For the people who eliminated sugar from your diet, how did you do it?
xproofx
Posts: 43 Member
I am always amazed by people who can eliminate sugar from their diet. I have tried, but I am finding it hard. I love my fruits, vegetables, and dairy but all of those have at least some sugar in them and I don't think I can cut them out completely.
What is the secret to the people who said they cut out all sugar? Anyone with an open diary I can look at?
What is the secret to the people who said they cut out all sugar? Anyone with an open diary I can look at?
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If you enjoy fruit, veg and dairy, why are you trying to cut them out?
Sugar is not the devil7 -
Why on earth would you want to cut all sugars? You'd be eating, what, meat and oil? I'm sure there are a few people who are complete carnivores, but it by no means the norm.
Unless you have a medical condition, you don't really need to worry about sugar. I don't even track it.5 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »If you enjoy fruit, veg and dairy, why are you trying to cut them out?
Sugar is not the devil
I don't plan to, believe me. I am just amazed at the people who cut out all sugar and gave those up.1 -
I don't plan to, believe me. I am just amazed at the people who cut out all sugar and gave those up.
I think they would be a-kin to unicorns.1 -
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When most people say theyve given up sugar they mean added sugars, not sugars in fruit, veg and dairy
Right time for a biscuit15 -
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Cutting out sugar entirely is not only extremely difficult. It is also completely unnecessary and unhealthy.
Following this approach carries the potential for micronutrient deficiencies, lack of fiber...it's just not good.
BTW, sugar isn't bad for you. In fact, it's vital to your survival. If you don't eat it, your body will produce it from other sources in order to keep you alive.2 -
ruqayyahsmum wrote: »When most people say theyve given up sugar they mean added sugars, not sugars in fruit, veg and dairy
This. If someone says they've given up sugar ^^ that's what they likely mean.
Ask them what they mean.
AND DON'T CORRECT THEM ABOUT FRUIT/DAIRY/VEG.
Then you're just "that" guy.
*ets: Unless you're on MFP being pedantic for the sake of accuracy and education. IRL - we know what people mean - and the correction won't go over well.
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Don't cut out vegetables and fruits. Or dairy.
I cut way back on foods with added sugars. I started reading labels. It's a challenge because so far (in the U.S.) most packaged foods don't differentiate between the sugar that's naturally occurring and added sugars, so you have to read and compare. Take pasta sauce for example. Some brands would have 8 grams (ish) per serving, the sugar in tomatoes, others would have 15 for the same serving size. Bread: the tiny amount needed for bread, versus the kinds with more added sugars (several kinds, usually). Then I read the ingredients and could see why.
You have to know all the names of sugar in foods.
I did this... about 17 years ago now. I basically cut way back on all heavily processed so-called convenience foods. It's doable. And for me, I think it helped with appetite and my ability to achieve my diet goals.3 -
Don’t expect a lot of support from the forums in regards to cutting out added processed sugars from your diet. There are a lot of “experts” that can’t seem to grasp that added sugars ARE a problem for many.
It’s hard but not impossible to cut out added sugars. The trick is to find all the hidden sugars in your food such as ketchup and salad dressings. It takes a good 30 days for cravings to go away, and expect some “flu-like” days as your body starts to detox. Find healthy substitutes such as fruit and medjool dates. You may also find that other foods might trigger sugar cravings such as white flour. You just need to figure out what is best for you.
There are a lot of websites and books on the subject for more in depth information.
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moosmum1972 wrote: »
Your body doesn't treat added sugar or natural sugar any differently.
Is this a fact? Or what the sugar commercials tell us? I would truly like to see well cited studies on this, and have looked. But haven't seen much of anything.
Regardless, I think most folks would be well served by cutting back on sugar. And added sugars seem like the obvious place to cut back.13 -
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You mentioned that, yes. Thanks.moosmum1972 wrote: »
Sugar is sugar......doesn't matter where it comes from. It's all broken down the same way in your body.
5 -
Don’t expect a lot of support from the forums in regards to cutting out added processed sugars from your diet. There are a lot of “experts” that can’t seem to grasp that added sugars ARE a problem for many.
It’s hard but not impossible to cut out added sugars. The trick is to find all the hidden sugars in your food such as ketchup and salad dressings. It takes a good 30 days for cravings to go away, and expect some “flu-like” days as your body starts to detox. Find healthy substitutes such as fruit and medjool dates. You may also find that other foods might trigger sugar cravings such as white flour. You just need to figure out what is best for you.
There are a lot of websites and books on the subject for more in depth information.
This thread wasn't about cutting out added sugar, it was about cutting out all sugar so that's kind of a moot point really.5 -
...and here we go. What, ten posts in?
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There is sugar and there is sugar4
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tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
This thread wasn't about cutting out added sugar, it was about cutting out all sugar so that's kind of a moot point really.
It could be a post to help educate the OP and others?2 -
moosmum1972 wrote: »
Sugar is sugar......doesn't matter where it comes from. It's all broken down the same way in your body.
There are differences, albeit small, how sugars/carbs are broken down. Fructose is largely digested in the liver, while other sugars are broken down in the intestines and stomach.
In the end, your body breaks down food all into energy, regardless of source. And I am sure we would all agree that fruits and veggies are better than soda and candy, just like fish has more benefits than fried chicken; this isn't to say, we can't include all of those things, but the predominance of our diets should be made up of whole foods to maximize nutrient uptake (something I believe we all agree with).
OP, what are your goals? Ultimately, it may be better, from a compliance standpoint, to cut out added sugars. But if you really enjoy fruits and veggies, it would probably not be beneficial to cut those out of your diet. Ultimately, sugar is not a health problem, calories are.4 -
Did the people who "wooed" this even bother to watch? Good grief, it's Dr. Layne Norton, he's far from anti-sugar lol6 -
Thanks. Good post. Fructose, and high fructose corn syrup as well?
There are differences, albeit small, how sugars/carbs are broken down. Fructose is largely digested in the liver, while other sugars are broken down in the intestines and stomach.
In the end, your body breaks down food all into energy, regardless of source. And I am sure we would all agree that fruits and veggies are better than soda and candy, just like fish has more benefits than fried chicken; this isn't to say, we can't include all of those things, but the predominance of our diets should be made up of whole foods to maximize nutrient uptake (something I believe we all agree with).
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Thanks. Good post. Fructose, and high fructose corn syrup as well?
Fructose is fructose, regardless of source. So the sugar would break down the same in fruit as it would in soda. The difference is the other nutrients and fiber which slows down the absorption of nutrients and provides additional benefits.4 -
There are differences, albeit small, how sugars/carbs are broken down. Fructose is largely digested in the liver, while other sugars are broken down in the intestines and stomach.
Thank you for mentioning this. Especially true for those of us with digestive disorders and diseases, when you really dig into the science of sugar molecules digestion & breakdown (mono-, di-, poly-, and what they're actually comprised of) there is absolutely a difference in the digestion of sugars.
"Sugar is sugar" can be such an oversimplification in certain aspects.
But not to derail, regarding the OP, I agree that when people say they're quitting sugar they possibly just mean added sugars from candy, cokes, etc.1 -
“Sugar is sugar” is total bull. Ask a diabetic or a doctor who researches insulin response. It’s well documented and has been uncontroversial for decades.
Whether that difference matters for weight loss is a different question.7 -
There is always so much animosity on posts regarding sugar. OP, if you are still here with us, I have far from given up all sugar, but I chose to drastically cut added sugar. I did this not because I felt sugar was inherently bad for me, but because I realized that the more added sugar I had, the more I craved it and the harder it was to resist - for example, I could never have just one cookie. Even things like canned sauces with a lot of added sugar, I just had such a hard time stopping once I started eating it. Once I cut down on it drastically, my cravings for sweets really tanked. Maybe this was because I cut the added sugar, maybe not. But that is the reason I did it and I feel it worked for me. It's also much easier for me to stay in a calorie deficit for weight loss.
How did I do it? I already was looking at nutrition labels, I just started looking at the sugar part, and particularly if the label noted that there was added sugar. I then avoided buying things with large amounts of added sugar.
There are certainly reasons that people might want to cut sugar that have nothing to do with all the woo regarding sugar.5 -
This is all valuable information! I appreciate the feedback and rest assured I will not be giving up my fruits, vegetables, and milk. I never thought about the difference between the natural and added sugar and now that I think about it, that's probably what they mean they say they cut out sugar. That being the case, I think I am doing all right. Thanks again!3
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I don't plan to, believe me. I am just amazed at the people who cut out all sugar and gave those up.
They didn't cut out all sugar...those people are mostly likely talking about cutting out or substantially reducing their consumption of free (added) sugars, not fruits and vegetables...that would be asinine since most of the micro-nutrients the body needs are in fruits and vegetables.
The vast majority of people eating the SAD should reduce their consumption of added sugar because it is excessive and increase consumption of fruits and vegetables and other whole foods. That's not to say that people need to eliminate added sugars completely...in the context of a healthy diet and in appropriate doses, it's not really a big deal...it's the mass over consumption that is a big deal...3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApKsdvGCGJw
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