Hi I'm Jenny and I'm addicted to sugar... 30 day challenge

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  • brendalyne
    brendalyne Posts: 497
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    Have you tried the unsweetened almond milk Jenny? My husband & I both LOVE IT - especially on our "oatmeal" (steel cut oats, multi-grain cereal, etc.)
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    i think i tried the sweetened vanilla almond milk... how many calories are in the unsweetened?
  • brendalyne
    brendalyne Posts: 497
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    i think i tried the sweetened vanilla almond milk... how many calories are in the unsweetened?

    Silk brand is 35 cals, Blue Diamond brand is 40 measly little calories. We much prefer the unsweetened version. If I can't find that, then I get the unsweetened vanilla almond milk - which is just a few more cals (5-10 if I remember correctly.)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Hi guys, I made it through my first "low sugar day" yesterday, 4 more to go til the weekend.
    It really wasn't so hard, but I did have to pay attention to snacks - I often have muesli bars as a late afternoon snack so I've put them away for a while. And I managed to NOT eat a snack sized choccy that was a present for a work colleague. That is sitting in my desk drawer taunting me now :smile:

    Jenny, I have Sanitarium brand peanut butter - no sugar, no salt. And a Naturals brand almond/cashew/brazil spread that is SERIOUSLY delicious and doesn't have anything in it except the nuts.
    The only catch is that I'm in Australia, so you probably won't find these brands in your part of the world. But, keep looking I'm sure you'll find them. I remember a few years ago I bought peanut butter from a whole foods store where they ground up peanuts on demand - maybe you can find something like close to home.

    Here's my list of snacks that I'm working from... any more "no-sugar "ideas would be very welcome:
    - raw almonds
    - lite swiss cheese slices (only 40 cals each!)
    - 9 grain crackers (OK, these actually do have sugar in them, but it's the last ingredient, after salt so that must mean there isn't very much. I already had these in my pantry, next time I"ll see if I can get some without the sugar).
    - hommus
    - wholegrain bread (the label lists molasses but not sugar and pretty far down the list so I can live with that!)
    - peanut butter, almond/brazil/cashew spread
    - vegemite (do you know this? It's classic Australian and Oprah hated it!)
    - cherry tomatoes
    - celery sticks
    - raw cauliflower
    - boiled egg
    - homemade mocha mix (skim milk powder, unsweetened cocoa, coffee powder). This really would be better with a bit of sugar but I'm going to see if I get used to it like this!)
    - natural yoghurt with strawberries and cinnamon

    I have some pickles in the fridge at home, I must check them out for snacks. Though, I have a suspicion that they will have sugar in the ingredients list :(
    Hmmm, I have olives too.. maybe a few of those would make a good snack, along side some fresh veggies.

    It seems that the best way to avoid processed sugars is to avoid processed food... which just means that I have to be creative with snacks, meals aren't such a problem as we cook everything at home anyway (unless we eat out :smile:)

    Keep up the good work guys!
  • linbee83
    linbee83 Posts: 144
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    Well, so far so good. Except last night, I cheated and had a lemon drop after dinner. Just 1 though, which is great for me. Normally, I'd eat the whole jar! So far, not too much sugar & no fast food! Lol...except a pre-made sandwich at publix. Mmm...turkey!
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    rubybelle- wow! thanks for all the snack ideas! :happy: for some reason i had forgotten all about hard boiled eggs. that would be a great snack.

    i've heard a great deal about stevia being a good replacement for sugar... i wonder if that would be good in your mocha mix?

    last night i baked butternut squash for dinner. i was a little leary about eating it without all the brown sugar i usually load it down with, but it was actually quite sweet and wonderful with just a little butter.

    i also tried 2t. of cocoa powder in my steel cut oats this morning... i was worried that it would taste a bit bitter without sugar, but it was awesome. i think i have a new breakfast favorite!

    another favorite snack i thought of is sweet potato fries. you cut the potato into 1 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick strips, toss it in a bit of olive oil and season it with whatever seasoning you like... i use mrs. dash's seasoning blend, but seasoned salt or regular salt tastes great too. then bake at 425 for somewhere around 15 minutes or until tender.

    linbee- great job! one lemon drop is FAR better than the whole jar! you should be proud of yourself! way to go! i have always had that "binge" mentality with food too, so just being to the point where i can control that has been a HUGE step for me!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Hi guys,
    Jenny I don't know if stevia would be good, I haven't tried it and I'm trying to keep away from alternative sweeteners too - I find that if you just don't add them then you really start tasting the natural sweetness in things like milk and fruit.
    I went to the supermarket this morning and browsed for more snack ideas - it's astounding how much stuff has added sugar - I mean why would they you it to dried pineapple? The packet I picked up (and promptly put down again) said it was made of 52% pineapple. Which leaves 48% ot be something else and as the only other ingredients were sugar and preservatives, it sounded like bad news to me!
    And all the pretzels and savoury snacks have sugar too - except for some yummy looking beetroot chips in the health food aisle. I'm going to go back and get sone of them another day :)
    I ended up buying string cheese, sliced roast beef and spicy capsicum dip - though I forgot to look at the ingredients list on the dip - I'll check that out later.
    Oh, and I bought a mix of dried apple and sultanas - I'm going to try that out as a long run snack instead of jelly beans this weekend - they are both concentrated sugar so should be ok.

    This is a really great learning exercise, I'm finding that I have to eat more at meals/snacks now I'm not filling up empty cals in my diary with chocolate and wine. (of course, running for 45 mins this morning gave me extra cals to fill up too).

    Linbee you did really well to walk away from the lemon drops - I actually find it harder to eat just one than none - once I have one, the sweet tooth kicks in and I want them ALL!

    Keep up the good work everyone!
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    i was a little worried about going out to dinner with my mom tonight, but we went to a cute little hole in the wall greek restaurant. called "friends 2." the jolly greek owner comes over, gives you a hearty handshake, and seats you himself! i ordered a mediterranean salad which was pretty tasty. it did come with mediterranean dressing, which i was unsure of, so i ordered red vinegar on the side. i ended up liking the vinegar better than the house choice, so i may have dodged a bullet there. (maybe not, though, because it tasted like olive oil with herbs.)

    i don't have much to add today, except i agree... why on earth do they have to add sugar to pineapple??? to peanutbutter? to applesauce? to pretzels?!?!?! argh!

    i know these have a lot of salt, but i'm really liking just a few fritos corn chips as a snack! i am also finding that i tend to eat more at mealtime now instead of filling up on "healthy" sugar laden granola bars, or cookies, or muffins, or any of the other horrible foods i thought constituted a good snack!

    one day at a time!!! thanks for the support!
  • mice152
    mice152 Posts: 17 Member
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    I stumbled on this and had to laugh - I started a 4-week sugar fast on Monday (coincidentally it will end on the 30th, just in time for Halloween) as I try and sort out what the heck to do about chocolate and sugar because they are surely my downfall and as I keep losing weight, my wiggle room to indulge in these treats daily is growing slimmer and slimmer.

    My favorite discovery in trying to avoid processed sugar has been dates. They are nature's candy and they come with fiber, which helps all that sugar I'm thinking. I made some "cookies" today from apples, dates, whole wheat flour, cashews and pecans. Everyone else says they're "okay" but I think they're amazing. And while I've indulged in those a bit today, I feel at least it's better than several peanut butter cups or m&ms.

    Cheese, nuts and fresh fruits top my list of "no refined sugar" snacks.
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    mice- "there are no accidents." you were meant to join us! :flowerforyou: welcome!

    this isn't really a sugar related post, but i thought i'd share anyway.... i had mac-n-cheese with hotdogs for lunch today because it was left in the fridge and boy am i sorry now! i should have taken the extra time to put together the salad stuff i bought at the store last night. i FEEL SO MUCH BETTER when i eat a more natural diet. hopefully that's a lesson learned for next time! just because it is available and easy doesn't mean i should eat it! :glasses:
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    i didn't do so well yesterday! i guess my mind wasn't in the game. don't get me wrong, i'm still doing better than "normal" for me, but i had some sugar i didn't mean to have just because i wasn't paying enough attention. i had steak and baked beans for supper (had the beans on my plate before i remembered the sugar). of course A1 is how steak is done, but instead of using 5-6 T. of sauce, i used less than a teaspoon for my whole steak! i'd say that's a HUGE success. what really put me over today is ONE SINGLE cortland apple!!! 130 calories and 25 GRAMS of sugar!!! geesh! still, all in all, not too bad of a day.

    this weekend will be tough due to a family reunion on sunday. still, i can do it! i'm taking a salad. yeah, i can eat that!

    have a great weekend everyone!
  • linbee83
    linbee83 Posts: 144
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    this isn't really a sugar related post, but i thought i'd share anyway.... i had mac-n-cheese with hotdogs for lunch today because it was left in the fridge and boy am i sorry now! i should have taken the extra time to put together the salad stuff i bought at the store last night. i FEEL SO MUCH BETTER when i eat a more natural diet. hopefully that's a lesson learned for next time! just because it is available and easy doesn't mean i should eat it! :glasses:

    I feel you! The other day I had some potato chips with my sandwich like I used to (have been having veggies mostly), and I felt sick and gross for the rest of the day! I guess my body got used to the good things.
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    linbee- i stopped eating mcdonalds a very long time ago. when i try to eat it now, i feel horrible! i guess it's the same thing. i just keep thinking, "then why am i feeding that junk to my kids?" i believe it is leanne ely that said, "we're feeding souls, not filling holes." i think that's great advice for our kids as well as ourselves!

    i went to a reunion yesterday and did allow myself one small cookie and about 1/8 of a piece of cake. i'm not going to lie, the cookie tasted awesome, but the cake was icky... too sweet! otherwise i behaved myself quite well.

    how's everyone else feeling?
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    is anyone still doing this? if so, great, but if not, i'll just drop the thread and stick with my 30 day clean eating plan.

    i am stronger than i used to be. it isn't nearly as hard to stay away from the sweet stuff! i used to binge on a pan of brownies and finish it within a few days... now i can say no! it feels great! :-)
  • Jennra
    Jennra Posts: 43 Member
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    Hey Jenny......I am also addicted to sugar and I've enjoyed reading this thread!! I need to kick my sugar addiction!! I think I am going to try from the 15th on out until the end of the month ~ one day at a time!! I am with ya 100%!!
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    Hey Jenny......I am also addicted to sugar and I've enjoyed reading this thread!! I need to kick my sugar addiction!! I think I am going to try from the 15th on out until the end of the month ~ one day at a time!! I am with ya 100%!!

    sounds great! let's keep eachother going! :flowerforyou: those oreos keep peeking at me from the crack in the cupboard!
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    ...
  • j_courter
    j_courter Posts: 999 Member
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    Well, hello everyone! I've been pretty faithful about staying away from the sugar! In fact, I decided to eat clean this month as well, which really wasn't that much more than what I was doing anyway. I am allowing myself one cheat meal each week, but I notice that especially the dessert foods don't taste nearly as good as they used to. :ohwell: I don't want to get too graphic, but let's just say I have also noticed a large difference in the fullness of my abdomen. It's incredible how quickly healthy, natural food passes through! That means the little pouch that I used to carry around all day is pretty much GONE! :glasses: Now that is a wonderful feeling, I can tell you! :bigsmile:

    Is anyone else still giving this a go?
  • kenya1993
    kenya1993 Posts: 2
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    I am addicted to sugar!!! Anything sweet. Its like I have to have it. I can not go 1 day with out candy, cookies, muffins, or something sweet. Im afraid I might become a diabetic, plus it runs in my family. I can go days, even weeks without my wine, but sweets are my worsy enemy.
  • snowcover
    snowcover Posts: 2
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    I've had problems with chocolate and sugary things too, and I just wasn't able to cut it out completely.
    The thing that worked best for me was buying chocolate with 70% cacao or more and just eating a piece of chocolate everyday after lunch. It helped me stop my crazy appetit cause it wasn't forbidden for me to have a little piece of chocolate everyday.
    and guess what, now I eat chocolate only once a week or something.

    That's my best advice I can give for the sweet-addicts :)
    oh and there are also gummy bears without sugar you can buy. They actually taste like real ones, but they have a lot of additional substances that don't sound too healthy, and 70% cacao chocolate is less damaging and gives you a high dopamine level -- means a lot of happiness :)

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