no sugar diet

2

Replies

  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    I don't know about the science of it, but when I cut out all sugar, except 1 fruit a day, my belly fat reduced tremendously. As soon as I incorporated sugar again - with the same calorie level as the no-sugar diet, my belly got bigger. I didn't gain weight, but my weight looked different on me. Not sure why this happened, but my trainer says it is typical.

    I've read that high fructose corn syrup (found in many processed foods) puts belly fat on mice more quickly than the same amount of table sugar.

    fructose is fructose is fructose....
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    repost
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    I'm on Day 4 of going no sugar. Not for any reason other than I know I am addicted to it and I want to make sure I can stop! For me, eating one piece of candy (usually of the sour, gummi kind!) leads to devouring the whole bag. My addictions are pretzels and chewy candy. It's my belief that artificial sweeteners cause the same effect on me. Even if the candy or fudgsicle or whatever is sugar free...it just makes me want more a few hours later.

    For two weeks I'm trying to break this sugar habit and I've cut out sugar altogether except from what is in vegetables. I'm avoided all processed, refined sugars as well as those naturally occurring in fruit, dairy, etc. The cravings have been awful but so far so good. After two weeks I'll try to slowly add in naturally occurring sugar from berries, yogurt, etc. and I'll do that for the next two weeks until I've hit 30 days. It's a huge challenge for me and I'm trying to take it one day at a time so that I am not tempted to "celebrate" after 30 days. By cutting out sugar it seems I've also cut out white flour. I never ate a lot of that in the first place (except for pretzels) so that has been easier.

    I'd love to hear from anyone who is trying to do the same thing and to hear how it's going for you. Please feel free to friend me and check out my diary and offer advice or support!
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    Good article on going no sugar and why it's important from The Independent.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/get-rid-of-that-sweet-tooth-how-to-quit-sugar-938730.html
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Good article on going no sugar and why it's important from The Independent.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/get-rid-of-that-sweet-tooth-how-to-quit-sugar-938730.html
    That article is horrible. Filled with so many fallacies and inaccuracies. For one thing "glycemic load" and "glycemic index" are two totally different concepts, yet the author used the terms interchangeably like they are the same thing. Not to mention the one small fact that sugar doesn't cause insulin resistance or diabetes. It's just one invented "fact" after another. Much more of a scare mongering article than an informative article.
  • mariamarchita
    mariamarchita Posts: 131
    Although I think cutting down on processed and added sugars is a very good idea, cutting them all out for ever seems like a quick path to failure to me.

    I agree. I don't want to deprive myself completely of any foods. Never being allowed a piece of candy or birthday cake or cereal or white bread or a soda, damn, that would be a quick path to suicide for me! YMMV
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
    Good article on going no sugar and why it's important from The Independent.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/get-rid-of-that-sweet-tooth-how-to-quit-sugar-938730.html
    That article is horrible. Filled with so many fallacies and inaccuracies. For one thing "glycemic load" and "glycemic index" are two totally different concepts, yet the author used the terms interchangeably like they are the same thing. Not to mention the one small fact that sugar doesn't cause insulin resistance or diabetes. It's just one invented "fact" after another. Much more of a scare mongering article than an informative article.
    I'm curious about what convinced you that this is true. Please provide a source so we can check it out :) Thanks!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Glycemic index vs glycemic load
    http://www.fitsugar.com/Glycemic-Index-vs-Glycemic-Load-3131117

    Causes of Diabetes
    http://www.emedicinehealth.com/diabetes/page2_em.htm

    Notice "eating sugar" is nowhere on the list.
  • lmataloni
    lmataloni Posts: 33 Member
    I agree about the addictive quality of sugars...for me it was all refined carbs and years of overindulging. I've been lo-carb for 3 weeks and feel like a fog has been lifted. Lower sugar fruits, veggies, and whole grains when I absolutely need them. Weight is coming off well and blood sugars are normal for once. I just don't think refined sugar is anything my body needs and more than that, for me I cannot handle the carbs. You're young so start the good habits now! :smile:
  • Mellie13
    Mellie13 Posts: 424
    I absolutely do not believe in "diets" but due to food allergies I try to avoid any refined sugar.
  • neelia
    neelia Posts: 750 Member
    I have a coworker in Washington (I'm in Alabama) that I talk to regularly. I keep up with him on Facebook and recently saw a photo of him...and it was very obvious that he had lost weight. I saw him in person about a month ago at a training class, so I texted him to ask him how he had lost the weight.

    He said he had cut a ton of sugar out of his diet, drinking more water, and has been exercising daily (his exercise is fast-paced walking). He is also using a protein powder in his morning breakfast shakes (I can't exactly remember the name of it), but he said in the past 2 months he has dropped close to 25 lbs.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Just wondering if anyone's tried the 'no sugar diet'.

    Heard its a great way to lose weight along with the obvious health benefits of not having processed sugars.

    Tempted to try it as I recently saw a male friend on Friday who started it 2 weeks ago and has already lost 10kilograms in 2 weeks, with exercise, but it makes the weight come off super quick! After seeing him I wonder if it is a good way to lose weight quickly. There is sugar in EVERYTHING, so you'd have to be incredibly strict with the way in which you cut it out and keep it out....

    Have a friend whose getting married in June and thought it is a good way to quickly lose weight prior to the wedding and again for myself getting married in October.

    But in the long run, can it be sustained?
    It doesn't actually make the weight "come off super quick". The first two weeks of a sugar elimination diet will leads to quick decreases on the scale, yes. Much of that is water. Then things slow down and you lose weight fairly normally. There's nothing really wrong or unhealthy about not eating processed sugar, so why not.
    I personally don't eat foods with added sugars, white flours or white rice. I haven't in 10 or so years.
  • Laceybaby1967
    Laceybaby1967 Posts: 82 Member
    Glycemic index vs glycemic load
    http://www.fitsugar.com/Glycemic-Index-vs-Glycemic-Load-3131117

    Causes of Diabetes
    http://www.emedicinehealth.com/diabetes/page2_em.htm

    Notice "eating sugar" is nowhere on the list.

    True; however, in the 'Cause of Diabetes' there is nothing listed. It lists the 'risk factors' for diabetes, but there is nothing listed as the 'cause'.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    bump and repeat of the request to hear what exactly the no sugar diet entails
  • mdmomof4
    mdmomof4 Posts: 61 Member
    bump
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Glycemic index vs glycemic load
    http://www.fitsugar.com/Glycemic-Index-vs-Glycemic-Load-3131117

    Causes of Diabetes
    http://www.emedicinehealth.com/diabetes/page2_em.htm

    Notice "eating sugar" is nowhere on the list.

    True; however, in the 'Cause of Diabetes' there is nothing listed. It lists the 'risk factors' for diabetes, but there is nothing listed as the 'cause'.
    That's because there is no specific cause. No one thing will automatically cause Diabetes, it takes a combination of factors, and some "dumb luck," as well. The point is, eating sugar, in and of itself, will NOT cause diabetes at all, unless you also have the other risk factors for it (and eating sugar puts you over your caloric limit.) There are also studies out there that show eating high levels of protein (BCAA's specifically) and high levels of fat can contribute to diabetes. Basically what it all comes down to is the genetic component, and having excess fatty acids in the blood (usually, but not always from being overweight.) The excess fatty acids (and in some cases, excess BCAA's) in the blood stream interfere with the insulin receptors in cells, leading to insulin resistance. Chronic insulin resistance can lead to Type II Diabetes. This is why the simple act of losing weight can often times "reverse" type II diabetes. While it technically never goes away, losing weight can lead to a reduction in fatty acids in the blood, which leads to increased insulin sensitivity.

    Again, eating sugar doesn't cause this, overeating in general and gaining fat causes this. Problems metabolizing sugar are a symptom of the problem, and don't occur until the problem has already happened.
  • mjoekidd
    mjoekidd Posts: 45
    We're really not all that similar to mice, but mice are cheap and easy to use. There are many, many more scientific studies that show horrific results in rodents that have no negative impact when they switch to human studies, than there are human and rodent studies that reach similar conclusions. There also turn out to be all kinds of things that can have horrible consequences for humans that mice can deal with just fine. In all honesty, rodent studies are useless on their own. The only real purpose for them is to come up with a theory to use for human studies.


    This is incorrect. It depends on the species of mice you are experimenting with. There are species that are extremely simular to humans. I am a research scientist and my collaborators and I use various species of mice to simulate and study human physiology. Stating that there are many more scientific studies that show horrific results in mice compared to humans mean nothing. What were they experimenting with? Were they related to weight gain/loss (the topic at hand)? Were the mice used in experimental drug testing? Mutagen and carcinogen testing? What? The use of the statement "all kinds of things" as in...

    Not trying to pick on you but there are a lot of people on this site who would just take your word that mouse studies should be taken with a grain of salt.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    We're really not all that similar to mice, but mice are cheap and easy to use. There are many, many more scientific studies that show horrific results in rodents that have no negative impact when they switch to human studies, than there are human and rodent studies that reach similar conclusions. There also turn out to be all kinds of things that can have horrible consequences for humans that mice can deal with just fine. In all honesty, rodent studies are useless on their own. The only real purpose for them is to come up with a theory to use for human studies.


    This is incorrect. It depends on the species of mice you are experimenting with. There are species that are extremely simular to humans. I am a research scientist and my collaborators and I use various species of mice to simulate and study human physiology. Stating that there are many more scientific studies that show horrific results in mice compared to humans mean nothing. What were they experimenting with? Were they related to weight gain/loss (the topic at hand)? Were the mice used in experimental drug testing? Mutagen and carcinogen testing? What? The use of the statement "all kinds of things" as in...

    Not trying to pick on you but there are a lot of people on this site who would just take your word that mouse studies should be taken with a grain of salt.
    And then theres the idea that mice are the only rodents that are studied.
  • mjoekidd
    mjoekidd Posts: 45
    We're really not all that similar to mice, but mice are cheap and easy to use. There are many, many more scientific studies that show horrific results in rodents that have no negative impact when they switch to human studies, than there are human and rodent studies that reach similar conclusions. There also turn out to be all kinds of things that can have horrible consequences for humans that mice can deal with just fine. In all honesty, rodent studies are useless on their own. The only real purpose for them is to come up with a theory to use for human studies.


    This is incorrect. It depends on the species of mice you are experimenting with. There are species that are extremely simular to humans. I am a research scientist and my collaborators and I use various species of mice to simulate and study human physiology. Stating that there are many more scientific studies that show horrific results in mice compared to humans mean nothing. What were they experimenting with? Were they related to weight gain/loss (the topic at hand)? Were the mice used in experimental drug testing? Mutagen and carcinogen testing? What? The use of the statement "all kinds of things" as in...

    Not trying to pick on you but there are a lot of people on this site who would just take your word that mouse studies should be taken with a grain of salt.
    And then theres the idea that mice are the only rodents that are studied.

    Right. Rabbits are in big use with studies of the blood brain barrier at our cancer center (I don't personally work with them) but there are a lot of other rodents being studied as well.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    We're really not all that similar to mice, but mice are cheap and easy to use. There are many, many more scientific studies that show horrific results in rodents that have no negative impact when they switch to human studies, than there are human and rodent studies that reach similar conclusions. There also turn out to be all kinds of things that can have horrible consequences for humans that mice can deal with just fine. In all honesty, rodent studies are useless on their own. The only real purpose for them is to come up with a theory to use for human studies.


    This is incorrect. It depends on the species of mice you are experimenting with. There are species that are extremely simular to humans. I am a research scientist and my collaborators and I use various species of mice to simulate and study human physiology. Stating that there are many more scientific studies that show horrific results in mice compared to humans mean nothing. What were they experimenting with? Were they related to weight gain/loss (the topic at hand)? Were the mice used in experimental drug testing? Mutagen and carcinogen testing? What? The use of the statement "all kinds of things" as in...

    Not trying to pick on you but there are a lot of people on this site who would just take your word that mouse studies should be taken with a grain of salt.
    And then theres the idea that mice are the only rodents that are studied.

    Right. Rabbits are in big use with studies of the blood brain barrier at our cancer center (I don't personally work with them) but there are a lot of other rodents being studied as well.
    Right. And lots of studies with Fischer rats as well.
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    To those who have asked what the "no sugar" diet is...I'm not doing any particular diet per se. Like most people on MFP, I am not looking for a diet; I'm looking for a lifestyle change and to be as healthy as I possibly can so that I can enjoy this wonderful world for as long as possible. So I'll just tell you what I'm doing and how it is working for me. I'm 7 days in and I feel amazing.

    I read a lot about South Beach Diet, Whole30 (which is basically "Paleo") and the 21 Day Sugar Detox. Finally, I just decided to keep it simple and eliminate sugar. All of it. Processed, natural, added, artificial, etc. And that's it. I end up getting about 12 or 15g of sugar a day from what occurs in veggies, but that's all. I cut out most dairy -- including yogurt and milk -- as it contains sugar as well. What has been really important to me has been NOT looking for substitutions for the things that I love (cookies, cake, candy, etc.). To eliminate those crutches and to not try and "Low Carb" or "Paleo-fy" the baked goods, pizza, muffins, etc. It's about walking away from those treats and making sure that they don't have power over me.

    In this respect, what I'm doing is probably most similar to the Whole30 except that I am eating limited whole grains (only Ezekiel bread or brown rice). And so I've adapted a little bit from each program and ended up with the following:

    From Whole30:
    ** Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels (and your Success Guide FAQ), because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
    ** No Paleo-ifying dessert or junk food choices! We call this “Sex With Your Pants On” (SWYPO). Do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold. This means no “Paleo-fying” desserts or junk food – no Paleo pancakes, pizza, brownies or ice cream. Trying to replicate junk food with “technically approved” ingredients misses the point of the Whole30 entirely. No baking with coconut flour, almond flour, applesauce instead of fat, etc.

    From 21 Day Sugar Detox:
    ** Giving up chocolate, alcohol, dairy, sweet potatoes.
    ** On 21DSD you are allowed one green apple or banana a day but I have eliminated those as well.

    From South Beach Diet:
    ** Only eating veggies with a low GI
    ** Eating good whole grains in limited amounts
    ** South Beach allows artificial sweeteners and sugar free candy but that defeats the purpose therefore I've cut them out.

    For the first four or five days the cravings were AWFUL. Then yesterday (Day 7) I finally felt amazing. I had tons of energy and was never hungry. I had a cup of black coffee as a treat (I normally "have" to have cream) and could taste the cherry and chocolate flavors of it. I had a cup of tea at night and could taste cinnamon, vanilla and hibiscus. It was as if my nose and taste buds have been heightened.

    The added bonus is that I have lost 5 pounds so far. I know that most people will say that this is water weight and that it's too dramatic to sustain, but anyone who has seen me here on MFP will know that I have tried for two years to lose weight. I've counted calories, tracked fat, ate my exercise calories, cycled calories, worked out 5x week for 500+ calories each time and NOTHING has made the scale budge. I finally realized that the only thing I had never tried was actually cutting out sugar. I had always allowed myself treats as long as they fit into my allotted calories or eaten sugar free treats.

    So, for whatever, reason this seems to be working for me for now. Sorry for the long post, just figured others might want to hear the options!
    :flowerforyou:
  • megteg
    megteg Posts: 97 Member
    Bump! I'm interested in this. I'm trying to cut down on sugar but keep slipping up. I don't think I could give it up long-term, but I definitely want to shift it into a more rare indulgence.
  • wookiemouse
    wookiemouse Posts: 290 Member
    I'd love to hear from anyone who is trying to do the same thing and to hear how it's going for you. Please feel free to friend me and check out my diary and offer advice or support!

    I did this back in March and am still going strong. I could easily devour an entire bag of fun-size Twix in an hour 6 months ago. I'd work off the calories the next day, but I'd feel like crap. I was always bloated and wasn't seeing the results I wanted to see with all the hours of strength training I was putting in. I knew it was a craving and nothing more - my body didn't need that stuff. When I first started cleaning up my diet in 2010, I didn't think I could POSSIBLY live without ever tasting a Big Mac again. But here I am, a few years later, and the thought of one disgusts me. I knew if I could do it with other kinds of food, I could do it with sugar as well.

    Sure enough - no interest in candy, cakes, etc anymore, 2 months in sugar-free. Just don't want them. I'd rather have a bowl of fresh cantaloupe than a cookie! I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything, I love the foods I eat and I'm never hungry, I can eat as much as I want and it's all good for me. The bloat is gone - I have a flat stomach for the first time EVER. Even bought my first bikini this year. And it feels SO good....better than a cupcake tastes, believe me.

    Give it time. The first few weeks were the hardest, since the taste is still fresh in your mind. But it does get easier...I don't even remember what icing tastes like now! And if you can't remember it, you won't crave it.

    To the OP whose friend lost so much weight - chances are he was eating mostly processed crap and switched to real food. That's the easiest way to lose weight!
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    We're really not all that similar to mice, but mice are cheap and easy to use. There are many, many more scientific studies that show horrific results in rodents that have no negative impact when they switch to human studies, than there are human and rodent studies that reach similar conclusions. There also turn out to be all kinds of things that can have horrible consequences for humans that mice can deal with just fine. In all honesty, rodent studies are useless on their own. The only real purpose for them is to come up with a theory to use for human studies.


    This is incorrect. It depends on the species of mice you are experimenting with. There are species that are extremely simular to humans. I am a research scientist and my collaborators and I use various species of mice to simulate and study human physiology. Stating that there are many more scientific studies that show horrific results in mice compared to humans mean nothing. What were they experimenting with? Were they related to weight gain/loss (the topic at hand)? Were the mice used in experimental drug testing? Mutagen and carcinogen testing? What? The use of the statement "all kinds of things" as in...

    Not trying to pick on you but there are a lot of people on this site who would just take your word that mouse studies should be taken with a grain of salt.
    And then theres the idea that mice are the only rodents that are studied.

    Right. Rabbits are in big use with studies of the blood brain barrier at our cancer center (I don't personally work with them) but there are a lot of other rodents being studied as well.
    Right. And lots of studies with Fischer rats as well.

    Rabbits aren't rodents - they are lagomorphs. The orders of rodentia and lagomorphia used to be linked in a superfamily due to morphological similarities (a.k.a. fuzzy with big front teeth), but the link has been rejected by taxonomists since the early 20th C.

    Oh, and thanks sugar-free folks for the description of what you're doing. :)
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    I'd love to hear from anyone who is trying to do the same thing and to hear how it's going for you. Please feel free to friend me and check out my diary and offer advice or support!

    I did this back in March and am still going strong. I could easily devour an entire bag of fun-size Twix in an hour 6 months ago. I'd work off the calories the next day, but I'd feel like crap. I was always bloated and wasn't seeing the results I wanted to see with all the hours of strength training I was putting in. I knew it was a craving and nothing more - my body didn't need that stuff. When I first started cleaning up my diet in 2010, I didn't think I could POSSIBLY live without ever tasting a Big Mac again. But here I am, a few years later, and the thought of one disgusts me. I knew if I could do it with other kinds of food, I could do it with sugar as well.

    Sure enough - no interest in candy, cakes, etc anymore, 2 months in sugar-free. Just don't want them. I'd rather have a bowl of fresh cantaloupe than a cookie! I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything, I love the foods I eat and I'm never hungry, I can eat as much as I want and it's all good for me. The bloat is gone - I have a flat stomach for the first time EVER. Even bought my first bikini this year. And it feels SO good....better than a cupcake tastes, believe me.

    Give it time. The first few weeks were the hardest, since the taste is still fresh in your mind. But it does get easier...I don't even remember what icing tastes like now! And if you can't remember it, you won't crave it.

    To the OP whose friend lost so much weight - chances are he was eating mostly processed crap and switched to real food. That's the easiest way to lose weight!

    This is so inspiring! Thank you for posting. Did cut out all sugar at once or was it a gradual thing?
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    Where did everyone go...? LOL

    I'm still here. I'm on Day 18 of total sugar detox. My cravings have not left but they have definitely subsided. Every once in a while I am tempted by an old favorite -- a warm cookie, a cupcake, a bag of salty pretzels -- but I haven't given in yet. I know I can go for 30 days doing this and then I will allow myself small treats from time to time.

    I think I would have given in a lot sooner if I hadn't seen results. That has spurred me on. I hope others are doing as well!
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    I'm still going...
    It's been about a month.
    I stopped weighing myself because it was starting to stress me out. Now I'm just focused on how I feel and I feel awesome! My macros are 50F : 30P : 20C most days. I try to keep sugar under about 15g per day.
  • supermumincanada
    supermumincanada Posts: 59 Member
    Bump, interested in replies xo
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
    I'm still going...
    It's been about a month.
    I stopped weighing myself because it was starting to stress me out. Now I'm just focused on how I feel and I feel awesome! My macros are 50F : 30P : 20C most days. I try to keep sugar under about 15g per day.

    I'm so happy for you! I just had a moment to look at some topics I posted on a while ago, and was pleased to see you are feeling so well! How much do you still have to lose? I know how it feels when it seems like the scale is against you. Don't give up - the weight will come off!

    Do you feel as though your thought processes are different now? That's what I experienced after sugar detox. It's like there's now a wall around that awful place in my brain that felt dark and panicked and out of control. EVERYTHING in my life feels different when I'm off sugar. I feel like a whole person!

    I don't want to sway you from what's working, but at some point do you think you might add some fruit back to your diet? I'm able to eat limited amounts without a problem. I believe that the phytonutrients, plant sterols, vitamins and minerals I get from fruit are vital to my health.

    I wish you continued success! (I'm the one that got the whole unfortunate mice debate started - sorry - I didn't foresee that!)
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
    Recent Australian book published about the toxicity of sugars track the rise in sugar intake of world population since the introduction of a popular soft drink and fast food joint is proportional to the increase in obesity. Sugar is addictive n brain which is not evolved to handle such large consumption of sugar quickly converts most sugar to fat...there is science to this but too long to go into but makes for interesting reading. Fast food outlets has sugar in bun...y?...cos it just as addictive as nicotine. I watch my sugar n they attract high calories along with fat so most of time I tryn avoid them. Cavemen did without em.
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