Giving up cane sugar

Kghaines
Kghaines Posts: 35 Member
edited May 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone else made the leap to a white sugar-less lifestyle? What can I expect and how can I overcome cravings? I have been trying to but my weak willpower is holding me back...I'm replacing the sugar with fruit, but binge when I get the chance. :(
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Replies

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    amyepdx wrote: »
    Who eats straight white sugar anyway?

    What difference would this make? It's possible to give up something you don't eat "straight".
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    zachbonner_ wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    zachbonner_ wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Have you tried limiting it instead of cutting it out altogether? Like allowing yourself 2 cookies per day only. That might help prevent a binge since you will have tomorrow's cookies to look forward to when today's have been eaten, rather than thinking "I can never have a cookie again, I must eat ALL the cookies now."

    I assume you haven't dealt with binging before

    It depends on what you mean. I have no personal experience with BED, but I have seen people binge eat because they've deprived themselves many times.

    Personal experience

    The OP did not say she has BED.
  • Iamnotasenior
    Iamnotasenior Posts: 235 Member
    There are many reasons to give up white sugar or all sugar, like a Type II Diabetes diagnoses, for instance, however, in practice, it is almost impossible to do. Sugar is sugar whether it comes in the form of fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, barley malt, dextrose, maltose or rice syrup. It is in almost every processed or packaged food you buy, so even if you give up the sugar bowl at the table, you are still getting some in your diet. Use the macro settings in MyFitnessPal to monitor your intake of sugar and see where the big "sugar bombs" in your daily meals are and then adjust accordingly to lower your intake. Cutting it out completely, though, that's tough.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    zachbonner_ wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    zachbonner_ wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Have you tried limiting it instead of cutting it out altogether? Like allowing yourself 2 cookies per day only. That might help prevent a binge since you will have tomorrow's cookies to look forward to when today's have been eaten, rather than thinking "I can never have a cookie again, I must eat ALL the cookies now."

    I assume you haven't dealt with binging before

    It depends on what you mean. I have no personal experience with BED, but I have seen people binge eat because they've deprived themselves many times.

    Personal experience

    I'm a woman. I've had PMS. I have binged.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited May 2017
    newmeadow wrote: »
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Sugar is sugar, so I'd ask myself why I'd want to give up white sugar.

    Because maybe she overeats chocolate and candy. Not macintosh apples and blueberries. Imagine that!

    So wouldn't she just adjust her calories to account for the chocolate and candy she enjoys instead of putting on unnecessary restrictions that cause binging? You know it is possible to lose weight while having both chocolates and blueberries. And overeating on apples and blueberries will cause weight gain just as easily as chocolate. Demonizing food is just unnecessary and in the OPs case is leading to issues such as binging.


    I personally feel that people adopt these over restrictive rules that have no meaning just to have an excuse as to why they can't lose weight. If you make it so overly complicated that you're guaranteed failure it isn't your fault if you don't lose weight, right?

    Righto, this argument again. Because everyone knows, most people are downing entire bags of grapefruits. Not bags of Hershey's miniatures. Fruit is in the same category as Drake's Devil Dogs because it has sugar and sugar is just sugar and people need to parse it out like a teller or they're out of control morons who don't know any better. People are fat from eating too much fruit and too many celery sticks and too much steamed broccoli and buckets of broiled skinless chicken breast. Got it.

    I had a co-worker eating POUNDS of grapes day in and day out because they were fat-free. This was back in the day when low fat was all the rage. If you have a tendency to over eat.....you have a tendency to over eat. No, I'm not going to binge on broccoli, but I'll grab a bag of chips. Normally chips aren't my thing, I can take them or leave them.....but eliminate enough of my favorite foods.............

    Point is elimination is a crappy strategy more often than not. I won't say 0% have ever been successful, but I would bet it's very low (given that the vast majority of people re-gain the weight they lost).
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    zachbonner_ wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    zachbonner_ wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    zachbonner_ wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Have you tried limiting it instead of cutting it out altogether? Like allowing yourself 2 cookies per day only. That might help prevent a binge since you will have tomorrow's cookies to look forward to when today's have been eaten, rather than thinking "I can never have a cookie again, I must eat ALL the cookies now."

    I assume you haven't dealt with binging before

    It depends on what you mean. I have no personal experience with BED, but I have seen people binge eat because they've deprived themselves many times.

    Personal experience

    I'm a woman. I've had PMS. I have binged.

    Right, that's not a BED, that's hormones

    Again, the OP has not mentioned BED.
  • GoldenEye_
    GoldenEye_ Posts: 330 Member
    If your goal is to eat less processed foods it might be nice to replace them with things you don't binge on but still find taste great. When I started eating less carbs and more protein and fats I craved carbs SO bad, so I still had one whole wheat tortilla for lunch or dinner instead of bread, of which I would eat way too much. Then I replaced that with bean mixes, which are more nutrient dense. Then two weeks later I replaced my oatmeal with a home made seed bar. Now I'm off bread/white potatoes/etc, don't crave them anymore and feel way better. Going cold turkey is hard! Baby steps are much easier :)
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    OP, you don't say if your goal is to cut down on overall added sugars in your diet, or if you're focusing specifically on white cane sugar for a particular reason. As someone else pointed out, white sugar is no different from eating blue agave, maple syrup, honey, brown sugar and other forms of sugar. I personally believe that reducing the amount of added sugars you eat (which are sugars that don't naturally occur in food, such as fruit) is a good idea. But there is so much of it added to nearly anything packaged (bread, soup, sauces, the list is endless) that it's extremely hard. And in my opinion not necessary to try to eliminate completely, unless you have a health issue that necessitates it.
  • SolotoCEO
    SolotoCEO Posts: 293 Member
    A bit confused here. Sugar is sugar regardless if it's cane sugar, beet sugar, sugar from fruit, etc. Figure out your reason to give up sugar (mine is to be a bit healthier and stave off Type II diabetes that runs in the family) and then make your meal plans around it. I try to limit my sugar to 35g per day and most often come in at about 20. That leaves no room for a piece of fruit - which I indulge in once to twice per week. Once you know YOUR why - you'll be able to adjust with (relative) ease.
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