Giving up cane sugar
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I stopped overeating chocolate and candy when I stopped trying to adhere to random restrictions. Until then I'd always suffered from insane cravings. Now they're manageable. I can even eat frozen berries with just a little (white) sugar on top. Imagine that.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!7 -
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.2
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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.2
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kommodevaran wrote: »
I stopped overeating chocolate and candy when I stopped trying to adhere to random restrictions. Until then I'd always suffered from insane cravings. Now they're manageable. I can even eat frozen berries with just a little (white) sugar on top. Imagine that.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!
Yet other people experience these things quite differently and are grown adults and perhaps have a sense of their own personal history and an awareness of what hasn't worked for them. So, for such individuals, giving up cane sugar might just be a terrific idea. But not necessary for you personally. Imagine that.
Why so passive aggressive?
Many people think they "have" to give up something because main stream media makes them believe that is the only way to lose weight. That can make some people miserable. Nothing wrong with correcting the false information out there.13 -
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.
I don't see why you'd be confused. Sugar is not all the same even if it's removed from it's source and eaten alone. There are differences in types of sugar (that's why they have different names). But the real issue is that they are not eaten in isolation. Sugar from fruit is eaten as part of the fruit. It's not added sugar.
Also, the OP gave the reasons she wants to give it up. She's trying to break the cycle of binge eating things made with white sugar.2 -
The usual story is that the grown adult has read or heard something and taken it as gospel, without understanding any of the mechanics, and ends up struggling to stick to unnecessary rules, fail, and blame themselves for failing. It's much easier to educate oneself, find out what you want, and how to get it, and then make a realistic plan.kommodevaran wrote: »
I stopped overeating chocolate and candy when I stopped trying to adhere to random restrictions. Until then I'd always suffered from insane cravings. Now they're manageable. I can even eat frozen berries with just a little (white) sugar on top. Imagine that.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!
Yet other people experience these things quite differently and are grown adults and perhaps have a sense of their own personal history and an awareness of what hasn't worked for them. So, for such individuals, giving up cane sugar might just be a terrific idea. But not necessary for you personally. Imagine that.10 -
I cut out added sugar, (sweets) about 6 weeks ago because if I even have a little I tend to bing, and have horrible cravings. It is interesting however that as I've been away from it I don't have any cravings at all. I do eat 3/4 servings of fruit a day, and that does satisfy me. I understand the cravings, but for me the only way to get away from them is to stop the added sugar completely.2
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I cut out added sugar, (sweets) about 6 weeks ago because if I even have a little I tend to bing, and have horrible cravings. It is interesting however that as I've been away from it I don't have any cravings at all. I do eat 3/4 servings of fruit a day, and that does satisfy me. I understand the cravings, but for me the only way to get away from them is to stop the added sugar completely.
This story is as common as those who insist people not deprive themselves. People are different.1 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
I stopped overeating chocolate and candy when I stopped trying to adhere to random restrictions. Until then I'd always suffered from insane cravings. Now they're manageable. I can even eat frozen berries with just a little (white) sugar on top. Imagine that.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!
Yet other people experience these things quite differently and are grown adults and perhaps have a sense of their own personal history and an awareness of what hasn't worked for them. So, for such individuals, giving up cane sugar might just be a terrific idea. But not necessary for you personally. Imagine that.
Why so passive aggressive?
Many people think they "have" to give up something because main stream media makes them believe that is the only way to lose weight. That can make some people miserable. Nothing wrong with correcting the false information out there.
Yes. Tell OP her desire to give up cane sugar is a false one false based on false information. I mean, unless she's right. Then what? Oh wait. Anecdotal!! Nevermind.
You are purposely misreading what people write. Sorry but I don't want to play that childish game. Have a good day.8 -
Ready2Rock206 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 ate almost 2lbs of cherries yesterday. No way could I do that with Hershey's miniatures (because, yuck).
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I cut out added sugar, (sweets) about 6 weeks ago because if I even have a little I tend to bing, and have horrible cravings. It is interesting however that as I've been away from it I don't have any cravings at all. I do eat 3/4 servings of fruit a day, and that does satisfy me. I understand the cravings, but for me the only way to get away from them is to stop the added sugar completely.
This story is as common as those who insist people not deprive themselves. People are different.
I don't think it's just this though. The discussion has 2 parts. There is losing weight......and then there is keeping it off.
There are people who eliminate to lose weight (some of them over & over again....blissfully ignorant "that's what works for me"). Sure, it works time & time again. Then there are those who actually believe elimination will be a forever thing (and sometimes it actually is).
When elimination is not a lifetime thing, when people have yo-yo'd.......they need to deal with BEHAVIORAL issues. It's harder to hear....I'm fat because I stuff my face, than it is to blame an "addiction" to sugar. This is where moderation "training" comes in. I've had bad habits for decades......change doesn't happen overnight.5 -
Eating 500 calories from oranges is fairly unusual, but I wouldn't say it's a problem - at least as far as weight loss or weight control. Some people pointed out that the acid might be bad for that person's teeth, and that the person might be neglecting other healthy foods. But from a weight loss/weight control standpoint, it's almost impossible to eat so many oranges that you gain weight. The same is true for grapes, which someone else mentioned, or most other fruits. (Fruit juices or dried fruits are more concentrated, and it is possible to gain weight on those.)Ready2Rock206 wrote: »There was just a thread yesterday about someone who ate like 500 calories of oranges a day. Lets not pretend everyone is just shoveling cake in their face for every meal. ...
On the other hand, cake is extremely calorie-dense and not particularly filling. People can and commonly do eat far more than 500 calories per day from cake, and aren't even full afterwards. And eating several servings of cake, cookies, pastries, etc. per day is very common.
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I eat hardly any added sugar, and I don't really miss it. You might consider starting off with a low-glycemic diet, to help get past the initial cravings. People sometimes do experience a kind of "withdrawal" at first, for a few days. But after that the main challenge is logistical - finding foods you like that also don't have added sugar. The adjustment can be difficult at first, but once you're past that, it's not hard.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.
The DASH diet and South Beach Diet are two well-known low-glycemic diets. (You can find free information on both of those online.)0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »
OMG - I just had a childhood flashback!2 -
I cut out most sugar (no not the sugar in fruits and what not) about a year ago. I'll eat a sweet every now and then but very limited. Over the winter I got into a habit of doing it a little more than I'd like but it never got too excessive. Now I'm back to it being almost void from my diet.
Sugar is addictive and you just have to fight the urge for a little while and you'll lose the urge. At least that's how it was for me, after two weeks I didn't crave sugar at all really.
You have obviously never met an addict. There is no 12 step program or daily meetings for sugar eaters anonymous. I don't know anyone who stole, or got fired because of sugar.
You like tastey food. For some people that's a salt craving, for others that's a sugar craving.
You obviously don't know about the 12 Step Programs called GSA (Greysheeters Anonymous) and FAA (Food Addicts Anonymous) that require complete abstinence from all added sugar which is considered addictive for the people who choose to enter and work these programs.
I know scores of people who have stolen food for the purpose of binging - specifically dessert foods full of sugar. They stole from both their workplaces and shared living arrangements and have found themselves fired and/or evicted for that reason.
So before you think of yourself as an expert on what's obvious, some things that are obvious to some aren't always obvious to others.
As lemurcat frequently points out in these types of threads-those sugary dessert foods are also usually full of fat. So why is it the sugar that's the 'addicting' ingredient and not the fat? I have Reeses' Filled Muffins sitting on my counter right now-one muffin has 450 calories, 37g of sugar and 24g of fat. Or 18% of the daily recommended carb intake and 37% of the daily recommended fat intake. I always find it curious that sugar is labeled the bad guy, but fat gets a free pass-usually by people who do some version of low carb.4 -
Has anyone else made the leap to a white sugar-less lifestyle?
I gave up added sugar for a period of time a couple of different times, as an experiment and also to get a handle on emotional eating. I am currently eating almost none simply because I am eating LCHF and do not have room for any. All of my carbs are from vegetables, nuts, and dairy, with few exceptions.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.
You may want to consider if this is the right approach for you if it seems to be encouraging bingeing.
I would agree with the posts that say the number one step is to have a strong reason in your own mind why you are doing it, or you can't give yourself that reason when faced with temptation. I'd also make sure you have enjoyable foods that you are eating instead -- if the choice is delicious food or no delicious food, well... And I'd have a plan -- are you trying to accomplish certain things? How do you know if they are accomplished?
I also always recommend that someone trying to change their diet have a plan and structure, foods they want to eat, not just things they are cutting out. For me structured meals made it easier -- I want to eat only at my planned (3) meals, so snacks between meals that come up are out anyway. I never really ate much sugar at mealtime, so that helped.
Don't make it about will power, which will be weak at various times. Make whatever you end up doing easy on yourself. Understand where the temptation comes in, the specifics, the whys.
If it's the right approach, it will get easier, but if you feel like you are bingeing, restricting, and beating yourself up, it's again probably not -- that can really worsen a control problem. Nothing wrong with some sugar in moderation if you like it, and for many it makes it easier. (I am not cutting it out for good, I don't think, certainly not going to not have pie on holidays, etc.)
Beyond that, there's really nothing to expect. If you cut carbs there are common symptoms, but just sugar, no, since to your body all carbs (including, of course, sugar from fruit, etc.) break down to sugar.8 -
Iamnotasenior wrote: »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.
No it is not. Maybe if you mean "carbs." It is not that difficult to avoid added sugar if one really wants to.
Whether it is important to do is another issue. Even focusing on the temptations such as newmeadow bring up, a little added sugar in, I dunno, some sriracha is unlikely to be perceived the same way as a cookie such that one needs to cut it all out.
I'm a weirdo, so I did, as an experiment, and am all for anyone else also trying it. I found it valuable and interesting, although part of the interest was it turned out to not be that big a deal.3 -
crazyycatladyy1 wrote: »I cut out most sugar (no not the sugar in fruits and what not) about a year ago. I'll eat a sweet every now and then but very limited. Over the winter I got into a habit of doing it a little more than I'd like but it never got too excessive. Now I'm back to it being almost void from my diet.
Sugar is addictive and you just have to fight the urge for a little while and you'll lose the urge. At least that's how it was for me, after two weeks I didn't crave sugar at all really.
You have obviously never met an addict. There is no 12 step program or daily meetings for sugar eaters anonymous. I don't know anyone who stole, or got fired because of sugar.
You like tastey food. For some people that's a salt craving, for others that's a sugar craving.
You obviously don't know about the 12 Step Programs called GSA (Greysheeters Anonymous) and FAA (Food Addicts Anonymous) that require complete abstinence from all added sugar which is considered addictive for the people who choose to enter and work these programs.
I know scores of people who have stolen food for the purpose of binging - specifically dessert foods full of sugar. They stole from both their workplaces and shared living arrangements and have found themselves fired and/or evicted for that reason.
So before you think of yourself as an expert on what's obvious, some things that are obvious to some aren't always obvious to others.
As lemurcat frequently points out in these types of threads-those sugary dessert foods are also usually full of fat. So why is it the sugar that's the 'addicting' ingredient and not the fat? I have Reeses' Filled Muffins sitting on my counter right now-one muffin has 450 calories, 37g of sugar and 24g of fat. Or 18% of the daily recommended carb intake and 37% of the daily recommended fat intake. I always find it curious that sugar is labeled the bad guy, but fat gets a free pass-usually by people who do some version of low carb.
The programs I listed don't ask adherents to abstain from fat. Fat is used in measured quantity in cooking or for dressing on a salad, so it's not a free pass. Cotton candy is pure spun sugar and lots of people could gorge on it. Huge, lovely, colorful clouds of it. We'll skip the ferris wheel and the merry-go-round! Let's just sit at this table and eat multiple blobs of cotton candy! Yes! It's a thing.
I'd way rather (and be more likely to) gorge myself on steak or cheese than cotton candy. I've always found cotton candy disgusting. [edit: heh, cross posted with ndj]
But that aside, I think OP may have reasons to cut added sugar -- I did, or thought I did, and have not been sorry I experimented with it at all. She also may find that IF she is struggling with bingeing and cutting sugar makes it worse that it's not a good idea for her. Some people tend to want things more if they put them off limits and also tend to react to a slip-up by deciding it's the last time, so might as well go all out, and then feeling such shame and self-hatred that they perpetuate the cycle. I don't know this is OP, but it is a real thing worth bringing up even though for me experimenting with cutting out added sugar was a positive thing.3 -
TavistockToad wrote: »
I take a few slices of bread, slather them with butter then pour on sugar & cinnamon and broil til Crispy. I also have been known to eat sugar packets or hot chocolate powder from the coffee cart. Thus, am learning to satisfy my sweet tooth with fruit. Id really like to cut all sweeteners including Stevia at some point.5 -
Dietry recommended intakes of sugar are 25 grams of added sugar. This excludes sugar found naturally in fruit, vegetables and dairy etc.
We seems to have a number of groups of people with sugar
× Those that follow these recommendations give or take
× Those that go to 25 grams or less for all sugar and don't even eat fruit because they deem it unhealthy
× Those that don't bother monitering their sugar intake at all with the stance of 'as long as it fits into my calories'
Which group you fit into depends on your goals and what you consider healthy. It depends upon what you can stick with long term.
If limiting sugar fits into your goals and lifestyle then don't worry about what others say. They do so to justify their own stance. I'd recommend cutting back slowly. Gradually reduce the sugar you are having a day until you reach the amount you feel comfortable with.3
This discussion has been closed.
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