutes of effort in order to be able to eat the foods I like instead of living a life of deprivation.
  • HeySwoleSister
    HeySwoleSister Posts: 1,938 Member
    Serah87 wrote: »
    In our neighborhood you would think it was a retirement community, you hardly ever see children outside playing and their probably 20+ children living in our subdivision.

    I've noticed the opposite in mine. It seems like very recently my street has become infested with little kids. They are all out playing when I get home from work. It's a slow cautious drive the last hundred yards. Especially sweet is that there's a grandpa out there playing with them as often as not.

    I was begining to think that things had turned back around and that kids were wanting to play outside again (and that parents were allowing it) but from reading other posts here, I guess that's not the case.

    Kids play outside where I live as well. But honestly, in many neighborhoods it's simply not safe for children to play outside alone anymore. When I was young our parents kicked us out of the house and said 'be home for dinner'. That's not always wise in today's world. It's not all about being lazy.

    Ironically, the rates of crimes against children have dropped since most of us were little. It's just the fearmongering of 24 hour newsmedia that have people convinced that it's somehow more dangerous to be a kid now than it used to be.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    The Free Range Kids movement is a pendulum swing in the other direction. I'm sure our society will figure things out.

    I do notice that parents are very devoted and involved in their children's lives these days. Likely because we expect all of them to reach adulthood without mishap. Most of us with first-world problems don't try to have large families in the hopes that a few will survive. So we mother-hen over our small brood with extra care and attention. It's not so bad that we love them so much...
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    EWJLang wrote: »
    Serah87 wrote: »
    In our neighborhood you would think it was a retirement community, you hardly ever see children outside playing and their probably 20+ children living in our subdivision.

    I've noticed the opposite in mine. It seems like very recently my street has become infested with little kids. They are all out playing when I get home from work. It's a slow cautious drive the last hundred yards. Especially sweet is that there's a grandpa out there playing with them as often as not.

    I was begining to think that things had turned back around and that kids were wanting to play outside again (and that parents were allowing it) but from reading other posts here, I guess that's not the case.

    Kids play outside where I live as well. But honestly, in many neighborhoods it's simply not safe for children to play outside alone anymore. When I was young our parents kicked us out of the house and said 'be home for dinner'. That's not always wise in today's world. It's not all about being lazy.

    Ironically, the rates of crimes against children have dropped since most of us were little. It's just the fearmongering of 24 hour newsmedia that have people convinced that it's somehow more dangerous to be a kid now than it used to be.

    Or the fact that kids aren't outside playing unsupervised as much anymore.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    My intent is to drive the natural dieters crazy. Try and fit THAT baby in to your allowance. I am happy to report that it has a pleasant fruity undertone that could be dangerously addictive. Not to mention the chocolate.

    Not sure what you mean by natural dieters. Myself and people I know who stick to whole foods no longer have any cravings response to pictures of deserts or even with walking by the bakery section. It's about as stimulating as the light fixtures. Actually, I've had many cases when the smell made me sick. And I used to drool over baked deserts back in the day. We also don't have allowances.

    that would seem to be a personal preference and have nothing to do with what kind of food one eats...

    Hard to argue with the first part since choosing how one eats is a preference. Hard to agree with the second part, since changing the kinds of foods I ate coincided precisely with the abscence of cravings and need to keep track of intake.

    But to each their own.

    Ok - I eat all the foods that you don't and I don't have said cravings...so what does that mean?
  • Unknown
    edited March 2015
    RealFoodisGood was warned for this.
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  • Jamielynn_77
    Jamielynn_77 Posts: 85 Member
    I don't see sugar as evil. I get a lot of it in my fruits. I try to avoid processed and added sugars. We keep sugar in our house, but I only buy organic. I won't jump on the organic food talk, but I do feel it is the quality of food that we put in that makes a huge difference too. I guess to each their own, but I feel that depriving ourselves and our children of juice and fruit, and cereals to avoid sugar is doing more harm than good. I like what someone said earlier about bananas and plain yogurt. I agree, when I got this way, bananas and yogurt were nowhere in sight. Had they been, I may have had a lot more success in the weight loss dept. :blush:
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I just had to chime in on the comments about parents driving their kids to school or pushing them in a stroller. I am far from a perfect parent, my kids eat sugary cereal and I do have to encourage them to get outside and play, they would most days rather be in front of an electronic device. However, when it comes to getting kids to school in the morning, that is seriously one of the most stressful times of the day for me, and I think many working parents. If you ever saw the pace at which my 3 year old moved on a walk a few blocks in our neighborhood, we would have to get up an hour earlier every single day to get him to preschool on time, not to mention all the arguments and distractions along the way. We don't live within walking distance of our school, but if we did, I would definitely be putting my 3 year old in the stroller on nice days so that I could get exercise, and if we were running late, I'd be driving him.



  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    Well, today I've only just finished lunch and gone over my MFP allowance for sugar. I had Fiber One cereal for breakfast, nonfat plain yogurt with 1/2 cup jarred fruit (in juice) for snack, and tuna fish with salad for lunch. While one would think the cereal was the highest item, the yogurt matched it (even though it's unsweetened) and of course, the fruit. What is the "responsible eater" to do? Decide no more fruit or carbs for the rest of the day?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    edited March 2015
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    My intent is to drive the natural dieters crazy. Try and fit THAT baby in to your allowance. I am happy to report that it has a pleasant fruity undertone that could be dangerously addictive. Not to mention the chocolate.

    Not sure what you mean by natural dieters. Myself and people I know who stick to whole foods no longer have any cravings response to pictures of deserts or even with walking by the bakery section. It's about as stimulating as the light fixtures. Actually, I've had many cases when the smell made me sick. And I used to drool over baked deserts back in the day. We also don't have allowances.

    that would seem to be a personal preference and have nothing to do with what kind of food one eats...

    Hard to argue with the first part since choosing how one eats is a preference. Hard to agree with the second part, since changing the kinds of foods I ate coincided precisely with the abscence of cravings and need to keep track of intake.

    But to each their own.

    Ok - I eat all the foods that you don't and I don't have said cravings...so what does that mean?

    My last line was "to each their own".

    I was referring back to your original post that those that eat whole grains have less cravings for sugary foods....

  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    Serah87 wrote: »
    In our neighborhood you would think it was a retirement community, you hardly ever see children outside playing and their probably 20+ children living in our subdivision.

    I've noticed the opposite in mine. It seems like very recently my street has become infested with little kids. They are all out playing when I get home from work. It's a slow cautious drive the last hundred yards. Especially sweet is that there's a grandpa out there playing with them as often as not.

    I was begining to think that things had turned back around and that kids were wanting to play outside again (and that parents were allowing it) but from reading other posts here, I guess that's not the case.

    Kids play outside where I live as well. But honestly, in many neighborhoods it's simply not safe for children to play outside alone anymore. When I was young our parents kicked us out of the house and said 'be home for dinner'. That's not always wise in today's world. It's not all about being lazy.

    I hear you and I agree, it's not laziness. But it's also a different attitude toward health and safety now than back in the stone age when I was a kid. For example, we never wore helmets when we rode our bikes. There were no lifeguards at the lake. If you mean exposure to crime, I don't really know if it's less safe now or if we just have access to more scary news about it.

    Anyway, sorry OP, for thread derailment.
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
    rosebette wrote: »
    Well, today I've only just finished lunch and gone over my MFP allowance for sugar. I had Fiber One cereal for breakfast, nonfat plain yogurt with 1/2 cup jarred fruit (in juice) for snack, and tuna fish with salad for lunch. While one would think the cereal was the highest item, the yogurt matched it (even though it's unsweetened) and of course, the fruit. What is the "responsible eater" to do? Decide no more fruit or carbs for the rest of the day?
    I don't know if I am responsible enough, but I wouln't worry about unsweetened yogurt (where of course there is still lactose) and fruit
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  • KETOGENICGURL
    KETOGENICGURL Posts: 687 Member
    edited March 2015
    Gianfranco..." but I wouln't worry about unsweetened yogurt"

    FINDING the single brand of plain, unsweet, and FULL fat yogurt ain't easy..it is ALL low fat these days, the HFS may have some $5. 6oz cup of organic full fat yogurt..but at least you can use it as a starter and make your own healthy yogurt, and never buy the junky low fat stuff again. just sayin' even the best double protein Greek yogurt has 9-11g sugar, which is 30% of a 2000kcal adult diet. Dietitians KNOW no one wants to stick to that low of sugar, and so much processed food has it to keep shelf life, even bread. (remember when 'fresh bread' meant hours old? and 'day old' meant hard at 1/2 price? and 'stale' meant 2 days, free and duck food?

    Avoiding sugar in the US is nearly impossible on the S.A. Diet.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    " but I wouln't worry about unsweetened yogurt"

    I agree! but it is FINDING the single brand of plain, unsweet, and FULL fat yogurt..it is ALL low fat these days, the HFS may have some $5. 6oz cup of organic full fat yogurt..but at least you can use it as a starter and make your own healthy yogurt, and never buy the junky low fat stuff again. just sayin'
    cabot
    chowbani
    fage
    stonyhedge
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member

    FINDING the single brand of plain, unsweet, and FULL fat yogurt ain't easy..it is ALL low fat these days, the HFS may have some $5. 6oz cup of organic full fat yogurt..but at least you can use it as a starter and make your own healthy yogurt,

    I also use organic full fat yogurt (and milk) to make my own yogurt, also because homemade yogurt with skimmed milk isn't stellar in my opinion, but the OP seems to be concerned about saturated fat...
  • mharsen
    mharsen Posts: 1
    3.5 years ago, I lost 50 pounds with Weight Watchers and have kept it off. I went from "pre-diabetes" and a predicted shortened lifespan to 100% healthy and +5.5 years to my "statistical life expectancy". All, and I mean all, of my numbers are "beyond perfect" says my doctor at my yearly physicals. He also says he envies me, but he's not willing to eat a healthy diet or exercise.

    You limit, but don't eliminate fat. And the same for sugars, carbs, et cetera. However, with a couple of exceptions, eat all of the fresh fruits and vegetables you want - no one ever got fat from doing so to my knowledge. And I eat oranges over drinking orange juice too like someone said. An orange will fill you up better for the same caloric (and sugar) intake. Oh, and I still have my indulgences of overdoing it in most categories as nothing is forbidden for me, but eating healthy 98% of the time eating lean proteins, not overdoing sugars or carbs, getting in the healthy oils, exercise, et cetera... that was the key for me. And your tastes change. I think Weight Watchers is really great - it's a great way to learn to adhere to a healthy lifestyle that you can live with. Oh, and you can drop weight with it too...

    That said, it can be quite frustrating to track sugars - it's in absolutely everything. For example, I now prefer mustard over mayonnaise for obvious (caloric) reasons - the right mustard has zero calories but some actually have sugar! And try to find a ketchup in the USA that doesn't have 4 grams of sugar like Heinz does! In Ireland, for example, the Ballymaloe ketchup has no sugar. Things taste different abroad because, very generally speaking, they don't use sugar as much. Here, however, sugar sells. Put sugar in your product where no one else added sugar before, and you outsell your competitor. Health concerned people are rebelling and progress is slowly being made - our foods have too much added sugars!

    Okay, so don't go overboard either way, but seriously Heinz, I don't want any blasted sugar in my ketchup!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Serah87 wrote: »
    In our neighborhood you would think it was a retirement community, you hardly ever see children outside playing and their probably 20+ children living in our subdivision.

    I've noticed the opposite in mine. It seems like very recently my street has become infested with little kids. They are all out playing when I get home from work. It's a slow cautious drive the last hundred yards. Especially sweet is that there's a grandpa out there playing with them as often as not.

    I was begining to think that things had turned back around and that kids were wanting to play outside again (and that parents were allowing it) but from reading other posts here, I guess that's not the case.

    I think it depends a lot on the particular neighborhood. I live in the city, so you don't just see kids hanging out alone--yards are on the small side, lots of condos--but there is a school near me and parents walk their kids to school (older kids seem to walk alone), there's a sporting area that small children are always playing in and doing soccer and other activities, and I see kids playing in the parks.

    Part of this is that it's a really safe area, and part of it is that the particular demographic doesn't have as many overweight people even in the parents' generation as some other US subcultures would.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2015
    jgnatca wrote: »
    it would be hard not to gain weight eating whole foods like that torte.
    If you eat an entire one every day, surely, but I still don't get your point.

    I assume she's pointing out that if you want to eat high calorie treats you can, or basically debunking the claim that following an "all natural" or "clean" or "non processed" diet means you will lose weight or can't get fat. I certainly know plenty of people who "do paleo" and eat all kinds of high calorie treats. I also got fat eating "whole foods" and cooking for myself, so I happen to agree with her that the focus on processed vs. not as a weight loss thing is rather misplaced.

    The bigger issue is probably just that if you have to cook for yourself it's more work to make something, so if you aren't in the habit or aren't particularly good at it especially it may be a good way to artificially reduce calories. Once you are in the habit, though, it's not at all hard to cook in a higher calorie way if you want. (Also not hard to cook lower calorie, of course, but you have to choose to do it.)
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    @Gianfranco_R , I can live with your befuddlement.
    @Need2Exerc1se , have you heard of the Free Range Kids movement?

    I just heard about the Free Range Kids movement from the perspective of parents in Maryland who had the cops called on them and now have "unsubstantiated" neglect on their records for letting their children walk to the park. This apparently happened due to a neighbor calling the police instead of talking to them about their kids walking to the park. It's a bizarre thing, for sure.

    As for physical activities, kids definitely get less of it now. I substitute teach a few times a week and have repeatedly heard kids say that they never get PE unless there's a sub. At least in the district I'm in, the kids get a recess and lunch recess, so it's not like they don't have anything at all, but clearly it isn't enough.
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
    edited March 2015
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I assume she's pointing out that if you want to eat high calorie treats you can, or basically debunking the claim that following an "all natural" or "clean" or "non processed" diet means you will lose weight or can't get fat.
    edited, because the person clarified her position
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    This poster will refer herself in the third person for the remainder of this just well, because....
    The topic was sugar as evil, right?

    This poster found a totally decadent torte that meets all the (current) requirements of a whole fooder. She just ran it through the recipe builder and the entire cake racks up about 4,000 calories. She makes the assumption of self-control from the average consumer, and let's pretend 1/10 of the cake is a judicious delight. That portion contains 200 calories including 14g of carbohydrate from the fruits, of which 8g are sugars (all naturally occurring). Is it evil or is it good? Does the type of sugar really matter? Will a whole fooder lose weight while including this in their day, and a calorie counter gain?

    Eaten alone, this one is definitely a fattener.
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