Sugar - your experiences?

When I cut back sugar, I noticed a noticeable deflation in my lower belly pooch.

I recommend that no more than 10% of your calories come from sugar. Period. This means ALL sugars, including natural ones like maple syrup, honey, and fruits too. I limit these things or have them in very small quantities.

To figure out your sugar grams:

Your daily calories x 0.10 = a number. This number/4 = # of sugar grams you can have in a day.

Also, watch carbs as they will quickly be converted to sugars for energy. Carbs are ok, just eat the right ones - complex carbs, whole grains. Avoid refined and starchy carbs.

I basically eat alot of lean meats and veggies. Take a look at my diary if you need ideas on how to keep your sugar low.

Also, I do not recommend artificial sweeteners of any kind. Hope this helps!

Go with natural sweeteners rather then anything with chemicals in it, period. Good rule of thumb is to stay clear of anything that is white....sugars, flours, etc. You'll crave less and you'll actually taste more.

Feel free to friend me for some calorie free food for thought on my wall daily.... Have a Super Saturday! Colleen (Seattle)

I know, sugar attracts water retention just like salt does.

Cutting out sugar and white flour (breaks down fast like sugar with no fiber to slow it down) from my diet got rid of my craving for sweets and junk food within 2 weeks. Keeping them out of my diet means this sugarholic for the first time in my life found some things to be "too sweet"! I was one who actually enjoyed drinking the sugar syrup for the diabetic screening blood work! I could have drank 2 bottles! Now, eating chocolate chip cookies makes me sick feeling. I like that feeling now, because before I had no "off" valve for sweets.

As others have posted if I absolutely MUST have a sweetener, then I use stevia at home - can find at Trader Joe's, and also agave nectar, but agave is too much like real syrup and I am afraid that would be too enjoyable for me and I might start abusing it. Whereas stevia has a slight chemical taste (although it is natural) if I use too much. Lacking those, I would also use sugar at least it is a real food. Also Trader Joe's is the only place I can find Soy Milk with only soybeans and water listed as ingredients. Even at health food stores I have never found one with out "junk" in them.

As far as calcium goes, I am 54, was never a big milk drinker and slack on my calcium pills which is a fight for me to remember to take them. I passed the heel osteoporosis test with flying colors this year. Two more points up and I would have been off the chart for strong and healthy bones! I walk an hour to an hour a half each day and do 30 minutes or less of strength training 4 - 5 days a week.

I have also heard that if we try to reduce our use of sweeteners in our food then we will also get used to that. Using it just reminds your brain that you like sweet.

Go with natural sweeteners rather then anything with chemicals in it, period. Good rule of thumb is to stay clear of anything that is white....sugars, flours, etc. You'll crave less and you'll actually taste more.

Feel free to friend me for some calorie free food for thought on my wall daily.... Have a Super Saturday! Colleen (Seattle)

natural sweetners are byproducts of sugar that's obvious. The issue is that the brain can't tell the difference, insulin will still raise, looking for this sugar, but there is no sugar, so it puts a lot of stress on the system. Actually sweetner are "worse" than actual sugar.

To the original post. Cut out sugar, sugar is the worst thing on this planet for health. I do an alkalarian diet, mostly geen vegetables. WHat sugar does it increases insulin, that's a given, if your muscles are already filled with glyocgen it will put bodyfat on your body. Second, the reason why I usually don't eat sugar, microforms in our body such as yeast(candida), fungus, mold, exotoxins, produce highly acidic weight which is very dangerous for the body. Guess what these microforms feed on? Sugar... you're feeding microforms to produce acidic weight in your body, illness from your common cold, to cancer, to aids is based on acid in the body.

tagging, useful info

JUst been reading these posts and am a bit confused. I to carry a lot of weight around my belly and would have a very sweet tooth which would lead to a lot of sweet cravings. If Im gonna try to cut back on sugar to try and stop these cravings am I needing to cut back on fruit as well.

Yes. Some fruits have more sugar than others--berries are best. Look in your diary for obvious sugar sources and try to cut or replace one a week. Another way to reduce is choose one meal a day with little to no sugar. Don't forget carbohydrates are converted to glucose in your body so watch that. MFP let's you track sugar ... an alarming exercise IMO. haha!