Cutting sugar

I found it was really helpful to do it. I started by eating tons of veggies and protein. Definitely tough those first few days for those of us who are "sugarholics", but I found that my usual morning sugar coma lifted quickly, and I found myself not craving sugar after a few days. I did add fruits back in after a week or so (and started with low glycemic ones like berries and certain melons first). Now I can enjoy a small bowl of ice cream once in a while which wanting to eat the entire half gallon, but I always make sure to get my fruits/veggies in before I reach for any other kind of sugar. Good luck! FYI - I'm down 77 pounds this year so I know it worked for me.

I cut out added sugar for a while when I first started (Jan 2014). (I did not cut out other sugars, but I wasn't consuming dairy during the same period, and I just never eat much fruit in the winter, which it was, so most my sugar was mostly from vegetables, sweet potatoes, plantains.) I did this in conjunction with improving my diet (especially having a nice set breakfast with plenty of protein), cutting out snacking, and just generally getting back to my usual healthy diet which I'd let slip some. I also cut calories significantly, started walking a lot more and doing some exercise, and was super motivated. I felt great and a lot more stable in my moods, which I initially attributed in part to the sugar thing, and especially cutting out mindless consumption of snacks around my office, which I think caused me to have a up and down thing going all day, as well as encouraging emotional eating.

After a while I started thinking that it was probably getting a nutritious diet overall, being more active, and especially not snacking that was helping (snacking doesn't work for me, I know others like it, but grazing just leads me to overeat on foods that are less satisfying to me than my usual and to mindlessly eat). I kept everything else the same but started consuming dairy again (greek yogurt and cottage cheese, plus some cheese) and also some foods with added sugar, in moderation (200 calories of ice cream for dessert on occasion when I had the calories, stuff like that). I found it didn't affect how I felt negatively at all.

In early 2015 I again cut out added sugar for a month and this time, while it wasn't hard, again, it didn't make me feel any better, which confirmed my suspicions that the improvements the first time were due to other causes. (I wasn't feeling bad before I started this, and was consuming sugar in moderation.)

I'm now probably consuming more sugar that I have in years, since I've been eating lots of fruit (well, compared to my usual), and if anything I'm finding that I feel better than ever doing that. But I recommend trying anything you think you might like -- I'm all for experimenting with diet and finding what works for you.

At first I cut out artificial sugars, but I still had problems when I ate fruit (my body was like "FEED ME!") So I challenged myself to give up all sugar except in veggies for a whole month. I ate a ton of protein and low starch veggies (I was also low/moderate carb), and by the time my month was up, the cravings were gone. I can enjoy a reasonable amount of fruit and raw honey.

I have not done it, but you might find some people in these groups who have done something similar. At the very least, you might get some meal ideas as these ways of eating pretty much necessitate a focus on whole foods to meet with the parameters of the diet. Good luck!

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