Anyone up for a sugar-free challenge?

2

Replies

  • SuperMotivated56
    SuperMotivated56 Posts: 119 Member
    I thought that we could motivate each other, particularly on the tough days, with some reasons why. Here’s my first one (and it would be great if you’d like to add yours):

    BELLY FAT! There is a statistically significant link between sugar and belly fat.
    From the analogues of evidence, here is a snapshot:

    Sugar (of the added kind) is half glucose and half fructose and fructose can only be metabolized by the liver in significant amounts. When you eat a lot of added sugar, the liver gets overloaded with fructose and is forced to turn it into fat.
    There is a direct correlation between excess sugar and increased accumulation of fat in the belly and liver.

    For the few nay-sayers, the evidence is clear that this does not apply to whole fruit, which has plenty of fiber that mitigates the negative effects of fructose.
    The amount of fructose you get from fruit is negligible compared to what you get from a diet high in refined sugar.
  • SuperMotivated56
    SuperMotivated56 Posts: 119 Member
    Thanks for sharing Lemurcat2 - very inspirational and I can really relate to your rationale. Perfectly stated!
  • SuperMotivated56
    SuperMotivated56 Posts: 119 Member
    4 days and feeling stronger 😊🏃🏼‍♀️
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Nope. I eat relatively little added sugar, but every since I discovered how usefully much iron and potassium is in blackstrap molasses, I put a tablespoon of it in my oatmeal every day. Tasty and nutritious, but sadly it's added sugar.

    In general, I don't find most added-sugar-y foods very tempting at all, let alone addictive, so I don't feel much need to control them. On the rare occasion I want a cookie, I eat a cookie.

    If it helps others to give up added sugar, that seems fine.
    Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, processed meats all have sugar.

    So does plain dairy food like skim milk, plain unsweetened unflavored yogurt, etc.

    I would consider a challenge of not exceeding the WHO recommendation for added sugar, but I would exclude my 1 T of blackstrap molasses, as I am anemic and that helps keep me in Low Normal.
  • SuperMotivated56
    SuperMotivated56 Posts: 119 Member
    Thank you for your very informative post - very insightful! I think that that’s a great approach and I say yes to your molasses! 👍🏻
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    I'll join tomorrow. I didn't have any dessert type stuff today (I was going to disqualify myself since we had a BBQ lunch at work), but I want to include logging too, and lunch was impossible to log.

    @lemurcat2 did you start?

    I think I'm going to challenge myself to not exceed the WHO recommendations for added sugar for 4 weeks, Oct 27 - Nov 24. That will let me end before my mother's birthday and Thanksgiving.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited October 2019
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    I'll join tomorrow. I didn't have any dessert type stuff today (I was going to disqualify myself since we had a BBQ lunch at work), but I want to include logging too, and lunch was impossible to log.

    @lemurcat2 did you start?

    I think I'm going to challenge myself to not exceed the WHO recommendations for added sugar for 4 weeks, Oct 27 - Nov 24. That will let me end before my mother's birthday and Thanksgiving.

    I started, although I went out for Korean food on Saturday and then had leftovers Sunday, so my logging was lame (and there was some added sugar in the sauces). I think it would be best to start a thread in the challenge section if we want to compare notes. If you two are up for it I can do it.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited October 2019
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    I'll join tomorrow. I didn't have any dessert type stuff today (I was going to disqualify myself since we had a BBQ lunch at work), but I want to include logging too, and lunch was impossible to log.

    @lemurcat2 did you start?

    I think I'm going to challenge myself to not exceed the WHO recommendations for added sugar for 4 weeks, Oct 27 - Nov 24. That will let me end before my mother's birthday and Thanksgiving.

    I started, although I went out for Korean food on Saturday and then had leftovers Sunday, so my logging was lame (and there was some added sugar in the sauces). I think it would be best to start a thread in the challenge section if we want to compare notes. If you two are up for it I can do it.

    @lemurcat2 yes please!

    @SuperMotivated56 (and anyone else interested) stay tuned for link to above ^
  • eryn0x
    eryn0x Posts: 138 Member
    Not doing this challenge because I don't need it, but I wanted to share my experience. When I stopped actively trying to control sugar it became just like any other food, I eat it when I want and I don't feel the need to overeat it because I can eat it again any time I want. . .

    That's a nice idea but unfortunately there is a lot of sugar in things that others may not expect. If you are eating anything processed (canned, bagged, boxed, jarred) then you need to read the label. I may only eat cookies when I feel the need (which isn't true, haha) but if I am not reading the labels on everything I can still be eating a high-sugar diet.

    Also - agree that there is nothing wrong with fruit in moderation. I don't think it's something we should deprive ourselves of entirely.
  • eryn0x
    eryn0x Posts: 138 Member
    cathipa 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.

    Agree and disagree. Of course it comes down to calories, however, sugar is the devil. I beleive we are more likely to overeat when we consume a diet that is high in sugar, rather than a healthy balance focused on fats, proteins and fibrous veggies which keep us full and blood sugars stable.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    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!

    @jenilla1 the WHO guidelines are for ADDED sugar, which they call "free sugars", so you deprived yourself of broccoli unnecessarily :( :

    https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/

    4 MARCH 2015 ¦ GENEVA - A new WHO guideline recommends adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake. A further reduction to below 5% or roughly 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day would provide additional health benefits.

    Guideline on sugars intake for adult and children

    Free sugars refer to monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar) added to foods and drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.

    YES!!! LOL, I realized that AFTER I finished the challenge. I'm back to my broccoli binges! ;) But...it was supposed to be challenging (because it was a dare from my husband) so I'm not sorry I did the 25 grams of TOTAL sugars challenge. Now I know I can do it, even though I don't need to do it...

    Following the actual WHO guidelines of 25 ADDED sugars turns out to be way too easy for me to call it a challenge. I've been doing that for months now, ever since the original "extreme" challenge, and it's NOT difficult at all. Maybe because I prepare most of my food from scratch anyway, so I don't get a lot of added sugars from processed food. The natural stuff in fruit and vegetables and milk is where most of my sugar comes from. Now once the holidays roll around, and I start wanting to bake, it might be a different story!!! :D
  • suelittle91
    suelittle91 Posts: 2 Member
    SuperMotivated56 I saw a segment on the TV show The Doctors this morning..A real motivator to quit sugar. I am looking for a buddy to do it with me.
  • SuperMotivated56
    SuperMotivated56 Posts: 119 Member
    Suelittle91 - that will be great!
    I’d love to hear your insights after watching that show 💭
  • vivo1972
    vivo1972 Posts: 129 Member
    Hi OP

    I am doing this and have been doing so for the last couple of weeks. I don't eat sweets (candy) anyway but my downfall is binge eating ice-cream, cake and cookies.

    I don't add sugar to anything anyway so that bit was easy.

    I make a one-portion home-made fruit crumble every night (UK style with crumble of butter, flour and a BIT of added sugar) - generally blackberries or other berry. No added sugar in the fruit and with a tbsp of half-fat creme fraiche.

    I've not wanted the binge-eating stuff which is a huge boost for me, both physically and emotionally.

    I'll do it with you. It's a motivation thread and I'm up for that.

  • vivo1972
    vivo1972 Posts: 129 Member
    PS I am using this is as my guidline, the NHS recommendation of additional sugars not all sugars :)https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-does-sugar-in-our-diet-affect-our-health/
  • SuperMotivated56
    SuperMotivated56 Posts: 119 Member
    Sounds fantastic, vivo1972.
    I’ve also been at it for a few weeks now and trying really hard. It’s amazing how natural sugars like fruit are tasting that much sweeter and I am also tasting sweetness in places that I never recognised before. 😊
  • vivo1972
    vivo1972 Posts: 129 Member
    edited November 2019
    Today I had 31g out of 30g recommended NHS allowance of free sugars . 12g of that was in evaporated milk which is nutrient dense in Vit A and D so not too bothered by that :) The rest from sugar in a fruit crumble.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,238 Member
    vivo1972 wrote: »
    Today I had 31g out of 30g recommended NHS allowance of free sugars . 12g of that was in evaporated milk which is nutrient dense in Vit A and D so not too bothered by that :) The rest from sugar in a fruit crumble.

    Is the terminology different in the UK (I'm assuming that's where you are)? In the US, evaporated milk doesn't normally have added sugar, but condensed milk usually does.
  • vivo1972
    vivo1972 Posts: 129 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    vivo1972 wrote: »
    Today I had 31g out of 30g recommended NHS allowance of free sugars . 12g of that was in evaporated milk which is nutrient dense in Vit A and D so not too bothered by that :) The rest from sugar in a fruit crumble.

    Is the terminology different in the UK (I'm assuming that's where you are)? In the US, evaporated milk doesn't normally have added sugar, but condensed milk usually does.

    No it doesn't and milk doesn't count as a free sugar on the NHS guidelines - I just added it on my count as it is high in milk sugar for the volume that's all. Personal choice :)