cut out sugar
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laurenduffy1988
Posts: 64 Member
Has anyone cut out sugar? I dont want to cut out fruit but I do want to cut out coca cola and biscuits cause I binge on them daily and they affect my health - has anyone down this and noticed differences?
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Replies
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No, its not necessary to cut out sugar. Calorie deficit is all that's needed to lose weight...
but if you find you binge on them then perhaps for you it would be worth it see if you can change your eating habits?
Some people find they need to stay completely away from sugar which stops the urges.
Time to clear the things that you binge on out of the house perhaps?
Do what works for you.5 -
its not about losing weight - I feel health affects such as low moods, dry skin, dark circles and I think ti is sugar binges4
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Yes it will probably benefit you to either cut out or reduce the amount of those foods in your diet.3
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laurenduffy1988 wrote: »its not about losing weight - I feel health affects such as low moods, dry skin, dark circles and I think ti is sugar binges
If sugar affects you badly then you know what you need to do, perhaps try cut out one thing first of all, i.e try cutting back on the soda? little changes are easier to make and stick to.4 -
The less sugary dessert type foods i eat the less i crave. I always want something sweet after a meal. I usually suck a mint or aniseed ball which deals with the cravings. I also ditched all artificial sweeteners which has really reduced my sweet cravings.
If i do have a slice of cake etc. I have to be mindful that ill want to eat another slice of cake for the next two days and just accept / deal with it. Nothing wrong with cake but id rather use the calories for other things most days.3 -
laurenduffy1988 wrote: »its not about losing weight - I feel health affects such as low moods, dry skin, dark circles and I think ti is sugar binges
our bodies don't know the difference between fruit sugar and cookie aka biscuit sugar...
if you think however it is those particular foods causing this issue cut them out and see if it helps.
I suggest drinking more water to help the dry skin and dark circles and get exercise for low moods...7 -
You've started several similar threads about this. Are you able to consult a registered dietician and a therapist to find the cause of your food anxieties? The disorders you've posted about seem beyond the abilities of people here on this forum to help you with.5
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laurenduffy1988 wrote: »its not about losing weight - I feel health affects such as low moods, dry skin, dark circles and I think ti is sugar binges
our bodies don't know the difference between fruit sugar and cookie aka biscuit sugar...
if you think however it is those particular foods causing this issue cut them out and see if it helps.
I suggest drinking more water to help the dry skin and dark circles and get exercise for low moods...
Also, increasing fats would help. If fats are low, then it can have an adverse effect on hormones, which can effect all of those.
I don't cut out sugar, but I do concentrate on getting the majority of my calories from whole sources, which includes fruits, veggies, oats, whole grains.
But if you do have trigger foods, then I would consider reducing or eliminating them.0 -
Try replacing the word "cut" with moderation. The tendency to cut food groups out comes from this idea/concept that, there exists this clean vs. dirty food.
Unfortuntly, there is no such thing as good food, bad food. Placing labels on food, leads us to ban them from our intake. We say, “No, No, No, No, No…” We push for the perfect diet, once we eat this food that does not fall into this neat diet box; we throw our hands up, saying we failed so now is the time to eat everything we can. This leads to punishment. Which leads to more restrictions. This is the vicious cycle we as binge eaters face. I used to believe it myself, that there was clean food and bad food. It simply is this manifested idea. If you ask a vegan, he/she will say animal based foods are not clean. Someone who is a vegetarian will disagree, and say it is just animal products that are not clean. Then a paleo guy runs in screaming about how meat is clean, but grains aren’t. So someone has to be right? They are all wrong. Instead, adopt my grandmother’s wise old adage of “everything in moderation.” AKA IIFYM:)
Banning foods overtime can lead to more serious issues like an unhealthy relationship with food in the form of an eating disorder.
Life is too short to always be running from something, instead learn moderation, enjoy life, and have freedom to eat whatever you want in moderation and be overall healthy:)4 -
I've dramatically cut down on added sugar. I aim for under 20g of added sugar and around 30-40g of sugars from fruit & veg. I've found it really easy, luckily I don't have a big sweet tooth. Best way to cut down is reading food labels to educate yourself on what has a lot of added sugar and what doesn't. For me if sugar is at the top of the ingredients list (1st, 2nd or 3rd) I usually avoid it. If there's sugary foods you like but want to avoid try finding healthier alternatives. I made some sweet treats just containing dates, cashew nuts, cacao powder and coconut, mixed in a food processor and form into bars or balls. They so delicious and a great alternative to chocolate bars or biscuits (for me anyway) I have noticed my energy levels have risen, my skin is great, I have no bloating or bowl problems, don't know if this is because I've cut down on sugar, but I'm not going to change it as I feel great.2
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It's just guess work, but my last batch was
70g of dates
40g of cashew nuts
5g of desiccated coconut
4g of cacao powder
I moulded them in an ice cube tray and got 9 equal portions. Each one is 55 cals
You can add other flavourings, nuts or dried fruits.2 -
On another thread, you say you have BED, and alluded to bingeing on this thread this morning. If your disorder is currently problematic, please contact your doctor(s) for help. If you don't have one, go to this page for resources:https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1575987-eating-disorder-resources1
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IMO..There isn't much of nutritional value in a can of coke. I believe there is "good food" and "bad food" You have to learn those by yourself. I disagree with the notion if you feel something is labeled as a bad food, you will restrict it from your diet and feel a sense of loss and thus fail in the end.
Train your mind. People quit smoking and that's hard. So is avoiding "bad foods" . Soda is a bad food for me. I love soda too. Pepsi, Coke, RC Cola etc..I have found out through my weight loss program and healthy lifestyle change, soda is bad for me.
I have had maybe 3 cans of coke since March 1st. It just isn't worth it. You have to find your balance, and what is good and bad for you. Make up your mind and move forward.
We all have choices to make, learn what's good and healthy for you and what isn't. A healthy lifestyle change, does not begin with the body, it begins with the mind.0 -
laurenduffy1988 wrote: »Has anyone cut out sugar? I dont want to cut out fruit but I do want to cut out coca cola and biscuits cause I binge on them daily and they affect my health - has anyone down this and noticed differences?
@laurenduffy1988 I cut out all added sugar and all forms of all grains OCT 2014 to address my 40 years autoimmune related arthritis condition because I was at a critical point health wise with little time to address it. That would be a major over kill I expect for your concerns today.
In 30 days it cut out all of my cravings for sugar/simple carbs so my binging stopped and still has not returned so yes in my case stopping sugar and wheat flour,etc made a noticeable difference. I did it all at the same time so I do not know what made the difference. I did add some grain this past weekend and it did NOT go well after nearly two years.
In short it costs nothing to cut out sugar for a few weeks and see the results in your life.
Refined/processed/simple sugar and the sugar in whole/unprocessed fruit are very different to the body. Refined sugar becomes glucose very fast. The fiber, vitamins, enzymes, etc in whole fruit can slow the speed the natural sugar in the fruit reaches the blood stream and when it get there it is with the other nutritions needed as well.
Psulemon's post makes excellent suggestions.1 -
I cut it out mostly (IE: I reduced it as much as possible). The only time I add it to things now is in a recipe if a substitute won't work, or the other day I used it on sliced strawberries for shortcake, but I used half stevia half sugar if that helps. What I did was stop buying things with sugar in them, and for the most part stay away from the granulated white sugar you buy at the store. I use Stevia instead, and most of the time if it can't be used I simply don't drink/eat it. I buy ice cream with no sugar added (it has some in it, just no extra added), and I eat sugar free deserts or snacks whenever possible. It initially made it easy for me to lose the first 10 lbs, and continuing to steer clear of it whenever possible I believe helps me keep added fat off and reduces my addiction to sweet foods. The hardest part.. coffee. I loved coffee with cream and sugar. So now I only drink it once a week on rest days with stevia and non dairy creamer. The rest of the week I take my pre-workout in the morning, then work out before work and I don't really need coffee after that. So you don't have to quit it 100%, but cutting down as far as possible would help. It's not really a calorie thing so much (it does add quite a bit though) more than it is your body using sweets to trigger fat storage (at least that's what I believe it does for me). So if I eat something sweet I make sure to use the energy it gives me exercising so my body isn't tempted to store it as fat lol. /shrug1
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BiggDaddy58 wrote: »I disagree with the notion if you feel something is labeled as a bad food, you will restrict it from your diet and feel a sense of loss and thus fail in the end.
Maybe that is not the case for you, but it is for a lot of others, including me. If I say to you that labelling foods "bad" and trying to cut them out makes it harder for me to stick to my goals, you can hardly say "I don't agree". The most you can say is "that's not the case for me."
Of course some foods offer better nutrition than others, or fill you up better. I don't think anyone argues with that, or with the fact that it's a good idea to go easy on the high-calorie, low-nutrition foods and have a good balance in your diet.
The difference between your approach and mine is that I just exercise restraint over these foods, whereas you cut them out totally. If your approach works for you, great - but a lot of people are like me, in that that approach makes it harder to stick to goals, not easier. And it's often combined with a moral approach to food that causes people to feel guilty about what they eat and even attach self loathing to it, and that is very unhealthy and makes it hard to eat in a way which is not dysfunctional.
So while I'm sure there are quite a few like you, it seems to me there are more like me who benefit from the "good food - bad food" mindset being challenged.
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CattOfTheGarage wrote: »BiggDaddy58 wrote: »I disagree with the notion if you feel something is labeled as a bad food, you will restrict it from your diet and feel a sense of loss and thus fail in the end.
Maybe that is not the case for you, but it is for a lot of others, including me. If I say to you that labelling foods "bad" and trying to cut them out makes it harder for me to stick to my goals, you can hardly say "I don't agree". The most you can say is "that's not the case for me."
I spoke for myself..and said it's my opinion..you are speaking for others and basically claiming their opinion? Stick to speaking for yourself only.
Everyone posts from their own POV..I didn't say it was anyone's but mine. I also told the OP..find out what works for her. If you wish to argue opinions..I would think that's another thread we could start.
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Cutting out my trigger foods aka "bad foods" makes it so much easier to stick to a deficit or maintenance, not harder! If they aren't in my house, then I don't over eat them, problem solved. The more i restrict them, the less i think about them or miss them.
Sure, anyone can fit in their desired treats everyday, that's not the problem for me, it's the quantity i have a problem with. 2 little squares of chocolate is not enough, i always want more. 1 serving of cereal is seriously not worth it, i always want more. So to avoid the frustration, i simply don't bother. For me, it's easier to restrict than moderate certain things.1 -
No but I stay below what MFP recommends in general just because I find it easy, and I do have a little physical reaction to too much sugar (doesn't stop me at parties unfortunately).0
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