A sugar free month - anyone else fancy giving it a go?

[HearMyRoar]

I Have been thinking about giving up sugar for a long time now but haven't really felt ready. I have decided that now is the time and so am aiming for a sugar free month from the 6 january.

I figured starting with a month seemed less scary then giving it up forever and reasonably achievable... I hope :o

Still working out my rules but currently they are:

No sugar
No sugar substitutes
No processed food with any sort of sugar or sugar substitute in

So pretty simple so far. I am not giving up the carbs so still eating rice, bread, etc (I am nowhere near ready for boot camp). Also planning on still eating lots of fruit though probably not juice. All this is open to negotiations and suggestions.

Anyone fancy joining me? Go on....please... Anyone...

Well, I have lost 5lbs since the beginning of January. Very pleased.

Ah, I have checked the bread I eat and it has no sugar (sourdough) so I can carry on eating it with butter and fried tomatoes :-)

I haven't lost any weight but as my BMI is already 21 I am not trying to particularly - I just want to be healthy. Also, I have realised I hardly ate any sugar in the first place.

Keep going, us!

Well done Womnaleplus. Profplum - if my bmi settles at 21 I will be thrilled! Do you feel any different?

I think that white bread pushes the same addictive buttons for me as sugar. I am doing fine avoiding sugar on the whole but have lapses on white bread, crackers etc. I wonder if it is the glucose that is released so quickly and whether I should cut out refined carbohydrates while I am at it.

I am definitely benefitting from giving up sugar though - I am less hungry and still losing weight steadily. Those glucose sweetened brownies last week though did set me back on that front! Definitely small amounts for treats only - not a big batch when I am the only one likely to eat them.....

Nettee, I'm having exactly the same problem - I've not had any withdrawal issues because I'm still having white bread etc,

Yes, I think I do feel healthier (but that may be in contrast to December where there seemed to be alcoholic drinks almost every day.)

Well done Nettee on the weight loss :-)

Can I join you all? Have had an awful weekend of 'studying' which means sitting on my arse for 2 days, pretending to do work, and every time I go into the kitchen (to get a glass of water, to adjust the heating, whatever) I come out with some kind of biscuit or chocolate in my hand :(

Have read some of you say 'skinny fat' and think this is what I am... look skinny (ish) from the outside but have visions of all my organs being caked in horrible gunk. Haven't read all of the links that have been posted yet but will do now, hope to scare myself into success.

I would love some snack suggestions, ideally for things that can be kept in the cupboard (don't go fresh food shopping very often). Find it particularly hard in winter as I naturally go for carby / comforting stuff.

Well done to all of you so far!

Nuts and cheese seem to be the snacks of choice (this is not a calorie counting diet!). Personally if I am just grazing out of habit and am not genuinely hungry I try to go for celery or cherry tomatoes.

If I am hungry then cheese is very good or natural yogurt with some berries or recently crackers but I can defiantly eat too many of those. Or avocado or cream cheese speead on low sugar toast.

Welcome saysa, almonds are particularly yum for snacking I think, alsi I am rather liking the pumpkin and oat ryvita, which even dh thinks are nice. Carrot sticks and humous are always good. Carrots last for ages in the fridge so I usually buy a massive bag of them every now and again. For the first couple of weeks I ate a lot of bread but I'm trying to reduce that now I am past the worst.

Oh dear - off the wagon big time yesterday. DS's b'day party & I couldn't resist the cake. One slice lead to another. Enjoyed it v much at the time, but bizarrely tummy was very sore all last night, and "chocolate" hangover-type headache this morning.

After 2 weeks no sugar/wheat, can't believe how dreadful it has made me feel. Sugar cravings back today big time.

So really regret having the cake now ....

Drink lots of warm water.

I found that the Greek-style yoghurt (Total is best it seems) with Pret's Naked Nuts (£1) and Tesco berries did wean me off the daily chocolate habit pretty much, so I recommend that.

Thank you - read somewhere about brushing your teeth straight after a meal, as that's when I tend to reach for something sweet, and that worked yesterday. Might need to stock up on toothpaste though...

I tried some sourdough bread today which tasted ok but didn't push my sugar buttons like normal white bread does so I am leaning towards the sugar in the bread being the problem rather than the bread itself.

Gingangooglie - hope you got through today's cravings alright - quite a scary story how quickly they can come back.

I had fajitas yesterday before checking the label which listed sugar as the first ingrediant in the spice mix

Thanks Nettee for support. Got through yesterday - just. Actually no - had 5 chocolate fingers before I went to bed. Old habits coming back. Why oh why?

Can't believe so much sugar in fajita spice mix....

I'm still here and going strong ish. Lost the thread and couldn't find you all! Have had just over two weeks 98% sugar free and the heart racing panic attack like feelings I was having I think due to going cold turkey have slowly diminished. Skin not a massive amount of improvement but hoping that will come. Can't believe how much sugar there is hidden in literally everything, total eye opener. I am being viewed as a bit of a faddy nut case at work but they'll come around in sure! Well done everyone who's still going strong.

Mulberry, what are you eating/not eating, may I ask? Fruit, dairy, wheat? Only asking because those are all still on my menu and I'm finding the next step (which for me is giving up wheat) quite hard to take.

Oh, it's Wom here btw. Was time for a name change!

Good luck zesty pears. Expect some head aches and cravings for a week or so but then it is really not so bad.

Having said that I am feeling a bit frustrated today as the weight loss has slowed right down and I am eating too much bread and too many nuts. I was hoping to break my snacking habits as a by product of giving up sugar but perhaps it is still early days?

Also I know I am going to be offered pudding at a lunch party next week and I don't think I can turn down something that someone has made for me. As a one off it should be alright shouldn't it? as long as I don't have seconds?

I'm joining you.
It works, I stopped biscuits..... Then I had one with a coffee and it tasted VILE.
I'll read back to see how you all do it.

I'm in too after being on Zestys thread:-)

I'm 23 days in -no processed carbs, sugars or booze; I use xylitol & agave in baking and have gone cold turkey on sugar in tea etc.......hardest thing was giving up the diet cokes (no aspartame for me either)

The no sugar is a long term goal for me so not just January as I'm trying to set a good example to DS's but I won't be a food nazi either so if they want the occasional chocolate bar etc they can have it!

However-the booze amnesty is only until I've done the spring marathon

DH bakes all his own bread so uses Wholemeal flour or rice flour and agave to activate the yeast-so far so good and I made some stealth sugar free brownies & truffles for DS1's birthday tea with the family on Sunday and they got through unnoticed (mind you -they were also provided with scones, ginger cake and lemon shortbread so were probably all on a sugar high!!)

Glad to read through the thread and see people are doing what works for them

Nettee, hate to say it but wheat is a pretty potent appetite stimulant

SomewhatSilly, hi
Im pretty much no dairy anyway ( until faced with cheese and crackers), have had the occasional slice of wholemeal toast and absolutely no processed carbs. I thought i would feel amazing but last few days have had an impressive outbreak of spots last few days and feel quite disheartened as I was pretty convinced that sugar was behind my teenage like skin trouble. Spent 6 months on a nasty acne treatment with grim side effects and no diagnosis apart from Oh well it just affects some women, and had beautiful skin but wanted to find a cause and a non awful treatment. Thought I'd nailed it with giving up sugar but perhaps it's hormonal and I'll just have to get over the fact I never going to be make up free and glowing

Btw no fruit, no juice and one glass of wine. Avocado smoothy with rice milk for breakfast. ...I should look dewy flawless and plmp skinned....shouldn't I?

Hmm. Have you thought about wheat?

You are impressively disciplined!

www.wheatbellyblog.com/2012/12/the-acne-miracle/