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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Has anyone successfully given up sugar?

98 replies

FannyDeFuzz · 24/01/2017 22:24

I'm about a stone heavier than I would like to be, and I often feel sluggish and headachey. I'm pretty sure it's down to my love of sugar - am otherwise healthy, five a day etc. But I just can't give up the sugary things.

Did you manage? How long did it take and what did you use to stop the cravings?

OP posts:
gunsandbanjos · 25/01/2017 08:14

You need to really up your fat intake if you're ditching sugar. I have double cream in my coffee, is delicious and satisfying.
The extra fat keeps you full. Don't be tempted to do low carb low fat, it would be utterly miserable!
Also bear in mind it's low carb high fat, not low carb high protein.

MrsWhiteWash · 25/01/2017 09:18

I gave up sugar in coffee years ago - has not helped weight generally though though helped that time with weight loss.

I found a richer blend and more milk was the way to go.

OrchardDweller · 25/01/2017 09:25

Have a look at Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar. Whilst I haven't quite given up sugar altogether, I have cut down on it massively and it now doesn't taste as good as it once did and I certainly don't crave it. I didn't go cold turkey to start with but gradually reduced it and became more aware of how much sugar was in stuff I bought from the supermarket. In cutting out anything in a packet (ie processsed) I've managed to avoid quite a bit of it. Sarah Wilson has some great recipe ideas as well as a program you can follow if that's what you'd prefer. It really comes down to eating a healthy diet and not adding sugar to anything!

ageingrunner · 25/01/2017 09:55

I'm doing lchf at the moment. When I eat sugar I eat it in a completely out of control way. I end up spending loads of money on chocolate, cakes, biscuits and inhaling them. I'm expecting it to do something for me that it can't do, if that makes sense to anyone?
To paraphrase 'one bar is too many, several multipacks aren't enough'
When I think about it, I don't even like sugary stuff that much. I prefer vegetables and olives and salty stuff really. It's just a habit.

Dancergirl · 25/01/2017 10:10

Does 'sugar free' mean giving up fruit and carbs, bread, pasta etc?

shovetheholly · 25/01/2017 10:12

dancer - I was about to ask the same thing! All carbs get broken down to the same thing, right? What's the rationale for targeting caster sugar in particular?

MusicToMyEars800 · 25/01/2017 10:13

sugar is not your friend!! I am desperate to give it up, I cut down to having just 1 sugar in my tea and coffee, I stopped putting it on my cereal or porridge I now have honey and cinnamon in porridge. The problem I have is sweet treats like desserts, ice cream, sweets etc I don't like chocolate much tbh only enjoy it if it's at least 70% dark chocolate but that can be beneficial for health, so I can excuse that. Another problem is that sugar is everywhere, I have started doing as many homemade sauces as possible eg: Bolognese, curry, pasta sauce etc, I am trying to switch to wholewheat pasta and already eat brown rice, mainly have brown bread too! but sugar is in so many foods it's so hard to completely cut it out. I feel I don't consume that much sugar but I think I do through things you don't really think about, I don't drink much alcohol other than red wine, I want to cut out sugar mainly for weight loss reasons.

Dancergirl · 25/01/2017 10:31

To cut it out completely sounds very limiting. What do you do when you go out to eat, or to friends houses for dinner, or parties or weddings etc? On holiday, you never have an ice cream?

seafoodeatit · 25/01/2017 10:35

I don't think I would ever cut anything out completely, I try to reduce/avoid sweeteners and added sugars in food and drink but to cut it out completely isn't for me.

summerskittles91 · 25/01/2017 10:38

I did! for about 4/5 months. I was an insane sugar obsessive.. once i cut it out and then went back to it I found my cravings were no where near as strong. Which really surprised me. It means that I know eat it every now and then, rather than rely on it! When i put sugar back in my tea it was horrible.

Kropotkinator · 25/01/2017 10:43

How much sugar do you have a day?

There are two ways to tackle this:

The first is to control unknown sugar intake and to change eating habits:

Sugar is almost impossible to avoid if you eat a lot of processed foods (and I mean things like soft bread, canned foods, sauces and dips, yogurts). Even so called healthy stuff is full of sugar. Fruit juice included.

It's actually quite a hard habit to kick as your brain responds to sugar in the same way it would do to cocaine- so it's impossible to go cold turkey.

Check the back of any processed food you buy for any added sugar and avoid it if you can. If you add sugar to your own food then you can control your consumption.

The second way would be "reintroduction" technique Penn Jillete used.

This is where you CUT OUT ALL FOODS except one (and you can choose whatever you want) and eat only that thing for two weeks, without salt, butter, anything, and then gradually re-introduce different foods to your diet. It allows your body and brain to reset its taste-buds and form new habits.

*"Anyone I know who’s able to do moderation I don’t like them. The people I respect and love are people that go wild. It turns out everything about eating is habit. It’s all habitual. You think you have a natural inclination to like grilled cheese or donuts. Not true.

So I wanted to take a couple of weeks and change my habit. And one of the really good ways to do that that worked tremendously for me is what’s called the mono diet which is just what you think from the root, eating the exact same thing. And I could have chosen anythingI could have chosen corn or beans or whatever. Not hot fudge but anything. And I chose potatoes because it’s a funny thing and a funny word. For two weeks I ate potatoes, complete potatoes – skin and everything and nothing added, nothing subtracted."*

It's a really interesting story he lost a shed loads of weight and doesn't have cravings anymore:

HandbagHelper · 25/01/2017 10:58

I recommend Whole30 (google it) -30 days and I felt amazing -I ended up doing it for 35 days and it changed how I eat day to day.

toomanycatsonthebed · 25/01/2017 10:58

Yes. It took about 18 months to remove ALL sugars and unnecessary fats. I weighed 25 stone. I'm 13 stone now.....

GrendelsAunty · 25/01/2017 10:59

Try kefir - I've found it amazing - given up sugary stuff without any effort at all.

shakalaka · 25/01/2017 11:17

I started in November, I haven't completely removed it but now I am over my addiction to the point where I can have some sugar say eat one biscuit say rather than a packet. I have found mindful eating works for me and being on a diet where I am never hungry meant it was easier.

I am a stress/comfort eater which when mixed with a previous sugar addiction meant understanding why I was eating sugar etc. Made it was easier to remove.

noeffingidea · 25/01/2017 11:19

I never have sugar in tea or coffee, don't eat cereal. I have a small bag of sugar in the cupboard at the moment, because my ex (who has it in his coffee) came over at christmas. Once a fortnight or so I make cinammon toast.
I do buy the odd small bar of chocolate or packet of biscuits, but thats it at the moment.
I have lost about a stone but thats partly through being skint. I don't have a low carb diet, still rely on bread, potatoes and pasta to get enough to eat.
If you're really addicted to sugar its best not to have it in the house at all, same with any food.

MusicToMyEars800 · 25/01/2017 11:26

it is like a drug, if I am craving it and I don't have anything sweet in the place I get all tetchy, and just have to ride it out which is really unpleasant.
I agree with others once you stop having it you can't go back to it, for example my DM put 2 sugars in my coffee by mistake and I couldn't drink it, it was sickly sweet, I generally don't have a lot of sugar overall but when I have a few glasses of wine at the weekend I binge eat on all the things I shouldn't sometimes that includes a massive slice of chocolate gateau or half a tub of ben and jerrys Blush

noeffingidea · 25/01/2017 11:27

Just weighed myself, I have lost 22 pounds since September, without even trying.
It has been easier for me to eat less sugar because a) my son who loves sweets things is at uni and my daughter doesn't like them and b) I can't afford any extras at all.

knowler · 25/01/2017 11:49

Why not just give up biscuits? surely substituting sugar with agave sugar in your coffee makes not a jot of difference to your overall sugar intake. Are you giving up fruit? It sounds to me like you should just concentrate on the obvious things first - biscuits, any added sugar to coffee, cake, chocolate. I don't get the obsession with "giving up sugar". what's wrong with e.g. an apple?

specialsubject · 25/01/2017 12:18

obviously it is impossible to cut out totally. Lots of natural sugars in fruit and veg.

any diet book talking about 'detox' is best used as a firelighter. If you have functioning kidneys and liver you are 'detoxing'. If you don't, you've got far bigger issues.

ceasing to guzzle too many sweets, biscuits, cake, commercial smoothies, cereal bars and fizzy toilet cleaner is obviously good for us all.

987flowers · 25/01/2017 13:02

I've been trying to cut down but as we still have Christmas chocolate I've not been that successful (she says whilst drinking tea and dunking digestive biscuits!)

sillypussy · 25/01/2017 13:11

I did the anti Candida diet for 2 years. No sugar, gluten, alcohol or dairy. No fruit for the first 6 months either. Did it cos I was at my wits end with all kinds of illnesses. Bloody hard going but the difference was amazing. Lost loads of weight, had loads of energy and no pain anywhere. Even the depression went. But, like others have said, I thought I would be ok to have a little bit on occasion. Now I am fat again, and struggling with a massive sugar addiction. So it's possible to do it but I think to cut it all out is not realistic. Cut back on processed stuff and eat fresh.

Clandestino · 25/01/2017 13:12

I wouldn't be able to give up sugar completely but I like limiting it, purely because it's just empty calories.
I drink light (sugarfree) drinks and I've never taken sugar in my tea or coffee anyway. I love milk so tea with milk is my pleasure.
I also love the liquorice and cinnamon based teas, they have a wonderful sweetish taste minus the calories. I'm not intentionally on a diet but I always feel sluggish after too much sugar (makes me nauseous too).

roofio87 · 25/01/2017 13:23

I did about 6 months ago. I was already eating pretty healthy and didn't have sugar in coffee or fizzy drinks, but like you I would just eat half a pack of biscuits when I wanted!! I try to avoid all refined sugar and complex carbs, but still have brown rice and pasta and rye bread. I was amazed by how fast the weight dropped off, especially as I wasn't actually overweight to begin with! I plan my three main meals and don't snack outside them. I usually have one extra light meal in the evening, usually yogurt and fruit or some toasted oats. Definitley nice to know I'm fuelling my body in a better way!

roofio87 · 25/01/2017 13:26

Oh and yes to the dark chocolate as an occasional treat! We keep a bar of 81% in the fridge and I have one piece when I have a proper craving but that's not often. When you learn more about how food works to fuel your body you start to want the bad stuff less, I really don't miss it now!