Cutting out sugar - has anyone managed to do this ?

[JustinBiebermakesmevom]

I have a very sweet tooth....My meals can be healthy (typical day could be porridge and berries with almond milk, oatcakes and houmous with a piece of fruit followed by homemade bean chilli and brown rice). But I can then blow it with chocolate or biscuits. On the days when I have "been good" I maybe get to around 7pm and I would literally rip your arm off for a KitKat....I think I'm addicted to sugar and want to exclude it from my diet. I realise this will mean the wine will have to go ( I'll drink a bottle over the course of a week)/

Has anyone actually managed to cut sugar completely from their diet ? Since most of my own meals are made from scratch I'm thinking it shouldn't be too difficult, on paper at least, as I wouldn't be eating lots of processed foods. If you've managed to do it, how difficult was it and how do you feel different ?

I did it for a month last year, lost weight without even trying and my skin looked much much clearer... But I couldn't keep it going I'd like to try again as I think I too am addicted. Same scenario, I get to about 9pm and then virtually tear the house apart looking for something sweet.

I also read that eating sugar contributes to the aging process, so another fab reason to try and cut it out!

Yes, I've read that about ageing too Unrequited. Was looking at a book on Amazon (Pure White and Deadly) which was written years ago and warned about the dangers of sugar. I've started recording my food today on my fitness pal....so we'll see how it goes. Need to get rid of this belly and the infuriating thing is knowing my basic diet is pretty healthy. I just ruin it for myself by eating sugary shit !

Exactly! I can go all day eating really well, making everything from scratch etc, and then screw it all up in the space of ten minutes. Which is where I think the addiction part comes in - it's almost like something I can't control. Saying that, I sound l

Oops, like a Saint, but if there is cake or similar on offer during the day I never say no

I cut down rather than cut out - luffs a good kitkat to give them up!

Yes I have and I do really like it. It stops the sugar craving. I had to have something sweet after every meal and sugar in coffee.

The very last thing I dropped was the sugar in the coffee and now I can't imagine having it now.

Tastes are clearer and purer, everything else is nicer. I eat regularly but don't over indulge, I don't have to restrict (other than no sugar of course) or feel bad about any food.

Like you I didn't do much processed stuff so that wasn't hard.

You can probably tell I like it a lot. It's hard at first but give it three days and you'll be over the hardest part.

Marsha Thanks for that...have you lost much weight doing this too ? I'm about a stone heavier than I'd like to be....thinking the sugar addiction is what's definitely holding me at that weight...

Yes I did low carb with no sugar, I go by jean size rather than scales and am a few sizes smaller.

It's a great way to lose weight, BIWI does a great low carb thread on here, which is essentially what I did, as it helps to get carbs from green vegetables rather than carbs that spike your blood sugar level.

I had such low energy with a non-sleeping baby I was using sugar far too much for instant energy. I felt much better and more energetic without it. And losing weight meant I felt better too.

JB - the good news is it's doable. And you'll look and feel LOADS better!

Can I make a couple of suggestions that might help? Your current diet looks great, in the sense that you're eating lots of unprocessed whole foods and cooking from scratch etc. This will undoubtedly make things easier for you.

However... the meals you've listed are almost exclusively carbohydrate-based (porridge, hummus, beans, rice, even the fruit). They are the 'good' carbs, in that they have nutritional value and are slower-acting on your blood sugar but nevertheless, if you're eating like this at every meal you will still be experiencing the highs and lows of blood glucose that can eventually lead to that 'rip your arm off for a kitkat feeling'.

My advice would be to replace at least one of those meals with a protein/veg alternative. This is more difficult if you are vegetarian but still doable. Don't fear good fats, either (butter, olive oil, full fat greek yoghurt, avocados, olives) - fat fills you up and doesn't mess with your blood sugar. Eggs or yoghurt for breakfast maybe? Nuts are a great snack.

if you want to eat chocolate, go for the dark stuff. 70% cocoa or more, the higher the percentage the less sugar there is. And red wine is ok-ish...especially if you're only drinking a glass a night, ditch the white though.

If you really want to go for it you could join the low-carb Bootcamp thread! But however you do it, ditching sugar is a great idea, good luck!

I don't really because I lose the things tasting nicer thing and it stuffs me up. Also I don't miss it at all, so I'm not tempted to have it.

I'd say it's a bit stricter than calorie diets as you need to stop cravings, and having cake will put you back to craving, and I find that having sugar has an immediate effect on the tummy.

Although I have been out, say another country, and thought sod it its a holiday and had croissants etc because they're nicer than the ones I can get here.

Agree with the others who have done it using BIWI's low carb bootcamp threads. I started after New Year and have lost just short of 2 stone now. I no longer crave sweet stuff and don't miss it really. I used to be a terrible evening time choco-holic! I can now sit in an office full of people passing round sweets and chocs and say 'no thanks' without even a pang of longing!

I went back to an office for a few days I was agog at sheer amount of cakes, biscuits and home made stuff offered every day. I didn't remotely want any of it but had completely forgotten how much stuff people have around them, I'm at home and I don't include it in the shopping.

Did find lunch time a bit trickier, most places have loads of carbs for lunch, I had to find sashimi.

I'm not really interested in low carbing though, done it before and it's no

Not for me. I'd like to just cut out refined sugars and cut down on alcohol. I'm only about 9lbs overweight so I think it's the sugary treats that need to go. And I believe there are associated benefits to cutting out sugar.

teaandhorazine Thanks for those tips. I should have added that I do eat fish but no poultry or red meat. So i'll have salmon once a week. Also eat eggs sometimes for breakfast or an omlette for dinner. I'm trying to track down Dell'Ugo chickpea pasta as an alternative to normal pasta. Mum has coeliac and I don't know if I'm heading the same way.09 Feel better when I have no bread or pasta. Or do you think the chickpea pasta would still be too carby ?

yes,the pasta alone makes it too carby!!

Bumping this one as opposed to starting a brand new thread on basically the same thing!

I started cutting out all refined sugar 12 days ago, (apart from 1 in my morning coffee). I felt great at first, and even dropped an inch in my bra band size.

But for the last few days, I've felt awful. Moody, shaky, nauseous...

Is this something you would expect when you cut out sugar, or am I missing something? I don't eat meat or fish, so I'm reliant on eggs, pulses and Greek yogurt for protein. Maybe I'm not getting enough?

Hi Fuzzy, I have read that you can get withdrawal like symptoms especially if you've had a lot of sugar in your diet before.

Have you tried tracking your actual calorie intake on something like My Fitness Pal to make sure you are actually eating enough. I wrote out (what I thought) was a healthy days eating plan and then out of curiosity put it into MFP and was shocked that it was only about 900 cals . Previously I had been eating these "healthy" foods with loads of crappy snacks in between. Maybe your just needing to eat more of the good stuff. If you missing the sweet taste have you tried stevia as a sugar replacment ?

I did a few years ago and lasted for months and months. The first week I felt awful - tired and terrible headaches, but after that I felt great. I think it was just the white stuff leaving my body and getting withdrawal symptoms. I was exceptionally strict - nothing with sugar or anything which is sugar with another name (like glucose syrup etc) in it. I even hunted down special baked beans with no added sugar in them I was that strict! I felt fabulous whilst on it and swore I'd never eat sugar again, I also lost some weight as a nice side effect too. After a certain time you stop craving on it and it's so nice not feeling desperate for cake and chocolate. WHen I did try a small bit I found it far too sweet and didn't even like it anymore - my tastes really changed.

I'll have to that app and see how many calories I'm averaging. Most of the sugar in my diet is in the crappy stuff I grab to keep me going between meals, so maybe I'm just running short in between meals.

Things sure do taste different now, though!