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Style and beauty

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Original poster

Has anyone given up sugar and do they look younger?

79 replies

DonkeysYears · 23/01/2015 15:56

I'm feeling ugh this week. Cold, grumpy and I feel I look bloody ancient. I'm thinking about giving up sugar in the hope of my face improving.
Has anyone done it? If so, do you look younger? Is it really worth giving up lovely lovely chocolate??

OP posts:

Greengardenpixie · 24/01/2015 11:44

Oh should have said, none of my family have ever looked there age with all the sugar.

Greengardenpixie · 24/01/2015 11:45

Oh should have said, none of my family have ever looked there age with all the sugar.

pinkfrocks · 24/01/2015 11:46

Your body doesn't recognise the difference between sugar - fructose- and carbs in wheat or potatoes. But if you eat wholewheat then you do get slow release carbs and some vitamins etc too. It depends how far you want to go with it all. Refined sugar is the worst for blood sugar spikes whereas with potatoes or wholemeal bread /pasta you are at least getting some fibre which is good for overall health ( ie bowels and lowering cholesterol).

pinkfrocks · 24/01/2015 11:50

I think you have to take a wider perspective GGP. Genetics play a part of course, just like someone can smoke 50 a day and live to a 100. But for most people that would be harmful. So the same applies to anything- your family is not exactly a scientific experiment as it's a tiny sample. If you want to know more there are plenty of excerpts on the web from dermatologists describing how sugar does destroy collagen. Some people will have more collagen anyway - genetics- but that doesn't negate the principle.

IfNotNowThenWhen · 24/01/2015 11:53

Well, yes, blueberries and yogurt is all very nice but sometimes you need a gallon of tea and a big fuck off slice of Victoria sponge.
I reckon living a very restricted and ascetic life can make you joyless and be bad for your skin. Happiness and a bit of what you fancy is a marvellous anti-ager.

noddyholder · 24/01/2015 11:56

It is very difficult to do but worth it. I have a couple of friends who do it strictly and they look and feel amazing and quite young I suppose. The Davina giving up sugar is very odd as there is so much sugar replacement like syrups etc which have the same effect on the body and insulin that its pointless. The brownies in her book have more carbs and higher GI than normal ones!

QueenQueenie · 24/01/2015 12:28

It's really not that difficult if it's something you decide you want to do and something that you feel you get real benefits from. I have eaten a very low carb diet (no obvious sugar at all, no pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, fruit except berries etc etc) for some 18 months now and I manage perfectly well to cook family supper every night (I just miss out the potatoes / rice / whatever for myself) and to eat out often - I just have to be a bit picky about what I choose). I make sure I carry some low carb snacks around with me and that I eat enough to feel full and not hungry at every meal... I just eat more fat / protein. I'm not saying everyone should do this / would want to do this but if you are concerned about your weight / energy levels / feeling aged it's definitely worth a go.... oh and I drink LOTS of water every day too which I think is good for my skin and for energy levels too...

Greengardenpixie · 24/01/2015 12:36

Its a fad.Davina is out to make more money [as if she needs it!!] I am actually looking at the wider picture of the underlying reasons that people whats in it for them try concocting new ideas of how people should live their lives.
Everything in moderation. Have one eye on the future for youself [ try your best to keep healthy but not OTT] but live your life for the day. You may be run over by a bus tomorrow.
Thats an alternative view...i know.

pinkfrocks · 24/01/2015 12:48

I reckon living a very restricted and ascetic life can make you joyless and be bad for your skin.

But the point is, it doesn't feel restricted. The foods I mentioned are actually very nice! And I don't think anyone is saying you can't have a piece of cake or whatever now and then- but for me, personally, that might be once a week at most, rather than a daily pudding a Mars bar, or whatever.

GGP I'm not even really sure who Davina is- I've seen her face around an telly ads but that's all I know. I'm not following any minor sleb's regime- it's something I've done for years and brought my kids up for 20 years to think likewise.

missmartha · 24/01/2015 12:48

I haven't touch processed sugar for about a year and I don't eat bread, potatoes, rice or pasta. I do eat fruit and a fair amount, so a pudding would typically be an apple or banana. I find those packs of chopped fruit that you can buy at the supermarket are handy when I'm on the run.

I don't look any younger but to honest I never was addicted to sugar anyway and look fairly young for my age, that's genetic I think.

A main meal will typically be lean meat or fish with steamed greens. Tonight I'm having a chicken stir fry, followed by some fruit if I'm still hungry.

bigkidsdidit · 24/01/2015 12:49

And if you're not run over by a bus you might have to live with diabetes for 20 years. Which is far more likely!

Anyway, I'm not super strict. I've just had a slice of cake. But I will try not to have any sugar till next weekend now.

QueenCardigan · 24/01/2015 13:15

I'm not super strict but I did it to try and control my horrendously premenstrual/perimenopausal mood swings. I could happily eat 6 bars in one go and then get the associated slump afterwards which made me feel worse. I also had a bar of chocolate a day to reward myself for getting through the morning/ school run.

I still have fruit although I've never been a huge fruit fan as I prefer veg but I have an apple most days with walnuts and Greek yogurt. I don't have a huge amount bread/pasta anyway as it bloats me although put a loaf of fresh bead in front of me and I can devour it.

I agree, life's too short to be miserable but I'm not at all miserable without it. The first few days were horrendous but now it's fine (it's been a year) and I'll have the occasional pudding if I'm out.

And I still drnk wine!

ComeClose · 24/01/2015 13:54

I dont find it joyless at all.

After cutting out a lot of the sugar in my diet (not ALL) i feel much much better and I have lost the taste for it now. It feels similar to when I gave up smoking, or when I decided to cut back on wine. It felt hellish at first, but then you wonder how you ever smoked ten a day/drank wine every day/ate so much cake in the first place.

pinkfrocks · 24/01/2015 14:28

To answer the OP's question, giving up sugar won't 'make you look younger' but it might stop you ageing so quickly in the future, and overall be better for your health.

Floisme · 24/01/2015 14:41

I don't eat much in the way of cake or biscuits but I do eat dark chocolate every day (with an espresso - no sugar in it though). It makes me happy. If you want to part me from that, you will have to prise it out of my cold, dead, wrinkly hands.

pinkfrocks · 24/01/2015 14:52

a square or two of dark choc is recommended as part of healthy eating.

Floisme · 24/01/2015 15:06

I should live forever then

Vintagebeads · 24/01/2015 15:20

I am horribly addicted to sugar, I would be very cranky and almost techty looking for it.
My sil has POS and was the same way I was but with breads and cereals, she gave up carbs about six months ago. ..she looks amazing, lost weight and looks glowing ,her skin I mean.
I just don't think I can do it.

pinkfrocks · 24/01/2015 16:05

You can do it- you just have to want to. Think of the alternative- which might be giving yourself daily insulin injections in 10 or 20 years' time.

KatelynB · 24/01/2015 17:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

toffeeboffin · 24/01/2015 19:18

It makes a massive difference. I greatly reduced sugar, including crap carbs. Lost weight, feel better, glowing skin. Also stopped craving rubbish sweet stuff, I found natural sugar quickly satisfied my cravings.

soupmaker · 24/01/2015 21:59

I've just given up wheat. I've suffered loads from IBS and decided it was worth a shot to see if it would help. I've been amazed at how much better I feel and so quickly too. Been wheat free for 3 weeks now. I have so much more energy, the IBS hasn't flared once in the last 3 weeks and the bloating and water retention I normally suffer from is a lot less. A side effect of going wheat free is eating a lot less sugar, which is no bad thing. I'm just hoping I can keep it up, but so far so good. It's been remarkably easy.

Original poster

DonkeysYears · 25/01/2015 18:35

Right, I'm going to give it a go. I've been so bad the last couple of weeks, I'm going sugar free for the foreseeable future (Tuesday? )

OP posts:

trufflesnout · 25/01/2015 19:06

I have to say I have my doubts. If you're the sort of person who thinks about giving up sugar to look after yourself, then chances are you're going to look after yourself properly and eat really well rather than literally just cutting out all sugars - so I'd have thought that general approach to wellness is what was contributing to weight loss or feeling better or whatever.

I also think that if you do something, such as cut out sugar, in the hope that you will look younger, you get hypersensitive to seeing change because you want it to happen - rather than it actually happening.

lurkingaround · 25/01/2015 21:31

There is no doubt the sugar is evil when it comes to the ageing process. Evil. For lots of diseases. Unfortunately there is quite an amount of evidence linking sugar to ageing. Just google 'sugar and ageing' and you'll come up with a load of stuff. Distressing ain't it? I bloody love the stuff have a bit of a sweet tooth. I really must rein it in.

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