I Quit Sugar - anyone up for this?

[Cappster]

I tried quitting sugar during January and it was really good - I lost a few pounds, ate really well, felt very good (after initial detox )

I need to do it again but it would be really good to have a bit of support

Any takers?

Meant to add something else Robert said: Eat Real Food. I take that to mean food in its natural state as much as possible.

Poorly here. Thumping headache since 6 am. Also woke to lumps on right leg like I've been bitten. Now one has turned to a watery bleb.

Got it last year too. Sore throat. Very achey joints.

Sent a photo Of the worst lump to my doctor. Supposed to be on a dowsing day tomorrow that I was really looking forward too.

Not eating sugar been the least of my worries :-(

Oh dear, hope you're feeling a bit better now. Just watched the long youtube video .

I don't know what is worse; the fact that the 'low fat' diet cure for obesity has actually had a much, much more damaging effect; or the fact that no government will dare do anything meaningful to correct the mistake.

It is up to ourselves to change our eating habits in the face of overwhelming saturation of foods with added sugars surrounding us.

Eventually the tide will turn, the facts will continue to be exposed, more and more people will read and realise the shocking truth and be forced to make a stand, and ultimately, some time in the future, the truth will out and governments will have to act. It may be in time to save our children's children's children's future health (iyswim).

I think a low sugar trend will happen, just like it did with low fat. They'll put artificial sweeteners in food instead which isn't any better imo.

I wonder whether an 'eating like you already have type two diabetes' trend should be promoted, becoming more popular generally (but slowly, over time).

I know my mum currently keeps her diabetes in check using diet, but one way for us to go in the future is to encourage everyone to limit sugar, all sugars as if we already have diabetes.

It would mean reversing the current processed food trend and returning to cooking at home using real food. I don't know if its even feasible to be honest. We have opened a Pandora's box and, unless something major happens in food manufacturing, I can't see how we can 'go back' to pre-processed food days.

It was interesting to see the Coke bottle sizes over the years; 8oz bottles were the original size. These have increased over the years and now you can get 42oz and even 60oz 'single serve' containers. The official portion size is still 8oz though, but who is going to stop drinking their mega bottle/cup at 8oz?

I wonder if in future soda manufactures will be compelled by law to only sell their drinks in 8oz bottle sizes. It may be a first step to stemming the upward trend of children developing diabetes... (but don't hold you breath, the food industry will fight to the death to protect itself, as did the tobacco industry).

Headache has subsided a lot....but my poor leg...ugh!

Had brilliant dowsing day and my grandson came along too.

Yet another sugar free day.

Should be tiny but I'm not.

Tucking into salmon rice and peas ;-) whole grain rice of course.

Mornin' all. Today is the first official day of my holidays . I got up at usual time; 6am. Why can't I sleep in? I used to love sleeping in but nowadays find it boring, if I'm awake I may as well get up and go on mumsnet .

Anyway, last night I had a real internal struggle about whether to eat or not. I wasn't hungry, not at all, but I wanted to eat... something sugary. The urge was very strong, to the extent that I felt very anxious and my heart was pitter pattering.

I sat there all evening working my way through it and it wasn't pleasant at all.

I decided not to give in to the urge but ride out the anxiety. At the time, I was (apparently) angry with myself for this because the words floating round were things like "WTF you may as well eat because you will give in anyway sooner or later, why not just get it over with? C'mon, you know you want to". yes, I knew I wanted to , but, I also knew it was madness because it would hurt me.

I visualised myself giving in and choosing to eat the biscuits from the tin left over from Christmas, all fancy chocolate ones. I visualised eating all of them until none were left, and still feeling 'hungry'. Oh yes, I've been here before many times.

Then I told myself, "look sweetheart, you now have the chance to kick this sort of crazy behaviour to the kerb but you won't ever succeed until you make the right choices when the going gets tough. Or even, just don't do anything at all, leave the decision to the next morning.

This morning I am calm and relieved. I didn't eat the biscuits, I sat and endured the anxiety until it faded away.

I count this as a very significant and successful event because I.Said.No. and it wasn't to please anybody except myself. Now, I've been a dieter for more than three decades and I'm real good at obeying rules; I lost 120lbs in seven months doing one of those meal replacement diets for heavens sake! Have you any idea the level of commitment required to achieve that ? Sadly, it taught me nothing about managing the sugar addiction but I did get to be size 12 .

So, on to the next time. I intend to remember this victory and use it to help me be victorious again, and again.

What's your experiences with this sort of thing?

Well done Mrs Numpty for not undoing all your good work.

How about getting a bottle of Ainsworths Bach rescue remedy and put 4 drops in some water and taking sips when you feel like this again. You will most likely see nelsons in the shops but people don't think it's very effective.

I have the full kit of Ainsworths remedies and for the last few days I was feeling weepy. Not my normal state at all.

So I decided to make myself a remedy bottle . I thought I would dowse for them for a change and I picked some really interesting remedies and that heavy black cloud has now lifted.

120 lbs was some weight loss. Well done. Have you kept most of it off.

I lost 31 lbs and have kept most of it off in 15 years . I'm still about 7 lbs more than I want to be .im aiming for 10-7 or 147 lbs . Don't know what I am.
Clothes are a bit looser and my friend thought I was losing last night.

When you get a craving like that. Try some protein and have a drink. But well done you.

Are you aiming for a certain weight or size or do you just wish to be healthier.

Mrs n
I had a bitch of a time from say week 6-9. I was not enjoying the giving up at all. It was hellish. But I am 11 weeks in now and all cravings have gone. My withdrawal has gone. It will pass I promise
Sarah wilson advises 'crowding out' the cravings with non sugary stuff. Her coconutty granola is ace.
I actually put on weight in the first 8 weeks because I was crowding out the sugar. But I have lost 5 pounds this month, so it will happen

I like to think my pancreas has put its feet up and the fat around my organs is lessening. I'm glad I have kicked it, I don't miss it and best of all I have slashed my chance of diabetes.
Good luck

I don't have any advice Mrs Numpty, but well done for fending off the cravings! I often also have an all or nothing type response. I watched the documentary Fed Up the other day, and I am quite clear now that I have a sugar addiction, in the same way that an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol. I'm finding it useful to think of it in this way. I realise that the odds are stacked against me because we live in a sugar-laden environment.

I've been going about a week now, and feeling pretty good. The last couple of days I have not snacked at all, which is a big step forward to me! I guess this means that my meals are filling and wholesome, and that I don't have the constant eat eat eat signal that sugar gives me.

Long term I am looking to give up processed foods almost entirely. The things that I am unclear on are how much white pasta, rice etc I should keep in my diet, and whether I can have the odd sweet thing on occasion without going off the rails.

..11 weeks tenement fundster is so good.

I'm on my way.

Good for you! My only other tip is sugar free gum.. Takes the edge off

Well Dowser, I didn't keep the 120lbs off, but that is pretty typical of my past dieting life; losing sometimes significant amounts of weight but regaining it. This is why I am not dieting now; I eat what I want except for the sugary stuff - that I am questioning. I refuse to weigh anything (including myself) or count any calories too.

I am not aiming for anything at all, just to improve my health as I go through middle age and approach old age (I have told my grown up kids that I intend to become a disgraceful old lady that they want to hide away . "What do you mean, intend to become?" asked my son cheekily.

Tenement I am encouraged to read that things should eventually settle down after three months, and also found myself nodding when you talked about 'crowding out' the cravings and I reckon that if I can be successful most of the time when the craving arises, it should get easier to make the right choice. I am certainly making sure that each meal I have is well balanced and generous; the fact that I have a big bowl of porridge with blueberries every day is a new thing as historically I never bother with breakfast.

"I like to think my pancreas has put its feet up and the fat around my organs is lessening. I'm glad I have kicked it, I don't miss it and best of all I have slashed my chance of diabetes." and this comment sums it up perfectly; I agree 100% (and look forward to not missing it lol)..

timealone, Fed Up had a real impact on me, in fact I watched it again and wrote a synopsis on another thread (diet section). Have you had a look at the two youtube vids that mrsrisotto posted further up the thread; they're dynamite too.

As far as white pasta and rice are concerned, I decided to use up my stash at home and eventually replace it all with wholewheat versions. Now I use brown rice, pasta and bread (that gorgeous stuff with lots of seeds). I also intend to limit processed foods and sugary stuff. Note that I said limit, because there is a danger that if I ban myself entirely I may set myself up to 'fail' like I would if dieting. I want to avoid this type of thinking and behaviour because in the past I would get to a point where I would 'fall off the wagon' and binge (all or nothing).

What I'm doing at the moment is taking it slowly and working through each 'food issue' as it happens. In theory I can eat what I want, when I want but... yesterday's example was relatively easy because I knew that I wanted to eat something sugary but as I wasn't actually hungry, I needed to work through was was really going on. If I had chosen to eat in those circumstances, it would have been addictive behaviour; something I want to put an end to once and for all.

Hi everyone, just a quick note as I'm getting ready to board plane for holidays . Doing OK, continuing to limit sugar, even at the Aspire Lounge at Edinburgh Airport, where there is unlimited alcohol, pastries, cakes etc to tempt me.

Will update Next Tuesday .

Aaw missed that.

Have a lovely time. I'm 10.5 weeks in and my finest wedding is next Tuesday.

Guess what. It's raining. Hope the sun shines next week.

Ladies - the sugar has found me so I am once again cleansing it out of my system. God am I a fucking bitch at the moment!!!

I have a few questions.

1. I assume I shouldn't be having Diet Coke or Sweeteners in my tea?
2. What yoghurts can I have? I bought the Activia Intensely Creamy one's but I guess they are full of stuff I should have? I am a recent convert to yoghurt only started being able to tolerate it in my early 30's so Greek Yoghurt and fruit won't work for me.
3. Speaking of fruit I don't like fruit much so I eat mainly veg and salad. Is it OK to not have much fruit in diet?
4. Are there any treats I can have? I found a recipe for sugar free flapjacks (rolled oats, honey, coconut & butter. A portions around 200 cals, is this OK for an occasional treat?

Hi Totality, to answer your questions, based on Sarah Wilson's book that many of us are following:

1 ideally yes, give up sweeteners
2 any plain or natural yogurt should be fine, just avoid all fruity ones, I don't know that one you mention
3 fruit contains fructose so not eating much is fine
4 honey is a no no so snacks will be things like nuts, seeds, cheese, olives, raw veg, hummus

Might be worth reading the book for more ideas and an understanding of the principles

I think it's better to go cold turkey to get it out of your system

Drinks for me are fruit teas or water. Some might drink earl grey tea with a slice of lemon.

I don't have yogurt or sweet snacks or anything with wheat.

I have an apple every day.

Tomorrow is 11 weeks for me. Going to try my wedding dress on in a minute.

I am trying to change my ideas about what a 'treat' is. Why has it become synonymous with food at all, let alone sugar in particular? A piece of Cambozola or something is equally yummy and should constitute a treat IMO. I think that's the biggest hurdle for me. If you think of this stuff as a treat, then it sucks to be 'punishing' yourself through depriving yourself of it.

I think a sugary food has become symbolic as a treat to me as I was born shortly after the war and as sugar was rationed during the war ...as it wasn't a staple it became something to be desired.

So when the adults had some sugar cakes, biscuits and sugary treats we're made...establishing its status as something to reach for after or during a difficult time.

This has been passed down the line so we now have the ridiculous situation where it's almost become a staple

Sugary cereal for breakfast. Chocolate bar or biscuit at a break, pudding or sickly yogurt after lunch, coffee and cake in the afternoon and after evening meal curl up like a couch potato with a pint of Ben and jerrys and a box of chocs....as in you've had a hard day love...you deserve it. In case by this point your body's had enough sugar you can always have a bag of sweet chilli sensations( with sugar of course) .

Week 11 for me. It's a doddle.

Tried my wedding dress on. Those breast pads have to go. I looked down the top of my dress and they start about an inch from my own breasts. Ridiculous.

They must add a good inch to my own and ITs not necessary. So my dress needs the straps shortening, the bodice reshaping and the length shortening.

I can't wait to wear it and it looks great with my tan. Every minute it's warm enough Im in the garden in a boob tube sun dress. It hasn't been warm enough since Saturday :-( though!

Luckily I'll have four days to work on it before the wedding provided we don't have a kalima.

Dowser - how exciting! Congratulations :)

So, I don't think my brain and body are in sync terribly well.... I give myself a break on weekends, have a sugary treat, all fine. Have another - feel unwell. This needs to stop happening. Maybe I need to continue the no sugar thing through the weekends if I can't limit myself well enough?

Thank you mrs R. Im pretty sure if iwerne to have sugar I would be very I'll. I licked the rice pudding spoon as I was preparing some for my grandson to see what I was missing.

Not a lot ;-)

Thank goodness.

Is wholemeal pasta ok??