Giving up sugar

What do you consider sugary foods?

There are usually two choices - eliminate or moderate. Some people can completely eliminate their trigger foods and be just fine. (I am NOT one of those people. After a week or two, I freak out and binge on it.) Some people can moderate their trigger foods, allow a little bit every day. This is me. I allow 200-300 calories for dessert every night. Sometimes it's chocolate, sometimes it's ice cream, sometimes candy.

I've cut out SOME sugary foods, because they're calorie bombs or hard to moderate. But I keep a sweet-ish cereal around. I make desserts at 200 calories/serving or less (homemade strawberry sorbet in freezer right now), and eat fruit.

I don't buy 600-calorie cherry turnovers anymore, because a whole one won't fit my plan and 1/4 isn't worth it. I don't buy jellybeans apart from the occasional fun-size pack, because I WILL go through a larger bag in a very short time. But sweets are still part of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Good for you, good luck!

My advice would be to do it gradually. It took a few months but now I've given it up 99%. For me, if I let myself have just a little regular sugar, it gets out of control. I can do it for a while, but eventually I binge. Giving it up means no white knuckling to allow myself a bitesize dessert only.

I had to give up coffee, which I only like quite sweet. I switched to tea and gradually stopped sweetening that. I found having a TBSP of molasses daily got rid of my sugar cravings. Now, I know molasses is a sugar, too (please don't yell at me, sugar purists), but it has nutrients, relatively low glycemic index, and such a strong flavor that regular sugar seems bland. Also, I take it for the iron content, I'm a bit anemic. No more than 1 T per day.

People have different definitions of giving up sugar. I have fruit juice still (in smoothie w/fiber and protein) and haven't given up fruit or carbs. I sometimes use dates to sweeten baked goods or other food, no more than two dates per day. Whole medjool dates only, with the fiber - not date syrup. No foods that contain added white or brown sugar, corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, etc., or any sugar substitutes (I'd eat stevia if I didn't think it tastes like feet).

Get lots of fiber and eat healthy fats. I experienced some headaches and dizziness, might have been sugar withdrawal, I'm not sure. I find normal food tastes sweeter now, and I'm not missing traditional desserts.

thing is theres research showing that we crave sugary foods because sugary foods encouraged a type of bacteria in our intestines that love sugar which then send signals to the brain telling you to eat more sugar!

The taste for sweet things is learned behavior, just like the taste for salty foods. It takes about a month to retrain your palate. All you need to do is not buy sugary things and don't add sugar to things you make. Period. It is not rocket science, folks. If you don't buy the cake or cookie or candy bar, you won't eat cake, or cookies, or candy bars.

Things might not taste as good at first, but after a few weeks of not eating so many sweets, they will start tasting too sweet if you do eat something.