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!

@LadyGardenersQuestionTime your experience/plan / result sounds v similar to my own. I was 70.5 kilos at the end of last year, 63 kilos now.
I'm not keto but gave up sugar and refined carbs.

Being honest, I'd still enjoy a good quality carrot cake but most shop bought cakes taste so greasy to me, like you can taste/feel the slimy vegetable oils. Gross. But when you're still addicted to sugar, you'd scoff it all anyway.

I’m on the acid watcher diet which doesn’t allow sugar apart from minimal maple syrup and local/Manuka honey.
I can’t attribute it totally to this as the diet is very clean but my skin has massively improved. I’m in peri and for the last maybe 5 years I’ve had horrible redness and scaly dry patches on my face - that’s pretty much all gone now and im not on hrt.
I also have more energy, have lost weight, and apart from my gut issues I feel healthy.
I don’t really miss sugar now - if I need sweetness for baking it’s local honey or maple which aren’t processed. I don’t have regular bread or any ready meals.
On holiday I went off the wagon a bit and tbh couldn’t wait to get back to my way of eating.

Fruit is metabolised completely differently from refined sugar. Shouldn’t be given up but don’t eat in excess.

I'm trying to give up sugar but get bored so easily! Could anyone share meal ideas please? What do you snack on? My go to is a cereal bar (very busy teacher here!)

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.

THIS - PLUS all the other more tangible benefits. Cutting out sugar and UPF has literally changed my life and my whole attitude to food. I was only slightly overweight, but I no longer have to think about dieting or 'how can I lose the extra 5, 10, whatever pounds. And I managed to reverse my pre-diabetes, so HUGE health benefits right there.

The book which changed my life was The Sugar Solution by Dr Mark Hyman. I am sure there are others that convey similar information, but I found this both comprehensive and yet easy to understand as it explains the physiological process of sugar addiction and the benefits of giving it up really well.

There is a compabion book called The 10-Day Detox Diet which contains a lot of useful recipes - a new way of eating. I also found a YouTube nutritionist called Dr Becky Gillaspy very useful - lots of 10-minute sessions about reducing sugar and eating healthily.

It boils down to eating mostly plants plus lean protein and some healthy fats. Small amounts of complex/unrefined carbs are okay too, as is eating moderate amounts of fruit, especially berries - but go easy on bananas, pineapples, melons and other fruit that is high in sugar.

And yes, I do allow myself the occasional glass of wine, an icecream, or even a slice of cake. Becuase I now feel in control, I can let go every now and again.

Try this, @wineandsunshine:
intermittent fasting
no UPF, sugar or refined carbs
no alcohol, fruit juices or sodas

Eat:
Brunch: 2 egg omelette incorporating 1-2 cups of vegetables (mushrooms and/or spinach, peppers, broccoli - whatever, including left over veg from last night's dinner), plus a cup of salad. Or, alternatively, a big salad with boiled eggs, chicken, salmon, tuna
Afternoon snack: a cup of fruit or half a cup of Greek yoghurt or a handful of nuts
Dinner: 120g protein (e.g. chicken breast of salmon fillet) plus LOTS of vegetables
Go easy on marinades and dressings, but add herbs for flavour (basil, parsley, dill etc)

You won't fill hungry, and if you don't cheat or drink calories you WILL lose weight. Especially if you also exercise most days. I'd recommend weight-based workouts, so you'll build muscle - try Caroline Girvan on YouTube.

Thanks - I am running x 3 per week so approx 12k but it's food that is the issue.

I need to eat around 8am to keep me going until lunch and I can't easily cook (at work from 7.30am) so tend to have porridge. I think the hardest thing is what to snack on that fills me up!

Carrot sticks and hummus fill me up as a snack.
Boiled eggs
Plain popcorn
Red or yellow pepper sticks
Celery
Cucumber
Peanut butter on wholegrain sourdough bread (unless your school is nut free)

I'm staggered at the sugar content of a cappuccino as I love my coffee. Im intrigued as to where the sugar comes from as I thought it was just coffee and milk. Is the sugar in the milk?

I have never had much interest in sweet things but noticed recently that I have started eating ice cream most days and a piece of cake or a biscuit where I never have before. The rest of my diet is really healthy but I wonder about the impact of suddenly eating sugary foods when I never have before. Not over weight so don't need to diet, just need a nice alternative snack?

😲😲😮😯

I've given it up before, definitely makes me feel more alert and in control of what I'm eating, once I start eating sugar it like a drug I cant control! Really!! I'm giving up again tomorrow and will be following this thread to see how others are doing. I can also lose a stone in about 6 weeks if I give up all refined carbs, which is good for me as I'm only 5'2" and 55, I'm also only about 7 pounds over my target though current bmi is around 24.8

@FeelingAnxiousNow I’m not sure of the exact composition of the sugar content - ie whether it’s in the coffee blend or in the sugar. The staff had a folder of nutritional info and it was all in there. I don’t think it made a huge difference which milk you chose, though, so it might be in the coffee blend already.

If you take a look, make sure you look at per portion instead of 100mls as obviously most coffees at high st branches are more than 100mls.

Once I start eating sugar it is like a drug I cant control!

@alloutofcareunits this is just how I feel about it as well. It’s why I have to be so careful not to go back there again.

@whatatanker exactly!

@FeelingAnxiousNow the sugar will be in the milk, anything ending in "ose" is a form of sugar, milk is high in lactose which is sugar

@whatatanker this is very helpful and I had no idea. Thank you.

@alloutofcareunits This is very helpful and I had no idea. Thank you.

I have a cereal and coffee habit which I'm reducing after I calculated my sugar intake purely through milk on cereal and a couple of milky coffees.

I don't find a black Americano much of a treat if I'm out but have recently discovered the Cortado which has a smaller amount of steamed milk and feels more decadent.

@alloutofcareunits

Is it better to have oat milk or another alternative rather than cow milk for sugar content?

@FeelingAnxiousNow @whatcanidotobelieve I've added some photos, I only use Barrista oat milk in 2 cups a day, the rest I have blank. The screenshot makes interesting reading when comparing different types of milk, 8fluid ounces is approx 230ml (American website presumably)

I should add, the photo from my milk is per 100ml not 8oz but roughly double it to compare

12g of sugar in cows milk compared to 0 for coconut milk!

Better skin, hair, look fresher less tired, brighter eyes

I guess I'll be asking for almond milk in my coffee from now on...😱