Best way to go about cutting out sugar?

[Lovemusic33]

I keep fit, go to the gym most days, eat lots of fruit and veg but I eat way too much sugar. My weight loss has stopped (I don’t need to loose much more) and the only thing I can think of that’s effecting it is my love for sugar. I want to cut it right back but have heard so many stories about people feeling really unwell whilst going cold turkey. Am I best to gradually cut back? I have already stopped using sugar in my cereal/poridge and having a bit of banana in it instead but I love chocolate in the evenings (just a small amount. I probably eat way too much fruit as I thought this was ok but obviously ta also packed with sugar even if it natural. How do I cut back?

[kirinm]

Realistically? Just stop eating it. I also temporarily stopped eating fruit because the cravings I had didn't go until I went proper cold turkey.

[kirinm]

I didn't get any side effects, just strong cravings. But willpower is the only way I got through them.

[TittyGolightly]

Banana = sugar.
Fruit = mostly sugar.

I went cold turkey last January (including carbs like bread, potatoes, pasta, rice etc). Haven’t gone back.

[Lovemusic33]

Thank you. What sort of things do you snack on? I have bought some been sprouts as I like to eat them raw and carrot sticks are fine but I struggle for ideas. Maybe I should boil some eggs to eat to make a change from veg? I am a snacker, I don’t eat huge meals, always need a snack after the gym and something to much on in the evening (the evening is when I grab the sugar).

[TittyGolightly]

I don’t snack: I try to have a few meals as possible per day during an 8 hour window.

But some low sugar/carb snacks are: sliced apple with peanut butter; hummus with crudités; hard boiled eggs; cold cooked sausages; nuts; very dark chocolate; stock cube in water.

[TittyGolightly]

Nothing wrong with veg as long as it grows above ground.

[titsbumfannythelot]

What sort of gym work do you do? If you're doing weights you could be gaining lean muscle. Have you been taking your measurements as well as weighing yourself?

I started low carb high fat a few weeks ago and that has helped with cutting down on sugar. I've not stuck rigidly to it for the past few days due to storm Emma but when I have eaten off plan I haven't craved more. Before if I had once slice I wanted the whole loaf.

[sproutsandparsnips]

Op I don't think you should eat raw bean sprouts. They can harbour E. coli.

[Lovemusic33]

tits I do some weights, usually 40 mins cardio and 20 minutes weights a day (not huge weights) and I swim a couple times a week.

I go on the body scanner at the gym which says my bmi is spot on and my weight is spot on but I’m carrying a little extra weight around my hips and thighs. I also have really bad cellulite which I heard could be linked to sugar? I don’t eat loads of carbs because gluten doesn’t agree with me, I probably have potatoes once a week and occasionally rice but I don’t hardly touch bread.

Would be interested to see what some of you eat throughout the day.

A normal day for me would be:

Small bowl of poridge with a banana.

Snack (after the gym), if I’m on my way to work then this can often be a cereal bar or breakfast biscuit. I know this needs to be swapped.

Lunch would be soup and maybe a apple or some strawberries.

Dinner, salmon, lots of veg and a few new potatoes.

Evening snack, yoghurt, a kit cat or/and more fruit.

So I need to find replacements for my snacks but I crave sugar. I will boil some eggs and make sure I have carrot sticks ready to much on but I know the sugar cravings will be bad to begin with.

[Lovemusic33]

I didn’t know that about raw been sprouts I will have to eat them cooked.

[Ohyesiam]

I make a drink with cacao, which is unrefined cocoa, and turmeric . It's not at all sweet, but really hits the spot. You will probably get lots of recipes if you Google.

[kirinm]

Are you doing squats / lunges etc? With weights? That sort of stuff really helped me with cellulite on my legs (I assume it was that and eating well).

[TittyGolightly]

Porride = Sugar, especially if you use rolled oats.

[TittyGolightly]

If I eat 3 meals I have:

Breakfast (around 12 noon) 120g full fat Greek yogurt, 80g frozen berries, 5g ground linseed

Lunch (around 3:30pm) soup or salad with protein

Dinner (around 7:30pm) stir fry with protein/omelette with coleslaw or baked beans/small veggie fry up/scrambled eggs with mushrooms, peppers, spring onions/Vietnamese pho/quorum sausages with low carb cauliflower cheese and veg

I drink fruit tea, water, real coffee with double cream, hot chocolate made with 1tsp good cocoa powder, 1.5tbsp double cream and boiling water.

[Lovemusic33]

Kirinm I need to do squats but finding it hard as I have slight thinking at the base of my spine and slight hip pain, I know doing them would help a lot and probably build up muscle where I need it.

So, thought who are on a low carb low/no sugar diet do you eat fat as in cheese, milk and meat?

I have been on low fat so rarely touch milk or cheese, I struggle a little with dairy as too much makes me ill so I use coconut or almontpd milk in my poridge.

I feel like I’m running out of things to eat other than fish and vegetables.

[TittyGolightly]

Low fat = high sugar. So yes, full fat everything here (your body needs to burn either fat or sugar). I’m veggie so can’t help with meat.

[VulvaNotVagina]

This is an interesting thread, it's left me a bit confused though - why are oats high in sugar? A quick Google tells me they are 66% carbohydrate, of which 0% sugars.

[TittyGolightly]

Carbs = sugar to your body.

[TittyGolightly]

When oats are rolled the cell walls get damaged, so the starch (sugar) is more accessible to your body than it should be. Which is why people often feel hungry if they have oats for breakfast.

[Lovemusic33]

Thank you Titty maybe I can cope without sugar if I can eat cheese. I don’t eat a huge amount of meet but I eat fish, I know salmon is higher in fat and it’s my favourite so I can eat lots of salmon.

I didn’t think oats were high in sugar either, they don’t taste sweet at all and a lot of people recomend poridge if you go to the gym or do sport?

[FeedtheTree]

I'm confused too. Would home popped popcorn with salt be classified as sugary because carbs convert to sugars?

Could OP eat nuts as a snack?
How about chunks of cheese, a roast chicken drumstick or olives?

[Avasarala]

If you really will miss chocolate, get the Chocologic stuff and have just a few squares. It's no added sugar chocolate and tastes completely the same. I think it has about 20g of sugar per 100g when normal chocolate has about 50/60g of sugar pert 100g.

[titsbumfannythelot]

Eggs are generally the best bet for breakfast for me as they keep me full. I try not to snack either but if I do it's generally a babybel.

I tend to have eggs for breakfast, tuna or chicken with mayo and salad for lunch and meat with green veg for dinner.

[TittyGolightly]

I'm confused too. Would home popped popcorn with salt be classified as sugary because carbs convert to sugars?

Yes. Corn = starch.

[TittyGolightly]

If you really will miss chocolate, get the Chocologic stuff and have just a few squares. It's no added sugar chocolate and tastes completely the same.

Has it got sweeteners? Because the body reacts the same way to things that pretend to be sugar as it does to actual sugar.

I’m a 90-100% chocolate girl.