Cutting refined sugar feels like death
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TSamberlynn80
Posts: 19 Member
I wonder how long the sugar withdrawals last.. friend me!
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Sugar withdraw?
So if you and I were sitting in a room with a table.
You on one side, I on the other.
And I dumped a 5lb bag of sugar in the center.
You're telling me that you're so addicted to sugar that you'd bury your face in it and start eating it up by the handfulls?
Or, you like sweet snacks that are a mixture of protein, fats and carbs, that are designed to feel good in the mouth and taste so good that you cannot just have 1?
It's a big difference right?
Send a friend request and I'll help you break the cycle.9 -
There's no such thing as sugar withdrawal.
You're just craving foods you enjoy because you're denying yourself the pleasure of having them.14 -
Dan_Rollins_ACE_PN wrote: »
Send a friend request and I'll help you break the cycle.
Nice sales pitch.14 -
I allow myself some. This is long term and a lifestyle. I don't want to live my life eating nothing but whole foods, others may want to do that but I don't. I want to enjoy some foods - in moderation. Maybe just cut back
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Replace the word "sugar" with any other food you love and eat daily, and you would feel anxious too if you had to give it up. You are used to eating certain foods. Not eating them breaks your usual routine and habits. You may have even formed an emotional attachment to some of these foods. Of course giving them up would be hard and may cause you anxiety.
Here is how you could handle this: stop thinking of it like an addiction and think of it like a habit. How do you change a habit? You have two options:
1. Replace the habit with another, but endure an initial period of discomfort. Whenever you crave something you wish to cut out of your diet, think why and where you crave it. For example, if you are used to having chocolate every day when you come back from work, try to associate coming from work with something else, like taking a hot bath. With time, the connection between work and chocolate will be replaced with taking a hot bath. It does take some time to accept your new routine.
2. Tweak the habit so it fits with your current diet. Using the chocolate example above you could either designate 3 days where you can have chocolate after work, and 3 days where you take a bath. Alternatively, you could always have chocolate but reduce the amount to something that is acceptable for your current calorie budget.
3. Substitute with something similar. Diet soda is sweet without the calories. Using a sweetener for your coffee and an alternative lower calorie creamer may save you a few calories. Some substitutions work great, others don't. For example, a sweetener in my chai tea does not change the taste a lot so I use sweetener. Having fruits instead of candy does not work, though. When I want candy it has to be candy, not an apple. This substitution just doesn't give the same kind of satisfaction (for some people it does! but not for me)
Basically just try things and tweak them to find the easiest route for you. Always expect some initial discomfort until you get used to something new, but don't force changes on yourself that would always be hard, not just initially. For example, I know I will always have access to bread, so cutting it out would not work for me. It would make things harder every single day because I'm faced with bread every single day and I love it. Cutting out donuts, on the other hand, was pretty easy because I don't like them much and don't feel tempted by them when I see them. To me they aren't worth the calories, so that's one change I can sustain.6 -
When a significant amount of sugar is cut, a large part of the withdrawal symptoms may be an electrolyte imbalance. Lower sugar (carbs) means lower insulin which means your body will not retain as much water or electrolytes. Many find they need to supplement at least 3000-5000 mg of sodium per day to replace the lost sodium. There's 2300 mg of sodium in a teaspoon of table salt. Broth, salt tablets and salted water helps.
If electrolytes go low you could experience headaches, fatigue, nausea, BM issues and muscle aches. If you let it go too long and muscle cramps start, then you're getting low in potassium and magnesium too.6 -
If you cut sodas out it could be caffeine withdrawal as that does cause headaches and overall malease.4
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Carlos_421 wrote: »Dan_Rollins_ACE_PN wrote: »
Send a friend request and I'll help you break the cycle.
Nice sales pitch.
Lol I offer my advice for free.2 -
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How about eat some refined sugar now and then and not worry about it? This doesn't have to be a form of punishment.4
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Why are some of you being so condescending? If it's a major diet change, yeah, there will be side effects...3
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Dan_Rollins_ACE_PN wrote: »
He started losing me at 1:42 when he admitted that our (Americans) consumption of sugar is actually on the decline. I did watch it all the way to the end though, and his argument against measuring sugar in grams was ridiculous. Don't have a clue who this guy is, but I'm not impressed1 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »Dan_Rollins_ACE_PN wrote: »
He started losing me at 1:42 when he admitted that our (Americans) consumption of sugar is actually on the decline. I did watch it all the way to the end though, and his argument against measuring sugar in grams was ridiculous. Don't have a clue who this guy is, but I'm not impressed
I actually saw a graph that I thought was legit that shows sugar consumption is decreasing while obesity is increasing in the US. I'm looking for it but maybe someone has it handy or correct me if it's not credible.2 -
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leanjogreen18 wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »Dan_Rollins_ACE_PN wrote: »
He started losing me at 1:42 when he admitted that our (Americans) consumption of sugar is actually on the decline. I did watch it all the way to the end though, and his argument against measuring sugar in grams was ridiculous. Don't have a clue who this guy is, but I'm not impressed
I actually saw a graph that I thought was legit that shows sugar consumption is decreasing while obesity is increasing in the US. I'm looking for it but maybe someone has it handy or correct me if it's not credible.
https://goo.gl/images/KqGTPB2
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