to think it's not possible to give up sugar

[enifing]

I have heard people suggest this from time to time. It's not possible with DCs, is it?

We've given up most cereal, but porridge has to have sugar or some sugar substitute.

Stewed fruit can't be fine without sugar.

Home baking, absolute no-no.

How dull would life be? I would probably overdose on salt instead...

All the substitutes people are suggesting are still bloody sugar from a chemical/biological standpoint!

What about things like stevia? Is that a form of sugar?

I really want to cut back on sugar, and I've made a bit of progress, but I've got a long way to go.

Dates are ridiculously high in sugar. Ok - it's not refined sugar, but it's still sugar! Honey - it's lovely but please don't think it's particularly good for you!
I don't agree with complete bans - it makes you a pain in the arse and your goals unachievable. Dried fruit - good for your bowels, bad for anyone restricting sugar! There is a school of thought that says fruit in any form should be avoided and used only occasionally as a treat - in much the same way as most of us reach for a chocolate bar. I kind of agree with that - if I eat too much fruit (bugger you you bastard donut peaches!!) I do feel yuk.
I bake a lot - mostly for other people - and I always reduce the sugar. Nobody ever knows which just tells me that standard recipes have way way too much sugar in to start with.

I thought the whole point of 'cutting out sugar' was just to get rid of things that are calorific yet otherwise devoid of nutrients (eg chocolate and cakes and fizzy drinks) and that make your blood sugar spike so you then feel hungry shortly afterwards. I did not think it extended to eliminating all sources of sugar from your diet (which would include eliminating all carbs... and would probably end up causing some amount of ill health).

Stevia is totally sugar free. Bloody tastes like it too!

Oh and yes, dried fruit has quite a lot of sugar in it. As does (for example) tomato soup. They both take fruit, that contains sugar, and remove some of the water - hence making them contain more sugar per gram than before.

If it's calories you're worried about and you're currently eating baked goods and/or chocolate, and/or drinking fizzy drinks or fruit juice, though, then I wouldn't worry about cutting out the dried fruit and the tomato soup as my first port of call.

I just use aspartame sweeteners.. One in tea. I drink maybe 8 cups of tea a day.

Might not be idea but tea without sugar is grim and I can't cope without tea.

See Methe I'd rather go tealess than use aspartame - that ghastly chemical taste almost makes me gag and I find the taste of Stevia very similar to that.
Milk was another problem for me - I love milk but it's naturally quite high in sugar. I swapped to Lactofree which I really like - the lactose is removed (obvs) so the sugar count is lowered. It's really nice in coffee too so double bonus.

I like my tea strong so milks not much of an issue although I do think I get 10g carbs from milk alone most days.

I've never tried stevia but I might now if it tastes similar.

Nothing wrong with eating sugar particularly. Fruit and honey are still sugar.

Eating a chocolate bar compared to a banana doesn't change the way your body reacts. Obviously there is more good nutrients in the banana but for weightloss it doesn't matter

Also I would suggest people get onto Myfitnesspal and check the calories in a teaspoon (or even two!) of sugar for their tea. It is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

It's not all about calories.

No - it really is not about the calories. This is a very interesting article and the one thing that really moved me to make my decision about sugar -

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/24/robert-lustig-sugar-poison

I was looking through a box of second books for sale, lots of them were diet/ lifestyle ones. All stated things like this isn't a diet but a new healthy life style, loose weight easily etc. Atkins, grapefruit, blood group, low fat, high fibre etc etc. Whatever is fashionable right now will end up in that box eventually ( sugar free, paleo, 5:2) and be replaced by something else. All that really works is matching calorie intake to energy output and eating a majority of wholesome natural foods and then a free choice for the rest.

Yeah, it's about empty, nutrition free calories that you get loads of with added sugar. There's nothing wrong with the sugar in fruit because it is accompanied by other nutrients like fibre which help release the sugary energy over a longer time period. Sugar without fibre/other nutrients (like in fizzy drinks) give you a blood sugar spike which doesn't sustain you, so you feel hungry after consuming a lot of calories.

The only sugar I have is from fruit and vegetables. I eat a paleo diet and now whenever I taste anything sugary it makes me feel ill. Doubt my ds could stick to it though. I did it for health reasons and feel so much better.

So when people are talking about giving up sugar, they're talking about added sugar / refined sugar? Not sugar in fruit, dairy, and in carbs? Because sugar is in flipping everything, I wondered how people were doing it.

By the way, I made a courgette passion cake that had no sugar in the other week, bit of an experiment but it was lovely and dc ate it without complaint!

I never said it was all about calories, but this post:

I just use aspartame sweeteners.. One in tea. I drink maybe 8 cups of tea a day.

Might not be idea but tea without sugar is grim and I can't cope without tea.

made it sound very much like you were in need of the information. Apparently not.

For me it started with a blanket ban on fizzy drinks, soft drinks, squashes, fruit juice and even some flavoured waters. Ditched chocolate and sweets without exception. Cake, biscuits, jam went next. High carb foods severely minimised. Ice cream a no no. And so on. I think if you go cold turkey you stand a good chance of failing - or that might be just me!

And in case I sound like a fanatic I am more than happy to eat the odd bit of cake now - weddings, birthdays etc. I treated myself to a mini Magnum tonight but had to leave most of it after biting off the dark chocolate - I just found the actual ice cream too sickly sweet.

I know the information I just don't believe it :)

All your examples taste better without sugar. If you're really desperate add a drop of honey.

I've been zero carb for 2.5 months. Never been healthier or looked better and my migraines have vanished. I've lost nearly 40lbs over the last 10 months by gradually reducing my sugar, but nothing suits me better than the craving-free experience of ZC eating.

You can't eat zero carb and be healthy. There are carbs in all vegetables.