30 Day Logging/Limiting Added Sugar Challenge

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  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    Yesterday: no added sugar, 61 g total sugar, 41 g fiber. Not too bad given I had no beans or lentils.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    Been holding the course for 2 weeks. No added sugar. Someone had referred to a 2 week sugar-free challenge & I decided to do it. AND I've done it & am carrying on. I'm an emotional eater & today I had a stressful situation that would have had me eating out of the sugar bowl to soothe my stress. I find without added sugar, I don't crave, so it's easier to control the temptation to soothe my feelings. Pouring a warm bath instead of feeding the feelings 👍

    I missed my lunch time exercise due to a doctor's appt and had a mild craving for a chocolate snack bar when I got home, but I realized I was just hungry, had my chocolate PP smoothie (the good PP), and the craving went away.

    This is true for me a lot - I feel like I want snacky foods, when I am actually just hungry / need protein. So I try to never get too hungry and exercise regularly, as that helps me with the emotional eating.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    Yeah, I'm pretty similar. I do normally have a long break between lunch and dinner (around 12 or 1 to around 9), but when I'm being overall mindful, and doing things like exercising regularly, I can normally just remind myself that I'm probably just a little hungry (or sometimes tired, sad, stressed, whatever) and once I eat I no longer want whatever it was that I thought I wanted.

    I also can often channel the "I want to eat" feeling into whatever I'm looking forward to for dinner, if I focus on cooking foods I really enjoy (I was planning a big salad with some steak on it yesterday, which is something I love, so I'd focus on that). I ran by the grocery store on the way home, so that helped with the "hmm, this looks good" thing that sometimes happens there.

    Yesterday was a good day overall: no added sugar, 38 g of total sugar (less fruit, still lots of veg), and 55 g of fiber. It's been fun using Cron to see if I can meet all my goals (I mostly don't meet D, but I supplement).

    Today might not be that great, depending--I intended to bring lunch and forgot, but if life allows there are plenty of good salad bar options around.
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    Hey amici !

    Some stats:
    Tuesday - 7 grams total sugar, 0 added.
    Yesterday- 8 grams total sugar, 0 added.
    Today - 3 grams total sugar, 0 added.

    I’ve been working so much — I need to add in more veggies and fruit..

    I usually try to get 5 servings in.

    Today I had Broccoli, Spinach & brussel sprouts. Surprised only 3 grams total or intrinsic sugar.

    I realized my biggest added sugar foe is condiments. I’m still on the hunt for a “healthier” ketchup. Been using hot pepper sauce in its place.

    The challenge definitely makes me think more about what I eat. That’s all from my part of the world! 😉🤗🌞☺️
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I've actually found that fewer condiments/rubs I use have sugar than I'd assumed (I'm a fanatic for spicy sauces and like trying new ones). I'm okay with using them, as noted above, but mostly it's just as easy to pick something that doesn't have it, unless there's a specific recipe of mine that I have in mind. I purchased around Christmas a bunch of spice mixes from a local spice place (I like making my own, but also like trying others), and none of the ones I bought have sugar in them (BBQ ones I expect would, but they aren't).
  • mariatn2003
    mariatn2003 Posts: 238 Member
    Total sugar 66, added sugar 2. Lots of fruit mostly.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    Yesterday turned out okay despite a slightly disorganized start: 48 g total sugar (none added) and 47 g fiber. Sugar mostly from an apple, half a banana, and two salads (with a mix of cooked and not veg).
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    @Safari_Gal_ There is a sugar-free ketchup made by French's with a natural sweetner (I think stevia, but not certain but it is a healthy sweetner not aspertame or the like) I ordered it online and I though it was a great sub for the sugary stuff.

    Today was 47 g of sugar from whole foods...no sugar added, other than I had a 1/4 c. of vanilla yogurt mixed in with plain yogurt so that's a deviation from my normal, but I'm ok with that...plain yogurt has 6 g of sugar for a serving so I only had 1/4 c. of plain mixed in with the vanilla. I think my max sugar intake is supposed to be 56 and I never go over when I am not adding sugar. I also get over my quota of fiber on a regular basis...no pun intended lol
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    Oh and I have a really nice sugar-free Keto cheescake recipe made with an almond crust instead of graham crumbs...the sugar sub is monk fruit or some other healthy sugar sub...I used stevia this time and I'll see if I notice any difference...the other stuff like erithryitol etc is more like sugar and there is one that may affect your bowels on the loose side but I can't remember the name...Anyhoo, if anyone wants the cheesecake recipe let me know and I'll post it...plus it is easy-peasy to make with just a few ingredients and really quite delish. I make it in muffin cups and it's only just over 200 calories for one...then whatever fruit topping and if you want whip cream...I do plain Greek yogurt & a bit of fruit on top...it's YUM!!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I'm actually perfectly happy to go over my sugar goal if it's from intrinsic sugar in fruit and veg, especially if it's more due to veg than fruit. Right now I'm aiming at about 1600-1800 cals most days, so that's 60-68 g, so I usually don't go over, however.

    Yesterday was a pretty mediocre day -- work was super stressful, I had a big deadline (that relied in large part on waiting around for other people to do things), and then we had an annoying bunch of snow during the period I was going home, so in my mind that led to overeating (we had a work lunch brought in and leftovers), blow off working out and get less walking on the way home (I normally walk a portion of my way home for extra movement that I could take public transportation for, and do errands on the way). I also didn't even try to log the meals after breakfast and justified a peanut butter cookie that was part of the dessert tray with the lunch, but that's really the least important part of it. I'm not beating myself up, more just focusing on why I tend to use stress to mean "oh, eat too much," when it doesn't actually leave me feeling better.

    Anyway, definitely had added sugar, don't know the exact amount. Whatever was in the cookie plus incidental amounts that may have been in the pita bread.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    Weekend wasn't bad, 5 homecooked meals (no added sugar), planned night out at an Indian restaurant, and one snack of homemade popcorn (made the traditional way since I couldn't remember where I put my popping in the microwave container which I haven't used in ages), so not low cal.

    I made some baba ganoush which turned out okay, but the recipe I followed used more lemon than I normally would have and I'll correct that when I made it again.

    Yesterday: 58 g of sugar (none added), and 57 g of fiber.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I kind of figured out what was going on with me. Mid afternoon yesterday I was both down and really tempted by one of the cookies left over from Friday work lunch, and ended up having a protein bar I'd kept at my desk instead (2 g added sugar). I then decided to take a few minutes to think through and write about my emotions and realized that I hadn't slept well for the past few days (reaction to stress) and also was ramping up my activity level too fast (it's what I tend to do, but I have to realize it's not as easy when I'm older). I was just overdoing it. Had some simple leftovers for dinner and took it relatively easy the rest of the day (I'd worked out in the morning, so just did a nice slow walk on the way home for work), and then went to bed early and slept pretty well, and am feeling better today.

    Yesterday turned out to have 43 g of sugar, 2 added, and 52 g of fiber. I normally would have added a piece of fruit with lunch or dinner, but didn't feel like it.
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    36 g of daily sugar...none added. Yes @lemurcat2 I hear ya with the tired/stess eating. It's a difficult habit to break but I think the key is what you did, which was not beating yourself up. Just accept that one day happened & go onto the next & do better. Sounds like you are doing great. Whoever started this thread, thank you. I usually check in each day & it spurs me on!! 👍
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    Hi All! Been working like crazy over here...

    20 grams sugar today - none added. That dragonfruit was really good though!! 😋
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    edited January 2020
    Catching up --

    Wed and Thursday had no added sugar, 55/56 and 57/46 g of sugar/fiber respectively, so they were good days.

    Yesterday I didn't fully log since I had dinner out, and there was certainly some added sugar (vegan Asian fusion place and I had a sweet dipping sauce with an appetizer and a dish inspired by Korean BBQ for main. (I'm fine with this occasionally, as noted above, and am pleased with myself since I had a plan and stuck to it and didn't end up feeling like I'd overeaten.)

    Today I'm going out to dinner too, local Latin-style place, my likely order is less likely to involve any added sugar, but again I won't be able to log accurately for a complete day. May skip lunch or just have a basic salad and piece of fruit to save cals, depending on how much I end up working out. (Going to the gym later. I would love to run outside but it's still too icy and snowing again...sigh, January.)
  • LoveyChar
    LoveyChar Posts: 4,335 Member
    edited January 2020
    @lemurcat2 I get it and I'm happy to be here and I am not eliminating sugar! And often, limiting sugar for me is skipping the cake or not adding sugar to foods which is what I am doing - limiting. With that being said, I also eat sauces in moderation. I run and sometimes I eat sugar before a run...but, I limit myself from consumption of sugar now compared to what it was before when I did not pay attention. I log sometimes and sometimes I don't. A challenge is usually personal to each person and not a competition with someone else. You stood your ground. I'm focused on the big picture.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    Thanks!

    I decided to work in a little dark chocolate (well within my 5% of cals from sugar, and it has some protein and fiber too) into my diet recently. Not every day (more like once a week), but it's a nice way to finish off dinner on occasion.
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    Hi All!

    I’ve fallen a little off the sugar logging on this chatwagon a bit - just wanted to say your continued dedication is inspiring!

    ;)

  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    18 g sugar...no added..I'm under my calorie intake also and only had 1/4 c blueberries for fruit today...may squeeze in 1/2 banana before the day is done, but I'm full now so maybe not.
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    38 g sugar ... higher today cause I had a banana & 1/2 c. blueberries & one c of shreddies which has some added sugar...this week has been a bit tougher to keep within my calorie range, but even when I did go over it wasn't too bad other than one day it was supreme LOL And I've had shreddies & milk in my house because my grandson was here on the weekend, SO I indulged a couple of times. I've also been off wheat most of the month & I normally do not have milk in my house either so other than the past couple of days...ugh...I've been wheat free also!! I weigh myself tomorrow...first time in 2 weeks so we shall see!!