Benefits you’ve found giving up / significantly reducing sugar

[Llamasally]

I have so many reasons to give up but I still don’t. I’m going to list some reasons to get started, but I’d love to hear from folks that have kicked the habit about what benefits you have seen? And if you can also share how you did it that would be amazing

my reasons so far:

• I get ongoing issues with thrush
• awful fatigue and crashes after eating
• new skin tags
• not performing my best in my sport
• embarrassed seeing old friends instead of glad
• intermittent break outs
• clothes don’t look good
• i have a great figure underneath my unnecessary 1-2 stone!

My skin is loads better but I've also given up UPF generally, so I'm eating loads more fresh vegetables and fruit too.

I also feel much less sluggish.

No anxiety, better sleep, not getting hangry!

And I lost 8 stone too 😁

Lost 2 stone but no noticeable changes otherwise

I too need to massively reduce my sugar intake.

I'm hoping some tips and advice might be posted on this thread.

Lost 18lbs in under a month!

Lost 3 stone in 6 months.
Have a whole new wardrobe as a result.
Saved a fortune on buying alcohol.
Better skin.
Find it easier to stay on an even keel mentally.

Wow some of these are impressive 😮

Are these examples giving up ‘all’ sugar eg fruit, bread? Or the more obvious biscuits, cake etc?

I'm only a week in to a 2 week challenge but I think I'll go permanent sugar free as I've noticed:

Much less bloated belly and less puffy face
Clear skin
Plantar fasciitis finally improving
Muscle aches gone
Much calmer more even mood

Not weighed myself but I reckon I've lost a few pounds (I have 3 stone to lose)

And that's from a perimenopausal, hypothyroid 46 year old!

Sugar/refined carbs was my weakness (excess 1 stone) and I've drastically reduced to lose weight. I still eat fruit but very little bread, carbs etc and the majority of what I do eat is whole grain/wholemeal. I don't drink a lot of alcohol or eat much/any UPF anyway.

Lost nearly a stone in a couple of months, which is all that I had to lose and I am short so that is a fast loss for me.

I now have a waist again, run a bit faster, clothes are comfortable and look better. Also dropped resting heart rate by 3-4 bpm.

I've just eaten a small piece of cake which was a gift/social thing and could barely finish it - the buttercream has made me feel really nauseous.

That’s interesting @LadyGardenersQuestionTime

My average resting heart rate has gone up by about 20 points in the last 2 years 🤔 is that connected to weight? Or insulin resistance?

After 5 weeks on a low carb, no sugar diet I'm totally converted and genuinely believe this is me for life now!
Benefits - lost 15lbs, resting heart rate dropped by 10 bpm (!), better sleep, more energy, belly fat has literally melted away and I can bend and breathe at the same time!
The main benefit is mental though. I feel in control and no longer thinking about food every minute of the day. After 40 odd years of set up to fail diets and losing/gaining the same 4 stones, I feel like I've finally been let in on the secret.

Are those of you who have had good results still eating fruit?

I really need to try giving up sugar too. Does anyone have any links that would help me get started please?

Or any natural sweeteners like honey?

Can I ask are people following a particular book or diet to do this?

I gave up sugar as in refined sugar, honey, agave nectar, maple syrup etc. I didn't eat/use artificial sweeteners anyway. I eat 1-2 pieces of fruit a day, or some berries or grapes. I don't eat UPFs as most of them have wheat &/or dairy as ingredients & I'm intolerant to both wheat & lactose.

The biggest benefit to me has been to my health. I have literally not had even a day's illness since I started eating like this 4 years ago. Bearing in mind I've been a care worker & worked through Covid as such, I think that's pretty remarkable and enough to make me want to continue.

I have list some weight, and kept it off too.

I'm eating very little fruit, just a tablespoon's worth of berries with my breakfast for the vitamin C. No sweeteners or sugar at all. It's amazing how quickly the craving goes.
I've astonished myself by going from a complete carb addict to zero grains or potatoes in just a couple of weeks.
I'm getting lots of my info/ideas from "Eat to Beat Type 2 Diabetes".

I use an app called Second Nature

I’ve been sugar free for about 3 months now.

The mental health benefits have been huge to me. I feel a lot calmer and a lot less angry and anxious. Food no longer controls me; I used to easily eat a large bar of chocolate a day and was always thinking about sugar.

Skin is clearer and no more athlete’s foot which is a definite bonus.

The only issue is that I was such a sugar addict that I can’t go back there now, even just a little bit. I have to refuse everything because I don’t want to feed the sugar monster inside me in case he rises up again.

Today I went into Costa and asked about the sugar content of a regular Cappuccino -14g of sugar!! Even the staff were truly shocked by that. I ordered a decaf americano and felt good for the rest of the day.

It can be life changing and I’ll never go back there now.

Wow @whatatanker that’s amazing. I am kind of scared of doing it in some ways for that very reason; I don’t want to never have a slice of cake or bake with DC, but if I cut it out and then have a little bit will I end up back at square one. Anyway, who am I kidding, I honestly think completely quitting is pretty far out of my reach.

I quit sugar and processed food about 6 weeks ago, the results are:

-Clear skin
-Better sleep
-More energy (although I have a baby and adhd so my energy is weird anyway)
-I love myself more, I know I deserve the best instead of feeling like an imposter
-my face just looks better, brighter

• no more desperate need to eat, and this is a big one as I've struggled with a binge eating disorder for over 20 years (and kicking myself I never did this before)

-level blood sugars so I eat when I'm hungry, and don't snack. It's honestly mind blowing and surprises me daily!

I still have naturally occurring sugar, just no processed stuff (including juice)

General day:

Breakfast always porridge with oat milk and salt, and a variation of banana, raisins, cinnamon, peanut butter (100% stuff) blueberries.

Lunch usually salad and a variation of brown rice, tofu, spicy bean burgers (only processed thing I'll eat) hummus, brown pasta pesto and nutritional yeast, sweet potato

Dinner is sometimes porridge again, or roast dinner, but roast, a fruit salad, bean chilli, bean curry (I'll batch cook and eat over a few days)

I'm not fussy but I am plant based, and tend to eat the same things to make my life easier. Doesn't sound like much variety but I mix up the veg, spices and herbs depending on how I feel!

Some days I don't eat until the afternoon, and probably eat my last thing before bed

I also don't calorie count or anything, just eat til I'm full. Another thing I could never do before. I think it's called mindful eating if you want to put a name to it

I'm completely all or nothing. I couldn't resist sweet treats before, but now I've no interest

I haven't given up, but have significantly reduced, and find the big difference is that I don't want to eat it as much.

If I want to have a biscuit, one biscuit is enough. If I want to have a small amount of ice cream then the mini version of old ice creams is enough. I don't feel the need to have them every day though.

My skin is better, my sleep quality is better and I wake up energised.

Making lots of smaller changes works for me better than cutting out quickly.