AIBU to think it is possible to permanently change to a low (or no) sugar diet if you have an incredibly sweet tooth?

[cyclerunmum1]

I eat way too much sugar and want to try and change this to reduce lethargy and headaches I suffer from, which I think may be related to this.

I am not overweight, or unfit, but my eating needs to change. I snack on sweet things a lot, always have done, but exercise regularly which I think has helped keep my weight down. I am beginning to think more of my general health and teeth now too though.

Problem is I have a really sweet tooth, so giving up crisps, cheese etc would be easy for me..... but cakes, biscuits and chocolate, not so much!

Has anyone else successfully done this and kept to it long term?

So AIBU to think I can do this, or overly optimistic?

Thanks msrisotto I'll pop over and have a look.

Think I may need to do this one step at a time. Obvious snacks, added sugar first. I will have to educate myself on hidden sugars with more label reading now.

Another question about carbs, I'm not sure I can face drastically cutting down carbs, but changing to brown rice/pasta etc would be ok. But what about bread? I have been making my own white bread for a few months after getting my lovely Kitchenaid. So although I know it doesn't have any added sugar, is it really bad still having this because of the carbs? I'm not a massive bread person anyway, but do like a slice every now and again.

Sorry if that is a stupid question!

JanetBlyton just out of interest what made you stop after your long periods of no sugar? (if that is what you meant of course)

It's easier if you stop. Harder if you have little amounts as you keep craving it.

And your taste changes.

Yes but it's easiest if you go completely cold turkey and don't include snacks. After the initial cravings you find lots of things now taste too sweet. But it's very easy to slip back into old habits.

If you need motivation try Dr Robert Lustig's book Fat Chance. It's written for a US audience but the science of what excess sugar does to us is horrifying. Helps me with my motivation.

Not impossible but incredibly hard, i decided to cut out sugar from by balanced diet and felt horrible for it, not to lose weight for the supposed other health benefits.

How did you feel horrible Dad?

Well first off added sugar is in many of my favourite foods that you would not expect it in. Tomato soup for example has 15.2 grams of added sugar. The cravings make you feel horrible as well.

Try the Deliciously Ella blog, she has replaced all sugary stuff with good for you healthier, homemade alternatives.

She has a very sweet tooth so when I make one of her recipes I know I'm fine with about half of whichever natural sweetener she uses.

I cut out all the white fluffy carbs over a year ago but could not give up chocolate. Her Baobab energy balls provide a good substitute that I've tinkered to my personal taste and if I want choc, I have some of those.

I've lost over a stone this last month or so without really trying, come September I'll be doing the 5:2 and upping my exercise as well to get rid of the remaining 2 stone.

Good Luck, the trick is to find something that suits you and which is fairly easily do-able.

I've been sugar free since June. It's been amazing - I have much more energy, skin is amazing and I've lost weight. I replaced sugary snacks with full fat stuff like Greek yogurt. You don't end up needing much to make you feel full.

I followed Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar plan. PM me if you want me to send you the pdf.

I'm a sugar addict! It's my one weakness, and I comfort eat sweet foods.... But, I've managed to quit sugar completely. I did it on my own but the Sarah Wilson plan is brilliant as are her cook books. For a not so hard core path, the Davina book is good. Personally, I went cold turkey. Prepare to feel utterly crap though! Actually I'd cut down and increase my water intake for a couple of weeks, then go cold turkey.

I went sugar free (and reduced carbs) when I had gestational diabetes. Cut out anything with added sugar, stuck to lower GI foods, smaller portions of carbs and higher protein/fat. My sweet treats included full fat Greek yoghurt with berries in, a square of high % dark chocolate, and for very special occasions (DH's birthday) I made a dessert using sugar free jelly (but I avoided replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners on a day to day basis).

I didn't lose weight but I stopped gaining weight during third tri of pregnancy, and I felt a lot better for it.

Unfortunately with a newborn I soon started eating sweet stuff again. Besides, my main motivation was the health of my baby, so I was on a countdown to the birth and knowing I could eat what I wanted again. If only I had the motivation to do it again!

I still don't have sugar in coffee though, even one spoon tastes far too sweet and sickly, so I agree that once you cut it out you lose the taste for it.

Really don't try Deliciously Ella who tries to sell you a load of food sweetened with dates, honey and maple syrup and claims it's sugar free. Unrefined sugar isn't better for you. It's still sugar. And keeping eating sweet just continues the cravings for sweet.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/27/new-wellness-bloggers-food-drink-hadley-freeman

OP - I know how you feel about the making bread - I also love my KitchenAid and I had a nice line going in beautiful crusty sourdough loaves! So now I only make one at weekends and make sure it's gone by Monday so it's not complete denial but more like rationing. I also use half white, half grainy wholemeal which helps a little bit! I avoid potatoes, rice and pasta but most of all pasta - it's really not a nutritious food! Rice too really and believe me, I could eat rice for an Olympic sport! So now it's a very occasional treat and it's so much more enjoyable for that.

Yes but I would cut down gradually or you will feel awful.

I cut sugar and carbs out cold turkey and only felt crappy on day 3. It was totally doable.

I've really reduced my sugar consumption as part of calorie counting and weight loss. I used to eat chocolate every day and now can't remember when I last had chocolate, I just don't crave it anymore.

I do occasionally have cake or ice cream but I find I'm happy to have a small portion without craving more because my taste buds have changed and I now find it really, really sweet. I ended up binning some biscuits the other week because I found them unbelievably sweet. In the past I probably would have finished the packet in two days.

Thank you so much for all your replies, they are really useful and I have a lot more reading to do. It seems most posters have been successful or is it that those who haven't been haven't posted ?

I agree it looks like a personal thing as to how drastically people cut. I am going to stop all sweet snacks and added sugar this week, and up my water intake. I think I need to put some thought into alternative snacks which aren't sweet (in addition to kale crisps etc), so when I am about to feel deprived of a biscuit, I have something quick on hand. Greek yoghurt sounds like a good place to start... It's going to be such a big shift in my habits but I have to do this!

I am actually really, really against going cold turkey on sugar. And drastically changin your diet in general. I think (after years and years of extreme eating disorders) that going extreme quickly and in one hit just doesn't work very well, especially long term.

I think slowly working your way down through less processed stuff and less grains in particular works far better than torturing yourself with trying to quit altogether in one shot.

Something like doing Atkins in reverse works really well. Try to focus on tweaking a couple of things at a time, not everything at once. For example replace one snack or meal a day with something more savoury, lighter or not so carb-intensive, and gradually work your way into the way of eating you find works best.

And I would really try hard to avoid artificial sweeteners (speaking as someone who could happily live off IV Diet Coke). They're just shit. They set you up for more sugar cravings and prevent your natural tastes from adjusting to less sweetness. Not to mention the chemical shit. Although some people do well with stevia, but I think it's best to get it in liquid form, without the added sugar alcohols which are the devil incarnate for the human digestive system!

I have done it several times, but I realised I like sweet food too much (I don't smoke, drink, shop, go out... it is my only vice). I don't want to spend the rest of my life without eating sugar. So I try to limit my sugar intake and only eat homemade things that I really, really like. If it is "meh", I don't eat it.

Every few months, when it gets out of control, I go cold turkey on sugar and carbs for 3 days. It seems to "reset" my system for a while.

I am also one of those lab rat humans for whom sugar is basically like crack!

I also recommend reading 'Potatoes not Prozac' (Kathleen Desmaisons). And 'That Sugar Book' (Damon Gameau). Useful and practical advice.

Also 'Fat Chance: The Hidden Truth about Sugar, Obesity and Disease' (Robert Lustig).

Like you, I have never been overweight or unfit, but I absolutely hate the feeling of craving and addiction basically that sugar gives me. I find that if I have any sugar, I want ALL the sugar - but if I have none I don't really want any.

I did this and it worked for 3 months and then i caved and my god the binges i had were horrendous. It took a good six months to normalise myself around sugar. Now i don't eat chocolate but i'll occasionally have other bits. I'm happy with the amount of sugar i eat now but i would never go cold turkey again - the binge thing was awful.

Loafliner - Were you still craving it all after 3 months? I only ask because my cravings only lasted a couple of weeks max. i'd hate to be overcome with craving again.

When I drastically cut down on refined sugar I tried to reset my tastebuds when I had a sweet craving. An oatcake, a sliver of cheese and some kind of pickle became a substitute treat.

If I really wanted chocolate or a cake I would have very small chocolate bar (Lindor) for pudding and had fruit scones or pancakes instead of more sugar heavy cakes. Initially I ate a lot of apples when I wanted sugar but I reasoned that a couple of apples were better than a whole packet of biscuits.

I also did not worry about fat and I ate a lot more butter for a bit but gradually that declined. I still eat full fat everything except milk but now I am satisfied by less. I'm sure that there is something about sugar that makes you binge - and not just on sugary things. I found it much easier to control my appetite once I cut down on sugar.