Anyone up for a sugar-free challenge?

Sorry no - I enjoy fruit and vegetables.

I disagree our bodies do not need sugar. IMO sugar is a drug. More addictive then nicotine or cocaine. I’ve struggled with weight like all of us my whole life. Up down WW low carb etc. a few years ago I stop eating sugar ! No cookies cake candy ice cream. No added sugar in sauces drinks etc. I read all labels. I eat fruit. Well I lost 50 lbs. it’s been years I have never gained it back. I eat plenty all day just not sugar. It’s hard to get fat in lean means fruit and veggies. I have no bloat. I have no heartburn. My stomach is flat. I didn’t even exercise. Aside from quitting smoking 12 years ago this was by far hard but the second best decision I ever made. You don’t eat it you don’t crave it. Period full stop. Life is fabulous when your not addicted to anything. Just my 2 cents from a 54 year old size 4 woman.

Nope I like sugar and it’s fine for me to eat it as part of a balanced overall diet.

brasgold wrote: »

I disagree our bodies do not need sugar. IMO sugar is a drug. More addictive then nicotine or cocaine. I’ve struggled with weight like all of us my whole life. Up down WW low carb etc. a few years ago I stop eating sugar ! No cookies cake candy ice cream. No added sugar in sauces drinks etc. I read all labels. I eat fruit. Well I lost 50 lbs. it’s been years I have never gained it back. I eat plenty all day just not sugar. It’s hard to get fat in lean means fruit and veggies. I have no bloat. I have no heartburn. My stomach is flat. I didn’t even exercise. Aside from quitting smoking 12 years ago this was by far hard but the second best decision I ever made. You don’t eat it you don’t crave it. Period full stop. Life is fabulous when your not addicted to anything. Just my 2 cents from a 54 year old size 4 woman.

Uh if you eat fruit, you eat sugar. So I am curious how a substance is more addictive than cocaine but you have still been eating it for years with no problems? Perhaps it was not actually the sugar that was the problem in the things that you cut out of your diet? After all, cookies, candy, cake, ice cream, etc, get most of their calories from fat, not sugar.

sugarismyweakness wrote: »

@missysippy930 It isn't impossible to give up all of those sugars. Far from it, actually.

I can count on one hand the amount of pieces of fruit I've eaten in the past 2 years (fruits caused me IBS issues) and many low carb/keto dieters spend their lives living without sugar. You don't need sugar to survive, natural or otherwise. You can get a lot of what you need from green vegetables.

@SuperMotivated56 how long you thinking of doing this challenge for? I'd definitely consider joining you. Been struggling to get back on the Keto wagon and a challenge like this might help me!

Green vegetables have sugar.

For fun, I copied just the non-starchy vegetables (so no potatoes, etc., although I did have some winter squash), along with a serving of almonds and half an avocado, from a recent day and found that together they added up to 79 g carbs (although only 48 g net), and 30 g sugar.

I eat a lot of vegetables, intentionally, but still -- plenty of sugar, even without counting the fruit I ate that day (which I also think is healthy).

SuperMotivated56 wrote: »

I do mean added sugar - of the sweets, pastries, cookies, etc. kind. Not natural sugars like fruit. Apple 🍎

Its not the sugar in these foods that cause weight gain - its the fat (because at 9cal per gram these foods are high in calories) and not being able to know when to use moderation. Also the fat and sugar combination are what cause cravings (most people don't crave cotton candy or sticks of butter, but they do crave the sugar and fats together when made into cookies or cakes). Most of these foods are more fat calories then carb calories. Why not just eat healthy foods the majority of the time and if there is a special reason to eat the "added sugar" foods then make it fit.

candylilacs wrote: »

No, the low-fat version of causes the weight gain. The sugar when combined carbohydrates, also with no protein and no fat, also causes eater to be unsatisfied.

I'm pretty sure one can gain weight eating any macro mix, and that cookies with lots of butter and ice cream with all the cream are just as likely to cause weight gain, to the extent one eats over calories, as some sad low fat cookie (poor old Snackwells) or hard candy. Personally I find it very difficult to overeat sweets that have no fat (or most plain carbs -- starches without protein or fat or veg in some kind of tasty combination just tend to be meh to me).

Maybe some people were silly and thought low fat cookies couldn't cause weight gain and so ate ridiculous amounts of them, but that's no different than people thinking only carbs cause weight gain so, yay!, unlimited cheese or fat bombs or whatever.

And when the US was supposedly eating low fat, it's in fact true that total cals from fat consumed by the average person increased (and the average person also continued to ignore the advice to eat more vegetables, fruit, whole grains instead of refined, and to limit added sugar, as well as added fat).

Personally, many low fat foods (like a plain roasted potato) are much more satiating for me than the carb + fat option (say, really good french fries). The latter are much easier to way overeat, calorie-wise.

I did a brief sugar challenge - my husband was talking crap about how it can't be that hard to cut out sugar - so it was basically a dare. I'm stubborn and I do what I set out to do, so I knew I would succeed no matter how ugly it got. I told him he couldn't handle it, though. He couldn't, of course. But I ended up being OK.

I had read how people go into withdrawals like addicts, and how hard it is, etc. I expected it to be really terrible giving up sugar. Turns out, I think it's mostly a psychological thing. I didn't have any negative physical feelings when I cut back. I went from having candy every day, chocolate syrup in my coffee, lots of fruit, etc. to letting myself have a max of 25 grams of total sugar every day - from WHO guidelines - that's not just added or refined sugars - that's natural sugars, too. I was shocked at how much I had to cut back on broccoli just to stay within goals. (I love broccoli - can't have just one serving.) And I had to give up my daily apple (15 grams of sugar.) Poo to that.

Anyway, it was not difficult from a physical standpoint, but it was a lot of work to figure out combinations of meals that stayed within the bounds of all my goals. I had to eat a lot of fat and too much cheese and eggs. Those things are OK, but I'm not a glutton for them. I don't love them. Got a lot of fiber and protein from the lentils and chicken and whatnot I had to eat as filler. But it was hard to meet my calorie goals without the extra sugar. (I'm on maintenance and not trying to lose, and I have a lot of fitness activities, so I have a lot of calories to eat back.)

The primary benefit I noticed was that I didn't feel like I needed my daily naps anymore. I just wasn't as tired. I think I took one nap the whole time, when I usually sneak a nap in every day if I can. Other than that, I didn't notice huge changes. The biggest drawback is the hassle of worrying whether or not some piece of fruit is gonna put you over the edge. At least now I know that cutting back sugar is do-able, and not anywhere near as scary as people make it out to be.

25 total sugar grams was not maintainable long-term for me. At least, it's not when I'm healthy enough to NOT have to. So instead, ever since the challenge, I have modified my diet to stay within 25 grams of ADDED sugars and 45-50 TOTAL grams of sugar. (That's half the sugar I used to have every day.) That way, I can have all my broccoli, my daily apple and the occasional treat. My coffee has been permanently modified to include sugar-free syrup now (I don't have a problem using sugar free options. Doesn't bother me at all - I'm no purist) and I don't have daily candy anymore. I don't actually think I need it now that I've discovered walnuts as an alternative.

We'll see how this all plays out when the holidays roll around...yikes!