To ask if cutting out sugar really makes a difference?

[Tobythecat]

I eat way too much sugar and lack energy/feel tired a lot, mood swings and sugar crashes. Bloods are always normal so i think my diet is the issue.

If i cut out all sugar, will i honestly notice much of a difference in my overall health? What, if any benefits did you notice after cutting out sugar and how long until you noticed the effects?

My cardiologist recommends low carb diet for everyone.

He said zero refined sugar, low sugar fruit and all other carbs from veg and everyone would be much healthier.

The sugar increases insulin in your bloodstream which in turn makes you fatter. Its one of the things we can see when looking at T1 & T2 diabetics:

T1 - produce zero insulin, one major symptom is extreme weight loss

T2 - too much insulin (from the sugary food sufferers eat) - being fat. Which is treated with insulin. Which makes it even harder to lose weight.

It’s unpopular, the ‘everything in moderation’ brigade hate it but low carb works and is healthy.

I’m about 3 stone down and every single metric of my conditions are improved.

Less fatty liver
Better blood sugar
Lower blood pressure
Lower bad cholesterol

I lost 2 stone doing low carb.

Watch this fun and engaging documentary (That Sugar Film)

This accessible lecture (Sugar the Bitter Truth)

(both 1hr30)

There is a difference metabolically between glucose (in starch) and fructose (50% component of sucrose). Fructose is the turbo changed high powered version of sugar. It's fine if you're a hibernating animal and gorging on fruits in the autumn... you need it to power you through the cold lean winter. In hyper-abundance in industrialised societies it's deadly, leads to many metabolic and vascular disorders like diabetes, PCOS and dementia. Fructose is converted straight to fat in the liver... eating sugary foods is literally like eating lard as far as your liver is concerned.

Also have a read of David Gillespie Sweet Poison, which helps explain the biochemical and metabolic effects of sugar on the body, it's an intelligent but accessible general read.

www.amazon.co.uk/Sweet-Poison-David-Gillespie/dp/0718179072/?tag=mumsnetforum-21

No, it won't. Sugar does affect diabetics, but for the rest of us it's just the latest hate object for fussy feeders.

Total bollocks. Some people are more sensitive to sugar than others. If you have a tendency to low blood sugar, balancing sugar intake makes a big difference.

There’s exponentially more sugar in our diet than there used to be and it’s completely un-necessary.

No, it won't. Sugar does affect diabetics, but for the rest of us it's just the latest hate object for fussy feeders. What's your expert analysis on the effect of sugar on people with pre-diabetes?

There’s an awful lot of false information on this thread. Of course non-diabetics can be more sensitive to carbohydrates than other non-diabetics. Insulin resistance is a massive medical issue in the modern world

If you read or listen to Dr Jason Fungs book The Obesity Code it will blow your mind. Understanding sugar and its effect on isulin and what health problems this leads to, you may never want to eat sugar again. You can also watch his videos on YouTube as there is a MASS of misinformation in these replies.

Yes - Jason Fung is amazing and his explanations make the science very accessible.

Makes a vast difference for me - lose weight, feel energised, steady guts no bloating.

Depends how much sugar you eat in the first place.

Full fat coke, donuts and Mars bars all the time vs reducing better carbs I. E spuds and bread are 2 different things.

Oh maaan some of this info! No no no don't cut out all carbs they're your first energy source, yes potato etc is metabolised into a lot of sugar but instead eat sweet potato, brown rice and wholegrain pasta etc. Natural sugars are fine, fruit etc, just don't eat the whole asda aisle! Fat isn't the enemy either, it's been proven the obesity epidemic began when the "fat makes you fat" band wagon started and taste was replaced by sugar.

You'll feel a lot worse with headaches and lousyness before you feel better, but once you're used to it you'll feel miles better, more energy and will lose weight. Things will start to taste sweeter too, some fruit honey and yoghurt will be just as sweet as a muffin was to you.

Thing is you have to exercise too. To lose weight you need to be in a kcal deficit, so you burn more than you eat. But don't confuse that to mean restrict your diet dramatically, look up BMR. A person could eat 1900 kcals in a day and for maintenance throughout that day will burn 1300 for example. It doesn't mean you need to exercise off 1900 kcals

@gettingbackonmyfeet

We eat a lot of highly flavoured stir frys, or different kinds of salads with hot meat tossed through, eg Caesar salad with crispy chicken, or Asian salad with bbqd lamb.

Roast meats and veggies (summer rather than winter veggies, so peppers mushrooms courgettes tomato's ) and the meat could be marinated tandoori or harissa chicken or slow roasted anything.

Omelettes with various fillings.
Avocado, tuna, nuts for snacks.
For a treat meal I might do a creamy cheesy sauce with the veggies but we generally don't go mad on the high fat stuff.

My dessert is either 90% Lindt (which bizarrely tastes better than the 80 or 70 which I find bitter), or I do a kind of very low sugar pannacotta in either lemon or coffee flavour.
We sill have a few glasses of wine at the weekend.

I don't worry if we go up on carbs for a single meal once every couple of weeks but in general I need to eat like this because I'm a total sugar fiend. I'm an abstainer, not a moderator.

I’ve been keto since July and lost 3 stone so far by cutting carbs and sugar. I have another stone to go before I continue to maintain my new weight. Benefits apart from the obvious weight loss are
My skin is nicer, my nails are stronger, whites of my eyes are brighter, all round more energy, my hair is shinier and I’m all round a happier person

I forgot to mention before, I vaguely followed the JERF plan (just eat real food) group on Facebook. I didn't pay to sign up, but they have a lot of tips and hints without signing up..

If people looked at the effects sugar has on the body, the highs and lows, surges and crashes, on your blood pressure and mood, cravings and poor body image, they'd see it as it is- a drug. But they enjoy it too much to take the effects seriously.
Humans have no need for sugar.

try the no S diet
no sweets ( cakes biscuits desserts as well as actual sweets)
no snacks
no seconds
except on S days " saturday/ sunday special days ie birthday / christmas
this isn't for massive weight loss but if you are eating sweets snacks and seconds every day cutting them out on at least 5 days will have benefits

Thing is you have to exercise too.

This just isn’t true. Exercise is good for you and healthy but exercise is about 20% of weight loss at best.

I have lost 3 stone in 5/6 months with zero exercise.

I’ve felt a lot better since I cut out sugar and artificial sweeteners. I’ve been on and off sugar and sweetners since I was 15 and as soon as I start using sugars or sweetners I end up puffy and bloated with a shiny spotty face and have terrible headache and stomach aches. I’ve lost 2st since September just by thinking about what I’m eating (plenty of root and green veg), when I’m eating (eating at the right times) I’ve form for skipping meals and then binging and eating till I’m no longer hungers rather than till I’m so full I feel ill or need a nap.

Am I being dull here ? What do people actually eat?
@Eponymous
Some low carb foods I include:
Avocado
Fish
Cauliflower rice in butter/cream
Babybel cheese as a snack on the go
Chicken thighs
Eggs in any form
Greek yoghurt with berries
Haloumi

I sleep well when low-carbing, don't have aches, my energy feels levelled-out as I can go 6-10 hours without getting hungry, have even moods, feel optimistic and no symptoms of menopause.

Right now I’m eating (first/only meal of the day due to a bit of a meltdown and crash at stupid o’clock in the morning so I’ve slept and worked on tidying up all day) two roast skin on chicken thighs, a jacket potato with lashings of butter salt and pepper and mixed baby salad leaves with celery tomatoes grated carrots radishes spring onion and cucumber. The amount of salad is equal to both the size of the small potato and the chicken and since it’s christmas I’ve decided to let myself have a glass of ribena with it rather than just water.

This is the type of food I usually eat and would rather eat this sort of thing to heavy pasta dishes (will have them very occasionally) or hearty soups and stews.

Typically I’ll have a plate of crudités and some cheese and meat portioned and ready to be snacked on or some boiled eggs.

Cereal, tinned fruit and yogught or porridge in the morning or a banana or an apple if I’m on the go.

Snacky picnicy type lunch out of the stuff I have prepped in the fridge or beans on toast or a tin of soup with bread and for tea usually something like a baked potato or cooked meal with lots of veggies or salad, minimal sauces (not a fan of them) or if I cba a meal of whatever is in the oven like nuggets and frozen chips and the odd chocolate if I feel like it.

I find just being conscious of what I’m eating and when and why, helps more than anything. But I don’t kick myself about not sticking to it when I can’t or when I fancy a treat.

I want to be healthy and happy, that means forgiving myself for ‘treats’.

merryoldgoat depends how big you are really, bigger people shed weight easily once you get down it's harder. I find it ridiculously hard to lose weight without exercise with a clean diet

Also following. I get terrible lows when I have low sugar days so would love to try being sugar free to lose weight and also improve my diet and energy levels

I am one of those people who feel so much better when not eating sugar or starchy carbs.

I've had a bit of a December/Christmas relapse and need to get back in the wagon.

What astonishes me is the complete difference in how I feel when not eating sugar/carbs. Especially in my mental/cognitive function. I can think so much more clearly and am much better at planning/organising. Does anyone else find this?

Tbh i found cutting out only obvious sugar like sweets biscuits and chocolate didnt help because i dont actually eat that much - never drunk full sugar coke, no sugar in tea, dont have biscuits or cake or choc in the house, sweets were my vice but very clearly pegged as such and eaten as a treat, although i admit i overdo it, the equivalent of binge drinking i guess?

I saw real results when i cut bread, pasta and cereal, even wholegrain, rice and fruit.

Doing this cuts my appetite and evens out blood sugar and i find im not reaching for sweet binges as a result.

Yes. I gave up sugar one year as my New Year’s Resolution. Looking back at photos now, I went from a fat, hunched-over round shouldered overweight person at Christmas, to a slim, leggy, healthy looking person by May of the same year.