Has anyone given up refined sugar???

gypsyrose85 wrote: »

If so do you have any advice on how to make the transition so you don't relapse??

I have not and don't really have advice, but you might have luck finding some resources and recipes in these groups. They're not exactly what you're looking for, but they are all eating approaches which limit the intake of processed foods that tend to contain refined sugar, so they might be helpful:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/37-primal-paleo-support-group

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/133-clean-eating-group

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

lucys1225 wrote: »

Why does it matter to anyone why she has chosen to give it up? She never asked for peoples opinions on her decision, just asked for some helpful hints on ways to do so!

Fair enough...like my first post said, I focused on controlling portion sizes and caloric amounts of all foods I ate. As an indirect result, I'm sure I managed to decrease my sugar intake accordingly.

Assuming the OP's goal is weight loss, that is the primary thing she should be focusing on, not nitpicking one ingredient.

Yes, and focusing on portion control was your decision. I, like many others, have chosen different paths. I don't think one way is superior to another as it comes down to what each individual's goals are and what works best for them.

I gave up sugar and starches for years a while ago. I thought I "felt" different at the time, but in retrospect realize that I felt that way because I read that I was supposed to. I honestly didn't feel any different.

I did, for a while, have the "healthy" substitutes, sweetened with dates and made with nuts, and it was just silly because I know now that it all comes down to calories and portion sizes. I overate those "healthy" alternatives as well, so I cut them out, telling myself that it was obviously the natural sugar in them.

It wasn't.

The problems I had controlling my intake with sugary foods still followed me, because I then couldn't control my intake of things like egg salad, chicken legs, roast chicken, hard boiled eggs, and nuts.

It has taken me years to admit to myself that the problem all this time has been me, and not any specific food. I tended to gorge myself on foods I found highly palatable. When I'd change my diet, I'd just find different foods to be highly palatable.

So, there's my story. Take from it what you will.

I eat sugar now. I eat starch. I can eat a portion and walk away. It has nothing to do with impulse control. It has everything to do with being really aware of what I'm doing, what I had been doing, and what I want to do.

gypsyrose85 wrote: »

Caitwn wrote: »

gypsyrose85 wrote: »

If so do you have any advice on how to make the transition so you don't relapse??

Nope. I don't feel that's an approach that's healthy for me - total elimination seems to set up a sort of white-knuckle "I won't I won't I won't" then binge or cravings cycle that just seemed crazy to me (just talking about myself here, by the way), especially since I don't feel that any food is necessarily "bad" in and of itself. It's a matter of developing OVERALL eating patterns that support my health and fitness goals, rather than pointing the finger at any specific food or nutrient.

I did cut waaaay back on refined sugar for a few months so that I could re-assess the way I handle sugars. That worked well for me, so now I treat foods with refined sugar as an occasional treat rather than including them as a daily part of my food intake.

My problem is I am a all or nothing girl. I had quit soda cold turkey for 6 months. I had surgery and was throwing up so drank ginger ale...got hooked again smoking cigarettes same thing. I had one after 4 years of not smoking and then kept doing it for 2months the cold turkey again. My impulse control sucks. (I have a few brain tumors which affect the way I think and process stuff)

The all or nothing mindset likely comes from the forbidden aspect. When I tell myself I can't have something at all, it just makes me want it all that much more. Once I let go of that kind of thinking and decided that I can have anything any time I want it, I find I'm not dwelling on it anymore. Even diet soda. I too tried to cut it out entirely. I fell for the BS that people had lost weight "just by eliminating soda." That didn't happen so I started drinking it again and I am able to have one a day.

The Guardian did a much better piece on that seriously flawed study:

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/27/sugar-health-threat-underestimated-obesity-study-claims?CMP=fb_us

Be very, very skeptical of science reporting in this country. Everything is sensationalized.

robertwilkens wrote: »

As this was in news today, i thought i'd share it on this topic related to it --

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/cutting-sugar-improves-childrens-health-in-just-10-days

Excerpt:
"On average, the subjects’ LDL cholesterol, the kind implicated in heart disease, fell by 10 points. Their diastolic blood pressure fell five points. Their triglycerides, a type of fat that travels in the blood and contributes to heart disease, dropped 33 points. And their fasting blood sugar and insulin levels – indicators of their diabetes risk – likewise markedly improved."

Well, my blood pressure could use some help but I think that's a product of my weight rather than sugar as all of those other markers were described by my doctor this month as "perfect."

I quite like the quote that ended the article @PeachyCarol shared:

Given that sugar and starch contain roughly the same amount of calories per gram, he said: “It is just inconceivable that isocaloric substitution of sugar from starch would have such a large effect on metabolism. In fact it denies the basic laws of thermodynamics.”

PeachyCarol wrote: »

The Guardian did a much better piece on that seriously flawed study:

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/27/sugar-health-threat-underestimated-obesity-study-claims?CMP=fb_us

Be very, very skeptical of science reporting in this country. Everything is sensationalized.

Yep

An excellent quote from the Guardian article:

"This (that obese children generally under-report their pre-study consumption) is a fundamental flaw in the study. It is likely that the changes in metabolic outcomes observed can be explained by the experimental diet providing fewer calories than the children’s usual intake.”

Thanks @PeachyCarol -- I much prefer the guardian version for objectivity... The times had it wrong on a recent article on schizophrenia as well, and they silently corrected that 2 days later saying basically everything in the headline of the article was wrong.... They're not the best paper for scientific articles, i agree.

gypsyrose85 wrote: »

If so do you have any advice on how to make the transition so you don't relapse??

I found that a slow wean was best; cold turkey didn't work at all. I slowly dropped sugars (and almost all non-veggie carbs) by a few grams a week. My dietitian requires carb and sugar cycling for another few months, but I'll happily give them up entirely come February 19th. I just enjoy spending my calories elsewhere. Good luck!

Jake3844 wrote: »

SergeantSausage wrote: »

Why would I do that? It makes things yummy, right?

Going to have to go with this guy. I couldn't drink my coffee if I didn't have sugar, and I don't want to think about life without my morning cup of joe.

Coffee was tough for me. I choose to give it up rather than drink it unsweetened. About six months later I tried coffee again with cream and it was perfectly delicious and now it's sweetened coffee I find unpalatable.

Eat how you want to eat, need to eat, or think you should eat (which ever applies) and your tastes and preferences will adjust if you're motivated to change, in my experience.